Wedding Balloon Crash Captured On Video

A sunset wedding ceremony on board a hot air balloon ended in terror after a gust of wind forced the pilot to make a crash landing.

One of the 14 people in the balloon suffered a minor back injury after it was dragged over a wall and into the garden of a home in San Diego, California.

The newly-weds, Kerin and Jonathan Narcisse, told a local TV station the gust hit the balloon just after they exchanged their vows.

A member of the wedding party captured the moment the balloon landed on a hillside fence behind the house.

Footage then showed the blue and yellow balloon draped over nearby trees.

The couple went on to their reception after the crash.

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Bobcat In Garage Mauling Had Rabies

The bobcat that attacked a man and his nephew in their garage had rabies, officials in Massachusetts have confirmed.

"The bobcat has been proven to be rabid," announced Stephen Comtois, Brookfield town board chairman.

He warned local people to be "on high alert for wildlife", according to the Worcester Telegram.

Roger Mundell Jr had described how all he heard on Sunday evening was a hiss before the wild cat pounced on him.

It sank its teeth into his face and its claws in his back.

The bobcat then ran out of the garage in Brookfield and bit Mr Mundell's 15-year-old nephew on the arms and back.

"It only took a split second for him to be on me," Mr Mundell told Boston's WHDH-TV. "I didn't have time to process it."

Mr Mundell and his wife eventually pinned the cat to the ground with a walking stick and shot it dead with a handgun.

His wife was not bitten but she came into contact with the animal's blood.

All three were already being treated for rabies as a precaution, given the bobcat's unusual behaviour.

Health officials said the positive result was expected.

"We were not surprised because the animal was so aggressive," they said.

Bobcats are generally twice the size of an average domestic house cat.

They can grow to more than a metre (40ins) in length and can weigh up to 14kg (30lb).

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Kashmir: Pakistan Troops 'Behead' Indian Soldier

One of the two Indian soldiers killed in a clash along the disputed Kashmir border was beheaded by Pakistani troops who then carried away his head, India's chief military spokesman has claimed.

"We can confirm that one of the Indian soldiers was beheaded by the Pakistani army in Kashmir," J Dahiya said.

"They have taken away the head."

Indian military chiefs said one of their army patrols was attacked byPakistani troops who crossed the so-called Line of Control dividing the region and violated a ceasefire.

Their deaths followed another disputed incident on Sunday, when Pakistan said Indian army troops attacked one of their bases and killed a soldier.

Each sides disputes the others description of events in recent days.

Checkpoints along the disputed Line of Control in Kashmir

However, Dahiya accused the Pakistanis of being "in a state of denial".

"We are absolutely convinced Pakistan army regulars were involved because it was a surgical strike with high-calibre weapons," he said

The countries have fought two full-scale wars over Kashmir, which is claimed by both of them and is divided between them.

A 2003 ceasefire ended the most recent round of fighting, though each side occasionally accuses the other of violating it by using mortars or shooting across the border dividing the Indian and Pakistani sides of Kashmir.

It had been hoped that the relationship between the two countries was improving after new visa rules were announced in December, designed to make cross-border travel easier.

They have also been taking steps to improve cross-border trade.

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Australia Wildfires: Family Clings To Jetty

A terrified family clung to a jetty for more than two hours while wildfires raged around them.

As the flames destroyed her Tasmania home, grandmother Tammy Holmes was forced to tread water with her five young grandchildren in the sea.

Photographs taken by Mrs Holmes' husband Tim, and released on Wednesday, show two-year-old Charlotte, four-year-old Esther, Liam Walker, nine, 11-year-old Matilda and six-year-old Caleb huddled together in the water.

A NASA satellite image of the fires burning in southeastern Australia

The children's mother, Bonnie Walker, had left them with her parents while she attended a funeral.

She said: "We just waited by the phone and received a message to say that mum and dad had evacuated, that they were surrounded by fire, and could we pray. So I braced myself to lose my children and my parents."

The family eventually found a dinghy to escape the fire zone, and dragged it 300 metres to where the air was cleaner.

Mr Holmes said: "We saw tornadoes of fire just coming across towards us and the next thing we knew everything was on fire.

"I had sent Tammy ... with the children to get down to the jetty because there was no other escape, we couldn't get off."

More than 100 bushfires are still raging across southeastern Australia, following a heatwave that saw the region scorched by record temperatures.

About 30 fires in New South Wales are out of control

Cooler weather has now brought some relief - but highs of 50C are forecast for the weekend.

Meteorologists have been forced to readjust their scales to accommodate the unprecedented heat.

After facing one of the highest-risk fire days in its history on Tuesday, residents in hard-hit New South Wales woke to shifting winds that caused temperatures to drop significantly.

While the mercury topped 42C in Sydney on Tuesday, it was forecast to peak at just 25C today, while the Victorian capital Melbourne was down to 20C.

The ratings on many bushfires were downgraded with none now at the "catastrophic" level which signifies fires will be uncontrollable, unpredictable and fast-moving, and evacuation the only safe option.

Bathers at Lake Conjola watch as smoke billows from a bushfire at Deans Gap

But NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons warned against complacency, with new fronts breaking out despite the colder weather and a total fire ban still in place.

Speaking from Bookham, a small village in Yass Shire west of Canberra where a fire has so far burnt out 16,000 hectares, he said: "It is far from over when it comes to the threat to New South Wales.

"We need to sustain the vigilance today. We are not out of the woods yet, the risk is very real and there's a long day ahead and a forecast for a return to hot conditions toward the weekend and into next week."

More than 2,000 firefighters worked through the night tackling more than 140 blazes across New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, with 30 of those uncontained.

New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell said an estimated 10,000 sheep had perished in the Yass area alone.

The state of Victoria has also been experiencing extreme conditions with four homes destroyed and six people treated for minor burns or smoke inhalation in a bushfire in the farming community of Carngham, which was evacuated.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the federal and state governments were working together in the recovery effort and to support victims.

"Firstly, it's all hands on deck fighting the fires, dealing with the emergency, and then we move into the recovery phase," she said.

No deaths have so far been reported.

While it was initially believed as many as 100 people could be missing in the southern island of Tasmania after wildfires razed more than 100 homes over the weekend, police said there was confusion about movements during the crisis.

"We know there have been no significant injuries, which is amazing, and we are encouraged that we haven't found any human remains at this stage," Tasmanian acting police commissioner Scott Tilyard told Sky News.

Wildfires are a fact of life in arid parts of Australia. Some 173 people perished in the 2009 Black Saturday firestorm, the nation's worst natural disaster of modern times.

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Violent Crime Linked To Levels Of Lead In Air

An increase in violent crime in the 1970s and 80s is down to lead in the environment, research has claimed.

A study in the US which compared the level of crime and the earlier amount of lead in the atmosphere – from petrol, paint and other sources – found they appeared to be directly linked.

Researchers discovered that in cities where the amount of lead in the air went up, the crime rate went up around 20 years later.

When the amount of lead in the atmosphere came down, the number of robberies and attacks started to fall after about 20 years.

The authors of the study believe there could be something in lead that makes children who absorb more of it, more violent when they grow up.

The rate at which crime rose and fell was the same in all the six cities studied, regardless of what measures had been taken to prevent robbery and attacks.

In Britain, violent crime has fallen as lead levels have been dropping

The effect has been put down to changes in the amount of lead in the air from vehicles and industry as well as pollutants in the home like paint and water pipes.

Lead in petrol in the US was phased out from the mid-1970s onwards and in paint from the mid-1960s. Violent crime started to fall in the 1990s and has continued to fall since, despite a recession at the end of the last decade.

Other research has found that areas of US cities where lead levels have stayed high have continued to experience more robberies and attacks than other areas.

In Britain, violent crime has also been dropping since the 1990s. Lead in the atmosphere has been steadily decreasing, too, with one study showing it fell 90% between the mid-1970s and 1992. Since then it has continued to fall.

Professor Howard Mielke, of Tulane University, who studied the effect in New Orleans, said: "There is a very strong association between criminal activity and the environment in different parts of the city.

"The amount of lead in the environment ... was particularly strongly related to both learning problems and then violence.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We've mapped the city of New Orleans and it's the mapping that has provided us with a tool for going back and looking at different kind of issues in the city.

"The police department is even using the maps as they find them very predictive of where the highest crime rates are being found."

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Boeing 787 Dreamliner Brake Problem Scare

A brake problem has forced an All Nippon Airways flight to be cancelled in Japan - the third glitch in as many days involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

It was scheduled to fly from the Yamaguchi prefecture in western Japan to Tokyo's Haneda Airport.

But the domestic flight was grounded by Japan's ANA because brake parts to the rear left undercarriage needed replacing, a spokesman at Yamaguchi Ube Airport said.

An ANA spokeswoman said: "In the cockpit, an error message related to its brake system was displayed.

"The exact nature and the cause of the error message is not clear yet."

All 98 passengers on board were switched to another flight for Tokyo.

On Tuesday, a Japan Airlines jet was grounded at Boston Logan International Airport in the US following a fuel leak, a day after another plane of the same type suffered a fire.

About 40 gallons (150 litres) of fuel spilled from the jet that was supposed to be bound for Tokyo from Boston last night.

On Monday, smoke was spotted in the cabin and cockpit of a JAL Boeing 787

Massachusetts Port Authority spokesman Richard Walsh said the plane had 178 passengers and 11 crew members on board.

The plane was evaluated and departed the same afternoon. JAL said the crew had reported a "mechanical issue."

On Monday, a fire broke out in a battery pack in the belly of a different Boeing 787 operated by JAL at the same airport.

Just minutes after all 173 passengers and 11 crew disembarked, the aircraft's cabin and cockpit filled with smoke.

It had just landed at Boston, following a non-stop flight from Tokyo.

The blaze, which was extinguished within 20 minutes, is being investigated by US aviation officials.

All three episodes have heightened safety concerns about the aircraft, which has been beset with problems.

Electrical faults have affected flights and delayed deliveries of the new jet to operators.

The inside of a Boeing 787 is examined At Boston Logan International.

US manufacturer Boeing has sold 848 of the planes.

The latest episode comes after the Federal Aviation Administration - the US aviation watchdog - had already launched a probe and discovered fuel line assembly errors.

It said that the faults could result in fire risk from leaks dripping on hot engine parts or causing the aircraft to run out of fuel.

Japan Airlines said it had no plans to change placed orders of 38 Boeing 787 Dreamliners following the two incidents.

The company has ordered 45 in total, seven of which it is already operating. A spokesman said six were currently in use, the other at Boston Logan International Airport.

All Nippon Airways, which has placed orders for 66 Dreamliner aircraft, including 17 already in use, also said it had no plans to change its orders.

British Airways has ordered 24 Dreamliners from Boeing and is still expecting its first 787 in May, with a further three due for delivery before the end of 2013.

Virgin Atlantic has 16 jets on order and told Sky News it still expects its first delivery in 2014.

Thomson Airways has also placed orders for the hi-tech long-haul Boeing plane, which has been marketed as being more comfortable and environmentally friendly than other aircraft.

A spokeswoman for Thomson told Sky News: "Our first Thomson Dreamliner is still on track to be delivered early this year. Boeing has reassured us that they are taking action to rectify the issues highlighted to them."

State-owned Air India, on Monday took delivery of the sixth of the 27 Dreamliners it has ordered said precuationary measures were already in place and its planes were flying smoothly.

"It's a new plane, and some minor glitches do happen. It's not a cause of concern," said spokesman G Prasada Rao.

Air China and Hainan Airlines also said they would be keeping their orders for 15 and 10 of the planes.

Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar al Baker, who previously criticised Boeing after its delivery-delayed planes were grounded for five days because of electrical faults, said there were no technical problems with the five currently in use by the Gulf carrier.

Other carriers already flying the Dreamliner are Ethiopian Airlines, LAN Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines and United Airlines.

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Hungary: Missing Student's Family Join Search

The family of a British student missing since leaving a New Year celebration in Hungary has flown out to help the search for him.

Daniel Gliksten, 23, who is studying medicine in Budapest, was last seen with friends in the city.

"His family is very concerned for his safety and currently is in Budapest working with the Hungarian authorities, British and Swedish embassies to try and ascertain his whereabouts and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance," a statement from the family said.

Hungarian police confirmed officers in the city's fifth district had launched an investigation into his disappearance.

A spokesman added: "The Budapest police headquarters is asking members of the public to report any information they might have about Mr Gliksten."

Mr Gliksten, who holds dual British and Swedish nationality, left the Otkert bar in Zrfnyi Street, an area popular with tourists, in the early hours of New Year's Day. 

He is described as 6ft 2ins tall, of slim build and with short brown hair.

He was wearing a blue and white striped shirt, grey jumper, brown checked jacket, dark-red trousers and brown leather boots.

He also wore metal-framed spectacles.

Mr Gliksten's family lives on the Denham Estate in Suffolk, which has one of the largest herds of fallow deer in Europe and rare breed sheep.

:: Anyone with information about Mr Gliksten's whereabouts is asked to contact Suffolk Police on 01473 613500.

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New York Ferry Crash: Up To 50 Injured

A commuter ferry has crashed into the dockside in Lower Manhattan in New York, injuring between 30 and 50 people.

The Seastreak Ferry, which provides daily services from Atlantic Highlands in New Jersey, struck Pier 11 in the East River not far from Wall Street at about 8:45am ET (1:45pm GMT).

Officials say at least one of the passengers was in a critical condition with head injuries.

The vessel apparently had a hard landing as it was trying to dock. 

"There was a jolt when that occurred, throwing the people forward into their seats and the walls," Seastreak President James Barker told NBC 4 New York.

A corner of the ferry appeared to have been ripped open by the impact

Passenger Ellen Foran said people tumbled on top of each other, hysterical and crying.

"All of a sudden, the boat felt like it smashed into a wall," Richard Correra told WCBS-TV.

"Dozens of passengers got thrown out of their seats, got thrown forward," he said.

"Some were heading downstairs and just flew down the stairs and hit their heads on various poles and walls."

Many were helped off the ferry by emergency workers

Many of the 300 or so passengers were taken off the ferry on backboards for medical evaluation, their heads and necks immobilised.

Television pictures showed more than a dozen people on stretchers spread across the dockside, surrounded by emergency workers and firefighters.

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Russia Zorbing Accident: Father Killed In Fall

A man has died in a zorbing accident after the giant inflatable ball he was strapped into fell off a cliff edge.

Father-of-two Denis Burakov, 27, broke his neck and spine when the out-of-control orb hurtled down a mountain at the Dombai ski resort in southern Russia.

His friend Vladimir Shcherbov, 33, who was in the ball with him, escaped with minor cuts and bruises.

The accident was caught on camera by his friends.

The footage shows the pair climbing into the ball, and one friend can be heard saying: "Denis, you'll be like Jackie Chan in the Armour of God movie."

Two members of resort staff then push the orb down the piste, and another staff member is on hand at the bottom to stop it.

But as it neared the gathered crowd it suddenly veered left, and a man's voice can be heard saying: "Oh ****, it's gone in the wrong direction again."

He screamed to "hold it" but then said: "It's OK, it'll stop by itself."

The orb sped out of control and disappeared from view over a cliff edge. It travelled for nearly a mile before coming to a halt on a frozen lake.

Russian crash investigators said in a statement: "For unknown reasons the ball deviated from the route and fell into the Gonachkhir gorge - a slope of 70-80 degrees."

Authorities are interviewing eyewitnesses and relatives of the victims, as they decide whether to launch criminal proceedings.

Zorbs have been adopted as a symbol on the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

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Climate Change: Met Office Defends Predictions

The Met Office has been forced to hit back after its five-year weather forecast was seen to imply that global warming had "stalled".

The weather forecaster originally explained global temperatures were still at record levels - and predicted to be above average - but that the rate of rise had slowed.

"Global average temperature is expected to remain between 0.28°C and 0.59°C above the long-term average during the period 2013-2017, with values most likely to be about 0.43°C higher than average," a statement issued on Christmas Eve said.

Some newspapers and broadcasters took that to mean that global warming had stopped - effectively proving that the sceptics on climate change were right.

This, the Met Office has insisted, was not the case.

A second statement attempted to clarify the position: "The latest decadal prediction suggests that global temperatures over the next five years are likely to be a little lower than predicted from the previous prediction issued in December 2011.

"However, both versions are consistent in predicting that we will continue to see near-record levels of global temperatures in the next few years.

"This means temperatures will remain well above the long-term average and we will continue to see temperatures like those which resulted in 2000-2009 being the warmest decade in the instrumental record dating back to 1850."

The Met Office statement went on to explain it had done its data measuring using a new tool.

"The updated decadal forecast is the first to make use of our latest climate model, HadGEM3. The fact that the new model predicts less warming, globally, for the coming five years does not necessarily tell us anything about long-term predictions of climate change for the coming century."

Forecasts of continued global warming are driven largely by increasing levels of greenhouse gases.

Experts warn that, without efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, the world is on course for temperature rises of 3C to 5C this century alone.

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