NFL's Adrian Peterson's Son Dies After 'Assault'

The two-year-old son of American football star Adrian Peterson has died after he was allegedly assaulted by a man reported to be his mother's partner.

The official website of Peterson's Minnesota Vikings team said the toddler was the player's son, although this has not been confirmed by authorities.

The child had been in a critical condition in a South Dakota hospital with severe head injuries since Wednesday.

Peterson did not comment on the youngster's death and asked for privacy as he left a training session.

However, writing on Twitter, the 28-year-old said: "Thank you to my family, my fans and fans of other teams for their support.

"The NFL is a fraternity of brothers and I'm thankful for the tweets, phone calls and text messages from my fellow players.

"God bless everyone and thank you so much."

An NFL spokesman described the news as "absolutely heartbreaking".

"We send our condolences to Peterson and his family at this unimaginable time," he said.

Joseph Patterson has been charged with battery in relation to the death.

Peterson's father Nelson Peterson told the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper that the 27-year-old was the boyfriend of the child's mother.

Sioux Falls police spokesman Sam Clemens said Patterson would face additional charges.

Peterson is expected to play for the Vikings in their next game against the Carolina Panthers.

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French Cop Stabbed In Eye 'Clinically Dead'

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4:56pm UK, Friday 11 October 2013

The 49-year-old policeman was married with two children

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Malala Tells Obama: 'End The Drone Strikes'

Pakistani teenage activist Malala Yusufzai has told the US President that drone strikes in her country are "fuelling terrorism".

The 16-year-old schoolgirl, who was shot in the head and neck by Taliban gunmen who attacked her school bus in Pakistan's Swat Valley, met Barack Obama and the First Lady in the White House.

"I thanked President Obama for the United States' work in supporting education in Pakistan and Afghanistan and for Syrian refugees," she said after the meeting.

Malala with her father Ziauddin in Edgbaston, Birmingham

"I also expressed my concerns that drone attacks are fuelling terrorism. Innocent victims are killed in these acts, and they lead to resentment among the Pakistani people.

"If we refocus efforts on education it will make a big impact."

The US military and the CIA have carried out hundreds of drone strikes against militant groups in the northwest Pakistan since 2004.

But the Pakistani government complains that they also frequently kill civilians and turn ordinary people against Islamabad and the US. 

Malala attracted the anger of the Taliban by writing a blog chronicling the challenges of daily life under the Islamists.

Hundreds of drone strikes have been reported in Pakistan

She is now living in Britain, where she underwent treatment for the injuries sustained in the attack, and campaigns for girls' right to education.

Mr Obama praised the teenager for her "inspiring and passionate work" and signed a proclamation to mark the International Day of the Girl.

A statement issued by the White House said: "The United States joins with the Pakistani people and so many around the world to celebrate Malala's courage and her determination to promote the right of all girls to attend school and realise their dreams."

Malala had been among the favourites for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, but the award was handed to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

In 2012 Barack Obama condemned Malala's shooting as "barbaric". White House spokesman Jay Carney said. "I know that the President found the news reprehensible and disgusting and tragic."

The teenager was treated in Britain following her shooting in 2012

The Pakistani army retook control of Swat later that year, and Malala received the country's highest civilian award.

Since then she has been nominated for several international awards for child activists - including the EU's Sakharov human rights prize which she won earlier in the week - and has written a book about her campaign work called I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education And Was Shot By The Taliban.

Last week Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said the group stood by its decision to target the teenager, who he said "targeted and criticised Islam".

"She accepted that she attacked Islam so we we tried to kill her, and if we get another chance we will definitely kill her and that will make us feel proud.

"Islam prohibits killing women, but excepts those that support the infidels in their war against our religion.".

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US Shutdown: States To Reopen Landmarks

The Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon are to reopen after their respective states offered to fund their running.

The Statue of Liberty will be funded with $369,300 (£231,434) from the state of New York for six days, beginning on Saturday, while the Grand Canyon will be kept running for seven days by Arizona at a cost of $651,000.

More than 400 federally managed tourist sites across the nation have been closed since the shutdown started at the start of October due to a budget impasse between Republicans and Democrats.

The federal National Park Service has, so far, announced deals with the states of New York, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and South Dakota, under which the states agree to fund sites which draw millions of tourists every year.

Mount Rushmore, Rocky Mountain National Park and eight federal sites in Utah reopened on Friday for 10 days at a cost of $1.66m to the western US state.

However, destinations including Yosemite National Park and Alcatraz prison remain closed.

Arizona governor Jan Brewer hailed the deal to reopen the Grand Canyon ahead of a three-day public holiday weekend.

She added it was important "not only for our national and global travellers who have long awaited to experience one of the world's seven natural wonders, but for the nearby businesses and communities whose livelihood depends" on tourism.                 

Mount Rushmore will reopen thanks to state funding

More than $150m a day is being lost in lost travel-related activity, affecting up to 450,000 American workers, according to the US Travel Association.

Some 20,000 park services employees are on temporary unpaid leave.

South Dakota governor Dennis Daugaard said he was pleased Mount Rushmore - "our nation's shrine to democracy" - will be reopened.

There is no guarantee that the states will be reimbursed by federal authorities when the shutdown ends.

The funding is considered a donation, not a loan, and it would require an act of Congress to authorise any type of reimbursement, according to an official source.

The US Travel Association sent a letter to the White House and Congress on Friday, urging them to work harder to resolve the budget standoff.

"The government shutdown is throttling America's travel sector, which, until now, has been one of the principal drivers of US economic recovery," said its president, Roger Dow.

Meanwhile, The White House and Republicans are painstakingly edging towards a deal to stave off a disastrous US debt default and end the partial government shutdown now sure to hit the two-week mark.

President Barack Obama met face-to-face with Republican senators and spoke by phone with Republican House Speaker John Boehner, as subordinates haggled over the terms of an eventual truce to a bitter standoff.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said: "We are obviously in a better place than we were a few days ago in terms of the constructive approach we have seen. But there is not an agreement."

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Vietnam Firework Factory Explosion Kills 21

An explosion at a fireworks factory in northern Vietnam has killed at least 21 people and left dozens more injured.

An army official said the blast was at a military-run facility in Phu Tho province which employs around 300 workers, mostly women.

"Twenty-one people are dead and 98 others are injured - most of them have sustained burns," a military rescue official told AFP by phone, requesting anonymity.

The most critical burns cases were being moved to a specialist burns centre on the outskirts of Hanoi, 120km away.

"I couldn't recognise my daughter, she was burned from her face to the soles of her feet," one woman told state media. "She was pregnant, she couldn't escape the explosion quick enough."

Images posted on Vietnamese blogs showed charred frames of motorcycles, and nearby houses with roofs ripped off and windows blown in by the force of the explosions.

Smoke from the fire could be seen from miles away

The online newspaper VNExpress quoted Major General Le Quang Dai as saying that fewer people than usual were working at the time of the explosion because it was a Saturday.

Authorities had tried to isolate the blast in Thanh Ba district to prevent it from reaching two explosives warehouses nearby, he added.

A police officer said the blast could be heard 10km away and around 2,000 residents living near the factory were evacuated.

Loudspeakers urged people within 15km of the facility to leave the area.

"The first blast was at 7.55am - and then there were continuous explosions for some hours," Phi Xuan Trung, chairman of the local Khai Xuan commune, told VNExpress.

"There was a strong smell of gunpowder, the ground was shaking many kilometres away," he added.

An investigation has been launched into the cause of the explosion.

The factory is the only facility in Vietnam that produces fireworks to be used for Lunar New Year festivals and other major public events.

In 2010, fireworks being prepared at Hanoi's My Dinh stadium for use in the city's 1,000th anniversary celebrations exploded, killing three foreigners and one Vietnamese national.

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De Villota Death 'Directly Linked To Crash'

The family of Spanish test driver Maria de Villota have claimed her death on Friday was a direct result of her crash at Duxford Aerodrome in Cambridge last year.

A statement issued by the family read: "Maria left us while she was sleeping, approximately at 6am (on Friday), as a consequence of the neurological injuries she suffered in July of 2012, according to what the forensic doctor has told us.

"Maria is gone, but she has left a very clear message of joy and hope which is helping the family move on in these moments."

She had been test-driving a MR-01 car when she crashed

Dr Joaquin Lucena Romero, the head of forensic services at Spain's Institute for Legal Medicine, has declared de Villota's death was "due to natural causes" following a post-mortem.

But Britain's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) say they are still investigating potential links between the accident 15 months ago and her death last week.

An HSE spokeswoman stated the organisation "would expect to be kept informed of any new evidence".

The accident occurred after 33-year-old de Villota had been test-driving an MR-01 race car for Marussia, the English-Russian Formula One team based in Oxfordshire.

Despite her injuries she made a remarkable recovery in one month

After driving the vehicle at speeds of 200mph she pulled off the track and accidentally hit a stationary vehicle at low speed.

The accident left her in a critical condition and caused the loss of her right eye, though she made a remarkable recovery after just a month in hospital. Marussia were cleared of liability relating to the car

The Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) have announced they will hold a minute of silence at Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix.

A statement released by the GPDA read: "All F1 drivers of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association are very saddened to hear of the tragic death of our former member Maria de Villota.

"She has been an active member and contributed to driver safety in a very enthusiastic and most professional manner.

"Her positive attitude, maturity and extreme commitment will never be forgotten and are something we have learned from. Maria will be missed and always remembered by all of us."

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Migrant Sinking Kills 34 As More Boats Spotted

The Italian navy has rescued 183 migrants from a fishing boat in the Mediterranean as at least 140 Syrians arrived in Malta after being rescued from another sinking boat yesterday.

Among the migrants, who come from Nigeria, Syria and Tunisia, are 34 women and 49 children. Other rescue operations are also currently ongoing.

Some 34 people, including three children, are understood to have died on Friday as the overloaded vessel went down between Malta and the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Survivors were spotted clinging to a life raft while awaiting rescue

It was the second such tragedy in the region in a week.

Speaking to Sky News, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said: "At least 34 people died last night, many more are expected to be found dead in the next couple of hours.

Recovered bodies are unloaded in Malta. Pic: Mark Micallef/Times of Malta

"The difference to last week's tragedy is that, instead of Somalia, they hail from Syria, which makes the case even more complicated and shows the immense human tragedy the Mediterranean is experiencing right now."

The Maltese navy dispatched rescue ships and helicopters and diverted commercial vessels to the area to assist the Syrians, while Italy sent two naval vessels and helicopters carrying inflatable life rafts.

The second vessel escorted to safety by the Italian navy this morning

Helicopters airlifted the injured to Lampedusa Hospital where a large medical team treated them as soon as they arrived.

Hospital director Pietro Bertolo told journalists: "They are wet and very scared, but they are doing well."

Among those rescued were women, children and infants

He added that among the migrants was a "little boy, around two years, who is very beautiful" with his "young" mother.

After the rescue, Mr Muscat warned: "We cannot allow the Mediterranean to become a cemetery."

The boat is the second migrant vessel to sink off Lampedusa in a week

And he told Sky News that this week's tragedies were an indication of what he described as the bigger problem north African migration was playing in the region.

"The rules the EU have were drafted in the 80s and 90s when the situation was completely different," he said. "We are using the tools of the past to face a problem that is very new.

The Italian navy rescued another 183 migrants from the Mediterranean.

"Our forces and the Italian forces are guarding European borders but we're left on our own and we feel totally abandoned by Europe and we're hearing only empty talk from Brussels."

The EU's asylum policy has been criticised for being overly restrictive and it is claimed that is forcing refugees to resort to desperate measures to reach Europe.

Italy has appealed to EU states for help in coping with the thousands of migrants arriving in the country every month, and wants migration to be put on the agenda of summit talks in Brussels at the end of the month.

European Union Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmstroem said she was following the rescue operations "with sadness and anxiety".

Protesters in Lampedusa have criticised the EU's strict asylum policy

"These new horrible events are happening while we still have the shocking images of the tragedy in Lampedusa in our minds," she said, adding the latest disaster highlighted the need for expanded search and rescue operations "to better detect and assist boats in distress".

The sinking came as Italian divers found another body from last week's  shipwreck off Lampedusa, raising the death toll in the tragedy to 339.

Some 155 migrants were rescued following last week's disaster

Only 155 survivors were rescued out of an estimated 500 people, most of them Eritreans and Somalis, on the boat which departed from Libya.

Immigration charities estimate that between 17,000 and 20,000 migrants have died at sea trying to reach Europe over the past 20 years.

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Russia: Arrests After Gay Rights Rally Attacked

Dozens of protesters chanting hymns and prayers have attacked a gay rights rally in St Petersburg, leading to arrests on both sides.

One of the protesters (R) tries to pull a flag from an female activist

Some 20 activists had gathered in the centre of Russia's second city for the rally, waving rainbow flags and signs with messages such as "Stop homophobia in Russia!"

Anti-gay protesters gather at the start of the rally

But the rally was cut short when a group of about 50 Christian counter-demonstrators, who were singing and reciting prayers, attacked the demonstrators.

Police detain an anti-gay protester

Police broke up the fight and arrested activists from both sides.

Homosexuality was decriminalised in Russia in 1993 and Russian officials continue to emphasise that it does not penalise gay orientation.

Gay rights activists share a kiss in front of police

However, a law against "gay propaganda" - which could cover any activity that promotes homosexuality - was signed in June, drawing international condemnation and calls for a boycott of the Olympic Games in Sochi.

The International Olympics Committee has asked Russia to clarify how the law would operate around the Winter Games next year.

Police made some 20 arrests on both sides

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree banning demonstrations and rallies for two and a half months around the Games.

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Pro-Gun Campaign On Sandy Hook Anniversary

Pro-gun groups in the US have declared that the first anniversary of the shooting in Sandy Hook, where 20 schoolchildren and six adults were killed, should be named "Guns Save Lives Day".

The Second Amendment Foundation said it wants to "show America that there is a good side to guns".

"We are proclaiming Saturday, December 14 as Guns Save Lives Day," said Alan Gottlieb, president of the Second Amendment Foundation and chairman of the Citizens Committee.

The mass shooting by Adam Lanza in Newtown, Connecticut, was the second worst in America's history, after the Virginia Tech massacre.

Gottlieb said: "No one at Newtown should have been a victim and no one in the future should be victimised by laws that do not allow people to defend themselves."

The foundation is joining the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and DefendGunRights.com and other groups to sponsor the day, which will involve nationwide events.

Adam Lanza shot 20 schoolchildren nearly a year ago

"The event is designed to counteract what certainly will be a day of activism and misinformation from the gun prohibition lobby," noted Larry Ward, founder of DefendGunRights.com.

But gun control advocates have accused the groups of attempting to politicise the tragedy.

And residents of Newtown are opposed to the idea, saying they are still grieving after the shooting.

Linda Manna told NBC Connecticut: "As far as I'm concerned, this is nonsense. It's very insensitive … very insensitive."

"We need to be left alone on the 14th," Ms Manna said. "We are still a community in the healing process."

President Obama has pushed for tighter gun laws since the massacre but has failed to gain congressional approval for the measures.

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Cyclone Phailin Batters India's East Coast

More than 440,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in two states as a huge cyclone made landfall on India's east coast.

India's weather office issued a red alert, saying the "very severe cyclonic storm Phailin" was packing gusts as high as 150mph (240kph).

The evacuation is one of the biggest such exercises in the country's history, said the national disaster agency.

A satellite image of the cyclone

At least 12 million people are in the path of the storm, which virtually filled the Bay of Bengal - an area the size of France.

The cyclone is expected to be the fiercest storm to hit India since a devastating cyclone killed 10,000 people 14 years ago.

Some forecasters likened its size and intensity to hurricane Katrina, which devastated the US Gulf coast and New Orleans in 2005.

Fishermen pull a boat from the waters of the Bay of Bengal to safer ground

Dr Liz Bentley from the Royal Meteorological Society told Sky News: "This particular part of the coastline is very low-lying so it (Phailin) will penetrate quite well in land.

"It is like a mini-tsunami hitting that - not caused in the same way as a tsunami but it's the same effect."

Large waves have already pounded beaches in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Villagers along the coast were evacuated to schools in the north of the state and in neighbouring Odisha, while panic buying drove up food prices.

Relief items are packaged for distribution to cyclone evacuees

Authorities have been evacuating villagers along the coast to government-run shelters and schools in three districts of Andhra Pradesh state and five districts of Orissa state.

But many villagers said they had not been told to evacuate, and others were refusing to leave their homes.

"Of course I'm scared, but where will I move with my family?" said Kuramayya, 38, a fisherman from the village of Bandharuvanipeta, while 12ft waves crashed behind him. "We can't leave our boats behind."

Floods have already ripped down power lines

The Indian Meteorological Department said Phailin would hit between Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and the port of Paradip in Odisha. Storm surges 10ft above normal tides were predicted.

About 12 hours before Cyclone Phailin's landfall, meteorologists held out hope that the storm might hit while in a temporary weakened state, but no matter what it will be large and deadly.

Residents move to safer ground

Ryan Maue, a meteorologist at Weather Bell, a private US weather firm, said even in the best-case scenario there will be a storm surge of 20-30 feet (7-9 metres).

A storm surge - the giant wall of water that that a cyclone blasts ashore - is the big killer in such events.

The predicted path of the cyclone

The storm already has been large and powerful for nearly 36 hours, he said, and those winds have built up tremendous amount of surge, Mr Maue said.

He said: "A storm this large can't peter out that fast. There's nothing to stop it at this point."

Officials cancelled holy day celebrations and stockpiled emergency supplies in coastal Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states.

Floods have already hit ahead of the cyclone

If the storm continues on its current path without weakening, it is expected to cause large-scale power and communications outages and shut down road and rail links, officials said. There would also be extensive damage to crops.

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