Typhoon Haiyan Leaves Tacloban Devastated

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent, in Tacloban City

Tacloban City is hell. It is a place completely devastated and entirely broken in every way except one.

Dead bodies still lie in the streets

The resilience of the Filipino people has been humbling and extraordinary.

At a destroyed convenience store we stopped to chat to the owner and her daughter.

They have nothing left. Only three walls remain of their home and their livelihood. There is no roof. I ask how they are doing, quickly realising what a stupid question it is.

There is no electricity in the city

"We are surviving." the mother says, her voice breaking.

"You are still smiling, " I say to her. "Of course," she says. "We are Filipinos. We always smile."

Normally that's true. And even now when you smile at the locals they smile back.

Many people have left Tacloban for Manila

"Hello sir," they shout. "Hello mam."

Tacloban now has a horrible notoriety after what happened here. Dead bodies still lie on the sides of the streets.

But those who survived desperately need help. There is nothing like enough supplies or aid here and there is a depressing lack of co-ordination.

As I write this I can see men, women and small children sitting in the mud waiting.

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Typhoon Haiyan: China Pledges $100,000 Aid

China has risked further straining its fragile relations with the Philippines by donating $100,000 (£63,000) to the Typhoon Haiyan relief effort.

The donation is matched by $100,000 from the Chinese Red Cross - but is still dwarfed by the effort from other countries seeking to exert influence in South East Asia, including the US and Japan.

Diplomatic links between Beijing and Manila have suffered in recent years due to China's claims over the disputed South China Sea and a 2010 Hong Kong tour bus hostage crisis in the Filipino capital.

One of China's state-run newspapers has criticised the donation but comments on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter, suggest public opinion may be against giving more.

The Global Times, known for its nationalistic and often hawkish editorial views, expressed concern about the impact on Beijing's international standing.

"China, as a responsible power, should participate in relief operations to assist a disaster-stricken neighbouring country, no matter whether it's friendly or not," the paper said in a commentary.

"China's international image is of vital importance to its interests. If it snubs Manila this time, China will suffer great losses."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China would consider more aid as the situation developed, but did not say why Beijing had offered less than other countries.

He said: "China has also suffered from the disaster, so we very much understand and sympathise with the current hardships that the Philippine people are facing."

The storm claimed the lives of at least seven people and caused $734m (£462m) in economic losses when the much-weakened storm swept through China's southern provinces.

Comments on Sina Weibo overwhelmingly opposed China giving aid to the Philippines.

A botched attempt to free tourists from a bus in 2010 strained relations

One user wrote: "For God's sake, give them nothing. We've given them enough in the past."

Lye Liang Fook of the East Asian Institute in Singapore said it was impossible to separate China's anger over territorial claims from the question of disaster relief.

He said: "Politically there is a lack of trust, and under the circumstances, the fact that China is willing to extend aid is quite significant. The two issues are linked to each other."

Joseph Cheng, a political science professor at Hong Kong's City University, said public sentiment would factor into China's decision.

He said: "I certainly think that relief and aid for natural disasters should not be affected by political relations. But the Chinese authorities are handicapped by domestic nationalist feelings as well.

"China should have used the opportunity to improve its image."

Super Typhoon Haiyan tore through the central Philippines on Friday and flattened the city of Tacloban, where officials fear up to 10,000 people could have died.

Officials fear the toll could rise as rescuers reach more isolated towns.

Overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster, the Philippines has sought international assistance.

The US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier the USS George Washington, carrying about 5,000 sailors and more than 80 aircraft, will arrive this week after setting sail from Hong Kong on Tuesday.

It has been joined by four other US Navy ships.

The United States is also providing $20m (£12.5m) in immediate aid, while the UK has committed £15m and sent a Royal Navy warship to the region.

Japan said it will give $10m (£6.3m) and send a small number of soldiers and medical personnel, while Australia has donated $9.6m (£6m).

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India's Top Cop Under Fire For Rape Remarks

India's top police chief is facing calls for his resignation after he said: "If you can't prevent rape, you might as well enjoy it."

Ranjit Sinha, director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) - India's equivalent of the United States' FBI - apologised for the remark.

However, his comment has sparked outrage across the country, which in the past year has seen widespread protests following the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a bus in New Delhi.

Mr Sinha made the comment during a CBI conference about illegal sports betting and the need to legalise gambling.

"Do we have the enforcement?" Mr Sinha said at the event in New Delhi on Tuesday about whether sports betting should be legalised.

There have been widespread protests demanding tougher penalties for rape

"It is very easy to say that if you can't enforce it, it's like saying if you can't prevent rape, you enjoy it."

He insisted his comments were taken out of context and were misinterpreted, but angry activists called for his resignation.

"I regret any hurt caused," Mr Sinha said. "I gave my opinion that betting should be legalised and that if the laws cannot be enforced, that does not mean that laws should not be made.

"This is as erroneous as saying that if rape is inevitable one should lie back and enjoy it. I reiterate my deep sense of regard and respect for women and my commitment for gender issues."

But civil rights campaigners and opposition politicians said his remarks risked trivialising the issue of rape and raised questions over the CBI's ability to investigate serious sexual assaults.

Kavita Krishnan, an activist with the All India Progressive Women's Association, called for Mr Sinha to step down.

"How can he remain the head of India's premier investigation agency?" she said.

There were more than 24,000 reported rapes in India in 2011

Nirmala Sitharaman, spokeswoman for the main opposition group, the Bharatiya Janata Party, described the remarks as "shocking".

"Wonder if his colleagues in the Bureau, his family and well-wishers approve of his view," she wrote on Twitter.

Communist Party of India leader Brinda Karat condemned Mr Sinha's comments as offensive to all women.

"It is sickening that a man who is in charge of several rape investigations should use such an analogy," she said. "He should be prosecuted for degrading and insulting women."

The New Delhi bus attack last December caused nationwide outrage and forced the government to change rape laws and create fast-track courts for rape cases.

New laws introduced after the attack make stalking, voyeurism and sexual harassment a crime.

They also provide for the death penalty for repeat offenders or for rape attacks that lead to the victim's death.

There were more than 24,000 reported rapes in India in 2011, but activists say the real number is many times higher.

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Iceberg Eight Times The Size Of Manhattan Adrift

An iceberg eight times the size of Manhattan has broken off a glacier in the Antarctica and could threaten busy international shipping lanes.

Scientists in Britain have been awarded a £50,000 grant to track the giant ice island, which came away from the Pine Island Glacier in July.

The team, led by Professor Grant Bigg from the University of Sheffield, is monitoring the iceberg's movement and rate of melting.

Professor Bigg said: "Its current movement does not raise environmental issues, However, a previous giant iceberg from this location eventually entered the South Atlantic and if this happens it could potentially pose a hazard to ships.

"If the iceberg stays around the Antarctic coast, it will melt slowly and will eventually add a lot of freshwater that stays in the coastal current, altering the density and affecting the speed of the current.

Manhattan covers an area of around 34 sq miles

"Similarly, if it moves north it will melt faster but could alter the overturning rates of the current as it may create a cap of freshwater above the denser seawater."

He added: "if these events become more common, there will be a build-up of freshwater which could have lasting effects."

The six-month project, funded by the National Environmental Research Council (NERC), is being co-managed by Dr Robert Marsh, from the University of Southampton.

He said: "The primary reason to monitor the iceberg is that it's very large. An iceberg that size could survive for a year or longer and it could drift a long way north in that time and end up in the vicinity of world shipping lanes in the Southern Ocean.

"There's a lot of activity to and from the Antarctic Peninsula, and ships could potentially cross paths with this large iceberg, although it would be an unusual coincidence."

The team's work is not only expected to provide a timely warning of any consequences of the iceberg's release to the shipping industry, but will include testing a technique which could in future be used by ice hazard warning services.

The iceberg was first spotted by scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research via the German Space Agency's earth observation satellite TerraSAR-X.

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Starfish Dying Due To 'Wasting Disease'

Huge numbers of starfish are dying along the US West Coast due to a disease that turns them into white goo and disintegrates them.

The disease is affecting a vast area, stretching from Alaska and Canada to Southern California.

It has killed up to 95% of a particular species of sea star in some tide pools.

Starfish, or sea stars, are marine invertebrates that come in a variety of colours and sizes.

Starfish are marine invertebrates. Pic: CBS

Many scientists believe those affected are dying from "sea star wasting disease",  a syndrome that spreads quickly and causes tissue decay.

They have noticed white lesions on the starfish, causing their limbs to fall off one by one in the span of a few hours.

"They essentially melt in front of you," marine biologist Pete Raimondi told The Santa Rosa Press Democrat newspaper.

But the scientists are puzzled as to the extent of the disease, which has struck in the past but has been more localised.

Mr Raimondi says the outbreak has never been as widespread as researchers are finding now.

Even starfish at an aquarium in San Francisco died from wasting disease after water was pumped in from the ocean in September.

"None of us had ever seen anything like this before," said Steven Morgan, an environmental science professor at the Bodega Marine Laboratory at the University of California, Davis.

Mr Morgan has found emaciated sea stars on the rocks near Bodega Bay, but he was unsure if wasting syndrome was to blame.

He said the starfish deaths were a "strange anomaly".

Scientists are also concerned about the impact of the outbreak on the ecosystem.

The starfish dine on mussels, and there is a risk the collapse of starfish population will allow mussels to multiply unchecked, crowding out other species.

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Crack-Smoking Mayor Ford's Bobbleheads Sell Out

Hundreds of people have lined up to buy bobblehead dolls of Rob Ford, signed by the embattled Toronto mayor himself.

The limited-edition figurines quickly sold out as some 300 people went to City Hall, both supporters and critics of the mayor who admitted last week that he smoked crack.

Mr Ford, who insists he will not step down, was on hand to sign the figurines.

The 6-inch-high dolls cost C$20 ($19, £12) with proceeds going to the United Way charity.

The doll sold out quickly

Mr Ford said he planned to order more bobbleheads.

"It's going to take another three or four weeks to order more bobbleheads," he said.

"The phones have been ringing off the hook. We weren't quite sure how it was going to work out."

The sale of the Robbie Bobbies was conceived before Mr Ford admitted that he had smoked crack cocaine in "one of my drunken stupors".

Mr Ford is resisting calls to step down

But the outcry did not mute demand for the little statuettes, with lines that stretched around the City Hall lobby.

Jay White told the Toronto Star he lined up more than three hours to get a Ford bobblehead.

"We're living in crazy times and it's probably going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience to have a time stamp of a guy that smokes crack as a mayor," he said.

The doll immediately began popping up on eBay for as much as 15 times its purchase price.

Mr Ford said he smocked crack in a 'drunken stupor'

Meanwhile, Toronto's city council has called a meeting in an attempt to isolate Mr Ford.

Councillors will first vote on a motion urging the mayor to take a leave of absence, apologise to city residents for misleading them and co-operate with police.

If he refuses, the council would ask the province of Ontario to pass legislation to remove the mayor from office.

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Bolshoi Ballerina 'Told To Pay £6k For Solos'

A teenager who trained and danced with Russia's renowned Bolshoi ballet has said she was asked to pay $10,000 (£6,280) to allow her to perform solos.

American Joy Womack, 19, said she dreamed of dancing alone on stage but had her hopes dashed by a "specific person" she refused to name.

Her allegations add to controversy surrounding the ballet troupe, the internal workings of which have been laid bare during the trial of two men accused of conspiring to throw acid at artistic director Sergei Filin.

He lost most of his eyesight in the attack in January and has had complicated surgery to repair damage to his skin.

Ms Womack was the first American to graduate from the dance school

The sought after solo roles, known as variations, offer dancers a chance to impress both teachers and critics.

Ms Womack, who was invited to join the Bolshoi Theatre after graduating from its academy in 2012, claimed she was told by Mr Filin to stay in the corps de ballet - the group of dancers who perform together - despite signing a soloist contract.

"People told me that I don't have a sponsor ... someone who can speak on my behalf," she told the Izvestia newspaper. "That's the only way the theatre works now."

Ms Womack, the first American to graduate from the Bolshoi academy, said she wants to forget the "nightmare" of her time with the company.

The Bolshoi Theatre in the Russian capital Moscow

No one at the ballet was available to comment on her claims.

However, Tatyana Stukalova, a lawyer for Mr Filin, said the report contained phrases "torn out of context" and was "not true".

"Such articles justify the crime and take the side of the criminals," she said.

Giving evidence at the trial of his alleged attackers last week, Mr Filin said he had been offered bribes by aspiring dancers but refused them.

The attack on Mr Filin (L) was allegedly masterminded by Dmitrichenko (R)

He also said ballerinas did not "pass through his bed" in order to boost their careers, and said they were treated fairly and on merit.

Former soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko is accused of conspiring with ex-convict Yuri Zarutsky to injure Mr Filin.

A third man is accused of driving the attacker to Mr Filin's apartment.

Dmitrichenko has admitted discussing the possibility of having the director beaten up but said he never agreed to such a serious assault.

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Nasa Video: Mars' Evolution From Watery World

Nasa has released a video revealing what Mars may have looked like as a young planet billions of years ago.

It appears to have had a thick atmosphere that was warm enough to support oceans of liquid water - a crucial ingredient for life.

The animation, created by Nasa's Conceptual Image Lab, shows how the surface of Mars might have developed over four billion years.

The artist's concept is based on evidence that Mars was once very different.

It shows vast Martian lakes surrounded by mountain ranges, beneath Earth-like blue skies and rapidly moving clouds.

The shift from a warm and wet climate to a cold and dry one is shown as the animation progresses.

Nasa's Curiosity rover has been exploring Mars since 2011

The lakes dry up and transform into a rocky landscape with canyons, volcanoes and craters.

The atmosphere gradually turns to the dusty pink and tan hues seen on Mars today.

Nasa scientist Dr Pan Conrad told Sky News: "We think that the when Mars was created it was a lot wetter and warmer than it is today.

"It probably lost much of its atmosphere over time and that's how it came to be such a desert and cold place."

Red dust - from the iron in its soil - now covers almost all of the surface of the Red Planet, which has an average temperature of -27C (-80F).

Nasa's Curiosity rover has been exploring the surface of the planet since August 2011 and has made several discoveries to support the theory that Mars was once able to support life.

These include pebbles providing evidence that a stream once flowed on the planet, and more recently, Martian dust, dirt and soil suggesting a "substantial" amount of water on Mars.

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US: Drama On Passenger Jet As Windshield Cracks

An American Airlines flight from Miami to Boston has had to make an unscheduled stop in Orlando after the cockpit windshield cracked.

Flight 160 landed in Orlando late on Tuesday after the pilot's double-paned windshield cracked while the aircraft was in flight, an airline spokeswoman said.

No injuries were reported among the 156 passengers and crew members aboard the Boeing 757.

The spokeswoman, Andrea Huguely, said a cracked windshield "doesn't happen a lot, but it does happen on occasion".

It was not clear what caused the crack.

The passengers boarded another aircraft and arrived in Boston early today.

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Typhoon Haiyan Survivors' Fear And Desperation

Gunshots have reportedly forced the delay of a mass burial of victims of the huge typhoon that smashed into the Philippines.

The mayor of Tacloban, the provincial capital of Leyte province where 16ft waves flattened nearly everything in their path, made the claim on Wednesday.

Alfred Romualdez said: "We had finished digging the mass burial site. We had the truck loaded with bodies but there was some shooting. They could not proceed."

The UN estimates 10,000 people may have died in Tacloban alone

Locals in Tacloban also reported seeing members of the army firing guns, as well as armed civilians in the street.

Meanwhile it has been reported that a 13-year-old boy who was walking alone through the city at night was slashed across the neck and stabbed in the stomach.

Jonathan Salayco said he was attacked by two men he did not know late on Tuesday, who then disappeared without a trace.

Soldiers carry young children on to evacuation flights at Tacloban airport

Red Cross nurse Mina Joset said: "He was still holding his toy car.

"For a boy like him, this is a serious injury."

Five days after Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, ripped apart entire coastal communities, the situation in Tacloban is becoming ever more dire with essential supplies low and increasingly desperate survivors jostling for aid.

An injured typhoon survivor is carried by members of the military

Eight people were crushed to death after a huge crowd of typhoon survivors rushed a government rice warehouse, causing a wall to collapse.

The incident in Alangalang town, 10 miles from Tacloban, underlined the increasing sense of fear and desperation setting in among those battling to survive the aftermath of the typhoon.

Sky News Asia Correspondent Mark Stone said: "Those who survived desperately need help. There is nothing like enough supplies or aid here and there is a depressing lack of co-ordination."

The remains of an orphanage

The international relief effort is building momentum with many countries pledging help. 

The Philippines Government said it had received over £56m in international aid so far and praised the "generous and swift response". 

Supplies of rice are loaded on to a truck, but food remains scarce

UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos also applauded the international community's reaction, but said much more needed to be done in a disaster of such magnitude.

Britain's Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal has reached £13m just 24 hours after it was launched, it was announced on Wednesday.

The US and the UK are sending warships carrying thousands of sailors to the Philippines.

Britain's first flight delivering urgently needed humanitarian aid has arrived, the Government has said.

A chartered Boeing 777 carrying 8,836 shelter kits from UK Government stores in Dubai landed in Cebu City and was met by Department for International Development (DFID) humanitarian workers.

Tacloban's infrastructure was devastated by the typhoon's impact

President Aquino has declared a "state of national calamity", allowing the government to impose price controls and quickly release emergency funds.

The latest official government death toll stands at 2,344, with 3,804 injured and a further 79 missing.

But authorities have said they have not come close to accurately assessing the number of bodies lying amid the rubble or swept out to sea.

The UN estimates 10,000 people may have died in Tacloban alone.

A school in Cebu was reduced to rubble

Health Secretary Enrique Ona admitted authorities were struggling to deal with the sheer numbers of the dead.

He told radio station DZMM they had delayed the retrieval of bodies because "we ran out of body bags".

He said: "We hope to speed it up when we get more body bags."

The UN estimates more than 11.3 million people have been affected with 673,000 made homeless, since Haiyan smashed into the nation's central islands on Friday.

Haiyan's sustained winds when it hit Samar island, where it first made landfall, reached 195 miles an hour, making it the strongest typhoon in the world this year and one of the most powerful ever recorded.

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