Vietnam Firework Factory Explosion Kills 21

An explosion at a fireworks factory in northern Vietnam has killed at least 21 people and left dozens more injured.

An army official said the blast was at a military-run facility in Phu Tho province which employs around 300 workers, mostly women.

"Twenty-one people are dead and 98 others are injured - most of them have sustained burns," a military rescue official told AFP by phone, requesting anonymity.

The most critical burns cases were being moved to a specialist burns centre on the outskirts of Hanoi, 120km away.

"I couldn't recognise my daughter, she was burned from her face to the soles of her feet," one woman told state media. "She was pregnant, she couldn't escape the explosion quick enough."

Images posted on Vietnamese blogs showed charred frames of motorcycles, and nearby houses with roofs ripped off and windows blown in by the force of the explosions.

Smoke from the fire could be seen from miles away

The online newspaper VNExpress quoted Major General Le Quang Dai as saying that fewer people than usual were working at the time of the explosion because it was a Saturday.

Authorities had tried to isolate the blast in Thanh Ba district to prevent it from reaching two explosives warehouses nearby, he added.

A police officer said the blast could be heard 10km away and around 2,000 residents living near the factory were evacuated.

Loudspeakers urged people within 15km of the facility to leave the area.

"The first blast was at 7.55am - and then there were continuous explosions for some hours," Phi Xuan Trung, chairman of the local Khai Xuan commune, told VNExpress.

"There was a strong smell of gunpowder, the ground was shaking many kilometres away," he added.

An investigation has been launched into the cause of the explosion.

The factory is the only facility in Vietnam that produces fireworks to be used for Lunar New Year festivals and other major public events.

In 2010, fireworks being prepared at Hanoi's My Dinh stadium for use in the city's 1,000th anniversary celebrations exploded, killing three foreigners and one Vietnamese national.

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Malala Tells Obama: 'End The Drone Strikes'

Pakistani teenage activist Malala Yusufzai has told the US President that drone strikes in her country are "fuelling terrorism".

The 16-year-old schoolgirl, who was shot in the head and neck by Taliban gunmen who attacked her school bus in Pakistan's Swat Valley, met Barack Obama and the First Lady in the White House.

"I thanked President Obama for the United States' work in supporting education in Pakistan and Afghanistan and for Syrian refugees," she said after the meeting.

Malala with her father Ziauddin in Edgbaston, Birmingham

"I also expressed my concerns that drone attacks are fuelling terrorism. Innocent victims are killed in these acts, and they lead to resentment among the Pakistani people.

"If we refocus efforts on education it will make a big impact."

The US military and the CIA have carried out hundreds of drone strikes against militant groups in the northwest Pakistan since 2004.

But the Pakistani government complains that they also frequently kill civilians and turn ordinary people against Islamabad and the US. 

Malala attracted the anger of the Taliban by writing a blog chronicling the challenges of daily life under the Islamists.

Hundreds of drone strikes have been reported in Pakistan

She is now living in Britain, where she underwent treatment for the injuries sustained in the attack, and campaigns for girls' right to education.

Mr Obama praised the teenager for her "inspiring and passionate work" and signed a proclamation to mark the International Day of the Girl.

A statement issued by the White House said: "The United States joins with the Pakistani people and so many around the world to celebrate Malala's courage and her determination to promote the right of all girls to attend school and realise their dreams."

Malala had been among the favourites for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, but the award was handed to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

In 2012 Barack Obama condemned Malala's shooting as "barbaric". White House spokesman Jay Carney said. "I know that the President found the news reprehensible and disgusting and tragic."

The teenager was treated in Britain following her shooting in 2012

The Pakistani army retook control of Swat later that year, and Malala received the country's highest civilian award.

Since then she has been nominated for several international awards for child activists - including the EU's Sakharov human rights prize which she won earlier in the week - and has written a book about her campaign work called I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education And Was Shot By The Taliban.

Last week Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said the group stood by its decision to target the teenager, who he said "targeted and criticised Islam".

"She accepted that she attacked Islam so we we tried to kill her, and if we get another chance we will definitely kill her and that will make us feel proud.

"Islam prohibits killing women, but excepts those that support the infidels in their war against our religion.".

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De Villota Death 'Directly Linked To Crash'

The family of Spanish test driver Maria de Villota have claimed her death on Friday was a direct result of her crash at Duxford Aerodrome in Cambridge last year.

A statement issued by the family read: "Maria left us while she was sleeping, approximately at 6am (on Friday), as a consequence of the neurological injuries she suffered in July of 2012, according to what the forensic doctor has told us.

"Maria is gone, but she has left a very clear message of joy and hope which is helping the family move on in these moments."

She had been test-driving a MR-01 car when she crashed

Dr Joaquin Lucena Romero, the head of forensic services at Spain's Institute for Legal Medicine, has declared de Villota's death was "due to natural causes" following a post-mortem.

But Britain's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) say they are still investigating potential links between the accident 15 months ago and her death last week.

An HSE spokeswoman stated the organisation "would expect to be kept informed of any new evidence".

The accident occurred after 33-year-old de Villota had been test-driving an MR-01 race car for Marussia, the English-Russian Formula One team based in Oxfordshire.

Despite her injuries she made a remarkable recovery in one month

After driving the vehicle at speeds of 200mph she pulled off the track and accidentally hit a stationary vehicle at low speed.

The accident left her in a critical condition and caused the loss of her right eye, though she made a remarkable recovery after just a month in hospital. Marussia were cleared of liability relating to the car

The Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) have announced they will hold a minute of silence at Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix.

A statement released by the GPDA read: "All F1 drivers of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association are very saddened to hear of the tragic death of our former member Maria de Villota.

"She has been an active member and contributed to driver safety in a very enthusiastic and most professional manner.

"Her positive attitude, maturity and extreme commitment will never be forgotten and are something we have learned from. Maria will be missed and always remembered by all of us."

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Russia: Arrests After Gay Rights Rally Attacked

Dozens of protesters chanting hymns and prayers have attacked a gay rights rally in St Petersburg, leading to arrests on both sides.

One of the protesters (R) tries to pull a flag from an female activist

Some 20 activists had gathered in the centre of Russia's second city for the rally, waving rainbow flags and signs with messages such as "Stop homophobia in Russia!"

Anti-gay protesters gather at the start of the rally

But the rally was cut short when a group of about 50 Christian counter-demonstrators, who were singing and reciting prayers, attacked the demonstrators.

Police detain an anti-gay protester

Police broke up the fight and arrested activists from both sides.

Homosexuality was decriminalised in Russia in 1993 and Russian officials continue to emphasise that it does not penalise gay orientation.

Gay rights activists share a kiss in front of police

However, a law against "gay propaganda" - which could cover any activity that promotes homosexuality - was signed in June, drawing international condemnation and calls for a boycott of the Olympic Games in Sochi.

The International Olympics Committee has asked Russia to clarify how the law would operate around the Winter Games next year.

Police made some 20 arrests on both sides

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree banning demonstrations and rallies for two and a half months around the Games.

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Cyclone Phailin Batters India's East Coast

More than 440,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in two states as a huge cyclone made landfall on India's east coast.

India's weather office issued a red alert, saying the "very severe cyclonic storm Phailin" was packing gusts as high as 150mph (240kph).

The evacuation is one of the biggest such exercises in the country's history, said the national disaster agency.

A satellite image of the cyclone

At least 12 million people are in the path of the storm, which virtually filled the Bay of Bengal - an area the size of France.

The cyclone is expected to be the fiercest storm to hit India since a devastating cyclone killed 10,000 people 14 years ago.

Some forecasters likened its size and intensity to hurricane Katrina, which devastated the US Gulf coast and New Orleans in 2005.

Fishermen pull a boat from the waters of the Bay of Bengal to safer ground

Dr Liz Bentley from the Royal Meteorological Society told Sky News: "This particular part of the coastline is very low-lying so it (Phailin) will penetrate quite well in land.

"It is like a mini-tsunami hitting that - not caused in the same way as a tsunami but it's the same effect."

Large waves have already pounded beaches in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Villagers along the coast were evacuated to schools in the north of the state and in neighbouring Odisha, while panic buying drove up food prices.

Relief items are packaged for distribution to cyclone evacuees

Authorities have been evacuating villagers along the coast to government-run shelters and schools in three districts of Andhra Pradesh state and five districts of Orissa state.

But many villagers said they had not been told to evacuate, and others were refusing to leave their homes.

"Of course I'm scared, but where will I move with my family?" said Kuramayya, 38, a fisherman from the village of Bandharuvanipeta, while 12ft waves crashed behind him. "We can't leave our boats behind."

Floods have already ripped down power lines

The Indian Meteorological Department said Phailin would hit between Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and the port of Paradip in Odisha. Storm surges 10ft above normal tides were predicted.

About 12 hours before Cyclone Phailin's landfall, meteorologists held out hope that the storm might hit while in a temporary weakened state, but no matter what it will be large and deadly.

Residents move to safer ground

Ryan Maue, a meteorologist at Weather Bell, a private US weather firm, said even in the best-case scenario there will be a storm surge of 20-30 feet (7-9 metres).

A storm surge - the giant wall of water that that a cyclone blasts ashore - is the big killer in such events.

The predicted path of the cyclone

The storm already has been large and powerful for nearly 36 hours, he said, and those winds have built up tremendous amount of surge, Mr Maue said.

He said: "A storm this large can't peter out that fast. There's nothing to stop it at this point."

Officials cancelled holy day celebrations and stockpiled emergency supplies in coastal Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states.

Floods have already hit ahead of the cyclone

If the storm continues on its current path without weakening, it is expected to cause large-scale power and communications outages and shut down road and rail links, officials said. There would also be extensive damage to crops.

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Nobel Peace Prize Goes To Weapons Watchdog

Full List Of Nobel Peace Prize Winners

Updated: 11:10am UK, Friday 11 October 2013

Here is the full list of Nobel Peace Prize laureates from 1901, when the prize was first awarded:

2013: The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)

2012: The European Union (EU)

2011: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee (Liberia), Tawakkul Karman (Yemen)

2010: Liu Xiaobo (China)

2009: Barack Obama (US)

2008: Martti Ahtisaari (Finland)

2007: Al Gore (US) and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

2006: Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh) and the Grameen Bank

2005: International Atomic Energy Agency and Mohamed ElBaradei (Egypt)

2004: Wangari Maathai (Kenya)

2003: Shirin Ebadi (Iran)

2002: Jimmy Carter (US)

2001: Kofi Annan (Ghana) and the United Nations

2000: Kim Dae Jung (South Korea)

1999: Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders)

1998: John Hume and David Trimble (Northern Ireland)

1997: Jody Williams (US) and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines

1996: Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and Jose Ramos-Horta (East Timor)

1995: Joseph Rotblat (Britain) and the Pugwash movement

1994: Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres (Israel) and Yasser Arafat (PLO)

1993: Nelson Mandela and Frederik de Klerk (South Africa)

1992: Rigoberta Menchu (Guatemala)

1991: Aung San Suu Kyi (Burma)

1990: Mikhail Gorbachev (Soviet Union)

1989: Dalai Lama (Tibet)

1988: United Nations Peacekeeping Forces

1987: Oscar Arias Sanchez (Costa Rica)

1986: Elie Wiesel (US)

1985: International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War

1984: Desmond Tutu (South Africa)

1983: Lech Walesa (Poland)

1982: Alva Myrdal (Sweden) and Alfonso Garcia Robles (Mexico)

1981: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

1980: Adolfo Perez Esquivel (Argentina)

1979: Mother Teresa (Albania)

1978: Anwar Sadat (Egypt) and Menachem Begin (Israel)

1977: Amnesty International

1976: Betty Williams (Britain) and Mairead Corrigan (Northern Ireland)

1975: Andrei Sakharov (Soviet Union)

1974: Sean MacBride (Ireland) and Eisaku Sato (Japan)

1973: Henry Kissinger (US) and Le Duc Tho (Vietnam, declined)

1972: prize not handed out

1971: Willy Brandt (Germany)

1970: Norman Borlaug (US)

1969: International Labour Organisation

1968: Rene Cassin (France)

1967: prize not handed out

1966: prize not handed out

1965: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

1964: Martin Luther King Jr (US)

1963: International Committee of the Red Cross and the League of Red Cross Societies

1962: Linus Carl Pauling (US)

1961: Dag Hammarskjoeld (Sweden)

1960: Albert Lutuli (South Africa)

1959: Philip Noel-Baker (Britain)

1958: Georges Pire (Belgium)

1957: Lester Pearson (Canada)

1956: prize not handed out

1955: prize not handed out

1954: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

1953: George Marshall (US)

1952: Albert Schweitzer (France)

1951: Leon Jouhaux (France)

1950: Ralph Bunche (US)

1949: Lord (John) Boyd Orr of Brechin (Britain)

1948: prize not handed out

1947: Friends Service Council (The Quakers), American Friends Service Committee (The Quakers)

1946: Emily Greene Balch (US), John Raleigh Mott (US)

1945: Cordell Hull (US)

1944: International Committee of the Red Cross

1943: prize not handed out

1942: prize not handed out

1941: prize not handed out

1940: prize not handed out

1939: prize not handed out

1938: Nansen International Office for Refugees

1937: Viscount Cecil of Chelwood (Britain)

1936: Carlos Saavedra Lamas (Argentina)

1935: Carl von Ossietzky (Germany)

1934: Arthur Henderson (Britain)

1933: Sir Norman Angell (Ralph Lane) (Britain)

1932: prize not handed out

1931: Jane Addams (US) and Nicholas Murray Butler (US)

1930: Nathan Soederblom (Sweden)

1929: Frank Billings Kellogg (US)

1928: prize not handed out

1927: Ferdinand Buisson (France) and Ludwig Quidde (Germany)

1926: Aristide Briand (France) and Gustav Stresemann (Germany)

1925: Sir Austen Chamberlain (Britain) and Charles Gates Dawes (US)

1924: prize not handed out

1923: prize not handed out

1922: Fridtjof Nansen (Norway)

1921: Karl Hjalmar Branting (Sweden) and Christian Lous Lange (Norway)

1920: Leon Victor Auguste Bourgeois (France)

1919: Thomas Woodrow Wilson (US)

1918: prize not handed out

1917: International Committee of the Red Cross

1916: prize not handed out

1915: prize not handed out

1914: prize not handed out

1913: Henri La Fontaine (Belgium)

1912: Elihu Root (US)

1911: Tobias Michael Carel Asser (The Netherlands) and Alfred Hermann Fried (Austria)

1910: Permanent International Peace Bureau

1909: Auguste Marie François Beernaert (Belgium) and Paul Henri Benjamin Balluet, Baron d'Estournelles de Constant de Rebecque (France)

1908: Klas Pontus Arnoldson (Sweden) and Fredrik Bajer (Denmark)

1907: Ernesto Teodoro Moneta (Italy) and Louis Renault (France)

1906: Theodore Roosevelt (US)

1905: Baroness Bertha Sophie Felicita von Suttner (Austria)

1904: Institute of International Law

1903: William Randal Cremer (Britain)

1902: Elie Ducommun (Switzerland) and Charles Albert Gobat (Switzerland)

1901: Jean Henri Dunant (Switzerland) and Frederic Passy (France)

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Syria Rebels Parade Child Hostages On YouTube

Rebel forces in Syria have killed at least 190 civilians and seized dozens of child hostages, who they have paraded in a video posted on YouTube, Human Rights Watch says.

Fighters burned villages, threw bodies in mass graves and kidnapped women and children in acts described as likely "crimes against humanity" by HRW.

Witnesses gave harrowing accounts of family members being executed in their beds during an attack on August 4.

One man said he was forced to flee, leaving his paralysed son and wife to die at the hands of armed rebels.

Graves in a back yard of a village home. Pic: Human Rights Watch

A 105-page report by the New York based human rights group said the findings "strongly suggest" crimes against humanity were committed in the rural Latakia area.

HRW said it conducted an on-scene investigation and interviewed more than 35 people, including survivors and fighters from both sides.

One child said: "My mum was here in the house with me. She came out of the house first, and I was behind her.

"We saw the three fighters just in front of us, and then we fled on foot down behind the house and into the valley.

"The three fighters that I saw were all dressed in black. They were shooting at us from two different directions. They had machine guns and were using snipers.

Picture of body bags released by the Ministry of Health

"My older brother came down and hid with us as well. We hid, but my dad stayed in the house. He was killed in his bed.

"My aunt, she is an 80-year-old blind woman, was also killed in her room. Her name is Nassiba."

HRW said two opposition groups - the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham and Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar - were holding around 200 hostages from Alawite villages, where most inhabitants were considered loyal to Syria's leader Bashar al Assad.

"The evidence strongly suggests that the killings, hostage-taking, and other abuses committed by opposition forces on and after August 4 rise to the level of crimes against humanity," Human Rights Watch said.

Rebel fighters attacking villages. Pic: Human Rights Watch

The report came the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) continued its mission to deal with Syria's chemical weapons stockpile.

International inspectors have so far visited three sites linked to Syria's chemical weapons programme, OPCW spokesman Michael Luhan said.

In another development OPCW - based in The Hague - was awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

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Greenpeace Protest: Two Britons Refused Bail

By Katie Stallard, Russia Correspondent

Two British men detained on piracy charges after a Greenpeace protest at an oil rig in Russia have lost their appeals for bail.

Video journalist Kieron Bryan, 29, and activist Philip Ball, 42, are among 30 people being held in the Arctic port of Murmansk after several Greenpeace campaigners attempted to scale the platform of the rig on September 18. 

The Greenpeace ship, the Arctic Sunrise, was boarded at gunpoint by security forces.

Witnesses described armed masked men rappelling onto the ship from helicopters, and warning shots being fired nearby.

All those on board, including six British citizens, have been charged with "piracy undertaken by an organised group".

Kieron Bryan appears in court in Russia

It is a serious crime in Russia, which carries a prison sentence of up to 15 years.

Mr Bryan's family have stressed that he is a journalist, not an activist, who is not a member of Greenpeace.

Appealing from the dock of Murmansk Regional Court today, he said: "My name is Kieron Bryan, I was born on August 9, 1984, I live in in London.

"I am a freelance video journalist, working for several companies and media organisations. Prior to December last year I worked for the Times newspaper."

Mr Bryan's lawyer asked for him to be bailed to a local hotel on a surety of one million roubles - around £20,000.

Protesters attempt to scale the oil rig

He offered to submit to any other preventive measure that did not involve depriving him of his liberty.

"If everyone was arrested for writing an article, journalists would not exist," Mr Bryan said in his final address to the court.

He was visibly upset as his appeal was refused. He will now be returned to a pre-trial detention centre.

In a letter to his family last week, he said that he was spending 23 hours a day in his cell, which he shares with a Russian man. 

He wrote that the food was very poor, that it was very noisy and that he was being moved around a lot.

His brother said a consular official who visited him described him as "emotionally and mentally drained".

Protesters outside the Russian embassy in London

In a parallel hearing, in another room at the Murmansk court, a second judge considered the case of Mr Ball, a father-of-three, from Oxford.

Mr Ball recorded a video message before he left, talking about how difficult it would be to leave his children.

He said: "It's quite sad to say goodbye and head off on something like this. The kids don't like you being away.

"I don't know when I'll be back. That's quite hard. Just knowing that they're here without me around, they don't want me to go, it's tricky."

In court his lawyer argued that he posed no threat of escape because he did not have his passport, but the judge rejected his appeal.

Russian security forces seize the Arctic Sunrise ship

Commenting on the two cases, John Sauven, Executive Director of Greenpeace UK, said: "This decision flies in the face of all reason.

"We have offered the Russian courts significant sureties that would guarantee the return of all those accused if and when a trial took place.

"The decision of the court to refuse bail looks increasingly like the Russian authorities are meting out unnecessarily harsh punishment even before any trial.

"In the case of Kieron Bryan, he is a professional journalist, travelling on the Greenpeace ship, witnessing a peaceful protest against oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean.

"He has committed no crime and should be released immediately."

Thirty people from 18 different countries remain in custody. A further four appeal hearings, including that of the US-born captain, have been scheduled for Monday.

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Japan Hospital Fire Kills Patients And Staff

At least ten people have been killed and eight others injured after a fire broke out at a hospital in southern Japan.

The blaze is believed to have started on the ground floor of the four-storey building in the early hours of Friday morning.

Police in Fukuoka said that among the dead were eight patients and two members of staff, who had been asleep at the time.

All of those who died were between the ages of 70 and 89, police said.

A rescue worker surveys the damage caused to the hospital by the fire

Many of those injured are in a serious condition.

Local fire prevention bureau chief Megumi Katsuragi said: "It was a very difficult situation."

According to one witness, bystanders could only watch as flames engulfed Abe orthopaedic hospital.

Emergency services eventually managed to bring the fire under control, but a significant part of the hospital was severely damaged.

An investigation has been launched into the cause of the tragedy.

Local media reported the fire may have started in a treatment room which had a laser device and thermal therapy equipment.

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Shark Attack Kills South Africa Snorkeller

A snorkeller has been killed by a shark at a world-famous surfing resort in South Africa.

The man's body was recovered from Jeffreys Bay in the Eastern Cape region after he was dragged into deep water by the shark.

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said a volunteer rescue crew was dispatched at 11:30am local time after reports of the attack.

"On arrival on-scene remains of a body, believed to be those of an adult male, have been recovered from the water and handed into the care of the police and the forensic pathology services," it said.

According to eyewitnesses, the man had been snorkelling close to rocks at the time of the attack.

"Just saw NSRI carry the body of a shark attack victim in bag. Hectic man. No surfing today," one local tweeted.

Great white sharks are believed to carry out the most attacks on people

A man in a kayak reportedly saw the victim lying face-down in the water and tried to fend off the shark with his paddle in order to recover the body.

According to some reports, witnesses initially believed there were two sharks involved in the attack because of the length of the animal from its dorsal fin to tail fin.

However, local media later said a single shark more than four metres long killed the snorkeller.

It was not immediately clear what breed of shark was involved.

Last year there were four shark attacks in South Africa, three of them fatal, according to the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

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Libya PM Zeidan Freed After Kidnap At Gunpoint

Libya's Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has appealed for calm after he was freed from a dramatic kidnap at dawn by gunmen at the Tripoli hotel where he is living.

The brazen abduction seemed to be in retaliation for a raid by US special forces in the capital over the weekend that saw a suspected al Qaeda leader seized.

In an appearance on state television, Mr Zeidan said: "I hope this problem will be resolved with reason and wisdom," adding that he hoped there wouldn't be any "escalation."

The gunmen who abducted Mr Zeidan were believed to be militiamen, and it is thought he was freed when members of another militia stormed the site where he was being held.

After he was released, the PM thanked those who helped free him but provided no details and avoided pointing fingers at those behind the abduction.

Mr Zeidan said: "We hope this matter will be treated with wisdom and rationality, far from tension. There are many things that need dealing with."

Haitham al Tajouri, a commander from a militia group called the Reinforcement Force, told Al Ahrar television that his men exchanged fire with the captors.

Ali Zeidan (c) arrives at the government HQ after being freed

A group of former rebels, which had been hired by the government to provide security in the city, said it had "arrested" Mr Zeidan after US Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed Libya's role in the US capture of Libyan Abu Anas al Libi.

The group, known as the Operations Room of Libya's Revolutionaries, said it had seized Mr Zeidan "on the prosecutor's orders" - but the public prosecutor's office said it had issued no such warrant for his arrest.

His abduction reflected the weakness of the government, which is virtually held hostage by powerful militias, many of which are made up of Islamic militants.

The PM was detained at the interior ministry's anti-crime department, said an official. He had been taken from the luxury Corinthia Hotel after being seized by up to 150 armed men who arrived in pick-up trucks.

Witnesses said a large group of them entered the building, some stayed in reception while others headed to the 21st floor where Mr Zeidan was staying.

The gunmen scuffled with the prime minister's guards before they seized him and led him out at around 5.15am (local time), said the witnesses, adding he offered no resistance while he was being led away.

Two years after a revolution toppled Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, the fragile central government has been struggling to contain tribal militias and groups of former rebels who spearheaded the uprising.

Mr Zeidan pictured with Prime Minister David Cameron

But with the regular police forces and army weak and in disarray, the government has had to enlist some militias to act as security forces.

However, they often remain more loyal to their own agendas and commanders than the state, and many have hard-line Islamic ideologies sympathetic to al Qaeda.

Sky's Tim Marshall said: "The prime minister of Libya's jurisdiction runs about to the end of his hotel corridor and then stops because there is no real government, certainly in the sense that we understand it.

"It is a lawless place that is falling apart into different factions, tribes, regions, areas and groups. The fact this man has been detained does not alter the trajectory of Libya's spiral into chaos.

"What is very important about the fact that the PM can be taken from his hotel by armed men is symbolic of how bad things have got."

Al Qaeda suspect Abu Anas al Libi was seized by the US last Saturday

David Cameron's spokesman said on Thursday afternoon the British Prime Minister had spoken to his Libyan counterpart.

"They talked about how the UK would continue to support the Libyan government ..." the spokesman said. "Including support in helping them overcome the security challenges that they face."

He did not say in concrete terms, what that support would involve.

There has been anger among militant groups over the US special forces operation that seized al Libi, whose family met Mr Zeidan hours before the PM's abduction.

Al Libi, who was whisked away to a US warship in the Mediterranean, is suspected of being involved in the twin bombings of US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 1998.

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Deputy Nuclear Chief Fired Amid Gambling Probe

The deputy commander of US nuclear forces has been fired because of a gambling investigation.

US Navy Vice Admiral Tim Giardina was notified that he had been relieved of duty amid allegations that he used counterfeit chips at an Iowa casino.

He will drop in rank from a three-star to a two-star admiral because of the loss of his command, and will be reassigned pending the outcome of a probe by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Admiral Giardina, who had held the job since December 2011, had already been suspended from his post on September 3.

He is alleged to have used at least $1,500 (£940) in fake gambling chips while playing poker at the Horseshoe Casino, Iowa state officials have said. He has not been charged.

The Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs is across the Missouri River from Strategic Command headquarters near Omaha, Nebraska.

The move to relieve such a high-ranking official is extremely rare in the history of US Strategic Command, which is responsible for nuclear forces including nuclear-armed submarines, bombers and land-based missiles.

The command also oversees space operations governing military satellites.

Officials have said the admiral is not being investigated for compromising any classified material.

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Woman Denied Help Gives Birth On Hospital Lawn

A photograph of an indigenous woman in Mexico taken as she gave birth outside a clinic where she was denied help has led to the suspension of the health centre's director.

Irma Lopez and her husband were turned away from the health centre by a nurse who said she was only eight months pregnant and "still not ready" to deliver.

But an hour-and-a-half later, her waters broke, and she gave birth to a son, her third child, on her own, as her husband pleaded with the nurse to call for help.

The 29-year-old said: "I didn't want to deliver like this. It was so ugly and with so much pain."

The photograph of her giving birth, her newborn still bound by the umbilical cord and lying on the ground, emerged in several newspapers, including the front cover of La Razon de Mexico, and was widely circulated on the internet.

It was taken by a witness to her ordeal at the Rural Health Centre in the village of San Felipe Jalapa de Diaz.

Mrs Lopez, who is of Mazatec ethnicity, and her husband had walked an hour to the clinic from the family's one-bedroom hut in the mountains of northern Oaxaca.

She was eventually taken in by the clinic after giving birth and discharged the same day with prescriptions for medicine and products that cost her about £19, she said.

"I am naming him Salvador," said Mrs Lopez, which means saviour in English. "He really saved himself."

Authorities in the southern Mexican state have now suspended the health centre's director, Dr Adrian Cruz, and launched an investigation into the incident, which happened on October 2.

The case has pointed to the persistent discrimination against Mexico's indigenous people, and the shortcomings of its health care system.

Hundreds of women still die during or right after pregnancy.

Mayra Morales, Oaxaca's representative for the national Network for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, said: "The photo is giving visibility to a wider structural problem that occurs within indigenous communities.

"Women are not receiving proper care. They are not being offered quality health services, not even a humane treatment."

Nearly one in five women in the state of Oaxaca gave birth in a place that was not a hospital or a clinic in 2011, according to Mexico's census.

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Libyans 'Unsurprised' By PM's Abduction

In the wake of the kidnapping of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan from the Corinthia hotel in Tripoli, a group of Libyan men amassed outside the building.

Wearing casual clothes, they wielded Kalashnikovs and shouted at drivers as they assisted the hotel's normal security team.

Extra security provided by the army or official militias funded by the government was absent.

The Corinthia is a location widely considered to be one of the safest in the capital and is used by EU and IMF missions when they are in Libya.

On Thursday morning though it was a scene of chaos, with long queues at the reception desk as Western businessmen attempted to check out.

'We've been told to leave, that's all I know,' said one British guest as he stood in line with his luggage.

In the streets people seem resigned and unsurprised by the abduction, and seem to see it as a logical step in the deteriorating security situation. Many are getting on with their day-to-day business.

"There's no real police or security. What do you expect?" said Abdul Rahebi, who runs a cafe near the Corinthia Hotel.

"This wouldn't have happened under Gaddafi," said one of his customers, sparking laughter amongst those queuing for coffee.

PM Ali Zeidan (C) arrives at the government HQ after being freed

Although people do not miss the authoritarian regime of Gaddafi there is a certain sense of nostalgia now about the days before the revolution.

"At least you knew who you knew who was abducting people back then," said Seraj Mohamed Essa, who works in a nearby hotel.

Over the last six months it seems like support for Mr Zeidan has waned on an almost daily basis.

During his term as prime minister, he has failed to create a functioning security force, made no progress on creating a constitution and struggled to regain control over oil fields in the east.

Carjackings, assassinations and bombings are increasingly frequent and handguns are sold at market stalls next to cages of canaries in a market just 10 minutes walk from the Corinthia Hotel.

As the security situation has worsened the already limited grip of the government has weakened leaving a vacuum that has quickly been filled by numerous ideological militias.

Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi

These include the federalists in the east who have become increasingly powerful and taken over essential oil infrastructure costing crippling production and costing the government more than £3.1bn in lost revenue.

The other main group that has benefited from the weakening government is Libya's militant Islamist groups who have surged in popularity by offering services that the government cannot, caring for the poor, protecting hospitals and collecting rubbish.

These extremist Islamic groups in Libya have been vocal in their criticism of the secretive US operation to abduct Anas al Libi, with many blaming Libya's weak government, which has struggled to minimise the destabilising effect of the raid.

One of the groups that has been most critical is Ansar al Sharia, a militant group that flies the same flag as al Qaeda and has been connected to the 2011 raid on the US diplomatic compound that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens.

It has staged two days of protests expressing anger over the US operation.

"Ansar al Sharia don't represent the masses but many people feel that the Libyan government has failed us by allowing American agents to secretly work in our country," said Seraj Mohamed Essa.

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Obama 'Willing To Negotiate' To End Shutdown

President Obama will negotiate on broad budget issues, if Congress lifts the debt ceiling, a White House official has confirmed.

Republican House of Representatives leader John Boehner will offer a six-week extension to the debt ceiling to Mr Obama during a meeting at the White House later on Thursday.

Mr Obama has previously refused to negotiate over budget issues until Congress ended the now 10-day government shutdown and prevented the threat of a first-ever government default.

During a news conference, Mr Boehner said the proposed extension to the debt ceiling was conditional on budget discussions.

He said: "It's time for leadership. It's time for these negotiations and this conversation to begin.

"What we want to do is to offer the president today the ability to move a temporary increase in the debt ceiling in agreement to go to conference on the budget."

The proposal would allow the US government to borrow money until November 22 - potentially averting an unprecedented federal default that could occur as early as October 17.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde warned on Thursday that US failure to raise its debt ceiling would do serious damage to the global economy.

The shutdown began after Congress failed to pass a bill to temporarily fund the federal government, resulting in hundreds of thousands of federal employees stopping work.

The measure is normally routine, but has become entangled in Republican demands for delays or amendments to President Obama's health care overhaul and reduced government spending.

More follows...

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Egypt: Ousted President Morsi To Face Trial

The trial of ousted President Mohamed Morsi on charges of inciting the murder of protesters is due to start on November 4.

Morsi will stand trial with 14 other members of his Muslim Brotherhood over the killings of at least 10 protesters outside his presidential palace in December 2012, according to state news agency MENA.

The deadly clashes broke out after the Brotherhood dispersed a sit-in by secular-leaning opponents.

They had gathered to oppose a temporary decree passed by Morsi placing his decisions beyond judicial review.

Morsi's predecessor Hosni Mubarak is also on trial

The deaths came almost six months before Morsi was deposed in a military coup in July.

Morsi, who became Egypt's first democratically elected president, has been detained in a secret location since.

Following his departure, security forces launched an extensive crackdown on his supporters that has resulted in more than 1,000 deaths. The Muslim Brotherhood has also been banned.

Hundreds of Islamist loyalists were killed on August 14 when security forces broke up two protest camps set up by Morsi supporters in Cairo.

Many of the Brotherhood's leadership, including Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, are standing trial on other charges.

Western mediators including EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton had demanded Morsi's release as a goodwill gesture, but were rebuffed by the government which accuses the Brotherhood of "terrorism".

The movement has called for more marches on Friday to head to Tahrir Square in central Cairo, in a repeat of Sunday's protests that turned violent.

Morsi is the second Egyptian president to be charged over the killings of protesters.

His predecessor, Hosni Mubarak, is on trial for complicity in the deaths of protesters during the 18-day uprising that forced him to resign in 2011.

::  US officials say the Obama administration is poised to slash hundreds of millions of dollars in military and economic assistance to Egypt following the military coup.

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Hungarian Man Dies In China Wingsuit Jump

A Hungarian man has died while performing a 700m (2,290ft) wingsuit jump in central China.

The body of Victor Kovats was discovered in the Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park in Hunan province on Wednesday, the day after his jump, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

More than 200 rescuers spent the night searching for him.

The extreme sport involves people gliding long distances using a special jump suit.

Victor Kovats performs a jump in the Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park

Reports suggest Kovats, a three-time Hungarian national wingsuit champion, died from head injuries after crashing into a cliff-side.

State media said the death may be related to equipment failure or gusting winds.

In footage of the jump, Kovats is seen suddenly veering off course and disappearing into tree cover.

Kovats was carrying out a practice run ahead of the second World Wingsuit Championship being held in the park this weekend.

The competition's mountainous backdrop was part of the inspiration behind James Cameron's alien landscape in the Hollywood blockbuster film Avatar.

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Mexico: 13 Police Held In Kidnap Gang Swoop

Mexican authorities have arrested 13 federal police officers who were allegedly part of a kidnap and murder gang that operated in the resort of Acapulco.

The officers were detained along with five civilians - four men and a woman - who also allegedly killed some of the kidnap victims.

The gang is thought to have been involved in seven murders and four kidnappings.

The suspects were arrested on the outskirts of Acapulco after an anonymous tip, the Mexican government's national security spokesman, Eduardo Sanchez said.

"Investigations confirmed these individuals committed crimes mainly in the port of Acapulco," said Mr Sanchez, speaking in Mexico City.

"They are suspected of committing crimes against health, organised crime, homicide, kidnapping, carrying weapons used exclusively by the Armed Forces, among others.

"(Previous arrests) led to the discovery of ... graves in the hill of El Veladero in the municipality of Acapulco where three bodies were found."

The Pacific coastal tourist resort of Acapulco, which lies in the western state of Guerrero, has been hit by a wave of violence in recent years.

It is now one of Mexico's most violent cities with a murder rate of 77 homicides per 100,000 people.

The federal police have suffered various high-profile embarrassments in recent years.

In June last year a shoot-out between federal police and corrupt officers at Mexico City's airport resulted in three deaths.

A few months later 14 federal police were charged with attempted murder after opening fire on a car carrying two CIA agents outside Mexico City.

President Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office in December, has vowed to end the blood-letting by targeting crimes such as kidnapping and extortion.

Guerrero is one of the most dangerous states in Mexico with 86 reported kidnappings in the first eight months of this year - more than in the whole of 2011 and 2012, according to official figures.

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Lampedusa Tragedy: Barroso And Letta Heckled

European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso and Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta have been barracked during a visit to Lampedusa where a boat carrying African asylum seekers caught fire and sank, killing up to 350 people.

Residents of the remote Italian island have long complained to the EU that they have been left alone to deal with the thousands of migrants who come ashore each year from Africa and the Middle East.

Both Mr Barroso and Mr Letta were booed and jeered by protesting islanders who shouted "disgrace" and "killers".

Up to 500 people were on the boat when it sank

"They should be ashamed of themselves. They should solve this humanitarian problem." one protester said.

Another added: "We've been living with this for 20 years. We've had enough of death. These deaths are on the conscience of Italian and EU politicians."

Mr Barroso pledged Italy would receive an additional 30 million euros (£25m) in EU funds to help improve standards at its immigrant holding centres following last Thursday's tragedy.

And Mr Letta said that Italy would hold a state funeral for the migrants who died after their boat capsized.

The coffins of the victims in an airport hangar in Lampedusa

They visited the airport hangar where the coffins of the dead have been laid out.

"That image of hundreds of coffins will never get out of my mind," said Mr Barroso.

The pair also visited the island's refugee centre which houses around 1,000 migrants, but only has 250 beds.

Some 30,000 migrants have flocked to Italy so far this year. An estimated 17,000 to 20,000 have died while crossing the Mediterranean during the past 20 years on overcrowded fishing boats or rubber dinghies, seeking a better life in Europe.

The Tunisian man suspected of being the captain of the refugee boat

Eritrea, Somalia and Syria are the main countries of origin and the majority of arrivals are on Lampedusa, Italy's southernmost point which is closer to north Africa than to the Italian mainland.

During Wednesday's visit, Mr Barroso also promised to work "tirelessly" to implement an EU-wide asylum policy and to beef up Frontex - the EU's border patrol agency - to prevent future tragedies.

Meanwhile, Italian authorities have detained a 35-year-old Tunisian man suspected of being the captain of the boat, from which only 155 refugees are believed to have survived.

He faces charges of aiding illegal immigration and multiple counts of homicide.

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IMF Issues $2.3trn Warning Over QE's End

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor, In Washington

Investors could be facing a potential loss of $2.3trn (£1.44trn) if the world's central banks cannot smoothly unwind the emergency measures carried out during the financial crisis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned.

For the first time, the Fund put a number on the potential impact of a messy end to quantitative easing, as central banks, led by the Federal Reserve, bring their unconventional monetary measures to an end.

The calculation comes on the very day President Obama is to nominate Janet Yellen as the first female head of the Fed, the US central bank.

Yellen comes into the job with the Fed on the brink of bringing its latest phase of quantitative easing, under which it has been creating money and buying up $85bn (£53bn) of bonds each month, to an end.

In its Global Financial Stability Report, the IMF warned that if investors took fright at the end of QE, pushing up the interest rates on government bonds around the world by a percentage point, investors would suffer a 5.6% loss on their bond portfolios – equivalent to $2.3trn.

This equates to more than half the losses on assets faced during the height of the financial crisis.

Although the Fund said that such an outcome was less likely than a smooth, gradual increase in interest rates, which would not imply as great losses, its warning comes amid consternation at the scale of the task for the Fed – and indeed other central banks including the Bank of England – in the coming years.

Ms Yellen's nomination brings to an end one of the most testy and public appointment processes for a Fed chairman in history.

The other front-runner for the job, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, withdrew last month after it emerged that, although he was favoured by President Obama, he was unlikely to get Congressional approval.

Ms Yellen, deputy to the current Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, was widely seen as the favoured choice of economists – but the President had been less enthusiastic.

Her four-year term is likely to be among the most testy in Federal Reserve history, as the central bank attempts to deflate the bond bubble created around the world by quantitative easing.

In the wake of the crisis, the Fed and its fellow central banks pumped trillions of dollars worth of cash into the financial system.

This is thought to have lessened the immediate pain of the recession; however, economists fear it will be difficult to wean markets off the sugar high created by this money.

Ms Yellen, who is married to Nobel laureate George Akerlof, will become the first female chair since the Fed was created a century ago.

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Syria Chemical Weapons Mission Strengthened

A second team of inspectors will be deployed to help destroy Syria's poison gas stockpile, the world's chemical weapons watchdog has said.

Ahmet Uzumcu, the director general of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, confirmed that Syria was co-operating with the joint United Nations and OPCW disarmament mission.

It normally takes years to complete the destruction of a country's chemical weapons arsenal.

But the watchdog has until the end of the June 2014 to complete the destruction of Syria's chemical arsenal under the terms of a Russia-US brokered agreement, after a toxic gas attack near Damascus on August 21 in which hundreds died.

A range of items was also being destroyed "towards the goal of rendering unusable all production facilities and mixing and filling equipment by 1 November of this year", Mr Uzumcu said.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon highlighted the threat to the experts

"These developments present a constructive beginning for what will nonetheless be a long and difficult process," he added.

Earlier, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon set out a blueprint for the most dangerous disarmament operation ever staged, as rebels launched a major offensive in northwest Syria - highlighting the looming threats to inspectors.

The 11-page letter was Mr Ban's required response to the resolution adopted unanimously by the Security Council on September 27, ordering Syria's chemical weapons stockpile be secured and destroyed.

Mr Ban said the experts would " seek to conduct an operation the likes of which, quite simply, have never been tried before".

He said: "The timelines associated with this destruction phase would be ambitious under the most peaceful and benign of circumstances."

Gas canisters in Syria's chemical arsenal

The experts will have to work in "dangerous and volatile" conditions, particularly in urban areas such as Damascus, Homs and Aleppo, the UN leader said.

"Heavy artillery, air strikes, mortar barrages and the indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas are commonplace, and battle lines shift quickly," he added.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Secretary of State John Kerry, who were both at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit in Bali, used the opportunity to discuss the disarmament.

Mr Putin said both countries had a "common understanding of what needs to be done", adding that he believed inspectors would be able to accomplish their goal of ridding Syria of its chemical arms within a year.

"We and the Americans, the whole international community trust them," he said.

UN weapons inspectors at the site of the August 21 attack

"If they are saying it is possible to do this (eliminate Syria's chemical arms) in one year, then that's the way it is," he said.

Mr Putin, who has been a staunch ally of President Bashar al Assad, also praised the Syrian government - which remains responsible for the actual destruction of the chemicals - for its co-operation.

"The doubts regarding the readiness of the Syrian leadership to adequately respond to the decisions on chemical weapons proved to be unjustified," he said.

"Syria has joined these efforts actively, is acting very transparently ... and I hope this work will continue further at the same pace and in the same direction."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the situation in Syria remained "catastrophic" for civilians, but the weapons mission "was an important step forward".

In a statement to MPs in the House of Commons, he said British nationals who work for the OPCW were part of an advance team of 35 personnel from the watchdog and UN already in Damascus.

On Sunday, Syrians - under the supervision of the OPCW and supported by the UN - began to destroy the weapons.

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Banksy In NY: Better Out Than In On Show

By Hannah Thomas-Peter, US Correspondent

UK graffiti artist Banksy has moved to New York for a month.

As part of a series called Better Out Than In, he has promised to do a new piece of work every day.

Eight days in, his residency has created quite a buzz.

Banksy-hunters pore over his Twitter and Instagram feeds, waiting for him to post a picture of the latest art.

Then the race is on to find it first.

We found Parisian tourist Marie Frelot looking at one of Bansky's latest works, a red balloon painted on a run-down wall in Red Hook in Brooklyn.

A rival street artist called Omar had already defaced it, leaving behind his signature.

The race is on to find the next Banksy graffiti

Marie said: "It is beautiful still.

"This is what happens when art is living and breathing this way."

Underneath Omar's name, one angry fan wrote: "is a jealous little girl."

Street art fan Joe Ballard had come all the way from Kansas to see some of the month-long exhibition.

He said: "I've been to some other museums around New York and this is as cool as anything I've seen."

As we were talking a Japanese tourist checking her Instagram feed said Bansky had posted another picture, this time of a quote written in white letters on a blue door.

The only clue was the rough location written next to it - "Greenpoint".

Found: Fans get snaps in front of Banksy's latest work in Greenpoint

We gave Marie a lift in the general direction, still not sure where we were going.

On the way she explained how she had seen all of Banksy's other works in New York.

She said: "It is a short-term work of art.

"If you see it, you are one of the happy few.

"If I could find this piece with you, I would be so excited."

Our cab driver Ivan Ivanov said he was a secret Banksy fan.

"It would be so crazy to find this piece - especially if we beat everyone there," he said.

A New Yorker tried to buy a door featuring Banksy's work

After 20 minutes of aimless driving on the industrial back streets of Greenpoint we were close to giving up.

Suddenly someone using #banksyny posted an address.

We raced there and jumped out of the car to find a confused Polish builder.

As I grilled him about a white quote on a blue door two other people sprinted up to find out what was going on.

He said we were in the wrong place, but there were some blue doors around the corner.

Then another tweet popped into my feed with a nearby address, followed by another confirming the same location.

By now we were utterly caught up in the competition and practically elbowed our rivals out of the way to get back to our cars.

When we pulled up one person was already there.

Still, we felt semi-triumphant, even if the graffiti itself was remarkably small, and someone had already tried to scrub a bit of it off.

The owner of the building decided to cover Banky's latest work

As a crowd gathered the attention got too much for the building owners.

They started covering the door with a metal sheet to boos and jeers.

One person shouted "You're going to sell it. Thieves!"

Another said: "I'll give you $1,000 for that door right now and I'll buy you a new one."

He explained: "His last piece sold for $40,000…. I'd happily take that home and hang it on my wall."

He didn't get his way, but Banksy fans won't have to wait long until the game begins again.

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Malala's British Doctor Shuns The Spotlight

By Ian Woods, Senior News Correspondent

The remarkable story of how a Birmingham children's doctor helped save the life of the world's most famous child campaigner is only now being told - and at the insistence of her patient.

One year ago today, Fiona Reynolds was visiting Pakistan with several colleagues to advise on transplant surgery when she saw TV reports about how 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai had been shot by the Taliban for publicly promoting education for girls.

Pakistani officials asked Dr Reynolds to visit the hospital in Peshawar where Malala was being treated.

"She was very ill. She was close to death," Dr Reynolds told Sky News.

"In Peshawar her father had been told by the Pakistani doctors, before I arrived, to pray for her and he took it to mean she was dying and he started to make preparations for her funeral."

Malala is writing about her ordeal in a new book

The initial surgery on Malala was a success, but poor intensive care facilities meant she would probably suffer brain damage - or even die.

"When I reviewed Malala I thought there was a good chance she could survive," Dr Reynolds said.

"But the quality of intensive care was compromising her survival and her ability to get through it without brain damage."

Dr Reynolds helped supervise as Malala was flown by the army from Peshawar to Rawalpindi, and then helped treat her in the critical hours after she arrived.

"By Friday evening it was obvious she was getting better. The threat of the infection passed," Dr Reynolds said.

"The facilities for rehabilitation were not well developed. My opinion was if you want the best outcome for her send her overseas for rehabilitation."

Malala was shot on a school bus in the Swat Valley

She recommended she be taken to Birmingham.

"They wanted me to compare various hospitals around the world and I wasn't able to do that," Dr Reynolds said.

"But what I was able to tell them was that everything I thought she would need was available in Birmingham."

Despite her key role in saving Malala's life, Dr Reynolds' identity was kept secret for security reasons.

Even Dr Reynolds' friends and colleagues knew nothing of her involvement until Malala insisted that her story be told.

But the doctor is not keen to share the spotlight, even turning down a chance to rub shoulders with some of Malala's famous admirers.

"I was invited to dinner with Angelina Jolie because of her role with the UN, but it was my husband's birthday so I said no," she said.

"All of this world of celebrity and what she does is really important, but I have a job to do here and it's not my world. I don't want to deal with all that celebrity."

Malala was moved to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham

She has only agreed to discuss Malala publicly because the schoolgirl encouraged her to.

"I met Malala as a doctor and I'm bound by an oath not to talk about her," Dr Reynolds said.

"She asked everyone to be named in her book, and I didn't want to be named, but Malala said the book had to be the truth.

"She wants her real story to be out there."

Dr Reynolds has plenty of her praise for her former patient, who is tipped to be named as the youngest ever winner of the Nobel Peace Prize later this week.

"She understands international politics in a way many adults don't. She's brought the world's attention to very important issues," Dr Reynolds said.

"I'm biased. I think she deserves the Nobel Peace Prize - but it's up to the committee to decide."

Malala has written a book about her ordeal and ongoing campaign work called I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education And Was Shot By The Taliban.

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Fed Reserve: Yellen Secures Obama Nomination

The male domination of the world's central banks is set to be blown away as a woman is nominated for the most powerful monetary policy position in the world.

President Barack Obama will formally nominate Federal Reserve vice chair Janet Yellen to succeed Ben Bernanke as chairman of the US central bank on Wednesday.

It would make Ms Yellen not only the first woman to head the Fed, but a central bank anywhere in the world.

Mr Bernanke will serve until his term ends on January 31, completing a remarkable eight-year tenure in which he helped pull the US economy out of the worst financial crisis and recession since the 1930s.

Under Mr Bernanke's leadership, the Fed created extraordinary programmes after the financial crisis of 2008 that are credited with helping save the US banking system.

Larry Summers quit the Fed Chair race

The Fed lent money to banks after credit markets froze, cut its key short-term interest rate to near zero and bought trillions in bonds to reduce long-term borrowing rates.

Ms Yellen, 67, emerged as the leading candidate after Larry Summers, a former Treasury secretary who Mr Obama was thought to favour, withdrew from consideration last month in the face of rising opposition.

A close ally of the current chairman, Ms Yellen is seen as a so-called dove as she has been a key architect of the Fed's efforts to keep interest rates near record lows.

The White House announcement comes amid a confrontation between Mr Obama and congressional Republicans, particularly those in the House, over the partial government shutdown and the looming breach of the nation's $16.7trn borrowing limit.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said that the administration probably decided to go ahead with the announcement to send a signal of policy stability to financial markets, where investors are growing increasingly nervous over the partial shutdown and what they perceive as the much bigger threat of a default on Treasury debt.

He said: "Markets are very unsettled and they are likely to become even more unsettled in coming days.

Ben Bernanke's term ends in January 2014

"Providing some clarity around who will be the next Fed chairman should help at least at the margin."

As vice chair since 2010, Ms Yellen has helped manage both the Fed's traditional tool of short-term rates and the unconventional programmes it launched to help sustain the economy after the financial crisis.

These include the Fed's monthly bond purchases and its guidance to investors about the likely direction of rates.

Senator Tim Johnson, a Democrat who heads the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which must approve Ms Yellen's nomination, said he would work with the panel's members to advance her confirmation quickly.

"She has a depth of experience that is second to none, and I have no doubt she will be an excellent Federal Reserve chairman," Mr Johnson said.

Sen Chuck Schumer, a Democratic committee member, called her "an excellent choice" and predicted she would be confirmed by a wide margin.

Mr Obama's choice of Ms Yellen coincides with a key turning point for the Fed. Within the next several months, it is expected to start slowing the pace of its Treasury and mortgage bond purchases if the economy strengthens.

While economists saw Mr Obama's choice of Ms Yellen as a strong signal of continuity at the Fed, analysts said the difficult job of unwinding all of the Fed's support without causing major financial market upheavals would fall to her.

Ms Yellen has long been considered a logical candidate for the chairmanship in part because of her expertise as an economist, her years as a top bank regulator and her experience in helping manage the Fed's polices.

Her understanding of the financial system is widely respected: Before the crisis struck, she was among a minority of top economists who had warned correctly that subprime mortgages posed a severe threat.

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