Brazil Gang Rape Of US Student: Trio Jailed

Three men have been jailed for almost 120 years for brutally raping an American student on a bus in Rio.

The six-hour ordeal began after midnight on March 30 when the victim and her French boyfriend caught a public minibus in the Copacabana beach area.

They were on their way to the popular nightlife district of Lapa.

Two men who boarded the bus at the same time robbed the rest of the passengers and ordered them to get off.

They then handcuffed the couple, beating the Frenchman with a metal bar and raping the 21-year-old American as they drove around the city, according to police.

The driver of the vehicle, 20-year-old Jonathan de Souza, and Walace de Souza Silva, 21, were each jailed for 49 years and three months for robbery, rape, extortion and corruption of minors.

The victims boarded the minibus at the famous Copacabana beach

Under Brazilian law, they will serve a minimum of 30 years.

Another defendant, 21-year-old Carlos Armando Costa dos Santos, who was not present at the start of the assault, was sentenced to 21 years for rape and extortion.

A minor detained in connection with the rape has yet to be tried.

The attackers also went on a shopping spree with the couple's credit cards, forcing the woman to return to the apartment where she was staying to fetch another card, the police officer overseeing the investigation has said.

They were arrested a few days later.

In his ruling in Rio, judge Guilherme Schilling Pollo said the young American woman "had been humiliated in a cowardly manner and the brutal act of her assailants had caused disgust and indignation".

Rio's Tourist Police Station chief Alexandre Braga

A court statement said the attacks "in many instances were laced with sadism and complete disdain for the victim".

After the ordeal, the pair was dumped in a "favela" slum in the poor Rio suburb of Sao Goncalo.

Brazilian news reports have said the couple was in the country to study Portuguese.

News of the case sparked widespread outrage, particularly after it emerged that the gang was suspected of previous attacks on Brazilian women that were largely ignored by authorities.

The case led to a ban on public minibuses from Rio's upscale South Zone.

But the minibuses, seen as a faster alternative to the buses used as Rio's primary form of public transport, still operate in impoverished suburbs ringing the city of 6 million.

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Zara Co-Founder Rosalia Mera Dies From Stroke

The co-founder of fashion chain Zara, Rosalia Mera, one of the richest women in the world, has died after suffering a stroke on holiday.

Ms Mera, 69, fell ill while on holiday in the Balearic island of Menorca.

She was transferred to the private San Rafael hospital in Coruna, northern Spain, where she died Thursday evening, a hospital source said.

She had been on holiday in Menorca with her daughter Sandra.

Rosalia Mera quit school at 11

Ms Mera was listed by Forbes this year as the world's 195th richest billionaire with a fortune of £3.9bn.

She was the highest-placed among Spanish women and was also described as the richest self-made woman in the world.

Ms Mera quit school at the age of 11 and started work as a seamstress at 13 before going on to found the Inditex textile giant alongside her husband Amancio Ortega.

The pair later divorced. Mr Ortega is listed by Forbes as the world's third-richest man with £36bn.

Inditex released a statement expressing the group's sadness over her death.

"The group wishes to send its sincere condolences to her loved ones and friends at this extremely difficult time, after the loss of a person who contributed so much to the origins and development of the company," it said.

Besides Zara, the Inditex group owns a number of successful international brands including Massimo Dutti and Pull and Bear.

Ms Mera had left the Inditex board in 2004 but kept a 5.05% stake in the firm, according to Spanish news reports.

She also held 30.6% of hotel chain Room Mate, it said.

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Gibraltar Leader Gets Twitter Death Threats

Death threats have been made against the chief minister of Gibraltar and his family during the continuing row with Spain over border controls.

Fabian Picardo revealed he had been abused by Spanish Twitter trolls because of his criticism of the Madrid government's actions, which have led to long delays at the border between Spain and Gibraltar.

He also claimed that Spanish people living near Gibraltar support the British Overseas Territory rather than their own government.

Mr Picardo, who is chief politician in the enclave of around 29,000 people, said: "I think social media is a great thing, but it also has a very negative aspect to it, which is people can use the cloak of anonymity to insult people and to say things that reasonable human beings don't say about each other.

"I have had some extreme reactions to things I say. I have even had death threats against my family by Twitter."

Asked where they came from, he said: "From Spain, in Spanish."

Mr Picardo also said he was in frequent 'fluid' contact with local politicians in La Linea and other areas where the more than 4,000 Spaniards who work in the peninsula live.

Gibraltar chief minister Fabian Picardo says he has received death threats

Blaming the problems on the government in Madrid, he said locals are supportive of Gibraltar as an "economic engine" and want to see an easing of the border restrictions.

He said: "I have no contact with Madrid, but I have a lot of fluid contact with mayors in La Linea and other municipalities in the area who are very concerned about the effect the controls being imposed by Madrid could have on the working lives of people who come in and out of Gibraltar every day."

The Foreign Office is lodging a formal complaint with Spain over the latest "unacceptable" delays at the border with Gibraltar.

Officials are still considering a legal challenge to Spain over its imposition of additional border controls in the latest diplomatic spat between the two countries over the territory.

The Spanish action followed the construction by the Gibraltar authorities of an artificial reef which Madrid claims is designed to ruin fishing in the area.

The centre-right Popular Party government of Mariano Rajoy, which is embroiled in a corruption row, responded by beefing up border controls and suggesting that a fee could be imposed on every vehicle entering or leaving the outpost through its fenced border with Spain.

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Egypt: Deaths Reported In Fresh Cairo Clashes

Key Events In Egypt Since 2011

Updated: 12:32pm UK, Thursday 15 August 2013

January 25 - February 11, 2011 - Egyptians stage nationwide demonstrations against nearly 30 years of President Hosni Mubarak's rule. Hundreds of protesters are killed as Mubarak and his allies try to crush the uprising.

February 11 - Mubarak steps down and the military takes over. The military dissolves parliament and suspends the constitution, meeting two key demands of protesters.

November 28, 2011 - February 15, 2012 - Egypt holds multistage, weeks-long parliamentary elections.

In the lawmaking lower house, the Muslim Brotherhood wins nearly half the seats, and ultraconservative Salafis take another quarter.

The remainder goes to liberal, independent and secular politicians. In the largely powerless upper house, Islamists take nearly 90% of the seats.

May 23 - 24, 2012 - The first round of voting in presidential elections has a field of 13 candidates.

The Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi and Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister under Mubarak, emerge as the top two finishers, to face each other in a run-off.

June 14 - The Supreme Constitutional Court orders the dissolving of the lower house of parliament.

June 16 - 17 - Egyptians vote in the presidential run-off between Morsi and Shafiq. Morsi wins with 51.7% of the vote.

June 30 - Morsi takes his oath of office.

November 19 - Members of liberal parties and representatives of Egypt's churches withdraw from the 100-member assembly writing the constitution, protesting attempts by Islamists to impose their will.

November 22 - Morsi unilaterally decrees greater powers for himself, giving his decisions immunity from judicial review and barring the courts from dissolving the constituent assembly and the upper house of parliament. The move sparks days of protests.

November 30  - Islamists in the constituent assembly rush to complete the draft of the constitution. Morsi sets a December 15 date for a referendum.

December 4 - More than 100,000 protesters march on the presidential palace, demanding the cancellation of the referendum and the writing of a new constitution. The next day, Islamists attack an anti-Morsi sit-in, sparking street battles that leave at least 10 dead.

December 15, December 22 - In the two-round referendum, Egyptians approve the constitution, with 63.8% voting in favour. Turnout is low.

January 25, 2013 - Hundreds of thousands hold protests against Morsi on the two-year anniversary of the start of the revolt against Mubarak, and clashes erupt in many places.

February - March 2013 - Protests rage in Port Said and other cities for weeks, with dozens more dying in clashes.

April 7 - A Muslim mob attacks the main cathedral of the Coptic Orthodox Church as Christians hold a funeral and protest there over four Christians killed in sectarian violence the day before. Pope Tawadros II publicly blames Morsi for failing to protect the building.

June 23 - A mob beats to death four Egyptian Shi'ites in a village on the outskirts of Cairo.

June 30 - Millions of Egyptians demonstrate on Morsi's first anniversary in office, calling on him to step down. Eight people are killed in clashes outside the Muslim Brotherhood's Cairo headquarters.

July 1 - Huge demonstrations continue, and Egypt's powerful military gives the president and the opposition 48 hours to resolve their disputes, or it will impose its own solution.

July 2 - Military officials disclose main details of the army's plan if no agreement is reached: replacing Morsi with an interim administration, cancelling the Islamist-based constitution and calling elections in a year. Morsi delivers a late-night speech in which he pledges to defend his legitimacy and vows not to step down.

July 3 - Egypt's military chief announces that Morsi has been deposed, to be replaced by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court until new presidential elections. No time frame is given.

Muslim Brotherhood leaders are arrested. Tens of thousands of Morsi supporters remain camped out in two mass sit-ins in Cairo's streets.

July 4 - Supreme Constitutional Court Chief Justice Adly Mansour is sworn in as Egypt's interim president.

July 5 - Mansour dissolves the Islamist-dominated upper house of parliament as Morsi's supporters stage mass protests demanding his return. Clashes between pro and anti-Morsi groups in Cairo and Alexandria, and violence elsewhere leave at least 36 dead. A Brotherhood strongman, deputy head Khairat el-Shater, is arrested.

July 8 - Egyptian soldiers open fire on pro-Morsi demonstrators in front of a military base in Cairo, killing more than 50. Each side blames the other for starting the clash near the larger of the two sit-ins, near east Cairo's Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque.

Mansour puts forward a time line for amending the constitution and electing a new president and parliament by mid-February. The Brotherhood refuses to participate in the process.

July 9 - Mansour appoints economist Hazem el-Beblawi as prime minister and opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei as vice president. A military announcement backs up the appointments.

July 26 - Millions pour onto the streets of Egypt after a call by the country's military chief for protesters to give him a mandate to stop "potential terrorism" by supporters of Morsi. Five people are killed in clashes.

Prosecutors announce Morsi is under investigation for a host of allegations including murder and conspiracy with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

July 27  - Security forces and armed men in civilian clothes clash with Morsi supporters outside the larger of the two major sit-ins in Cairo, killing at least 80 people.

July 30 - The EU's top diplomat Catherine Ashton holds a two-hour meeting with detained Morsi at an undisclosed location. She is one of a number of international envoys, including US Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, to visit Egypt to attempt to resolve the crisis.

August 7  - Egypt's presidency says that diplomatic efforts to peacefully resolve the standoff between the country's military-backed interim leadership and the Muslim Brotherhood have failed.

August 11 - Egyptian security forces announce that they will besiege the two sit-ins within 24 hours to bar people from entering.

August 12 - Authorities postpone plans to take action against the camps, saying they want to avoid bloodshed after Morsi supporters reinforce the sit-ins with thousands more protesters.

August 14 - Riot police clear two sprawling encampments of supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, sparking running street battles that kill hundreds of people.

The presidency declares a month-long state of emergency across the nation as Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei resigns in protest over the assaults.

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Ferry Carrying 700 Crashes Into Cargo Ship

A ferry with 700 passengers on board has collided with a cargo ship near the Philippine city of Cebu, according to the coastguard.

The coast guard said the MV Thomas Aquinas listed and began sinking after hitting the Sulpicio Express Seven Cargo vessel and the captain ordered the ship abandoned.

Officer Joy Villegas said the collision occurred on Friday evening close to the shore near the central city of Cebu. The ferry was travelling from Cebu to Manila.

Two rescue vessels have been dispatched and other nearby boats were helping to pull passengers from the water.

There has been no official confirmation of casualties but passenger Jerwin Agudong told radio station DZBB people were trapped on the ferry and he had seen bodies in the water.

He said: "It seems some were not able to get out. I pity the children. We saw dead bodies on the side, and some being rescued."

More follows...

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Peru Drugs Bust: Pair's 'Families Threatened'

Two women who say they were ordered at gunpoint to smuggle £1.5m worth of cocaine out of Peru claim their families were threatened too.

Melissa Reid, 19, from Kirkintilloch in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, and Michaella McCollum Connolly, 20, from Dungannon in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, are being held in Lima after 11kg (24.2lbs) of cocaine was found in their luggage.

The pair, who deny drug trafficking allegations, were arrested while trying to board a flight from the Peruvian capital to Spain last week.

They were due to appear in court later, but the hearing has been put back until next week because they have still not seen an interpreter.

McCollum Connolly is a former nightclub hostess

They claim they were forced to carry the bags at gunpoint by Colombian gangsters and were unaware they contained narcotics.

Reid has insisted they were not smuggling for financial gain but to save their lives.

She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "We were given no option. If we didn't do as we were told we would be dead. We were not smuggling for money, we were smuggling for our lives.

"We have no doubt they would have killed us both without hesitation if we didn't do as we were told.

"Ever since I was arrested I have played out what has happened in my mind over and over again, asking myself how could we have gotten out of it. But each time I think it wasn't even an option.

"We both had loaded guns put to our heads. They were more than prepared to use them. If we didn't do it we were told we would die."

An official weighs and tests the drugs hidden inside food packets

The paper's US editor Chris Buckton told Sky News: "They also said that the safety of their families was in jeopardy as well, threats were made to them.

"Melissa was actually told details of her own family, she says, given names of her parents and also their friends. They made it clear they knew where their parents lived."

The women say they were befriended by a man in London, who put them in the hands of South Americans before they were taken to safe houses in Madrid, Ibiza and Majorca.

Reid was the first to be sent to Lima, on August 1, where she was joined by photography student and former nightclub hostess McCollum Connolly a day later.

They are said to be frustrated at the way the investigation is being carried out.

"They have cried themselves to sleep several times," said Mr Buckton.

Reid is due to spend her 20th birthday on Friday in prison

Both are being held at the same jail but in separate cells, McCollum Connolly by herself and Reid in a shared cell where she will mark her 20th birthday on Friday.

"They are very resolute - determined to get themselves back to the UK ... but they are also very aware of what they could face," added Mr Buckton.

Relatives of both women have spoken of the anguish of their ordeal.

McCollum Connolly's lawyer said her family were confident she will be cleared of any wrongdoing.

The family are making arrangements to travel to Peru and are also arranging legal representation.

Reid's father William has said he believes his daughter was "groomed".

If convicted the women could face lengthy sentences in an overcrowded Peruvian prison where they will have to pay for everything including food and bedding.

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US Mission To Mars Starts In Hawaii

Six researchers have spent the past four months living in a small dome on a barren Hawaii lava field 8,000 ft up a mountain to see how they might survive on a mission to Mars.

The scientists came down to earth on Tuesday, clutching recipes but without the space suits they had to wear each time they ventured onto the northern slope of Mauna Loa, an active volcano which last erupted in 1984.

The study area is isolated, yet accessible, and has no visible plant or animal life.

One of the first things they did when they came out of the habitat was to have a buffet breakfast which included lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.

"Based on this study we'll be able to offer a strategy that optimises everything and that is a good balance between, on the one hand not wasting too much time preparing your food and wasting too many resources, but on the other hand, keeping your crew fit and healthy," said Angelo Vermeulen, crew commander of the Mars simulation mission.

The six participants were selected by the University of Hawaii and Cornell University for the Nasa-funded study to prepare meals from a list of dehydrated, preserved foods that are not perishable.

They examined pre-prepared meals similar to what astronauts currently eat, and concocted meals themselves in an effort to combat malnourishment and food boredom.

Members did their cooking in a two-storey dome with small sleeping quarters, an exercise room and a kitchen.

The study - known as Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (Hi-Seas), included an open call for recipes that involved a lot of Spam.

The canned meat, popular in Hawaii households, was a common ingredient in suggested recipes because of its shelf-life.

Team members will spend several days in debriefings after emerging from the dome.

It will take several months to process all the data gathered.

The team hopes to present findings at the International Astronautical Congress later this year in Beijing.

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Sky News Cameraman Killed In Egypt

Sky News cameraman Mick Deane has been shot and killed in Egypt this morning.

Mick, 61, had worked for Sky for 15 years, based in Washington and then Jerusalem.

The married father of two was part of our team covering the violence in Cairo. The rest of the team are unhurt.

The Head of Sky News John Ryley described Mick as the very best of cameramen, a brilliant journalist and an inspiring mentor to many at Sky.

Mick Deane was described as an inspiring mentor

"Mick Deane was a really lovely, lovely guy," he said. "He was great fun to work with, he was an astonishingly good cameraman who took some brilliant pictures.

"But he also had a first class editorial brain. He had brilliant ideas.

"He was also good fun after the job was done. He was laid back, and I'm really going to miss him, like lots of people here."

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall called Mick "a friend, brave as a lion but what a heart… what a human being".

He added: "Micky was humorous in a dry way, he was wise and when you're on the road with small teams, people like that are diamonds to be with.

"Our hearts go out to his family. He died doing what he'd done so brilliantly for decades."

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "I am saddened to hear of the death of cameraman Mick Deane, covering Egyptian violence.

"My thoughts are with his family and the Sky News team."

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India Submarine: Navy Says 'No Life Detected'

Hopes of rescuing 18 sailors from an Indian navy submarine appear to be fading.

The fire was followed by several explosions

The INS Sindhurakshak sunk at its Mumbai base after a fire broke out - apparently caused when explosives on board the vessel detonated.

Divers have been trying to rescue any survivors but the navy said it had not yet found any signs of life.

Navy chief Admiral D.K. Joshi said divers had managed to pry open the main hatch of the submarine and were trying to find their way through the vessel.

"Whilst we hope for the best, we are prepared for the worst," he said.

"There is a possibility, however remote it could be, of an air pocket.

"There is a possibility, however remote it might be, of someone having grabbed a breathing set," he told a news conference.

The Indian navy has launched an investigation

The submarine is submerged at its berth in the naval dockyard with only a portion visible above the surface.

Admiral Joshi added: "Just short of midnight, there were two rapid and near-simultaneous major explosions on board the submarine, which resulted in a major and rapid spread of fire on board.

"It is some of the ordinance on board that seem to have exploded."

Sky's Neville Lazarus, reporting from Delhi, said there were unconfirmed reports of missile parts being found on the dockyard.

A number of sailors managed to jump off the submarine and some of those are now in a military hospital.

The blaze was put out after two hours, with more than a dozen fire engines tackling the fire.

The 16-year-old Russian-made sub is reported to have been completely loaded, either ready for a patrol or just back from one.

In February 2010, it also suffered a fire while docked in Visakhapatnam city in southern India, killing a 24-year-old sailor and leaving two others with burns.

Later that year, the Indian Defence Ministry and Russia's Zvezdochka shipyard signed a contract for an upgrade programme worth $80m (£52m), including a complete overhaul and upgrading of its weaponry.

The diesel-powered submarine - one of 14 owned by India - was handed back to the navy in early 2013.

It is still covered by a Russian warranty and eight Zvezdochka employees were at the Mumbai port when it sank.

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Egypt: 'Hundreds Die' In Raids On Morsi Camps

More than 140 people have been confirmed killed after Egyptian security forces opened fire as they tried to clear two protest camps loyal to deposed president Mohamed Morsi in Cairo.

A month-long state of emergency has been declared as violence spread from the capital to other parts of the country including the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

A curfew from 7pm to 6am has been declared in Cairo, according to reports, as well as ten other provinces including Alexandria and Suez.

The health ministry put the number of dead in Cairo at 149, with hundreds more injured. But the Muslim Brotherhood claimed hundreds had been killed.

Egypt's vice president, Mohamed ElBaradei, has reportedly announced his resignation.

Sky's Middle East Correspondent Sam Kiley, reporting from inside the Rabaa al Adawiya camp in the capital, said it was "under very heavy gunfire" and was a "massive military assault on largely unarmed civilians in very large numbers".

He said government forces were using machine guns, snipers, AK-47 and M16 rifles and were firing into the crowd.

Kiley added: "There are machine gun rounds, and snipers on the roof, that are preventing people from getting any closer to the field hospital (in the camp).

Security forces at one of the camps in Cairo

"I haven't seen any evidence yet of any weapons on the side of the pro-Morsi camp. The camp is very full of women and children."

He said it was a scene of "extreme chaos and bloodshed" and "many hundreds of troops and interior ministry police and special forces are involved".

"The dead and dying are on the steps of an improvised field hospital. The scenes here are absolutely graphic.

"I have covered many wars and this is as severe a battlefield as I have witnessed, with the exception of scenes in Rwanda. There are dozens and dozens of people who have been shot in the head, neck and upper body."

Among those reported killed in the camp was Asmaa al Beltagui the 17-year-old daughter of senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed al Beltagui.

Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities have released video footage taken from a helicopter which it said showed gunmen in the camp firing at security forces.

Riot police fire tear gas at members of the Muslim Brotherhood

The unrest spread beyond the capital, as pro-Morsi supporters clashed with police in the Nile Delta cities of Minya and Assiut, as police stations, government buildings and churches were attacked or set ablaze.

In Alexandria, tear gas canisters rained down on a pro-Morsi march in the Sharq neighbourhood, amid repeated bursts of automatic gunfire.

Residents, armed with clubs, came out of their homes and shops to help the police, detaining Morsi supporters and handing them over to officers at the Sharq police station.

Morsi supporters, carrying Egyptian flags and pictures of the deposed leader, then clashed with his opponents on a road carpeted with rocks.

Earlier, riot officers in Cairo backed by armoured vehicles and bulldozers also fired tear gas in the camps at the demonstrators who are demanding Mr Morsi be reinstated as the country's leader.

The interior ministry, which is in charge of police, warned its security forces would deal firmly with protesters acting "irresponsibly" and said it would guarantee safe passage to those who want to leave the two sites.

Raids on the Rabaa al Adawiya and Nahda Square camp

The larger is the Rabaa al Adawiya camp described as a 'mini town' in Nasr City, while the other is in Al Nahda Square outside the main campus of Cairo University in Giza.

The interior ministry later said security forces had "total control" over the smaller camp and police have managed to remove most of the tents in the square.

The Muslim Brotherhood that backs ousted Islamist president Mr Morsi claimed over 250 people had been killed and 5,000 hurt in the crackdown, which is almost certain to deepen political turmoil in Egypt.

It urged Egyptians to take to the streets in their thousands to denounce the "massacre".

"This is not an attempt to disperse, but a bloody attempt to crush all voices of opposition to the military coup," Brotherhood spokesman Gehad al Haddad said on Twitter.

The Rabaa al Adawiya protest camp, where several Brotherhood leaders are staying, "is calling on Egyptians to take to the streets to stop the massacre," Haddad said.

A medic tends to a child at the scene

At least three members of the security forces were confirmed to have died in the crackdown, while the health ministry said nine protesters were killed and over 80 were injured.

The raids came after international efforts failed to mediate an end to a six-week political standoff between Morsi's supporters and the army-backed government which took power after he was ousted on July 3.

Regional television networks showed images of collapsed tents and burning tyres at both sites, as well as protesters being arrested and led away by troops.

A television feed by a pro-Morsi TV station showed thousands of protesters gathered at the centre of the Nasr City site, with many covering their faces to fend off the tear gas.

It said most of the protesters at the other camp fled to the nearby Orman botanical gardens and inside the sprawling university campus.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was "deeply concerned at the escalating violence in Egypt, and regret the loss of life on all sides".

He added: "I condemn the use of force in clearing protests and call on the security forces to act with restraint."

Qatar, Turkey and Iran were among the other countries criticising the deadly crackdown.

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India: Child Slaves Rescued After Police Raids

By Neville Lazarus, Sky News Asia Producer

India has the dubious distinction of having the largest number of child labourers under the age of 14.

These children are trafficked from the poorest parts of the country. All promised a better life in the bright lights of growing cities.

Some parents are paid just 3,000 Indian Rupees (less than £35 ) and a promise of more money later to part with their children. Traffickers quickly move them to the bigger cities and sell them to contractors. 

Mr Satyarthi: 'The products come from the sweat and blood of the children'

Once in the clutches of a contractor, these children are put to work in almost inhuman conditions. They neither get their promised wages nor see their parents for years on end.

Kailash Satyarthi, of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, a child campaign group, estimates the number of child labourers in India could be around 50 million; close to 80 % of Britain's population. Though the government maintains the figures are far less.

"Children are largely employed in the garment industry and a large number make products that are exported to the western world," he said.

"The cheap products are sold on the high streets of London, Paris and New York, and when people buy these cheap products they in turn are responsible for the perpetuation of slavery. These cheap products are made from the sweat and blood of these child slaves"

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Delhi is a hub and transit point for child trafficking. Sweatshops dot the capital.

Campaigners tell us it is very difficult to stop this practice unless there is a sustained and concerted effort from not only the authorities, but consumers themselves.

Police raids are not the solution and raids are complicated to initiate. It involves multiple departments of the government and also the police. In a number of instances the employers are tipped off before an impending raid because of corruption.

Employers say they prefer hiring children as they're easier to deal with

In this particular raid Sky News went on, activists had information of over 100 children employed in a three-storey building, but only found 31. The owner had been tipped-off and the children were made to disappear.

One of the children rescued is Rehman, who is just 13-years-old. He was brought to Delhi by a relative three months ago from his impoverished village in Bihar.

For the last three months he has been working from nine in the morning till after midnight, with breaks only for meals. He told me he worked with 30 children doing embroidery in one of the rooms in the building.

It is where they eat, sleep and work - it was their world. He was only allowed out on a Saturday for a few hours which he spent playing cricket in in the street.

He tells me he was too afraid to run away.

The children get a medical check before being returned to their parents

"Where would I run and who would I run to?" he said. "I have no money since I never got paid." Now he just wants to return to his mother.

Child labour is very real in many parts of India. The campaign groups say contractors prefer children as it is easier to deal with them. Once they are away from their guardians they eventually become bonded labourers and become almost free for their employers.

Rehman and his 30 friends are free now. They undergo a medical check and will be comforted by activists. The Government is responsible for uniting them with their families and enrolling them in schools. 

But in many cases poverty drives them back into the clutches of contractors. 

The raided sweatshop is sealed by the authorities and the employer is charged.

As for the traffickers, they have enough of a supply chain in the poverty-stricken villages of India. The cheap work force in sweatshops is soon replaced.

Products need to be manufactured for the insatiable demand of customers and for profits. It's win-win for everyone - except the children.

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Python Death Brothers' Funeral Is Held

Hundreds of people have attended the funeral of two brothers killed by a python as they slept above a pet store.

Noah Barthe, four, and his six-year-old brother Connor were buried together in a single coffin after the service in Campbellton, New Brunswick, Canada.

They were found dead last Monday after a 100-pound (45kg) African rock python escaped from its enclosure in a shop beneath the apartment where they were staying.

Police say it slithered through the ventilation system above its tank and fell through the ceiling into the living room where the boys were asleep.

Preliminary autopsy results showed they died from asphyxiation.

Connor (left) and Noah (right) were asleep above the pet shop

Reverend Maurice Frenette said the lives of the boys' parents, Mandy Trecartin and Andrew Barthe, had been changed forever in ways no one else could imagine.

"We all try to understand the best we can, but you know, no one here can feel what you feel. But I am sure that everyone here feels for you, for what you are going through," he said.               

Questions still surround the circumstances of the boys' deaths, but before the service Mr Frenette said the funeral was a time to help the family.

"We're not here today to make any judgment or to try to find an answer to the inquiry, but we are here to take a pause and to be with the family," he said.

"Today we want to basically be there for them and tell them of all the love we will try to share with them during this time of sorrow."

The Reptile Ocean shop front in New Brunswick

A photo of the two boys, their heads leaning against each other as they smiled broadly, was put in front of the altar at St Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Church.

The congregation was told of their love of video games, playing outdoors and how Connor was loud and Noah quiet.

Family friend Melissa Ellis said they had shared a special bond and "needed to be near each other".                

"If people all over the world are feeling even a fraction of what we felt over the almost seven years of knowing the boys - inspired, lucky, blessed, hopeful - then our hearts are full," she said.

"The boys are continuing to change people, help people and heal people's hearts, including ours."            

African rock pythons are dangerous but do not usually attack humans

The shop and apartment where the boys died are owned by Jean-Claude Savoie, a family friend. They had been on a sleepover with his son.

Mr Savoie found the dead children on Monday morning and alerted the authorities. Vets then located and killed the snake.    

Provincial officials have said he did not have a permit for the python. 

On Friday, 23 reptiles that were banned without a permit in the area were seized from the shop and four large American alligators were put down.

Animal experts have been surprised by the tragedy because, although African rock pythons are dangerous and can kill large prey, they do not usually attack humans.

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Gibraltar And Falklands Pose New Battle For UK

Britain is facing the prospect of being taken on by a joint Spanish and Argentine campaign over the disputed territories of Gibraltar and the Falklands.

Spain may take its row over Gibraltar to the United Nations, according to reports in Spanish newspaper El Pais.

According to the paper, the country's foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo is scheduled to travel to Buenos Aires to meet his Argentinian counterpart, Hector Timerman, next month.

The Rock has been a British Overseas Territory since 1713

During this meeting, the paper says, Spain will also explore the possibility with Argentina of a "united front" at the UN, concerning Gibraltar and the Falklands.

Argentina is immersed in its own dispute with Britain over the sovereignty of the Falklands, which Britain has ruled since 1833.

It recently lodged a new claim over the islands to the UN Security Council, of which Britain is a permanent member.

Argentina is on a two-year term as non-permanent member of the UN's Security Council and could potentially use its position to include discussions over Gibraltar on the agenda.

Mr Garcia-Margallo (L) is planned to be meeting Mr Timerman (R) next month

The newspaper's sources do not specify whether Spain will ask the UN to back a request for Britain to give up sovereignty of the territory, or adhere to certain agreements.

Aside from the Security Council, Spain could also take its matter to the UN General Assembly or the International Court of Justice.

Centuries of friction over the Rock - a British overseas territory to which Spain lays claim - have reignited following delays and queues of several hours at the outpost's border with Spain, and Madrid's threats to impose a 50 euro (£43.30) fee on every vehicle entering or leaving Gibraltar.

Madrid has also complained that an artificial reef being built by Gibraltar into the Mediterranean will block its fishing vessels.

HMS Westminster is taking part in long-planned training exercises

The reported change of tack by Spain could further increase diplomatic tensions.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has said that Spain will take "all necessary measures" to defend its interests in Gibraltar.

His comments this week came as Britain sent warship HMS Westminster and two other vessels to the British territory, which the Ministry of Defence said was part of a "long-planned" training exercise.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "Our policy on Gibraltar at the United Nations has not changed and is consistent with our policies on other Overseas Territories. Self determination matters more than territorial integrity.

"The people of Gibraltar have repeatedly and overwhelmingly expressed their wish to remain under British sovereignty.

"The UK's position is entirely consistent with the purposes and principles of the United Nations, which include the principle of self determination."

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Nelson Mandela 'Improving, But Remains Critical'

Nelson Mandela's health is "improving steadily" but he remains in a critical condition, doctors looking after the anti-apartheid leader have said.

The former president has been receiving treatment for a recurring lung infection at Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria.

In a statement on Sunday, the South African presidency said medics had indicated that Mr Mandela was "making a slow but steady improvement".

"The medical team also reiterated that although his health was improving steadily, Madiba still remained in a critical condition," it said.

President Jacob Zuma once again thanked South Africans for their ongoing prayers and for keeping the much beloved former leader in their thoughts.

"Let us continue to pray for Madiba's recovery and good health,'' he said.

Ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has slammed 'cruel' reports of his demise

Mr Mandela was rushed to hospital 65 days ago, where a medical team has been working round the clock to help him, with his family and the presidency insisting he has shown signs of improvement.

In an interview with Sky News this week, his ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela again denied reports that her former husband was in a permanent vegetative state.

"Why would we conceal that?" she said.

Mr Mandela spent his 95th birthday in hospital as people around the globe joined South Africans in honouring his legacy through acts of charity.

The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, who became South Africa's first black president in 1994, is a global symbol of tolerance and the struggle for equality.

He spent 27 years on Robben Island and in other jails for his attempts to overthrow South Africa's white-minority government.

Mr Mandela stepped down as president in 1999 and has not been politically active for a decade.

His last major public appearance was in July 2010, at the final of the Fifa World Cup at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.

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Rhode Island Boy Missing After Double Murder

An Amber Alert has been issued for a two-year-old Rhode Island boy after two people are found dead in an apparent double murder.

State police say toddler Isaiah Perez was discovered missing from a Johnston home at about 4.30am Sunday.

Police say the Amber Alert is part of a double-homicide investigation but did not elaborate.

Authorities are searching for 22-year-old Malcolm Crowell, who they say snatched Isaiah from the home.

Police say he should be considered armed and dangerous.

No description of his vehicle was immediately available.

More follows...

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