Brit 'Disease Detective' Helps Ebola-Hit Dallas

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

A British "disease detective", who has become an information lifeline for residents of Dallas during the city's ebola crisis, has told Sky News she finds it "surreal" to be caught up in the outbreak.

Dr Seema Yasmin is a public health professor but also works as a reporter for the city's Dallas Morning News newspaper.

Her question and answer sessions with readers on Twitter have become hugely popular in the last week as residents seek information on the outbreak.

Dr Yasmin told Sky News: "People have a lot of questions and some anxiety but a lot of that can be alleviated by answering the questions."

Dallas has seen the first diagnosis of ebola in the US, the country's first known transmission of the virus and its first fatality. Thomas Eric Duncan died last week and one of the nurses who treated him, Nina Pham, remains in isolation.

Video: Sixty Days To Beat Ebola - UN

"People are calling Dallas ground zero for ebola but perspective is really important and ground zero for ebola is West Africa," Dr Yasmin said.

"That's where thousands of people have died, many more thousands have become infected and as long as the epidemic continues to rage in west Africa we will see imported cases in other parts of the world."

Born in Hackney, Dr Yasmin studied medicine at Cambridge before becoming a so-called disease detective in the epidemic intelligence service of the US Centers for Disease Control.

That work, she has said, took her to Africa, maximum security prisons and Native American reservations.

Video: Londoner Launches Ebola Charity

She joined the Dallas Morning News in the summer and is also a professor in practice at the University of Texas in the city.

"I worked in public health at the CDC because I was so passionate about stopping epidemics and keeping people safe.

"At that time my job was to stop outbreaks and now as a journalist at the Dallas Morning News my job is much more to provide information to people about what's happening behind the scenes."

US President Barack Obama is holding a conference later with major world leaders to discuss the ebola outbreak, which he says the world is not doing enough about.

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1. Gallery: Making An Ebola Vaccine

   Victor Klimyuk, boss of the company Icon Genetics, inspects tobacco plants (Nicotiana benthamiana) in a laboratory in Halle, Germany

2. The greenhouse at the laboratory

3. Icon Genetics are developing a technology to mass produce ebola vaccine with the help of tobacco plants

4. Tobacco plants are prepared for drying

5. A laboratory technican prepares proteins from the tobacco plants for weighing

World health experts have warned that the number of people being infected will reach 10,000 a week within two months.

More than 4,400 are now known to have died of the virus across Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, with more than 8,000 infected.

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Hong Kong Police Officers 'Assault' Protester

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

Six Hong Kong police officers have been suspended after a video appearing to show a protester being taken to a dark corner and beaten was aired on a local news channel.

The apparent attack came as police arrested 45 people during a night of clashes between authorities and pro-democracy protesters.

Trouble broke out on Hong Kong Island at 3am after dozens of protesters had occupied an underpass near the government headquarters.

Police in riot gear used pepper spray to move the crowds.

The man the man in the video, which was first shown on TVB but quickly spread on social media, was identified as Ken Tsang Kin-Chiu, a member of the Civic Party in Hong Kong.

Ken Tsang Kin-Chiu, who is said to have been beaten by police

The footage appears to show officers repeatedly kicking and punching Mr Tsang as he curls up in a ball. 

The Civic Party released a photograph of Mr Tsang with a bruised face and circular marks on his back.

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1. Gallery: Hong Kong Police Remove Barricades

   Police officers remove barricades of pro-democracy protestors in the Admiralty district in Hong Kong

2. Pro-democracy supporters continue to occupy the streets surrounding Hong Kong's Financial district after talks break down with the government

3. The protesters are calling for open elections and the resignation of Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. Continue through for more pictures

Speaking at the Legislative Council, the Civic Party leader Alan Leong said: "From what we have seen, Tsang was already handcuffed with plastic handcuffs ... and taken to a dark corner and beaten up.

"This use of power and police force is a blatant abuse of power, and from the look of it, the [officer] should at least be investigated on assault to [induce] actual bodily harm."

Mabel Au, director of Amnesty International Hong Kong, said: "This appears to be a vicious attack against a detained man who posed no threat to the police.

"It is stomach-churning to think there are Hong Kong police officers that feel they are above the law."

The protesters, believed to be a mixture of students and members of the Occupy Central movement, moved into the underpass on Lung Wo Road just hours after authorities had removed their barricades at protest sites around the city.

Video: HK Protest Barriers Dismantled

A police spokesperson said the arrests were made for "illegal assembly" and that force was only used after repeated warnings that the road must be cleared.

Ed Chin, an Occupy Central organiser, told Sky News: "The international community and the human rights groups internationally have to condemn the Hong Kong government.

"I'm even more concerned. Is this the Beijing government? Is it the Communist Party? And do they have a plan B? We have to look into the source of this craziness."

The clashes overnight follow two weeks of defiant protests on Hong Kong's streets. Authorities had chosen not to move on the protesters who numbered tens of thousands at times.

But the city's Chief Executive, CY Leung, has refused the protesters' demands to resign.

Video: October: 'Fighting For Our Future'

At the weekend, he said there was "zero" chance that the authorities in Beijing would change their minds over voting rights in the territory.

The protesters have been demanding the right to choose their leader in the 2017 elections. The Chinese government has said they can only choose from candidates selected by Beijing.

Meanwhile, in mainland China, a front-page editorial in the Communist Party's People's Daily newspaper condemned the protests and said: "They are doomed to fail".

"Stability is bliss, and turmoil brings havoc," it said.

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Mexico: Bodies In Mass Graves Are Not Students

The bodies of 28 people found in a set of mass graves are not those of students who went missing last month, Mexican authorities have said.

The graves were unearthed outside the town of Iguala in the southern state of Guerrero.

At a news conference, Mexico's Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said: "I can tell you that in the first mass graves we found, for the very first ones we already have results, and I can confirm that there are no matches to the DNA that the families of the missing people gave us."  

Experts are still testing remains recovered from other mass burial sites found near the city but no further information has been revealed.

The 43 student teachers disappeared after a confrontation with police, who are suspected of being involved in their disappearance.

Video: Mexico Search: Mass Graves Found

Local authorities say the police were working with a local drug gang.

Benjamin Mondragon, or "Benjamon" the alleged leader of the drug gang, Guerreros Unidos, killed himself during a gunfight with Mexican security forces on Tuesday, the head of national security revealed.

"We hoped to make this person, Benjamin Mondragon, surrender. But he showed up, said something aloud and shot himself in the head," Monte Alejandro Rubido told reporters.

Meanwhile, 14 more people have been arrested in connection with the disappearance of the students.

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1. Gallery: Protest Blaze Over Mexico Massacre

   A firefighter uses a hose to put out a blaze in Chilpancingo City Hall after it was set on fire by demonstrators, in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero

2. The demonstrators are demanding the government find 43 college students, missing since last month's deadly clashes

3. On 26 September, police allegedly linked to a criminal gang shot dead at least three students and abducted dozens of others during clashes in the southwestern city of Iguala

4. Forty-three of the students are still missing and public anger has mounted since the state government found mass graves filled with burned corpses in the hills outside Iguala and said it believed many of the students may be among the victims

5. A vehicle burns in front of riot police as students of the Ayotzinapa Teacher Training College - Raul Isidro Burgos - protest

6. Mexican authorities found four more clandestine graves containing charred human remains at the site in the restive southwest of the country

7. Students from the training college hold pictures of missing students outside the General Attorney building in Chilpancingo

8. A piece of cloth is pictured next to a clandestine grave at La Joya, in the outskirts of Iguala

9. Demonstrators set fire to a picture of Guerrero Governor Angel Aguirre

10. Police officers stand guard near the clandestine graves. Click through for more pictures

Those arrested had "confessed to their participation, claiming they received the students and later delivered them, in between the limits of the cities of Iguala and Cocula, to the criminal gang that operates in the area, which calls itself 'Guerreros Unidos'", a top police chief revealed.

The drugs gang allegedly had ties to the family of the mayor of Iguala.

The disappearance of the students has caused outcry, with parents and relatives holding protests on the streets demanding the authorities do more to find their loved ones.

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21st Century Tech Ignites Ancient Rivalry

The chaotic abandonment of the Euro 2016 qualifier between Serbia and Albania is a reminder that nowhere is the combination of sport and politics more volatile than the Balkans.

In a troubled region, football has often provided a stage for the deep-seated ethnic and regional tensions to be played out.

So it proved in Belgrade as the worst fears about Albania's first visit to the Serbian capital since 1968 were confirmed, albeit with a thoroughly 21st Century twist.

One assumes English referee Martin Atkinson was made aware of the political context of the match in the safety briefings that came before kick-off. But little in the former policeman's experience can have prepared him for dealing with an intervention from the skies as opposed to the stands.

With Albanian fans banned from the match, the drone that flew over the ground towards the end of the first half was a deliberate provocation of the Serbian majority.

Video: Drone Sparks Brawl At Football Game

It carried a banner depicting "Greater Albania", including the disputed territory of Kosovo, which contains many ethnic Albanians. To drum home the message, the banner carried the word "Autochthonous", which roughly translates as "indigenous".

It was more than enough to ignite an already tense atmosphere. According to journalists present the Serbian fans had chanted "Kosovo - Serbia" before kick-off, and jeered the Albanian players throughout.

Even with the political context there is little defence for the loss of control by the players, nor the security forces who failed to prevent supporters attacking the Albanian players.

This is not an isolated incident in recent Serbian history. Two years ago England's under-21 players were racially abused and attacked. And Partizan Belgrade are currently under investigation after their fans unveiled an anti-Semitic banner during a Europa League tie against Tottenham last month.

UEFA will wait for official reports before deciding what to do about this latest incident, but the governing body already faces questions about why the game was allowed to proceed.

It is not averse to intervening on political matters. Gibraltar were admitted to the European Championships for the first time this season but only on condition that they will not be drawn against Spain. Armenia and Azerbaijan are also kept apart.

That Gibraltar dispute is tame compared to the deep and bloody divides in Eastern Europe, and UEFA may have to consider extending its policy. For example, could Ukraine safely play a game against Russia in the current climate?

More immediately, UEFA now has to decide whether it can risk allowing a re-match in Belgrade, and the equally provocative return tie in Albania next year. If it does, security will be a huge challenge. If it does not, a precedent will have been set.

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FTSE Loses £46bn To Plunge To 15-Month Low

The FTSE 100 has suffered its biggest one-day fall this year, losing around £46bn in value to close down 2.8% (181 points).

The share index hit the 15-month low as stocks such as commodities and banks saw big drops amid fears of weakening global growth.

Pharmaceutical firms also saw falls following AbbVie's decision to reconsider its £34bn ($55bn) takeover bid for Shire.

Henk Potts, director of global research at Barclays, said: "The stock market is in a fear mode at the moment on worries about global growth conditions and normalisation of US interest rates.

"But if the sell-off continues, it could prove to be a strong entry point into an asset class that we think will continue to outperform."

More follows...

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Apple And Facebook Pay To Freeze Staff Eggs

Facebook and Apple are giving female staff the opportunity to delay plans to start a family by paying for them to freeze their eggs.

The firms are covering up to $20,000 (£12,600) for the procedure and annual storage costs, according to reports.

The employment perk is expected to help the companies attract more women into the male-dominated sector, in the face of concerns over workforce diversity.

Experts warn freezing eggs is not a guarantee of motherhood. File pic

It is also set to be seen as a further sign of the so-called "perk arms race" as Silicon Valley firms battle to recruit and retain top talent.

Other benefits offered by companies to keep workers happy include free lunches, dry cleaning, yoga and massages.

Video: Frozen Egg Perk Criticised

Facebook recently began covering the costs of egg freezing and Apple will begin in January, NBC said.

In a statement, Apple said it "cares deeply about our employees and their families, and we are always looking at new ways our health programs can meet their needs".

It added: "We continue to expand our benefits for women, with a new extended maternity leave policy, along with cryopreservation and egg storage as part of our extensive support for infertility treatments.

"We also offer an adoption assistance program, where Apple reimburses eligible expenses associated with the legal adoption of a child."

Shelley Correll, a sociology professor and director of the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University said: "Anything that gives women more control over the timing of fertility is going to be helpful to professional women.

"It potentially addresses the conflicts between the biological clock and the clockwork of women's careers."

However, experts point out freezing eggs is a relatively new procedure that does not guarantee a successful pregnancy.

Corey Whelan, of the American Fertility Association, said: "It's really, really important for women to know it's not a guarantee of motherhood.

"Some women consider it an iron-clad insurance policy. It's not."

The procedure is gaining popularity as more women put motherhood on hold.

A post on the online forum eggsurance.com says: "Women today are at a cultural and generational crossroads. We have the same career expectations and demands as men.

"As our biological clocks tick away, we must establish ourselves in the workplace, find the right mate and become financially secure enough to establish a family."

Microsoft reported earlier this month that only 29% of its staff were women, while at Google it was 30%.

Some 31% of Facebook employees are women, but just 15% are in technical jobs.

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Pistorius: Reeva Death 'End Of The World'

A courtroom has been reduced to tears after Reeva Steenkamp's cousin described the moment she learned the model had been shot dead by Oscar Pistorius.

Kim Martin, the first prosecution witness at the athlete's sentencing, said the death of her cousin was the "worst ever experience".

"It was for me, the end of the world," she said.

"It's ruined our whole family. It's ruined Auntie June and Uncle Barry... Reeva was everything to them."

Sky's Alex Crawford, at the High Court in Pretoria, described Ms Martin's face as "a picture of pain" as she laid bare the extent of the family's grief at the death of Ms Steenkamp.

June Steenkamp placed her hand on her husband Barry's shoulder, who also appeared to be crying, as Ms Martin recalled tales of their daughter's childhood.

Video: No Jail Term Would Be 'Too Light'

She also revealed how she and most members of the extended family were either still having trauma counselling and therapy, or were on medication.

Ms Martin said when she asked Ms Steenkamp's parents if it was okay she spoke in court, they gave her their blessing and said: "You must be Reeva's voice."

Crawford said: "She spat out the words through large sobs and tears. There were a large group of people in the courtroom who were crying too. A very harrowing, heartbroken testimony."

Earlier, prosecutor Gerrie Nel said anything but a prison sentence for Pistorius for killing his girlfriend would be "shockingly inappropriate".

He resumed his relentless cross examination of probation officer Annette Vergeer, a defence witness, who on Tuesday told the court Pistorius would be "broken as a person" if he was jailed.

Mr Nel said to place the runner under house arrest and sentence him to community work for three years as she had recommended would be "too light" a punishment.

Video: 'Blood Money' Paid to Steenkamps

The prosecutor also raised the prospect of a public backlash if the sentence for the double-amputee Olympian was not harsh enough, saying the court had to guard against people "taking the law into their own hands".

"Our courts and society value human life," he told Ms Vergeer, and asked her: "Don't you think society wants a heavy punishment?

"You're recommending house arrest... but the accused could be allowed to pursue his athletics, train, find a job and go to work and return to his house.

"That this accused be sentenced to three years correctional supervision, with 16 hours a month correctional duties is shockingly inappropriate. It cannot even be considered," Mr Nel said.

Pistorius, 27, was convicted last month for killing Ms Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013.

The court heard on Tuesday that Pistorius paid 6,000 rand (£350) per month to the Steenkamps to help them with their rent and living expenses.

Video: Oscar Pistorius Witness Challenged

He also offered the family 375,000 rand (£21,305) as compensation which Mr Nel said the Steenkamps had rejected as "blood money" - and had decided to hand back the monthly payments.

Defence lawyer Barry Roux told the court the Steenkamps intended to pay back Pistorius "every cent", and also confirmed they would not be pursuing a civil claim against Pistorius for killing their daughter.

Pistorius could receive a fine and a suspended jail sentence or up to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of culpable homicide, the equivalent of manslaughter in the UK.

The sentencing hearing resumes on Thursday.

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Woman Sexually Assaulted In Toilet On Flight

By Sky News US Team

A man sexually assaulted a female passenger in the toilet of a Japan Airlines flight, barricading the door as the victim's mother and flight attendants tried to rescue her, US authorities say.

The woman was returning home to Japan with her mother after a four-day holiday when she went to use the bathroom nearly two hours into Saturday's flight.

The man forced his way into the lavatory and attacked her, but she was able to push the emergency button while trying to fight him off, according to an FBI affidavit.

He allegedly blocked the lavatory door as the woman's mother, flight crew and other passengers tried to rescue her.

They had to remove screws from the door's hinges to open it, said an FBI affidavit.

The captain turned the plane around two hours after takeoff upon learning it took three passengers to subdue the attacker.

The flight, which had been en route to Kansai, Japan, returned to Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii.

FBI agents detained Michael Tanouye, 29, on suspicion of interfering with a flight crew and aggravated sexual assault aboard an aircraft.

The assault charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The accused, of Hilo, Hawaii, was also on the plane with his mother.

She told a flight attendant he suffers from depression and was on medication. 

Shortly before the attack, he was reportedly heard shouting something incomprehensible.

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Ebola Nurses Short Of Proper Gear, Union Says

Nurses treating an ebola patient in Dallas had to use medical tape to secure openings in their protective outfits, a nursing union has claimed, as a second hospital worker tested positive for the disease.

Thomas Eric Duncan, who died at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on 8 October, was also left in an open area of the emergency room for several hours before being put in isolation, Deborah Burger of National Nurses United said in a statement. 

Amber Vinson, a 29-year-old nurse from the hospital, was placed in isolation 90 minutes after reporting she had a fever on Tuesday.

She was the second person of the 77 who came into contact with Mr Duncan to have caught ebola.

It emerged on Tuesday that a day before she fell ill, Miss Vinson took a flight from Cleveland, Ohio, to Dallas-Fort Worth.

Video: We'll Beat Ebola 'Person By Person'

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was attempting to track down all 132 passengers aboard Frontier Airlines flight 1143.

The plane's crew said Miss Vinson did not exhibit any symptoms of ebola during the flight. The nurse developed a fever the following morning.

Infected ebola patients are not considered contagious until they have symptoms, according to health officials.

A "breach of protocol" was initially blamed after nurse Nina Pham, who is reported to be in stable condition, tested positive.

Miss Pham was wearing protective gear when she treated Mr Duncan and officials have yet to identify any lapse in procedures, although experts say the mask, shield, gloves and gown can be difficult to put on and remove safely.

The nurses' union statement said hospital workers interacted with Mr Duncan "with whatever protective equipment was available" while he produced "a lot of contagious fluids". 

It added that those who treated the Liberian were also caring for other patients in the hospital and were concerned their heads and necks were exposed.

Video: Obama Wants More Action On Ebola

"There was no advance preparedness on what to do with the patient, there was no protocol, there was no system," Ms Burger said.

She warned that even now, some hospital staff do not have the necessary equipment to deal with the disease.

"Hospital managers have assured nurses that proper equipment has been ordered but it has not arrived yet," she said.

The nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital are not represented by Nurses United or any other union and it was not immediately clear if the nurses making the allegations were among those caring for Mr Duncan.

Officials are working to identify anybody who may have had contact with Miss Vinson and are continuing to monitor all of those who may have been exposed to either Mr Duncan or Miss Pham.

In a news conference, Dallas County judge Clay Jenkins said: "At the hospital we have a situation involving 77 people. Two of them have tested positive for ebola. We are preparing contingencies for more and that is a very real possibility.

"You can imagine the anxieties of those 77 families."

Video: Speed of Ebola Spread Graph

Dallas Fire and Rescue have begun decontaminating the apartment building where Miss Vinson reportedly lives alone.

The third case to be reported in the US was identified before world leaders were due to hold a video conference on how to tackle the disease that has killed more than 4,400 people, almost all of them in West Africa.

US President Barack Obama said he planned to pressure some countries into taking firmer action to slow the spread of the disease, which health experts have warned could infect 10,000 people a week within two months.

British, French, German and Italian leaders will be involved in the talks with Mr Obama.

Meanwhile, NBC's chief medical editor has apologised for a breaching voluntary quarantine that she and her team were placed in after cameraman Ashoka Mukpo caught ebola in Liberia.

Dr Nancy Snyderman and two members of her crew were reportedly seen collecting a takeaway order.

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Drone Stunt Sparks Mass Brawl At Euro Qualifier

UEFA is to open disciplinary cases against the Albanian and Serbian football associations after a drone carrying a flag was flown over the stadium during a match and sparked violence.

A brawl erupted on the playing surface between players and some officials when one of the Serbian players caught the flag which featured Albanian symbols.

British referee Martin Atkinson was forced to suspend play in the Euro 2016 game in Belgrade in the 41st minute as the unrest spread.

As the fighting continued on the pitch, Serbian fans who had already clashed with riot police after burning a NATO flag, began hurling smoke bombs and other objects.

At one point, some of the players were hit by a plastic stool brought on to the pitch by a fan.

Video: Albanian Football Team Under Attack

The Albanian players ended up having to retreat into the tunnel after a hail of objects rained down on them.

Earlier, the Group I tie had only been allowed to go ahead if no Albanian fans were allowed in the ground.

Relations between Albania and Serbia have been fraught since the civil war fought over the former Yugoslav region of Kosovo, which is made up mostly of ethnic Albanians but was claimed by the Serb state.

The flag flying from the drone featured an image of so-called Greater Albania, a part of the Balkans where a substantial proportion of the population are Albanian.

Video: Drone Sparks Brawl At Football Game

FIFA President Sepp Blatter tweeted: "Football should never be used for political messages. I strongly condemn what happened in Belgrade last night."

Some in Belgrade have seen Tirana's interest in Kosovo as part of a plan to create Greater Albania, which ultimately would require the uniting of Albanian communities in Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia and southern Serbia.

Kosovo's independence has received recognition from more than 100 countries including the UK and the US, but its status remains disputed by more than 70 states in the United Nations.

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