Derailed Train Carriages Plunge Into Ravine

A train carrying 200 passengers has been derailed by a landslide, causing several carriages to plunge into a ravine.

One of the carriages hanging off a steep ravine. Pic: Blick.ch

Pictures from the scene show at least one carriage in a ravine and another hanging precariously from the tracks winding through mountains in the east of Switzerland.

Rescue helicopters could also be seen hovering over the eight-carriage regional train in the heavily forested region of Graubuenden.

Scores of passengers on the carriages that managed to remain upright were evacuated to safety and could be seen at the side of the tracks, walking to the nearby town of Tiefencastel.

A number of injured passengers were airlifted to hospital, while several others were treated for shock by paramedics.

Some passengers were rescued by helicopter. Pic: Blick.ch

"Part of the train was derailed by a landslide," a spokesman for Rhaetische Bahn said, adding that he was unable to give further details immediately.

The train was travelling from the mountain resort of St Moritz to Chur when it was caught in the landslide between Tiefencastel and Solis, southeast of Zurich, at around 11.45am UK time.

Three carriages came off the tracks and plunged down the slope of the mountainous region following hours of rainfall earlier in the area.

Terrified passengers described moving to the rear of a carriage to stop it crashing over the edge.

Passengers were evacuated and walked to the nearest town. Pic: Blick.ch

One told news website 20 Minuten: "We all rushed to the back of the carriage to put all of our weight there, so that it didn't tip into the abyss."

Another eyewitness, who was travelling with his wife and granddaughter to Basel, told Swiss website Blick.ch they were sitting behind one of the carriages that plunged into the ravine.

"There was an announcement that we should move into the rear car," he said.

Afterwards, all of those on board the train were told to get off it.

"We had to walk about a kilometre ... through a tunnel. The luggage is still on the train," he added.

Reports suggested there were no fatalities, but police said several passengers were injured.

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Baby Born In Austrian Alps Meadow At 7,400ft

A doctor, gynaecologist and mountain rescuers were forced to climb 2,500m (8,200ft) above sea level to help a woman give birth in the Austrian Alps.

The 30-year-old mother went into labour in a mountain hut in Tyrol on Tuesday morning.

However, due to bad weather conditions she could not be moved by helicopter.

Instead, the medics and rescuers had to make their way up 8,200ft of mountain terrain - almost twice the height of Ben Nevis in the Scottish Highlands which stands at 4,409ft above sea level - to aid the mother.

"The team managed to bring her down to 2,250m (7,381ft) where the baby was delivered in a meadow," a police spokesman said.

"The weather then cleared and a helicopter was able to take them to hospital," he added.

Elsewhere, five climbers have died and a sixth has been found unconscious on France's Mont Blanc - Europe's tallest mountain.

They disappeared overnight while trying to reach the Aiguille d'Argentiere, a major peak, which stands at around 3,900 metres (12,800ft).

The bodies of the deceased were recovered on Wednesday as rescue teams attempted to reach the lone survivor who was spotted at the foot of a crevasse.

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Journalist Killed In Gaza Missile Blast

An Italian journalist was among five people killed when an unexploded missile detonated in northern Gaza.

The blast, in Beit Lahiya, happened as bomb squad officers attempted to dismantle the device on Wednesday.

Simone Camilli, 35, was killed along with a colleague and another three Palestinians.

At least six people were also wounded in the explosion - three of them critically.

Gaza's police force said the head of the bomb squad, his deputy and another officer were killed.

The deaths came as Egyptian negotiators aim to secure a further ceasefire from both sides to extend a three-day truce which is due to expire at 10pm.

No breaches of the ceasefire have been reported, but Israel said its navy had fired warning shots at a boat near Rafah as it approached the Gaza border.

More than 1,950 Palestinian people have been killed in five weeks of fighting in Gaza.

Sixty four Israeli soldiers and three civilians in Israel have also died.

Hamas has said it will not halt rocket attacks on Israel until the blockade it imposed on Gaza in 2006 is lifted.

But Israel has said it will allow the reconstruction of Gaza only if Hamas fully disarms.

Both sides have said they will resume hostilities if the talks fail.

The latest conflict is the third between Israel and Palestinian militants since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007.

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Ukraine: Red Cross Urged To Reject Russia Convoy

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

Western diplomats have made "strong representations" to the International Committee of the Red Cross to avoid getting involved in Russia's 2,000-ton humanitarian aid convoy heading for Ukraine.

According to Sky sources, the UK, US, France and others have told the ICRC that they fear the convoy will be a "Trojan Horse"  and serve as a pretext for deepening Russian involvement in eastern Ukraine.

The death toll from fighting this year has now climbed above 2,000 - with 1,000 added during the past four weeks.

Another 285,000 people have been displaced.

Russia has sent a 280-truck convoy carrying sleeping bags, grain, generators and other essential items for survival for the tens of thousands of people cut off from safe supplies by heavy fighting, especially around Lugansk and Donetsk, the two largest cities in the region.

But "humanitarian aid and intervention" served as a covering excuse for Russia's invasion of Georgia in 2008 and earlier incursions which carved South Ossetia and Abkhazia away from Georgia.

As a consequence, Ukraine said that the convoy would not be allowed to cross from Russia in Russian vehicles.

These are believed to have come from the Russian Tamaz Rifle Brigade and have been re-painted white.

If the convoy turns left, it may be heading for rebel-controlled areas

Russian troops have been accused by Nato and the Ukrainians of having fired artillery and other heavy weapons from Russian territory onto Ukrainian troops in support of pro-Russian separatist rebels.

Moscow is also known to have significant numbers of its foreign spy agency - the GRU - on the ground marshalling volunteers from Ukraine, Chechnya and even Serbia, who came into Ukraine via Russia.

"There is a strong feeling that, if the aid comes in under any organisation's flag, even the ICRC, it may get attacked by gunmen or held up and that this sort of an incident could be used by Russia to send troops into the country under the guise of humanitarian intervention," said a senior European diplomat.

A Ukrainian soldier stands guard at a border crossing

The ICRC has said there is a dire need for humanitarian assistance to tens of thousands of people.

"There are significant and immediate needs for medicine, food and clean drinking water," an ICRC official told Sky News.

"On top of that, power, fuel and, of course, human safety is in extremely short supply."

The convoy officially set off for the border crossing at Shebekino, north of Kharkiv.

It stopped on Wednesday at Voronezh, a junction town where the convoy could head on its declared track - or turn left and head due south.

If it takes that route, the West and Kiev will sound loud alarm bells and suggest that the convoy is heading for rebel-controlled border crossings into Russia and accuse Moscow of a barely disguised invasion.

The ICRC is under pressure from Moscow, and from the desperate humanitarian reality, to take control of the contents of the convoy at least at the Ukrainian border.

It has asked for more details from the Russians, who have not yet supplied them.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian prime minister reacted with undisguised rage at the Moscow convoy.

"The level of Russian cynicism knows no bounds," said Arseny Yatseniuk at a government meeting.

"First  they send tanks, Grad missiles and bandits who fire on Ukrainians and then they send water and salt."

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Hollywood Actress Lauren Bacall Dies Aged 89

The Hollywood actress Lauren Bacall has died at the age of 89 after suffering a stroke at her New York home.

The actress' death was confirmed by the estate of her first husband Humphrey Bogart, which announced the death on Twitter.

Lauren Bacall arrives at a Vanity Fair event in California in March 2010

"With deep sorrow, yet with great gratitude for her amazing life, we confirm the passing of Lauren Bacall," the Bogart estate said.

Born Betty Joan Perske, Bacall made her Hollywood debut in the 1944 film To Have And Have Not.

She famously met Bogart on set, and the couple were married until his death from throat cancer in 1957. They had two children.

Their relationship became one of Hollywood's greatest love stories.

"I knew he was a good actor, but he was not my type, I didn't think," Bacall later reflected.

"She's a real Joe. You'll fall in love with her like everybody else," Bogart once said of his wife.

Beginning her career in the Golden Age of Hollywood, Bacall enjoyed a long and successful life on screen and on Broadway.

Her debut film launched what became one of Hollywood's signature styles.

"I used to tremble from nerves so badly that the only way I could hold my head steady was to lower my chin practically to my chest and look up at Bogie," Bacall wrote in her autobiography. "That was the beginning of The Look."

Bacall began her career during the Golden Age of Hollywood

She starred in many films with the leading actors of her time, including Bogart, John Wayne, Gregory Peck and Marilyn Monroe.

Her career on stage was also hailed by critics. She won two Tony Awards for her roles in Applause in 1970 and Woman Of The Year in 1981.

Bacall had a third child with her second husband, Jason Robards, during their eight-year marriage in the 1960s.

Tributes on Bacall's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

She narrowly missed out on winning an Oscar for her performance in 1996's The Mirror Has Two Faces with Barbra Streisand who called her an "original".

In 2009, she was presented with an honorary Academy Award.

Bacall also wrote an unflinching autobiography titled Be Myself which won the National Book Award in 1990.

She once said her "great luck in life was being surrounded by people who had goals".

Mia Farrow, who was married to Frank Sinatra after Bacall's brief engagement to him paid tribute to the star: "Now we've lost the great Lauren Bacall. RIP dear Betty."

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Man 'Killed Friend Then Asked Siri For Advice'

A man killed his roommate then asked Siri where to hide the body, a court has heard.

Police say Pedro Bravo, 20, kidnapped then strangled his friend after an argument over an ex-girlfriend in 2012.

Siri offers users help with a range of tasks

On the same day, he apparently told the Apple iPhone's digital assistant: "I need to hide my roommate."

Siri answered: "What kind of place are you looking for?"

It was followed by four options; swamps, reservoirs, metal foundries and dumps.

The claim was made during Bravo's murder trial in Florida by police detective Matt Goeckel.

Detective Goeckel also said that the torch on Bravo's phone was on nine times and used for more than 48 minutes on the same day.

The court heard that the locations recorded for Bravo's phone do not tally with where he claims he was.

Bravo denies murder. The trial continues.

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Train Smashes Through Traffic Intersection

Motorists and commuters had a lucky escape after a train crashed through a concrete barrier and piled into traffic at a busy intersection in Manila.

Rescuers pulled passengers from the front car of the train after the accident in Pasay, Manila, on Wednesday.

At least 28 people were injured in the smash, according to police, and the accident sparked a huge traffic jam in the city. There were no reports of any deaths.

Senior Superintendent Florencio Ortilla, head of Pasay city police, said the commuter train knocked over concrete posts, spraying debris and damaging cars on the intersection.

The commuter train crashed through concrete barriers

Hernando Cabrera, a spokesman for the train operating company, said it had suffered a "technical problem" and was being pushed by another train when it became detached and smashed into the concrete barrier at the final stop on the line.

Passengers were stuck inside the train as it had lost power and they were unable to get out.

Rescuers pulled people from the front carriage of the train

Robert Granado, of Pasay city police, told Yahoo News there could have been more injuries if the train had not struck an electricity pole outside Taft station.

Cars on the traffic intersection were hit by flying debris

Traffic around the area remained severe, with Metro Rail Transit warning motorists to stay clear.

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Detainee Release Marks China Policy Shift

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

A group of North Koreans defectors has been detained on the Chinese border with Laos in the latest crackdown by authorities who repatriate North Koreans found illegally in China.

But in a rare and encouraging sign of a Chinese policy change, Sky News understands that the group are being released rather than returned to North Korea.

The ten men and women, in their 20s and 30s, and one four-year-old child, were detained along the border between Laos and China's Yunnan Province.

Sky News has spoken to the organisation responsible for facilitating their escape from North Korea.

According to a source within the organisation, the group left North Korea's Ryanggang Province at the end of July.

They crossed the country's northern border with China and then used well-established smuggling routes to travel south for thousands of miles.

The defectors travelled thousands of miles through China

They travelled first to Qingdao in China's Shandong Province before moving south to Kunming in Yunnan Province.

The group then boarded a minibus bound for the border with Laos. Chinese military detained them as they were trying to cross by foot on August 12.

News that this group's bid to escape had failed came only when some of them managed to send text messages to relatives who had already escaped to South Korea.

Hundreds of North Koreans escape every year searching for asylum and a better life in South Korea.

The only viable way out of their country is through China. The border between North and South Korea is closed and heavily fortified.

Their escape takes defectors across the northern border with China and then down to South-East Asia.

Hundreds of people escape from North Korea every year

Their goal is the South Korean embassy in Vietnam, Laos or Thailand where they will be offered the chance to apply for asylum.

However, China has a close relationship with North Korea.

Under an agreement between the two countries, any North Koreans found to be in China illegally are automatically repatriated.

Because defection from North Korea is illegal, any escapees sent back face detention in a labour camp and possible execution.

In February, a United Nations report into North Korea's human rights record made specific mention of China's repatriation policy towards defectors.

The UN body called for China to change the policy, saying that "persons who are forcibly repatriated from China are commonly subjected to torture, arbitrary detention, summary execution and other forms of sexual violence".

Recent strains in the relationship between Beijing and Pyongyang have prompted hopes that China's North Korea policy would be relaxed.

However, indications suggest a growing number are being caught and forcibly returned to North Korea.

One activist told Sky News: "We were surprised with the tighter security. We are now not sure what to do.

"Before, the Chinese turned a blind eye to the defectors."

But Sky News has been told that South Korean and Chinese diplomats have been communicating both about the broad repatriation issue and also about this specific case.

A source said that the ten adults and one child are being released and handed to South Korean authorities.

A consular official at the South Korean Embassy in Beijing told Sky News: "We would do all we can do to help (the defectors) but details cannot be shared due to security issues."

:: Watch a special programme on the plight of North Korean defectors here.

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Teen Held After Mum's Body Found In Suitcase

The half-naked body of an American tourist has been discovered in a suitcase on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali - prompting the arrest of her daughter and daughter's boyfriend.

The body of Sheila von Wiese Mack was found stuffed into the blood-smeared suitcase in the boot of a taxi in front of the five-star St Regis hotel in Nusa Dua.

The 62-year-old was found with several wounds to her head and a doctor who examined her said it appeared as if she had put up a struggle.

The boyfriend of Ms Mack's daughter, Tommy Schaefer, is led away by police

Police said the suitcase had been wrapped in a bed sheet and sealed up with tape.

Local police chief Djoko Hari Utomo told reporters that Ms Mack had been staying in the hotel with her daughter, Heather, 19, and her daughter's boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, 21.

Both have been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Police investigations have found that Ms Mack was recorded on CCTV arguing with Mr Schaefer in the lobby of the hotel.

The argument was filmed on Monday night, the day Mr Schaefer joined his girlfriend and her mother, who had arrived together several days before.

Police examine the suitcase

Mr Utomo said that the next day the couple booked a taxi and loaded all the bags into the boot, asking the taxi driver to wait while they checked out.

When they hadn't returned after a two-hour wait, he alerted hotel security staff who found spots of blood on the suitcase and suggested the taxi driver head to a police station.

It was at the station that he suitcase was opened and the body discovered.

They were later arrested on Wednesday morning at a hotel in Bali's Kuta area, about 10km (six miles) away

Mr Utomo told AFP: "This is murder, and we will decide from our investigation whether it is premeditated or spontaneous."

Ms Mack's daughter Heather, 19, is escorted from the premises

The victim's body has been taken to the main hospital in Denpasar, the capital of Bali.

A doctor said she had several wounds to the head which appeared to have been caused by "blunt tools".

A spokesman for the US embassy in Jakarta said they were "aware of the death of an American citizen that took place in Bali and we understand that two individuals have been arrested in connection with the case". 

The St Regis Hotel is one of the most exclusive in Bali with rooms starting at $470 (£250) a night. According to its website it offers a 24-hour butler service.

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Missouri Police In New Shooting Amid Unrest

A police force being investigated over the gunning down of an unarmed black teenager has confirmed the shooting of another man.

The town of Ferguson in Missouri has been rocked by a third night of disorder over the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown on Saturday.

At about 1am on Wednesday, a police officer in the same area shot and critically wounded a man who they said pulled a handgun.

A witness said Michael Brown had his hands up when shot

St Louis County police said it happened as they responded to a report about four masked men carrying shotguns. The race of the man who was shot is not known.

Officers from the force, which is being probed over possible civil rights violations after the shooting at the weekend, fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of people as projectiles were reportedly thrown.

Most of the several hundred protesters in the town had heeded calls for non-violence earlier in the evening.

They chanted "hands up, don't shoot" during a stand-off with police clad in riot gear.

The shooting has exposed the community's racial fault lines

Police say Michael Brown was shot during a scuffle with an officer, but a witness told local media Mr Brown had his hands in the air when killed.

Mr Brown's friends and family held a church vigil on Tuesday night, after his father pleaded for an end to the violence.

Civil rights leader Rev Al Sharpton echoed the appeal for calm as he addressed the packed church.

Mr Sharpton, a talk show host, has pressed Ferguson's police chief to release the name of the officer who shot dead Mr Brown.

Lesley McSpadden, Michael Brown's mother, at a community meeting

But the department has declined to identify the officer, who is on administrative leave, citing death threats.

The race of the officer has not been disclosed, but witnesses said he was white.

Ferguson is nearly 70% African-American. The town's police force has three black officers out of 53.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon told a community meeting at another St Louis church on Tuesday night that he shared their pain.

Protesters take to the streets

He was joined by Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson, who pledged to pursue truth and justice in the investigation.

President Barack Obama has promised a full, separate inquiry by the Department of Justice into the teenager's death.

"I urge everyone in Ferguson, Missouri, and across the country, to remember this young man through reflection and understanding," he said in a statement.

The hacker group Anonymous has threatened to disrupt the police department's computer systems if any protesters are harmed.

Rev Al Sharpton addresses the congregation

Also overnight, a woman was shot in the head in an apparent drive-by shooting streets from where Mr Brown was killed.

Authorities said that incident appeared unrelated to the protests and that the victim was expected to survive.

Meanwhile, it emerged that Los Angeles police fatally shot an unarmed black man on Monday night.

The LAPD said in a statement that incident would be reviewed by the county district attorney's office.

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