Storm Sweeps Plum Island Homes Into Ocean

Powerful waves and winds have caused two homes to collapse - and left several others severely damaged - on a US beach.

The late two-day winter storm swept into New England, dumping more than a foot of snow in some areas and sending tides crashing into the northeastern coastline of Massachusetts amid flood warnings.

An aerial view of one of the collapsed properties

High seas washed away the dune from underneath some properties, compromising their foundations and rendering them a danger to the public.

One couple on Plum Island watched the ocean wash away the foundations of their summer residence on Annapolis Way.

A toppled house rests on the sandy beach

"High tide last night just eroded away the foundation on the side of the house, and that just couldn't take it anymore," said Stephen Bresnahan.

"It's an emotional, very important, emotional part of our lives."

A neighbour clears the sand from beneath his home

His wife added: "My children have been here in the summer. We got engaged here in the summer."

An empty house nearby was also ripped from its foundations and collapsed into the sea.

Demolition workers get to work on one of the houses

Some roads in coastal towns were flooded with up to 3ft of water.

Flooding at the morning high tide closed some coastal roads north and south of Boston.

Several other properties were also damaged by the storm

Other parts of New England experienced nearly 2ft of snow - wreaking havoc on the roads and causing some motorists to be left stranded.

Schools were also affected and were either forced to close or delay opening.

Elsewhere in New England, motorists battle the snow drift

National Weather Service meteorologist Alan Dunham said it was like a "conveyor belt of wave after wave of snow" coming in.

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Kenya Election: Kenyatta Clinches Narrow Win

By Sara Mojtehedzadeh in Nairobi, Kenya

Uhuru Kenyatta, who faces trial for alleged crimes against humanity, has clinched victory in a tightly fought race for Kenya's presidency, the electoral commission has confirmed.

The son of the country's founding father, Jomo Kenyatta, needed over 50% of the national vote in the first round to avoid a run-off.

He received 50.07% but the victory is being disputed by his main rival, prime minister Raila Odinga, who said he would challenge the result in the supreme court and asked supporters to avoid violence.

In his acceptance speech, deputy prime minister Mr Kenyatta also urged calm, pledging to work with rivals and co-operate with the international community.

He is a controversial figure as he is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity from his alleged role in the country's bloody 2007-2008 election.

His ICC trial is set to begin in July and could take years, meaning he may have to rule Kenya from The Hague in the Netherlands for much of his five-year term.

With the 51-year-old politician in the top job, Kenya will become the second African country after Sudan to have a sitting president indicted by the ICC.

Speaking about the latest election result, Mr Odinga, 68,  who has now unsuccessfully sought the presidency three times, said he would have conceded if the vote was fair.

He added there was "rampant illegality" in the electoral process and that "democracy was on trial in Kenya".

"If you commit a crime, the crime has got to be caught out. Where there is smoke, there is fire" Franklin Bett, the chairman of Mr Odinga's party, said, as the results tilted in Mr Kenyatta's favour.

Tensions rose in the heartlands of Mr Odinga. His supporters chanted "No Raila, no peace," as security forces stood by in Kisumu, a city where violence flared in 2007.

It was Mr Odinga's contention that the previous election was unfairly stolen from him that led to violent clashes between his followers and supporters of the outgoing president Mwai Kibaki.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga refused to concede defeat

The conflict, which pitted members of rival tribes against each other, led to over 1,100 deaths.

"What we wanted was no fighting" said Alex Onyango, an Odinga voter from a Nairobi slum that was shattered by violence in the 07-08 conflict.

"It's OK because there is peace. Uhuru won on the ground. There was no rigging. He just won peacefully."

But Mr Kenyatta's win will take the country into uncharted diplomatic territory.

Western countries, including, the United Kingdom, have an essential contact only policy with indictees of the ICC.

It is not yet clear how that policy will translate into practice.

UK minister for Africa Mark Simmonds said of the election result: "I urge all sides to show patience and restraint, to accept defeat or take any disputes to the courts."

Kenya is the most strategically important country in the region, and is Britain's key counter terrorism partner in the region - crucial to containing the threat of militant Islam posed by neighbouring Somalia.

The UK also does around £1bn of trade with Kenya, and sends thousands of soldiers to train at its army base there every year.

As Kenya nervously awaited the final results in an election plagued by delays in vote counting and technological failure, Mr Kenyatta's team hit out at the British High Commissioner Christian Turner, accusing him of "shadowy, suspicious" meddling in the election.

The Foreign Office denounced the claims as "entirely false and misleading".

But the widespread perception that Mr Kenyatta was unfairly targeted by the West helped build his campaign's momentum in the weeks leading up to the election.

"The (International Criminal Court) will know that the Kenyan people are right. They have decided" said one Kenyatta supporter, Joseph Mwangi, 24.

Speaking to Sky News at a campaign rally ahead of the March 4 election, Mr Kenyatta insisted he would co-operate with International Criminal Court, despite criticism that the demands of the trial would compromise his ability to govern.

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UN Peacekeepers Freed At Jordanian Border

A group of UN peacekeepers captured by Syrian rebels have been handed to Jordanian authorities at the border.

The 21 Filipino peacekeepers were captured by the Martyrs of Yarmouk brigade on the Syrian side of the border south of the village of Jamla, near the Golan Heights, three days ago.

"They are all on the Jordanian side now and they are in good health," Abu Mahmoud, a rebel who scrossed over into Jordan with them, said.

In the Syrian capital, Mokhtar Lamani, who heads the Damascus office of UN-Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi,confirmed the men had crossed into Jordan.

The group were part of the UN Disengagement Observer Force, which has been monitoring a ceasefire line between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights since 1974.

The 21 troops are all from the Philippines

After their capture the rebel fighters described them as "guests" and said they would be freed once President Bashar al Assad's forces stopped shelling and withdrew from around Jamla.

In several videos released by the rebel group, the peacekeepers said they were being treated well.

Syria's ambassador to the UN, Bashar Jaafari, said the army was targeting areas outside Jamla where the rebels were concentrated, rather than the village itself.

"We know for sure what we are doing and we know where the peacekeepers are," he said.

A brief truce was called in the area on Saturday morning, providing a sufficient lull in fighting to get the peacekeepers out.

Syria's civil war has spilled periodically across the Golan Heights ceasefire line and Syria's borders with Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey.

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Sailor Killed In Island Yacht Race Tragedy

A sailor died and five others had to be rescued when their yacht drifted into rough seas and broke apart during a US ocean race.

The San Diego crew had refused help from the Coast Guard in the hope they could be towed to calmer waters and finish the race.

However, the yacht began drifting towards a rocky island off Southern California and both their life raft and the anchor failed.

The vessel smashed apart forcing the crew to abandon ship.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Connie Gawrelli said the crew of Uncontrollable Urge radioed a mayday call on Friday night after the 32ft (10m) sailboat lost its steering capability and began drifting toward San Clemente Island.

She said the crew activated a feature on the boat to provide authorities their GPS coordinates but declined assistance and requested a tow boat.

However, stormy ocean conditions kept the tow boat from getting to them.

One of the organisers of the two-day Islands Race, Chuck Hope, commodore of the San Diego Yacht Club, said: "They were not in immediate danger and thought they would be able to manage completing the race and get assistance on their own. Then things got worse."

He added: "Those guys been around, they're very good sailors," he said. "This was not a case of someone getting in over their head."

He said the boat was buffeted by 8ft (2.4m) swells and wind gusts of up to 30 knots (55kph).

When the Coast Guard reached the crew, they found the sailor of the yacht, 36-year-old Craig Williams, unresponsive in the water, the San Diego County Medical Examiner's office said.

He and the other five crew members were hoisted into a helicopter and flown to a hospital. It wasn't immediately known whether the surviving crew members suffered any injuries.

The 139-nautical-mile (256km) race began in Newport Harbour in Orange County Friday and was to take participants around Catalina and San Clemente islands before finishing off in San Diego's Point Loma.

The death came nearly a year after four sailors died when their yacht crashed during a race from Southern California to Mexico.

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Man Dies As Small Plane Crashes Into House

A US man died and another was injured when a small plane crashed into a house in Washington state.

Both were travelling in the four-seater, Cessna-type aircraft when it hit the home in Woodinville, King County, on Saturday afternoon.

Sheriff's office spokeswoman Cindi West said a man was declared dead at the scene and another was airlifted to Harborview Medical Centre.

No-one was hurt on the ground, she added.

Neighbours were "shocked" by the crash (Pic: King County Sheriff's Office)

It is understood the owners of the large, detached property were not in at the time of the crash.

Witnesses said the plane engine was sputtering and then hit the garage of the house.

"We were inside the house and we heard a big thud as if there was an explosion," a neighbour said.

"It is pretty shocking. I'm glad it didn't go through the roof or anything. Good thing it only went through the garage," said one resident.

Another added: "It's just unbelievable because it is a very quiet neighbourhood."

It was not immediately clear where the plane took off from and where it was travelling to.

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Anger Over Cardinal Mahony's Conclave Role

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

Victims of sexual abuse by priests in the largest Catholic diocese in the US have spoken of their anger that its former archbishop is taking part in the process to choose the next Pope.

Cardinal Roger Mahony was stripped of all administrative duties in January over allegations he engaged in a cover-up to protect priests accused of abuse.

He retired after 26 years as the Archbishop of Los Angeles in 2011, but the punishment handed down by his successor is regarded as unprecedented.

It followed the release of thousands of pages of files which highlighted claims against more than 100 priests dating back decades.

They also showed the attempts made to avoid getting the police involved.

Mahony, an enthusiastic blogger, has been providing a running commentary of developments in the Vatican since arriving to join the conclave.

A petition had called for him not to go.

Esther Miller, who was abused by a priest when she was a teenager, told Sky News she was angry that Mahony was there at all.

She said: "He is not contrite. As Catholic kids we learn the prayer of contrition and it talks about steps you do to repair the offences.

"He has not done steps to repair the offences, he has not done a full remorseful act. Instead he slaps us in the face and jaunts off to Rome. It is appalling."

Esther Miller was a victim of sexual abuse when she was a teenager

Ms Miller said the abuse she suffered still impacts her life.

"I lament the years that were stolen from me," she said. "It is difficult."

She was a party to a multimillion dollar settlement between the church and victims in 2007.

It included an order to release the files but legal wrangling prevented their full release until January.

Victoria Kim, a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times which campaigned for the full release, said: "What was surprising to us was the explicitness in the church leaders' own words.

"They very much understood that what these priests had done could be prosecuted under criminal law. Their reaction was to try and avoid that at all costs."

The Los Angeles Police Department has said it will review the files to see if there is the prospect of a criminal prosecution for either abuse or the failure to report it.

In a statement, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles told Sky News: "The Catholic Church's Canon Law requires Cardinal Mahony to participate in the election of the next Pope.

"The cardinal made mistakes, apologised for them, but also learned from them, implementing rigorous policies and procedures to deal promptly with allegations, and to provide abuse prevention training to adults and children."

They pointed out that the Italian newspaper La Stampa reported this week that Mahony's address to the General Congregation of cardinals focused on clergy sexual abuse and how it needs to be dealt with decisively.

He has already spent three hours answering questions from lawyers representing victims of abuse while he was in office in Los Angeles.

Victims groups say they hope the successor to Pope Benedict XVI will take a stronger line in supporting them and providing transparency within the church.

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Falkland Islanders Voting In Referendum

By Ian Woods, Senior Correspondent, Falkland Islands

Falkland Islanders have started voting in a two-day referendum to decide whether they want to stay British.

The question they have to answer is whether they want to remain an Overseas Territory of Britain, and there is likely to be a huge majority voting yes.

Dr Barry Elsby, one of the members of the Falklands Legislative Assembly, told Sky News "We're looking for a very high turnout.

"People realise the importance of a high turnout because that is what is important. It is showing the world that the majority of the people here want to remain as we are. We don't want to become a colony of Argentina.

"We would like to send a message out to the world to say, look, we are a people. We do have our own views and those views should be listened to.

"And we hope at the end of this referendum process countries will stand up and say 'yes, we must listen to this democratic view of the people'."

But even those who plan to vote yes doubt that Argentina's government will take any notice.

Outside observers are being brought in to monitor the referendum

Owen Betts, who works in the fishing industry, said: "I don't think Argentina will (take notice), especially the government.

"Maybe some of the Argentinian people may think differently, but I think the Argentinian government are pretty hard headed and it's going to take a while to sink in."

The geography of the islands creates real challenges for making sure everyone who is eligible can vote.

The Falklands are slightly bigger than Yorkshire, but most roads are unpaved so sometimes it can take hours to drive relatively short distances.

Some communities consist of little more than a few houses. So many people are unable to get to one of the few polling stations. So the polling stations will come to the people.

A fleet of 4x4 vehicles will criss-cross the island visiting communities for around half an hour to allow people to put their votes in a ballot box.

And for even more remote locations which cannot be reached by road, a plane will island-hop with a ballot box on board.

Islanders are expected to back remaining an Overseas Territory of Britain

The reason two days of voting has been scheduled is in case the weather prevents the light aircraft taking off and landing.

An international group of election monitors, including some from South America, will observe the referendum to make sure rules are followed.

Brad Smith, from the Referendum International Observation Mission, is aware of the importance of the vote.

"Because the spotlight is here internationally, this is a issue that plays way beyond the islands. We have to make sure that even in these very remote places, everybody has an opportunity to vote."

And to try to ensure the ballot is beyond criticism the Falkland Islands government withdrew official observer status from a visiting British academic because they did not believe he was independent.

Professor Peter Willets, from City University, had given a speech in Stanley arguing that the islands could not remain an Overseas Territory, but needed to move to full self-government.

Some islanders agree that independence is the way forward and may vote no in the referendum to signal their wishes.

But even some of the few Argentinian-born residents of the Falklands, who spoke to Sky News on condition of anonymity, favoured retaining the links with the UK.

One man, who did want to be identified in case of anger from his homeland, said he felt the islands should remain British because of the wishes of the people who live there.

But for most people in Stanley today will be a celebration. A parade will be held in the afternoon, with cars festooned with Union Jacks and Falklands flags driving in convoy through the streets.

And Neville Hayward will be showing off his new made-to-measure suit, delivered from London specially for the occasion. Jacket, trousers, waistcoat, bow-tie and shoes, all with the Union flag design.

He said: "We want to show the rest of the world that we want to remain British. Because we are British, it's our way of life. It's the only thing we know."

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Nelson Mandela Discharged From Hospital

Former South African leader Nelson Mandela has been discharged from hospital following a "successful" medical examination.

A spokesman for President Jacob Zuma said: "Former president Nelson Mandela has ... returned to his Johannesburg home following a successful medical examination at a Pretoria hospital."

"The doctors have completed the tests. He is well and as before, his health remains under the management of the medical team."

The latest round of tests come just months after Mr Mandela, 94, was treated for a lung infection and gallstones.

The government said he entered hospital for a "routine test", and Mr Zuma spokesman had earlier said there was "no need for panic".

The doctors treated Mr Mandela for a pre-existing condition at the hospital in Pretoria.

Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj appealed for the public to respect the privacy of Mandela and his family.

The Nobel laureate has become increasingly frail and last made a public appearance on a major stage when South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament.

He has a history of lung problems dating back to when he contracted tuberculosis during his 27 years in prison under South Africa's apartheid regime.

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Germany Fire: Seven Siblings Killed In Flat

At least eight members of the same family, including seven children, have been killed after a fire swept through an apartment building in Germany.

The cause of the blaze early in the morning was not known but police said they were investigating an oven in a flat on the first floor of the former leather factory.

Other reports said the fire may have broken out in a second floor flat, and said the police investigation was focusing on a heater in the apartment.

The victims were a woman and seven children, aged between six months and 16 years old, all of Turkish origin.

The German-Turkish cultural association has an office on the building's ground floor but police said there was no suggestion the fire might have been started deliberately or have been a racist attack.

"There are no indications of arson or a xenophobic motive," officers said.

Hundreds of firefighters tackled the blaze in the town of Backnang near Stuttgart.

Television pictures showed flames shooting out of windows and clouds of thick smoke billowing into the night sky.

Hundreds of firefighters tackled the blaze

The firefighters were able to rescue three people from a balcony, reported to be an 11-year old girl, the family's grandmother and an uncle.

They were taken to hospital and their injuries were not thought to be life-threatening, according to a police spokesman.

There were believed to be 10 members of the family, and the father was reportedly not at home when the fire broke out.

The Turkish ambassador to Germany planned to travel to the scene, while in Turkey, deputy prime minister Bekir Bozdag said it was "a very sad incident".

He said: "We want the incident to be investigated thoroughly without leaving any room for doubt.

"We hope that the fire is not the result of an arson attack."

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Nigeria: British Hostage 'Likely' Killed Named

A British construction worker is likely to be among seven hostages killed after they were kidnapped by a Nigerian Islamist group, Foreign Secretary William Hague has confirmed.

"It is with deep sadness that I must confirm that a British construction worker, held hostage in Nigeria since 16 February, is likely to have been killed at the hands of his captors, along with six other foreign nationals who we believe were also tragically murdered," Mr Hague said in a statement.

"This was an act of cold-blooded murder, which I condemn in the strongest terms," he added.

Earlier, Italy's foreign ministry confirmed that the hostages had died.

The ministry said in a statement that: "Our checks conducted in coordination with the other countries concerned lead us to believe that the news of the killing of the hostages seized last month is true."

Greek authorities have also announced that their own investigation led them to believe the Greek hostage was dead.

"The information we have shows that the Greek citizen is dead," the foreign ministry said.

"The ministry has informed his family," the statement added.

Mr Hague said responsibility for the deaths rested "squarely with the terrorists".

The kidnapping occurred in the town of Jama'are in Bauchi state

"I am grateful to the Nigerian Government for their unstinting help and cooperation. We are utterly determined to work with them to hold the perpetrators of this heinous act to account, and to combat the terrorism which so blights the lives of people in Northern Nigeria and in the wider region," he added.

On Saturday, a Nigerian Islamist group said it had killed the seven hostages abducted from the compound of Setraco, a Lebanese construction company, in the town of Jama'are in Bauchi state on February 7.

The al Qaeda-linked Ansaru group, believed to be an offshoot of the larger Boko Haram, is said to be behind the abductions.

It claimed that the hostages had been killed in retaliation for a rescue attempt by the British and Nigerian governments.

British planes flew to Abuja in Nigeria to ferry troops and equipment to Bamako in Mali - which may be why there were claims the British military was involved in a rescue attempt.

The Ministry of Defence said: "There are a number of deployments as parts of various engagements in Africa which will include the movement of assets."

The Greek foreign ministry also denied there had been a rescue attempt.

"Based on the information we have, there was no rescue operation," it said.

Italy too rejected the claim, saying: "It's an atrocious act of terrorism, against which the Italian government expresses its firmest condemnation, and which has no explanation, if not that of barbarous and blind violence."

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