'Pink Panther' Jewel Heist Robber Arrested

French police have arrested a suspected member of the infamous Pink Panther gang of international jewel thieves.

The 47-year-old, born in Montenegro but with French and Macedonian citizenships, was detained at his home in the southern Montpellier region on Monday, a police source said. 

The suspect, who had been on the run since escaping from a Swiss prison in May, tried and failed to escape through a window at the time of his arrest, the source said.

A former member of the French Foreign Legion, the suspect is wanted in several countries, including under two international arrest warrants issued by Switzerland, where he had been in prison for armed robbery.

He and four other prisoners escaped from the Bois-Mermet prison, near Lausanne, on May 14, using weapons and tools passed to them from accomplices on the outside - two have since been recaptured, the other two are still free.

Milan Poparic was one of those who escaped from the Swiss jail

The gang emerged from the war in the former Yugoslavia to become the most successful jewel thieves in the world.

According to Interpol, they have, since 1999, snatched jewels with a value in excess of €330m (£281.5m) in heists that are often executed with breathtaking speed and precision.

Among the latest robberies carried out were two in the South of France.

A lone gunman walked into the world-famous Carlton Hotel in Cannes and stole diamonds worth nearly £90m from an exhibition.

In another raid in the same town, two gunmen held up a luxury shop and left with goods valued at up to £1.3m.

The gang gained their nickname with a raid on a London branch of Graff Diamonds in 2003, in which two of them posed as wealthy would-be customers, persuading staff to open doors for them before helping themselves to diamonds worth millions.

Although one of the robbers was overpowered at the scene and another later arrested, only a fraction of the diamonds were recovered, one of them hidden in a pot of face cream.

That was reminiscent of a scene from the 1975 film The Return of the Pink Panther and resulted in a nickname that the gang members themselves adopted, wearing pink shirts for a subsequent raid in Zurich.

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Fukushima Toxic Leak Alert Set To Be Hiked

Efforts are continuing to contain a major toxic leak from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant with plans to heighten the alert level.

The operator of the site said about 300 tonnes of highly radioactive water has leaked from one of hundreds of steel tanks around the wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, which lies 130 miles northeast of Tokyo.

Amid the deepening crisis, Japan is to raise the severity to a level three "serious incident".

The international severity scale goes from 0-7, with seven being the worst.

Workers were pumping out the remaining contaminated water in the tank and moving it to other containers, in a desperate effort to prevent it from escaping into the sea.

Masayuki Ono, general manager of Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) which runs the plant, said: "We found a radiation level strong enough to give someone a five-year dose of radiation within one hour."

Japan's nuclear watchdog has said it is concerned that more storage tanks at the wrecked nuclear plant will spring leaks.

It also said it feared the disaster exceeded the ability of Tepco to cope "in some respects".

Four other tanks of the same design have had similar leaks since last year. The incidents have shaken confidence in the reliability of hundreds of tanks that are crucial for storing what has been a continuous flow of contaminated water.

Hideka Morimoto, a spokesman for Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority, said: "We are extremely concerned."

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said: "Any way you look at it, this is deplorable. The government will make every effort to halt the leak of contaminated water as soon as possible."

China said it was 'shocked' to hear that Fukushima was still leaking contaminated water two years after the disaster and urged Japan to provide information "in a timely, thorough and relevant way".

Professor Andrew Sherry from the University of Manchester, said: "Though serious, this leak is a long way from the Level Seven incident we were facing in 2011."

He said the action being taken by Tepco was "entirely sensible", but added the incident highlighted the need for an inspection programme for the storage tanks.

"Openness and transparency of the nuclear industry was a key lesson from Fukushima and maintaining this principle during the current situation is critical," said Prof Sherry.

The Fukushima plant suffered multiple meltdowns following a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 - a level 7 "major accident" and the worst since Chernobyl in 1986.

Hundreds of tanks were built around the plant to store massive amounts of contaminated water coming from the three melted reactors, as well as underground water running into reactor and turbine basements.

However, contaminated water that the operator has been unable to contain continues to enter the Pacific Ocean at a rate of hundreds of tonnes per day. Much of that is groundwater that has mixed with untreated radioactive water at the plant.

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Russia Floods: Three Jailed Over Tragedy

Three former public officials in Russia have been jailed after being convicted of negligence during floods that killed more than 150 people last year.

The tragedy happened on July 7 last year when scores of people in the southern town of Krymsk died after a mountain river flooded, causing the worst such disaster of the post-Soviet era.

The Abinsk Regional Court heard that no flood warning had been issued before the disaster because the officials "did not announce the emergency situation in time and did not warn and rescue people".

Former head of Krymsk district Vasily Krutko was sentenced to six years in a colony settlement - a facility where inmates have more freedom than in a penal colony but which still observe strict curfews.

The official number of deaths is 153 but others say up to 172 people died

Former Krymsk mayor Vladimir Ulanovsky was sentenced to three-and-a-half years, while local emergency situations official Viktor Zhdanov was sentenced to four-and-a-half years.

Irina Ryabchenko, former head of the neighbouring village of Nizhnebakanskaya, which was also affected, received a suspended sentence of three-and-a-half years, according to a statement from the Russian prosecutor general.

After the tragedy, Krutko, Ulanovsky and Ryabchenko also ordered the creation of "official documents with false information about having issued a timely warning", a court statement said. The three were also convicted of forgery.

The prosecutor's statement cited a death toll of 153 people, although regional authorities said at the time that 172 people had died in the flood.

A young Russian mourns the loss of a friend

Observers have called the catastrophe a failure not only on the part of local officials, but also the region's influential pro-Kremlin governor, Alexander Tkachev, and even President Vladimir Putin himself, accusing the authorities of a blatant disregard for human life.

Krymsk lies about 200 kilometres (120 miles) northwest of the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where Russia will host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

The conviction and sentencing of the officials comes as Russia battles new, record-breaking floods in the east that have forced authorities to evacuate more than 23,000 people and raised fresh questions about the government's readiness to handle natural disasters.

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Shark Attacks In Hawaii Spark Predator Study

A study is to be carried out on tiger sharks in Hawaii following a spate of attacks on humans.

In the last month alone there have been four attacks – the same number Hawaii usually sees in an entire year – although it is not clear what type of shark was involved in each incident.

A 20-year-old German tourist lost her arm in an attack last week as she snorkelled off the coast of Maui.

And four days later, a 16-year-old surfer suffered injuries to both legs after being bitten by a shark in waters off the Big Island.

In total there have been eight attacks in Hawaii so far this year and 10 in 2012.

In response, officials plan to spend the next two years studying tiger sharks in waters around Maui as not much is known of their movements.

A German tourist lost an arm In an attack off Palauea Beach on Maui Island

Dr Carl Meyer, a marine biologist with the University of Hawaii, said the "tag and track" study will focus on tiger sharks because they move around frequently and have been known to travel all around the islands' waters.

He said tiger sharks can travel up to 100 miles in a day, do not stay in one area very long and can swim in very shallow waters if they choose to.

William Aila, chairman of the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, said the study will help determine if signs, closures or other measures are needed to reduce encounters between sharks and humans.

He said "empirical data" was needed before taking action.

Mr Aila insisted that Hawaii waters are safe if swimmers are cautious.

However, he said current opinion is that there are more sharks and more people in Hawaiian waters, creating more chances for bites.

"We know that the impression is that there is an inordinate amount of shark attacks that have happened recently," he said.

"We just want to make it clear that within the history of the state of Hawaii, the number of shark attacks have gone up, and they've gone down, and there have been some years we've actually had no shark attacks."

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North Korea Prisoner Forced To Kill Her Baby

A mother in a North Korean prison was forced to kill her own baby, according to a former inmate giving evidence to a UN commission hearing.

Jee Heon-a, 34, told the UN Commission of Inquiry that a guard ordered the mother to drown her newborn.

Speaking softly, she took a deep breath before telling a retired Australian judge and other commission panel members: "It was the first time I had seen a newborn baby and I felt happy.

"But suddenly there were footsteps and a security guard came in and told the mother to turn the baby upside down into a bowl of water," she said.

"The mother begged the guard to spare her, but he kept beating her. So the mother, her hands shaking, put the baby face down in the water.

Former prisoner Shin Dong-hyuk

"The crying stopped and a bubble rose up as it died. A grandmother who had delivered the baby quietly took it out."

Ms Jee was one of a number of past prisoners who have been addressing the commission in South Korea's capital Seoul.

It is the first time North Korea's human rights record has been examined by an expert panel.

The North, now ruled by a third generation of the founding Kim family, denies it abuses human rights.

It refuses to recognise the commission and has denied access to investigators.

Harrowing accounts from defectors now living in South Korea told how guards committed torture and brutality.

Ms Jee added that there was so little to eat in the prison that she, like many of the others, was forced to survive on salted frogs.

The commission panel has heard evidence of prison torture

She said: "Everyone's eyes were sunken. They all looked like animals. Frogs were hung from the buttons of their clothes, put in a plastic bag and their skins peeled off. They ate salted frogs and so did I."

Another witness, Shin Dong-hyuk, said he was forced to watch the execution of his mother and his brother who had both attempted to escape.

He said he was also punished for dropping a sewing machine, adding: "I thought my whole hand was going to be cut off at the wrist, so I felt thankful and grateful that only my finger was cut off."

The ex-inmates giving evidence are among a handful to have escaped and fled South Korea, where they have claimed asylum.

There are estimated to be 150,000-200,000 people in North Korean prison camps and defectors say many inmates are malnourished or worked to death.

After more than a year and a half ruling North Korea, 30-year-old Kim Jong Un has shown few signs of changing the rigid rule of his father, Kim Jong Il, and grandfather, state founder Kim Il Sung.

Few experts expect the commission to have an immediate impact but say they hope it will serve to raise awareness of what has been happening in the country.

Bill Schabas, professor of international law at Middlesex University, said: "There would need to be profound political changes in North Korea to make headway in the field of human rights."

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Dolphins Washing Up Dead On US East Coast

Dozens of dead dolphins have been washing up on the East Coast, as worried scientists try to find out why.

Since early July, seven times the usual number of bottlenose dolphins have been found stranded on the shores in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said.

"All age classes of bottlenose dolphins are involved and strandings range from a few live animals to mostly dead animals with many very decomposed," the agency said in an Unusual Mortality Event note on its website.

A chart published by NOAA showed that there have been 299 cases so far this year - compared to 111 in all of last year.

In Virginia alone, 80 animals were stranded this month, compared to less than 10 in August 2012.

Dozens of marine biologists along the Atlantic are examining stranded dolphin carcasses for clues.

NOAA said some of the dead animals had pulmonary lesions.

Bottlenose dolphins live in groups

One animal might have contracted morbillivirus infection, preliminary testing of tissues suggests.

In 1987, more than 700 animals died, with morbillivirus identified as the main culprit.

The agency said it was evaluating all potential causes, but it added that "an infectious pathogen is at the top of the list".

"Work is underway to determine whether an infectious agent affecting these dolphins is present in collected tissue samples," it said.

Charles Potter, a marine mammal expert with the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, said there might be underlying causes.

He said on the Smithsonian's blog that heavy metals, pesticides and hydrocarbons might play a role.

Other stresses attributable to human activity, such as increased noise and competition for space and food with humans, might make the animals more susceptible to infectious pathogens, he said.

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Benedict: God Mystically Told Me To Resign

Former Pope Benedict has revealed he resigned after God told him to during what he described as a "mystical experience".

Benedict, whose formal title is now Pope Emeritus, announced his shock resignation on February 11.

Just over two weeks later, he became the first pontiff to step down in 600 years, opening the way for the current Pope Francis to be elected.

The Catholic news agency Zenith quoted Benedict as saying "God told me to do it" to a visitor to the convent in the Vatican gardens, where he is living out his retirement in near isolation.

Benedict told his visitor, who asked to remain anonymous, that God did not appear before him in a vision but spoke to him in what he called "a mystical experience".

Italian media had previously claimed that Benedict's decision to step down was influenced by the various scandals that blighted his eight-year papacy.

Among them was the arrest of his personal butler for leaking private documents alleging corruption in the Vatican.

His successor Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, was elected as the first non-European pontiff in 1,300 years.

Benedict XVI was pictured for the last time when he met Pope Francis

According to Rome-based Zenith, Benedict told his visitor that the more he observes the way Francis carries out his papal duties, the more he realised the choice was "wanted by God".

Last Sunday, Benedict spent a day at the papal summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, to escape the heat of the capital.

The visit indicated that the 86-year-old's health was good enough for him to travel. There had been media reports that since his resignation, Benedict's health had deteriorated dramatically.

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Hosni Mubarak's Release Ordered By Court

An Egyptian court has ordered the release of former president Hosni Mubarak, according to security sources.

The 85-year-old is being retried on charges of ordering the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising that led to his downfall.

However, he has already served the maximum amount of pretrial detention permitted in that case.

Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison last year for failing to prevent the killing of demonstrators. But a court accepted his appeal earlier this year and ordered a retrial.

A lawyer told Reuters he could be freed on Thursday.

Leaving the Cairo prison where the court convened, Fareed El-Deeb said: "The court decided to release him." Asked when, he said: "Maybe tomorrow."

Egypt's prosecutor will not appeal against the court ruling.

"The decision to release Mubarak issued today ... is final and the prosecution cannot appeal against it," Judge Ahmed el-Bahrawi said.

The ailing former president probably has no political future. But many Egyptians would see his release as the rehabilitation of an old order that endured through six decades of military-backed rule - and even a reversal of the pro-democracy revolt that toppled him.

At least 900 people, including 100 soldiers and police, have been killed in a crackdown on Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood in the past week, making it Egypt's bloodiest civil episode in decades.

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Manning Jailed For 35 Years In WikiLeaks Case

Bradley Manning has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for giving classified documents to whistleblowing website WikiLeaks.

The former US Army intelligence analyst - convicted on 20 counts, including six violations of the Espionage Act - had faced up to 90 years behind bars.

WikiLeaks described the sentence as a "strategic victory" as Manning will be eligible for parole within nine years.

Manning, 25, was not convicted of the more serious crime of aiding the enemy, which could have carried a life sentence without parole.

Manning supporters outside the court

Manning will get credit for the more than three years he has been held, but he will have to serve at least one-third of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. 

Colonel Morris David, a military lawyer who was third chief prosecutor in the Guantanamo military commissions, said the sentence meant Manning would probably be released in between eight and nine years.

His rank was reduced, he was dishonourably discharged and he forfeited his pay.

Guards hurried Manning out of the courtroom after sentencing as about a half-dozen supporters shouted from the back: "We'll keep fighting for you, Bradley!" and "You're our hero!"

The American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International and other activists decried the punishment.

Among the evidence was a photo of Manning in a blond wig and lipstick

"When a soldier who shared information with the press and public is punished far more harshly than others who tortured prisoners and killed civilians, something is seriously wrong with our justice system," said Ben Wizner, head of the ACLU's speech and technology project.

But Gabriel Schoenfeld, a senior fellow at the conservative Hudson Institute think tank and author of the book Necessary Secrets, welcomed Manning's punishment.

"The sentence is a tragedy for Bradley Manning, but it is one he brought upon himself," he said. "It will certainly serve to bolster deterrence against other potential leakers."

The sentencing in a military courtroom at Fort Meade, near Baltimore, capped a 12-week trial and a much longer legal battle over Manning's intentions when he reached out to WikiLeaks.

Manning and his defence team maintained he was an idealistic soldier

Prosecutors, who had asked for at least a 60-year sentence, portrayed Manning as "the determined insider", an anarchist hacker and traitor.

They said Manning started working within weeks of his 2009 deployment to Iraq to provide WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange with exactly what they wanted.

Manning and his defence team maintained he was an idealistic soldier who wanted to expose brutal truths about America's military and diplomatic corps.

Manning, from Oklahoma, digitally copied and released more than 700,000 documents, including Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield reports and State Department cables.

He also leaked video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad that mistakenly killed at least nine people, including a Reuters photographer.

At his trial, Manning said he gave the material to the secrets-spilling website to expose the US military's "bloodlust" and generate debate over the wars and US policy.

During the sentencing phase, he apologised for the damage he caused, saying: "When I made these decisions, I believed I was going to help people, not hurt people."

His lawyers also argued that Manning suffered extreme inner turmoil over his gender identity - his feeling that he was a woman trapped in a man's body - while serving in the macho military, which at the time barred gays from serving openly.

Among the evidence was a photo of him in a blond wig and lipstick.

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Russian Navy Hovercraft Lands On Busy Beach

A huge military hovercraft has made an unexpected landing on a packed beach in Russia.

Hundreds of people were sunbathing on the beach when the vessel powered towards them.

No one was injured, although witnesses said beachgoers were surrounded by paratroopers and asked to move on.

A spokesman for the Russian defence ministry told local newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda that the hovercraft was on a tactical mission in an area owned by the military.

"Docking at the beach ... is a normal event," a spokesman was quoted as saying. "What people were doing at the beach on the territory of a military (base) is unclear."

However, the newspaper said the base the ministry was referring to was in Khmelevka, several kilometres away.

The hovercraft is believed to have been one of the Russian Navy's Zubr-type crafts, which are built in St Petersburg and can travel at speeds of up to 60 knots (110kmh, 68mph).

They weigh around 550 tonnes and measure nearly 60 metres in length.

The vessels carry up to 500 troops and can be fitted with missile launchers, automatic gun mounts and equipment to lay mines.

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