Costa Concordia Completes Its Final Journey

The Costa Concordia has completed its final journey, after being towed into the Italian port of Genoa to be broken up and scrapped.

The cruise liner, around twice the size of the Titanic, struck rocks and capsized in January 2012 with more than 4,000 people on board.

The tragedy claimed 32 lives.

The ship will be split into three parts

The damaged hull had been towed from the disaster site off the Tuscan island of Giglio to the northern port after a four-day, 175 mile (280km) journey.

The salvage operation, the biggest ever attempted, is expected to cost in the region of $2bn (£1.17bn).

"We can finally breathe a sigh of relief," Italy's environment minister Gian Luca Galletti said.

There were fears the damaged hull would break up under the strain and spill toxic waste into Europe's biggest marine sanctuary, but these were unfounded.

The 114,500-tonne liner arrived overnight and weighed anchor around two nautical miles (3.6 miles) off shore.

Engineers then attached it to a number of tugboats, which manoeuvred into Voltri port at 11am UK time.

A total of 32 people died when the ship struck rocks and capsized

Curious locals gathered near the port on the outskirts of the city from first light to catch a glimpse of the battered ship.

The delicate operation of securing the ship is expected to be completed this afternoon.

Once the Costa Concordia is fastened in place, interior furnishings and fittings will be stripped out in order to make it light enough to tow into the scrapping area, where it will be split into three parts for dismantling.

More than 80% of it is expected to be recycled or reused.

Between 40,000 and 50,000 tonnes of steel will be melted down and reused for construction.

More than 80% of the vessel is expected to be reused

Undamaged copper wiring, plumbing, plastics, machinery and furniture will be recovered and sold on.

Any personal belongings recovered will be returned, while items such as the ship's piano, which was being played as the liner struck rocks, could end up in a museum.

Another task will be to search for the body of Indian waiter Russel Rebello, whose remains were never found and may have been trapped in a previously inaccessible part of the vessel.

The ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, is currently on trial for manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the vessel before all passengers had evacuated.

The 53-year-old, who is fighting the charges, is accused of deliberately altering the course of the Concordia in order to carry out a sail-by salute of the island to impress local residents and passengers.

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Clegg: Russia Should Be Stripped Of World Cup

Russia should be stripped of the 2018 World Cup in the wake of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine, says Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

He said it was "unthinkable" at present that the tournament could go ahead in the country blamed by the West for supplying arms to pro-Russian separatists suspected of shooting down the jet.

Football's world governing body Fifa this week ruled out calls from some German politicians for Russia to be boycotted, insisting the tournament could be "a force for good".

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg

Fifa President Sepp Blatter has already dismissed calls to strip Russia of the World Cup after Moscow annexed Crimea earlier this year.

But Mr Clegg told The Sunday Times that allowing it to go ahead without a change of course by Russian President Vladimir Putin would make the world look "so weak and so insincere" in its condemnation of Moscow's annexation of Crimea and support for the rebels.

"If there's one thing that Vladimir Putin cares about, as far as I can see, it's his sense of status," he said.

"Maybe reminding him that you can't retain the same status in the world if you ignore the rest of the world, maybe that will have some effect on his thinking."

Mr Clegg also said Russia should not host a Formula One Grand Prix in October, but F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has said that will go ahead as scheduled.

Part of the fuselage from the plane

Douglas Alexander, Labour's spokesman on foreign affairs, says stripping Russia of the World Cup is an option if its complicity in the downing of MH17 is proven.

"Fifa should be considering contingencies now, and any discussion should happen quickly, so that if necessary, alternative plans are in place in time for teams and fans from around the world," he said in a statement.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said he prefers to avoid mixing sport and politics and to use other means, such as EU asset freezes and sanctions on individuals and entities, to punish Russia.

A Number 10 spokesman said: "The Prime Minister does not believe we should reach immediately for boycotts, but it is also not surprising, given Russian behaviour, that people are starting to raise the issue. 

This map shows the flight path of MH17 before it crashed

"It shows the importance of Russia changing course, before its international standing is damaged even further."

Moscow has reacted angrily to additional sanctions imposed by the EU, saying they will hamper co-operation on security issues and undermine the fight against terrorism and organised crime.

Russia's foreign ministry also accused the US of contributing to the conflict in Ukraine through its support for the pro-Western government in Kiev.

The majority of those on board the Malaysia Airlines plane were Dutch, and the country's football association has said it will decide whether or not to take part in qualifying for the tournament.

It comes as an international team cancelled a trip to the crash site in eastern Ukraine due to intensifying fighting in the area between Ukrainian government forces and the rebels.

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American Doctor Infected With Deadly Ebola

An American doctor working with Ebola patients in Liberia has tested positive for the deadly virus.

Kent Brantly, 33, recognised his own symptoms and confined himself to an isolation ward.

The medic, who is married and has children, is being treated at a hospital in the capital Monrovia.

Another US citizen has also been infected with the virus, according to the Samaritan's Purse aid organisation, for which Dr Brantly works.

Dr Brantly pictured treating a patient

The second US citizen is not employed by Samaritan's Purse, its spokesman told Sky News, but was working with their staff in a Monrovia hospital.

Dr Brantly has body aches, pains and fever but is in a stable condition, said Ken Isaacs, a spokesman for North Carolina-based Samaritan's Purse.

Mr Isaacs told Sky News the doctor is "not out of the woods yet", but "we remain optimistic that he will survive".

He added: "A second case has turned up positive and that person, an American citizen, is in isolation receiving treatment now."

There have been Ebola deaths in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria

Ebola patients have a better chance of survival if they seek treatment soon after infection, as Dr Brantly did.

The disease has killed at least 672 people in four West African countries since the outbreak began earlier this year in Guinea and spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Nigeria's airports and ports are on red alert following the death of a man from Liberia who was carrying the virus. It was the first case in Africa's most populous country.

He vomited and had a high fever on board a passenger plane, and was immediately quarantined upon arrival in the capital Lagos.

But he died in hospital from the virus on Friday.

Ebola is highly contagious and kills up to 90% of people infected

His flight had a stopover in Togo which is also on high alert as it may have spread there too.

Dr Brantly, a family practice physician from Fort Worth, Texas, began working in Africa as part of a post-residency programme before the Ebola outbreak began.

His family had been living with him in Africa but they are currently in the US.

Dr Brantly is a medical director at an Ebola case management centre run by Samaritan's Purse.

Photos show him working in white overalls made of a synthetic material that he wore for several hours each day while treating Ebola patients.

Earlier this year, he was quoted on the organisation's website about efforts to maintain an isolation ward for patients.

"The hospital is taking great effort to be prepared," Dr Brantly said.

"In past Ebola outbreaks, many of the casualties have been healthcare workers who contracted the disease through their work caring for infected individuals."

Ebola is highly contagious and kills up to 90% of people infected.

It is passed by touching bodily fluids of patients even after they die, said Dr Unni Krishnan from Plan International.

Traditional burials that include rubbing the bodies of the dead contribute to the spread of the disease, he added.

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Air Algerie: Briton Among Plane Crash Victims

A British man who died on an Air Algerie flight which crashed in northern Mali has been named as David Morgan.

He was among 118 people, including 54 French nationals, killed when flight AH5017 came down in the remote Gossi region, close to the border with Burkina Faso on Thursday.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali has said its experts have found the plane's second black box as investigators try to establish what happened to the jet which encountered bad weather.

A 10-year-old girl perished along with her entire family in the tragedy

The first photos have emerged of the crash site. Debris from the plane, which was flying from  Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, to Algiers, Algeria, could be seen scattered over an area of desert south of Gao.

Burnt-out wreckage and parts of the fuselage could be made out against the charred sand.

A statement from the Foreign Office said: "It is with deep regret that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirms the death of a British man onboard Air Algerie flight AH5017.

Flight AH5017 had been heading to Algiers when it crashed in southern Mali

"We are providing consular support to his family at this tragic time, and we ask that the media respect the privacy of those grieving."

Meanwhile, a 10-year-old French girl is reported to have spoken of her fears before the flight.

The girl, called Chloe, perished in the tragedy along with her parents, Bruno Cailleret and Caroline Boisnard, as well as her elder brother and grandmother.

French President Francois Hollande said no one survived the crash

The loss of the entire family in the disaster has left the small town of Menet in central France "devastated", according to Denise Labbe of the town hall.

The five had been returning from a trip to Burkina Faso, where Ms Boisnard's uncle lived.

They had been due to land in the southern city of Marseille after flying via Algiers, which is where the doomed aircraft was heading.

The plane was owned by Spanish private airline Swiftair and operated by Air Algerie.

It vanished from radar over West Africa and no one survived the crash, French President Francois Hollande said.

Ms Labbe said: "Everyone is devastated in the town. We all know the family, who live in front of the town hall.

"No one can quite believe it. It's like having a bad dream."

Chloe had been excited about the trip to Burkina Faso, she said, adding: "She had confided in her teacher before leaving about her fear of taking the plane, which she was doing for the first time".

Ms Boisnard's brother had gone to meet them at the airport and became aware of the tragedy when the family failed to appear at the arrivals gate.

A family of 10, including four children, from the Rhone-Alpes region of France were also killed in the crash.

The number of people killed was increased from 116 to 118 after the final passenger manifest was released.

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Video Of Armed Police Storming Passenger Plane

Video footage has emerged of the moment armed police stormed a plane to arrest a passenger who allegedly threatened to blow it up.

The jet, which was bound for Panama City, had taken off from Toronto in Canada with 189 people on board.

Sunwing Airlines flight 772 was turned around over West Virginia around 45 minutes into the flight and escorted back to Toronto Pearson International Airport by two F16 fighter jets.

In the video, the police are heard shouting "heads down, hands up" as they move through the aircraft.

Ali Shahi is then bundled off the jet with his hands held behind his back by one of the officers.

The 25-year-old Canadian has been charged with uttering threats and endangering the safety of an aircraft.

North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) said the two fighter jets from Ohio flew with the plane out of US airspace as a "precaution".

Sunwing Airlines said an "agitated passenger directly threatened the aircraft" but did not elaborate.

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Runaway Car Hurtles Towards Mother And Baby

A mother and her baby narrowly avoided death when she pulled her pushchair out of the path of a runaway car.

The unidentified woman was walking in San Francisco when a car smashed into another vehicle and careered towards her.

As she yanked her pushchair back, the car smashed into handrailings immediately in front of her.

The woman and her baby escaped unhurt, while the two men inside the car were taken to hospital.

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Chinese Millionaire Bets On Horse Racing

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

Ren Ningning is a man from Beijing with a passion, a fortune and a dream.

The multimillionaire, who made his fortune in the concrete industry, is leading a drive to transform China into a global horse-racing centre.

"I want to breed the best horses, best jockeys, and have the best races in China," he says.

We meet at his stables in the Chinese city of Wuhan. There are racehorses all around from some of the best stock in the world.

Ren Ningning hopes a future Royal Ascot winner is among his horses

He shows me stallions from Australia, Japan and Ireland. Last year, he bought 94 horses at auction in Australia, chartered a plane and flew them all to China.

In 2013, a total of 1,730 horses were imported to China, a 64% increase from 2010.

Mr Ren introduces us to Sai Ba, his favourite five-year-old stallion, bought in Australia for £30,000. "Maybe tomorrow, number one!" he says.

We meet Ma Liankai, who Mr Ren describes as "the best jockey in China!"

The racecourse at Wuhan is a world class facility

Tiny and lean, he has just spent three months training in Newmarket, England.

"When I first went to England, I found that they are more passionate about horses than we are. They have deeper feelings for horses than they do for people!" Mr Ma says.

"I met a top-class teacher, who trained me how to build up a relationship with the horse, how to train a horse from a young age until it becomes an excellent racehorse."

In terms of scale and facilities, Wuhan rivals the world's top racecourses. It was built for a capacity crowd of 30,000. There are perhaps 3,000 here today but they are enthusiastic and noisy.

There is just one thing missing because the queues of excited punters are not gambling; there are no bookies here. Gambling is illegal in China.

Backers of the sport hope it will gain popularity in China

Racegoers are only allowed to participate in a lottery. They choose a number corresponding to a horse. If it wins, they get a prize - a bottle of Chinese wine. No money changes hands but it doesn't seem to matter.

China's ruling Communist Party frowns on horse racing and has outlawed gambling. It considers the sport to be a symbol of Western decadence - even though it thrives in Hong Kong and Macau, both semi-autonomous Chinese territories.

Underneath the grandstand we see a remarkable sight and a clear statement of intent. There is a huge, empty gambling hall, complete with unused counters.

Race day crowds are modest - but the arena could hold 30,000 punters

The people who run this racecourse quietly believe that China will change the laws and allow gambling. If they happens, Wuhan is ready.

The final race is key for Mr Ren. He hasn't won yet today and this is his big chance. He has four horses running.

They pass the finishing post, first, second and third: the perfect result for Mr Ren and for his three winning jockeys who stand, proud, on the podium.

The crowds flock to the faux-bookies to collect their bottles of wine and we have a final word with Mr Ren.

"Ten years. Ten years!" he tells me. In ten years, he says he, his jockeys and his horses will be winning at Royal Ascot.

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Police: Drunk Driver Hit And Killed Friend

An intoxicated driver ran over and killed his friend after she got out of the car to walk home because she suspected he was drunk, say US police.

The incident happened at around 4am local time on Saturday in Long Island, New York state.

Lawrence Pagano, 23, drove after Krystal Berkowitz and stopped the car to speak to her, said Suffolk County Police.

But as he pulled over to the side of the road he struck the 21-year-old, leaving her with a serious head injury.

Ms Berkowitz was pronounced dead at the scene.

Pagano has been arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated.

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Fighting Halts Police Visit To MH17 Crash Site

Plans for a team of unarmed Dutch and Australian police officers to visit the site of the Malaysia Airlines plane disaster have been cancelled.

Fighting around the site of the airliner downed in eastern Ukraine prevented the visit.

The deputy head of a monitoring team from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Alexander Hug, said it was too dangerous for them to go there from their current location in the rebel-held city of Donetsk.

The vast crash scene, which covers 20 square miles, mostly fields, is currently controlled by pro-Russian separatists who are battling Ukrainian government forces in a months-long conflict.

A Ukrainian defence official said his troops were trying to clear the areas around the site near the village of Grabovo from rebels.

There was reportedly fighting at several locations, including near the town of Debaltseve, 15 miles north-west of the crash scene.

Dozens of international officers, in a Dutch-led team, want to secure the site for investigators to carry out a forensic examination and help recover the remains of victims.

Part of the plane's fuselage

Crash investigators have been unable to "properly deploy" and collect evidence due to ongoing security concerns, says the Malaysian prime minister's office.

But Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has ruled out sending an armed international mission to secure the site.

"Getting the military upper hand for an international mission in this area is, according to our conclusion, not realistic," he told reporters in The Hague.

Alexander Hug said the police mission will reconsider resuming operations if security improves, which could happen as early as Monday.

"We continue to reassess the situation continuously and we will start to redeploy tomorrow morning back to the site if the situation changes," Mr Hug said.

All 298 people on board flight MH17, heading to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam, were killed in the disaster on July 17.

Hundreds of victims' remains have been taken to Holland for identification

Western countries blame the rebels for shooting down the airliner with a missile, mistaking it for a Ukrainian plane.

But the separatists deny any involvement in the downed jet.

The remains of 227 victims have been taken in coffins on flights from Ukraine to the Netherlands for identification.

Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said more remains are still at the site and he expected police would only spend two or three weeks there.

"This is a volatile situation," he said. "This is contested ground and we don't want to be there any longer than is absolutely necessary."

Dozens of Malaysian police are also expected to head to the crash site later this week.

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Hamas Agrees To New 24-Hour Truce In Gaza

Fighting in Gaza appears to have eased after Hamas said it was taking part in another 24-hour ceasefire.

Israel accused the militant group of breaking its own truce agreement and has made no public commitment to a break in the conflict.

The truce, which comes ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid marking the end of Ramadan, started at 2pm local time (noon UK time).

Israel had resumed its offensive in Gaza after a fragile ceasefire

But in a series of interviews with US media, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of  "violating its own ceasefire."

He told CBS Israel he would not allow a "ruthless terror organisation... to decide when it's convenient for them to stop for a moment, rearm, and continue firing on our citizens and our people."

In a separate interview with CNN, he said Israel "will take what ever action is necessary to protect our people".

As the truce deadline came and went the sound of Israeli shelling could be heard in Gaza, and sirens sounded in Israel close to the border suggesting missiles had indeed been fired by militants.

A Palestinian man mourns the death of his relative in the Gaza conflict

More than 1,060 Palestinians have died since Israel launched a military operation more than two weeks ago.

The number of Israeli troops to die in combat has risen to 43. Three civilians have also been killed in Israel, including a Thai national.

The latest ceasefire came hours after the Israeli military resumed fighting in Gaza after accusing Hamas of violating a humanitarian truce on Saturday night.

In a statement the Israeli military said: "Following Hamas' incessant rocket fire throughout the humanitarian window, which was agreed upon for the welfare of the civilian population in Gaza, the (army) will now resume its aerial, naval and ground activity in the Gaza Strip."

Palestinian medics said at least 10 people were killed in subsequent Israeli strikes, including an elderly woman.

Both sides initially agreed to a 12-hour humanitarian ceasefire on Saturday. Some 132 bodies were reportedly pulled from the rubble in Gaza during the lull in fighting, while the pause allowed Palestinians to stock up on supplies.

Hamas rocket fire saw Israel end its truce and launch a wave of strikes

Israel extended the ceasefire until midnight (10pm UK time) on Sunday at the UN's request, on condition its forces could continue to seek out and destroy militant tunnels that criss-cross the Gaza border.

That truce offer was rejected by Hamas, which has demanded that Israel lifts its blockade on Gaza and release Palestinian prisoners.

Meanwhile, international efforts are continuing to try and thrash out a more permanent ceasefire.

And the Pope made an emotional plea for peace in his weekly address in St Peter's Square.

In unscripted remarks, Pope Francis said: "Please stop, I ask you with all my heart, it's time to stop. Stop, please."

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