Cancer Girl Safer In Mexico, Say Parents

A young cancer patient was removed from a Phoenix hospital and taken to Mexico for her own safety, according to her parents.

Emily Bracamontes, who was being treated for leukaemia and recently had an arm amputated and a heart catheter fitted, was taken from her ward exactly a week ago by her mother.

Her disappearance triggered an urgent search, amid fears the cardiac device could become infected and lead to serious complications.

However her parents, Norma and Luis Bracamontes, have told Mexican TV that they simply wanted to protect their 11-year-old daughter from what they called bad medical treatment.

"It was the only way because they had threatened and intimidated her," her mother told Telemundo.

Luis Bracamontes spoke to Mexican TV station Telemundo

Emily's father, who was detained as he crossed back into the US on Monday, alleged her arm became infected and was partially amputated because of hospital negligence.

"They told my wife that she already had it," Luis Bracamontes said.

"That's not true. Her arm was healthy."

Emily, who is with her mother at an undisclosed location in Mexico, also spoke briefly to her father during the interview on his mobile phone.

She told him she was feeling fine.

Neither parent is charged with a crime yet, but authorities in the US want the child brought back to the hospital before it is too late.

The girl's father is a Mexican citizen with US residency. Emily and her mother are US citizens.

Authorities had speculated they might have been concerned about paying the bill at the Phoenix Children's Hospital.

Staff there say they are ready to talk to the child's family at any point.

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New York Barefoot Homeless Man 'Not Homeless'

The barefoot homeless man, whose gift of a new pair of boots from a New York cop turned into a web phenomenon, may not be homeless after all.

Jeffery Hillman has been living for over a year in an apartment in the Bronx according to the New York Daily News - with his rent paid by social security and veterans benefits.

But despite this, the 54-year-old has continued to be spotted shoeless around Manhattan since the cold November night when Officer Larry DePrimo bought him the $100 shoes, in the widely-lauded random act of kindness.

"Outreach teams from the Department of Homeless Services continue to attempt to work with him, but he has a history of turning down services," Barbara Brancaccio, a spokeswoman for the New York City agency, told the newspaper.

After the image was taken by a tourist from Arizona and posted on the NYPD Facebook page, more details about the then-anonymous vagrant emerged.

Mr Hillman was in the army and has two adult children.

He has family and old friends in New Jersey and Pennsylvania who are shocked by his plight, but also keen to help him.

"Jeffrey has his own life, and he has chosen that life, but he knows that our hearts and home are always open to him," his niece Alegra Hall told the New York Post.

Mr Hillman lived in city transitional housing sites called Safe Havens from 2009 until 2011, before securing his current apartment through a Department of Veterans Affairs programme, the Daily News said.

The story behind the mobile phone image may not be quite the fairytale many wanted to believe.

While New Yorkers still applaud the young policeman's gesture, opinion is sharply divided over whether Mr Hillman deserves sympathy or criticism.

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Alaska Serial Killer Chopped Up Barista Victim

A suspected serial killer, who committed suicide in jail earlier this week, sexually assaulted and then chopped up one of his victims in Alaska.

Israel Keyes strangled Samantha Koenig a day after abducting her from an Anchorage coffee kiosk in February, then left her body in a shed while he went on a two-week cruise, the FBI has revealed.

Once back from New Orleans, Keyes posed the 18-year-old's body to make it appear she was still alive and took a Polaroid photo of her tied up.

He typed a ransom note demanding $30,000 (£18,640) from her family on the back of a photocopy of the photo.

In reality, the 34-year-old builder went on to dismember Ms Koenig's body and dispose of the remains after cutting a hole in a frozen lake.

He was only arrested in March in Texas, after using her stolen debit card.

Keyes subsequently confessed to her murder and seven other murders across the US over the past decade.

Investigators fear there could be even more victims. 

Israel Keyes admitted strangling Samanatha Koenig in February

Video footage also released by the FBI on Tuesday shows Keyes climbing through the window of the coffee bar.

Ms Koenig is seen putting her hands up several times, and turning off the light.

She is then tied up and led out at gunpoint.

"He knew all along he was going to kill her," Anchorage detective Monique Doll said.

The authorities believe Keyes travelled extensively in the US, targeting victims randomly hundreds of miles away.

His travels even included trips to Hawaii, and Mexico and Canada.

Investigators said he buried caches of weapons, money and tools for disposing of bodies to use in future crimes.

In the case of Ms Keonig, he stuck to his own town.

"He broke his own rule," Officer Doll said.

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World's Tallest Woman Dies in China Aged 40

The world's tallest woman has died at the age of 40 in her hometown in eastern China.

Yao Defen was officially given the title by the Guinness World Records in 2010 when she measured 7ft 8in.

"Yao Defen died in the middle of last month," says a spokesman for the government of Shucha town, where Yao lived.

Yao's gigantism was reportedly due to a tumour in her pituitary gland but the cause of death is unclear, the spokesman explained.

An Anhui newspaper reported that Yao died on November 13, having reached a height of 7ft 9in, adding that she was already more than two metres tall at the age of 15.

Yao is recorded as the third tallest woman in history, only five inches shorter than Zeng Jinlian the tallest woman ever who measured 8ft 1.75in.

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Dewani Murder: 'Trigger Man' Jailed For Life

A South African man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Swedish woman Anni Dewani on her honeymoon.

Xolile Mngeni, 25, was convicted by a court in Cape Town of firing the shot that killed the 28-year-old woman in 2010.

Judge Robert Henney called the shooter "a merciless and evil person" who deserved the maximum punishment for his crime.

"He had no regard to her right to freedom, dignity, and totally disregarded and showed no respect to her right to life by brutally killing her with utter disdain," Judge Henney said.

Mngeni, who had surgery to remove a brain tumour while facing trial, maintained his innocence.

Two of the men accused of being his accomplices are already serving lengthy prison sentences after entering into plea bargains.

Zola Tongo and Mziwamadoda Qwabe both implicated Mngeni and said they had been hired by Mrs Dewani's British husband, Shrien, to kill his wife.

Shrien Dewani pictured last year

A motive has never been clearly explained for why Dewani, a businessman from Bristol, would want his new bride killed.

He has denied he hired anyone to kill his wife and was allowed by authorities to leave South Africa for the UK, where he was later arrested.

He is currently being treated in a secure mental health hospital for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

In March, a High Court ruled that it would be "unjust and oppressive" to extradite Dewani to South Africa, as his mental condition had worsened since his arrest.

Mrs Dewani was shot when a taxi the couple were travelling in was hijacked in Gugulethu township on the outskirts of Cape Town.

Prosecutors said Mngeni, Qwabe and Tongo were paid 15,000 rand (£1,066) for the killing.

Mngeni's left palm print was found on the car in which Mrs Dewani's body was recovered, the court heard during his trial.

Her watch, bracelet and mobile phone were also discovered in Mngeni's friend's shack.

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Dettori Suspended From Racing For Six Months

Frankie Dettori has been suspended from riding for six months after being found guilty of taking a banned substance.

The three-times British champion jockey tested positive following a routine examination at Longchamp racecourse in France on September 16.

French horseracing's governing body France Galop issued the ban following a recent hearing, and the British Horseracing Authority is likely to follow suit.

The 41-year-old's solicitor Christopher Stewart-Moore said the jockey "fully accepts" the ban, which lasts until May 19.

"France Galop have today announced their finding Frankie Dettori has committed a breach of their rules relating to prohibited substances," said Mr Stewart-Moore.

"I have spoken to Frankie since the announcement was made and he has told me he fully accepts France Galop's decision. He also accepts that he has let down the sport he loves and all those associated with it, as well as the wider public.

"But most of all, and this is his greatest regret, he has let down his wife and children."

Mr Stewart-Moore said Dettori was "enormously grateful" for the support of his fans, adding: "Racing has been good to Frankie and he knows that his privileged position brings with it responsibility.

"For this reason he is determined to rebuild his reputation when he returns to the saddle. Frankie could make excuses. He has, after all, regularly been tested for prohibited substances throughout his career. He is clear, however, that the responsibility for his current situation lies squarely with him."

The length of the ban means he will be able to return in time for the key Derby and Royal Ascot race meetings.

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Typhoon Bopha: Philippines Storm Kills Over 270

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

More than 270 people have been killed by the latest typhoon to hit the Philippines, according to local officials who have warned more could die as rescuers reach outlying areas.

Typhoon Bopha hit Mindanao Island's east coast at dawn on Tuesday with winds of more than 130mph.

At least 66 of the victims were killed in New Bataan when torrents of water dumped by the typhoon on a nearby mountain flowed through the town's streets. A school and a village hall were both destroyed by the water.

In a separate incident, villagers and soldiers who formed part of the rescue effort all died when the truck they were in was washed away in the flooding.

Thousands of people have been forced to take shelter where they can

Local governor Arturo Uy said the victims included children who had fled with their parents from their homes to a community centre which was swamped by a flash flood.

Nearby Davao Oriental Province was also badly affected with 51 people left dead and a further 98 missing.

The storm is one of the strongest to hit the country this year. Given that many of the buildings are basic and badly constructed, many of the deaths are the result of flooding and landslides triggered by the storm.

The typhoon has also devastated crops like banana trees

Last year, Typhoon Washi killed more than 1,500 people in the country's south. Entire villages were washed away and the death toll was compounded by the fact that the storm hit at night.

Bopha is now battering the western Palawan province popular with tourists.

It is likely to move out into the South China Sea - but forecasters predict more severe storms will hit the country before the end of the month.

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18th Century Chateau Wrecked 'By Mistake'

Residents of a sleepy French village near Bordeaux have been astonished to discover that their local 18th-century chateau was completely bulldozed "by mistake".

The mayor's office in Yvrac said workers who were hired to renovate the grand 13,000-square-metre (140,000-square-foot) estate in November and pull down a small building mixed them up.

"The Chateau de Bellevue was Yvrac's pride and joy," former owner Juliette Marmie said, adding: "The whole village is in shock. How can this construction firm make such a mistake?"

The chateau's current owner, Russian businessman Dmitry Stroskin, was away at the time and returned to discover his chateau - with a grand hall that could seat some 200 people - was nothing but rubble.

According to Sud-Ouest, Mr Stroskin had no idea what was going to happen.

"I didn't know the chateau was destroyed, I'm shocked," the businessman said, insisting he was commissioning an architect from Paris to rebuild the chateau to make an exact replica.

The Russian, who is reported to run an import-export company which exports products from France to Poland and Russia, says he is not going to pursue the builders over their mistake.

"I totally understand the excitement among local community members and the procedure at the prosecutor's (which is looking into the matter), but I'm not going to look for those responsible for this error; the damage is done."

The company that did the building work has its cars registered in Poland, according to Sud-Ouest.

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Death Star Petition On White House Website

Thousands of Americans have signed a petition calling on the White House to build a Death Star.

The founder of the campaign says construction of the moon-sized space station and inter-stellar weapon from the Star Wars film series will strengthen national security and create jobs.

And US officials will be forced to consider replicating the Death Star - complete with a laser capable of destroying a planet - if the petition gains more than 25,000 digital signatures by December 14.

Started by a John D, from Longmont, Colorado, the petition on the White House website demands work should begin on the project within the next four years.

It reads: "Those who sign here petition the United States government to secure funding and resources, and begin construction on a Death Star by 2016.

"By focusing our defence resources into a space-superiority platform and weapon system such as a Death Star, the government can spur job creation in the fields of construction, engineering, space exploration, and more, and strengthen our national defence."

Among more than 3,500 signatories to the petition at the time of writing were at least four people giving the name 'Darth V', and one called 'Boba F'.

It is not the first time a government body has faced pressure from a Star Wars-related campaign.

More than 400,000 Britons stated their religion as Jedi on their 2001 Census forms, in a failed attempt to have it recognised as an official religion.

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AK-47 Shipment: British Man Gary Hyde Jailed

A British arms dealer who helped ship thousands of AK-47 assault rifles and millions of rounds of ammunition from China to Nigeria has been jailed for seven years.

Gary Hyde, 43, looked tearful as he was sentenced at London's Southwark Crown Court following his conviction for two counts of breaching UK trade controls and concealing criminal property.

Hyde, of Mask Lane, Newton on Derwent, near York, moved the weapons without a licence and hid more than £620,000 in commission payments.

The deal between the two countries' governments was lawful, but Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith said middleman Hyde was caught out by his own greed.

He failed to apply for a licence to take part in the deal, fearing it would be refused, but was attracted by the "enormous profits" to be made, the judge said.

Hyde, who was supported in court by his family, legitimately ran and expanded the wholesale business York Guns to the point where it employed 20 staff in 2003.

He helped broker various arms deals including some for the British government.

But in 2006 he got involved in the deal between China and Nigeria which saw up to 40,000 AK-47s, 30,000 rifles and 10,000 9mm pistols go to the African nation along with 32 million rounds of ammunition.

Hyde was convicted after a retrial on two counts of becoming knowingly concerned in the movement of controlled goods between March 2006 and December 2007.

He was also found guilty of one count of concealing criminal property between March 2006 and December 2008 after he hid the profits in a bank in Liechtenstein.

Hyde, who was of previous good character and served as a special constable for seven years, was also reluctant to apply for a licence in case the UK authorities discovered his tax haven account and his "very substantial earnings", the judge said.

He told him: "You got carried away by the enormous profits that could be made elsewhere and, it would seem, in some less responsible company."

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