Mechanics Find Baby Girl 'Living In Car Boot'

A mechanic has spoken of the moment he found an underfed and dehydrated baby who had been forced to live hidden in a car boot, possibly since birth.

The girl, aged between 15 and 23 months, was discovered on Friday when her mother brought the car to a garage in Terrasson, in central France.

One of the workers heard "bizarre noises, like moans" coming from the car boot and opened it to find the girl.

Garage director Denis Latour said: "She was naked, on the side there was a crib ... and there was this unbearable smell.

"The baby girl was laying on garbage bags at the bottom of the trunk … crying and trying to get some fresh air because not only did it smell, but it was also hermetic."

Mechanic Guillaume Iguacel, who found the girl, said: "I'm still having trouble sleeping, it was a horrifying sight, seeing this little girl in her own excrement, not able to hold up her head, white as a sheet."

Mr Iguacel said the girl's mother appeared to have little concern for her daughter.

He said: "We were deeply shocked because she didn't find this abnormal.

"We told her to remove the little girl (from the boot) and give her something to drink right away."

The girl was taken to hospital where doctors said she was suffering from delayed growth and mental problems.

Local prosecutor Jean-Pierre Laffite said the baby "was hidden, it seems since birth, and more seriously, she is suffering from significant (developmental) delays".

The situation "defies belief", he said.

The girl's mother, 45, and her 40-year-old partner were arrested and charged on Sunday with child abuse and endangering a minor.

The pair face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.

The mother told police she had given birth in secret and hidden the baby's existence from everyone, including her partner, the girl's father.

The couple have three other children - a four-year-old girl and two boys aged nine and 10 - who were handed over to social services following their parents' arrest.

The couple, who were both of Portuguese origin and both unemployed, lived in the village of Brignac, about six miles (10km) from the garage where the baby was found.

Neighbours told French media the mother had been behaving strangely and was seen spending an unusual amount of time in the car.

"We had the impression this woman lived in her car. She never left it," a neighbour identified as Pascale told Le Parisien newspaper.

"I remember seeing her several times a week with her car parked in a lot about 200 metres from her home.

"The boot was always open. I was wondering what she could be doing."

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Drone Kills Al Shabaab Bombmaker Ali Abdi

By Tim Marshall, Foreign Affairs Editor

The man said to be the master bombmaker for the al Shabaab terrorist group has been killed by a drone strike in southern Somalia.

A car carrying Ibrahim Ali Abdi, also known as Anta Anta, was hit by three missiles as it travelled along a road near the town of Jilib on Monday.

Somali intelligence sources, quoted by news agencies, said Ali Abdi was the group's explosives expert and specialised in making suicide vests and car bombs.

A witness to the attack, Hassan Nur, told Reuters he saw a drone above the Suzuki vehicle in which at least two men were travelling.

"I saw a big crash and then saw a drone disappearing far into the sky ... many al Shabaab men came to the scene," he said.

Al Shabaab was behind the September massacre on a Kenyan shopping centre

"Many cars were driving ahead of me, but the drone targeted this Suzuki."

An unnamed American official told the LA Times the strike was carried out by the US Army, but this has not been officially confirmed.

The US is known to operate drones from bases in Djibouti and southern Ethiopia.

The air strike follows a pattern of pressure bearing down on al Shabaab, which has been driven from Somalia's main towns by a combination of African Union forces and clandestine American operations. 

Al Shabaab hit back with the recent attack on a Nairobi shopping mall, but appears unable to regain any ground inside Somalia. 

The loss of its chief bombmaker is a blow to the group as it will take time to train other men up to the deadly standard of Ali Abdi.

It comes less than a fortnight since the group claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack near a military base in the city of Beledweyne, around 210 miles north of Somalian capital Mogadishu, which killed at least 13 people.

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Claudia Lawrence Case: Officers Search House

By Gerard Tubb, North of England Correspondent

The house of missing York cook Claudia Lawrence has been sealed off in a hunt for new clues about what happened to her four-and-a-half years ago.

A murder inquiry was launched in 2009 after the 35-year-old failed to turn up for work at the University of York, having left her passport and bank cards in her terraced home in the Heworth area of the city.

Despite a lengthy inquiry, no arrests were made and extensive searches failed to turn up any sign of Claudia, her mobile phone or a bag of work clothes she was thought to have taken with her.

Now a fresh team of forensic experts, led by new senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn have begun combing her house for clues at the start of an official cold case review.

Forensics officers arrive to search Claudia Lawrence's home

"Forensic science is continually evolving and I hope that scientific advances since Claudia was reported missing in March 2009 will assist with our review of the case," he said.

The review will hope to build on the first investigation, which was led by an officer who has since retired. Any new clues it finds can be checked against previously gathered evidence.

"The work will begin with an initial assessment of the property, followed by approximately two weeks of further forensic work at the house," D/Supt Malyn explained.

Claudia's father Peter says he is grateful for the review

Peter Lawrence, Claudia's father, told Sky News he hoped the review would help establish what had happened to his daughter.

"As I've always said, the worst thing for the family is not knowing what happened to Claudia," he said.

"It's been a nightmare every day. It doesn't get any better in time."

He previously issued a statement welcoming the review of his daughter's case.

Claudia Lawrence and her father Peter

"I am grateful for the initiative by the new team investigating Claudia's case to re-visit her house and conduct further investigations there, including DNA testing," he said.

"Anything which helps the search to find Claudia, or at least find out what happened to her on that morning in March 2009, is welcomed."

Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Mason, the head of North Yorkshire Police's crime directorate, said the first aim of the review was to find out essentially what happened in the house when she went missing.

"It's not entirely clear whether Claudia remained in the house on the night she disappeared or whether what ultimately led to her demise happened within that house," he said.

D/Supt Malyn called on anyone who thinks they can assist the review team with information to get in touch.

"It is never too late for people to come forward with information now, that for whatever reason they were unable to share with us in the past," he said.

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Blockbuster To Enter Administration Again

The DVD and computer games rental chain Blockbuster is poised to enter administration for the second time this year, placing 2,000 jobs at risk.

It was snapped up in March by private equity group Gordon Brothers Europe after its initial collapse in January but the new owners said it had continued to suffer from poor trading.

Gordon Brothers planned to cut 32 jobs at the chain's Uxbridge headquarters in London while its 264 stores were at risk, the company said, unless a buyer could be found.

It cut Blockbuster's store portfolio and staff numbers in half to prioritise prime locations and new releases but said its turnaround attempts for the historically loss-making company coincided with low demand across rental and retail sales.

It said stores would remain open for now but some may need to close if a buyer cannot be found.

Blockbuster has been hit hard by intense competition from supermarkets, as well as the shift from physical rental and sales to online games, music and films.

The devastating impact of web-based sales on Britain's high streets was already laid bare by the demise of camera chain Jessops and electricals group Comet, which also cited competition from online players as a major reason for their declines.

Jessops was later reborn under the control of entrepreneur Peter Jones of TV Dragons Den fame.

Gordon Brothers said today it had tried to turn around the chain by restructuring, investing in marketing and negotiating new deals with landlords to bring down rent costs.

But it failed to broker a licensing deal with US company Blockbuster LCC, which owns the brand, for a new digital platform.

It said efforts will now focus on "giving the company a chance of future survival through a reduced and different business model in the hope that a buyer will be found."

Frank Morton, chief executive of Gordon Brothers Europe, said: "Since the acquisition, we have worked extremely hard to reignite the Blockbuster brand, make our investment work and put the business on a viable footing.

"Despite our best efforts, we regret that we are now forced to make some redundancies and would like to thank any affected employees for their support during the last six months."

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Maria: Bulgaria Seeks Greece Roma Girl's Return

Bulgaria is to ask the Greek authorities to hand over a young girl who was found in a Roma camp in Greece.

Four-year-old Maria made global headlines when she was found living with a Roma couple - who were not her real parents - in the Greek town of Farsala this month.

DNA tests last week confirmed a Bulgarian couple, Sashka and Atanas Ruseva, were the blonde youngster's biological parents.

The pair, who have nine other children, five of whom are also blonde, live in a ghetto in the central town of Nikolaevo.

Sashka Ruseva, Maria's biological mother, who denies selling her in Greece

Mrs Ruseva, who is under investigation for allegedly selling Maria in 2009, has said she gave birth to a baby girl four years ago in Greece while working as an olive picker.

She has admitted giving the child away because she was too poor to care for her, but has denied she took any money for her, and has said she wanted to take the girl back.

The Greek Roma couple, who have been charged with abducting Maria and procuring false documents relating to the girl's birth certificate, have also said they want to keep her.

The pair, named locally as Hristos Salis, 39, and Eleftheria Dimopoulou, 40, deny the charges.

Bulgaria's child protection agency said on Tuesday that it would "undertake the necessary actions for the return of Maria ... who was indisputably proven to be the child of Sashka and Atanas Ruseva".

Maria was found living with Hristos Salis and Eleftheria Dimopoulou

However, she is unlikely to rejoin her poverty-stricken family if she is sent back to Bulgaria and will instead be placed in a crisis centre or in foster care.

"Maria will remain there until a solution is found for her upbringing - a return to the biological family, or placement with relatives, in foster care or in a social institution," the agency said.

The agency also ordered a review of the conditions under which Maria's seven younger siblings were raised, with a view to taking protective measures if necessary.

Maria is currently in the care of Athens-based charity Smile of the Child.

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Syria Polio: Call For 'Vaccination Ceasefire'

The first cases of polio in 14 years have been confirmed in Syria, prompting calls for fighting to be halted to allow children at risk to be vaccinated.

Ten cases of the disease - which has been reduced by 99% since 1988 due to a global eradication programme - have been discovered in the northeast and 12 more people are thought to be displaying polio symptoms.

The confirmed cases are among babies and toddlers who were "under-immunised", said World Health Organisation spokesman Oliver Rosenbauer.

He said the risk was high of it spreading across the region.

Save the Children said truces were needed to allow immunisation teams to reach children and prevent an epidemic of the disease, which can cause paralysis and death.

"Vaccination ceasefires would mean pauses in fighting to allow vaccination campaigns to take place across both sides of the conflict," it said.

"These ceasefires, also known as days of tranquillity, have previously been carried out successfully in Afghanistan, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo."

Syria launched a vaccination campaign around the country days after the Geneva-based WHO said it had received reports of the cluster of acute flaccid paralysis cases in Syria's Deir el-Zour province.

The humanitarian crisis has brought an end to vaccination programmes

Nearly all Syrian children were vaccinated against the disease - which begins with fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck and pain in the limbs - before the civil war began more than two years ago.

Polio was last reported in Syria in 1999.

In 1998, polio was endemic in 125 countries and there were an estimated 350,000 cases but that had fallen to just 223 cases in 2012 and it was endemic in just Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

However, WHO warns that if just one child remains infected the risk of the disease spreading again remains and eradication efforts in Nigeria and Pakistan have all been harmed by attacks by Islamist militants.

The Syrian conflict, which began as a largely peaceful uprising against President Bashar al Assad in March 2011, has triggered a humanitarian crisis on a massive scale.

More than 100,000 people have lost their lives and up to seven million more have been driven from their homes.

Save the Children's chief executive Justin Forsyth said: "The fact that an outbreak of polio has now been confirmed in Syria is another sign of the desperate and spiralling humanitarian situation there.

"The UN Security Council recently agreed on access for humanitarian relief across Syria. This polio crisis is a clear test of whether all sides of the conflict will respect the Security Council's presidential statement and allow unhindered humanitarian aid."

UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, in Syria trying to organise peace talks, has warned of the of the war-ravaged country becoming like Somalia.

"What history teaches us is that after a crisis like this there is no going back," the Algerian diplomat told the Jeune Afrique website ahead of his first visit to Syria since December, when he angered the regime by saying all powers should be handed over to a transitional government.

"The real danger is a sort of 'Somalisation', but even more deep and lasting than what we have seen in Somalia."

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Live: MPs Question Big Six Energy Firms

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3:09pm UK, Tuesday 29 October 2013

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Savile Sex Abuse Investigation: Two Arrests

Two men have been arrested as part of the investigation sparked by allegations of abuse against Jimmy Savile.

The pair, aged 64 and 74, were detained at separate addresses in south London on suspicion of sexual offences as part of Operation Yewtree.

They have been taken into police custody to be questioned about the allegations.

Scotland Yard detectives have run the investigation in three strands - allegations involving Savile, those involving the Savile and others, and those involving others.

The claims against both men are being dealt with under the "others" strand.

They are the 15th and 16th people arrested as part of the national police probe into alleged sexual offences which was originally launched when claims were made against Savile.

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Phone Saves Man From Robber's Bullet

A gas station clerk in Florida has been saved from a robber's bullet by his cell phone.

The suspect fled the scene. Pic: Winter Garden Police Department

The clerk had just minor injuries after a robber fired a bullet at his abdomen, Winter Garden Police said.

The man did not realise the bullet had been stopped by the phone until he pulled the device out of his shirt pocket.

The attempted robbery took place on Monday afternoon in Winter Garden, a suburb of Orlando.

A man entered the Hess gas station and asked a clerk for help.

He then showed the worker a revolver and demanded that he open the safe.

When the clerk could not open the safe, the robber ordered a second clerk to try. He was also unsuccessful.

The suspect fired a round at one of the clerks and fled.

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Energy Crisis: MPs Turn Spotlight On Big Six

Energy: Who Are The Big Six?

Updated: 10:56am UK, Tuesday 29 October 2013

By Anushka Asthana, Political Correspondent

As energy bills continue to dominate in Westminster, MPs will today hear from the "Big Six" companies – who together supply over 99% of British homes. So who are they?

:: British Gas

Much to the annoyance of MPs and the public, five out of six of the companies have failed to put up their chief executives. British Gas will instead put up Ian Peters, managing director of energy.

He will be seen as a key witness because British Gas (which also operates as Scottish Gas) is the UK's largest supplier of energy to households with almost 10 million residential customers.

British Gas has announced that the bills for dual-fuel customers will rise by 9.2% from 23 November. That is an 8.4% increase in gas prices and 10.4% in electricity.

The average annual bill will go up by £123 to £1,444. That is despite an overall profit in 2012 of over £600m.

:: E.ON

Tony Cocker is the only chief executive agreeing to stand in the spotlight today. His company, E.ON, has yet to announce price rises although it is expected to do so soon.

E.ON – which used to be called Powergen – operates in over 30 countries, serving 26 million customers.

Its price increases last year brought the average bill to £1,370. Its sales revenues in 2012 rose by 5% to £132.1bn with profits in excess of £800m

But the previous chief executive said the results were down to one-off effects and warned that parts of the business remained barely profitable.

:: EDF

Martin Lawrence, the managing director of energy sourcing and customer supply, will represent EDF today.

The company – which supplies around 3.7 million households in Britain - has also not announced a price increase as yet although it was one of the later ones to do so last year as well.

In 2012 it put up the average dual-fuel bill by 10.8%

The company's UK retail arm made a loss of £92m in 2012. But the success of its power generation arm – with nuclear power stations, coal plants and a gas power station – meant it was able to announce profits above £900m in the summer.

:: SSE

This latest storm of controversy around energy bills began with an announcement by SSE of an 8.2% increase in dual-fuel prices. This pushed up the average to £1,380

That is despite profits of over £400m in 2012. The company blamed wholesale prices but also green levies attached to bills through Government policy. The row led David Cameron to pledge to roll back the levies.

The company is putting forward Will Morris, managing director of retail.

:: npower

With 3.5 million UK customers npower is a huge player in the UK and one of the largest gas and electricity companies across Europe.

The company has announced its price rises to come in at the start of December. The electricity price will increase by 9.3% with gas going up by 11.1% – making the average bill 10.4% higher – up to £1,459.

In March the company faced controversy when it announced a 34% increase in profits to £413m – although the figure relating to domestic supply is lower.

The company is putting up Guy Johnson, its external affairs director.

:: Scottish Power

Neil Clitheroe, CEO retail and generation, will appear in front of MPs. The company is the most recent to announce price rises this winter of 8.6% - an 8.5% rise in in gas and 9% in electricity.

That means the average household bill will go up by £113 to £1,424.

It revealed that it had more than doubled pre-tax profits to £712m in July – and an £890m divided to its Spanish parent, Iberdrola, also caused anger.

:: Watch MPs question representatives from the Big Six on Sky News from 2.30pm.

:: Watch a live debate on energy between shadow energy minister Caroline Flint and energy minister Michael Fallon at 5.30pm on Sky News.

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