Michael Schumacher Hurt In Skiing Accident

Former motor racing world champion Michael Schumacher has suffered head injuries in a skiing accident.

It happened while the 44-year-old was skiing in the French resort of Meribel in the popular Three Valleys area.

It is understood he was wearing a helmet when he hit his head on a rock in an off-piste area and that he did not lose consciousness.

He was airlifted off the mountain and is now at a hospital in Grenoble.

Schumacher was being treated at a hospital in Grenoble

The duty manager at the hospital told Sky News that Schumacher had been admitted and is undergoing a scan.

He said he had no further information and that ''his injuries are being examined at the moment''.

Olivier Desaulty, sales director at Meribel ski resort, told Sky that rescuers quickly reached Schumacher.

"Around 11am Michael Schumacher fell on the slopes," he said. "Well it was not really on the slopes – he was skiing a bit off piste.

The German F1 legend skiing in Italy in 2006

"(He was) close to a slope called Mauduit and he hurt his head.

"We are sure he had a helmet – we hope it will be okay. Some security patrol got to the spot immediately to check everything and we had to ask for a helicopter to take him to the hospital."

Meribel officials have also told French media that the Formula One legend was in shock but conscious, and added that police were looking into the incident.

His agent, Sabine Kehm, said: ''Michael fell on his head during a private ski trip in the French Alps.

"He was hospitalised and is receiving medical care. We ask for your understanding that we cannot give a running commentary on his state of health.

"He was wearing a helmet and was not alone.''

Schumacher owns a chalet in the resort and is a keen skier.

The German driver retired from Formula 1 for a second time in December 2012.

He made a disappointing return to the sport after making his comeback in 2010, managing only one podium finish during his three years with Mercedes.

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YouTube Videos Add To Missing Doctor Mystery

YouTube videos of a doctor who disappeared three weeks ago talking to an unidentified love interest are being examined by investigators searching for her.

Teleka Patrick, who was serving her residency in Michigan, was last seen on December 5.

After completing a shift, the 30-year-old tried unsuccessfully to rent a hotel room in Kalamazoo before being dropped off by the hotel shuttle driver in the car park of the medical centre where she worked, according to the FBI.

"The shuttle driver said she seemed nervous, even ducking down between vehicles, as if she was afraid of being seen by someone," Carl Clatterbuck, a private investigator hired by the family, said.

"I would say she was agitated, but if she was worried about something or someone, she never told anyone about it."

Later that night, Dr Patrick's car was found about 100 miles away, abandoned in a ditch in Indiana with a possible flat tyre, the FBI said.

Her belongings were in the car, including clothing, a wallet that contained her driver's licence, credit cards, and a small amount of cash.

The YouTube videos, which show Dr Patrick singing and speaking to the unidentified love interest, were uploaded in early November.

In one of them she addresses someone as "baby" and "love" while in the other she shows two plates of breakfast.

But her parents said their emergence created more confusion about the situation. 

"We are aware of the YouTube videos that have surfaced today. However, their relevance to her disappearance remains a mystery," they said.

"These videos have led to more questions than answers. To our knowledge, Teleka was not in a romantic relationship and it is unclear to whom she is making reference in the videos."

Dr Patrick has bought an airline ticket to Florida to visit her parents for Christmas and was supposed to join them on December 23.

Her disappearance is being investigated by police in two states as well as the FBI.

A Facebook page has been created in an attempt to help track her down.

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Israel Fires Shells In Response To Rockets

Israel has fired 20 artillery shells into Lebanon in response to two rockets that were launched in the opposite direction.

The Lebanese rockets landed in a field near the town of Kiryat Shmona, the Israeli military said in a statement, causing no injuries or damage.

Israel responded with artillery fire, with witnesses in southern Lebanon reporting more than 20 shells hitting two towns.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

An Israeli military spokesman said: "The Israeli artillery responded to rocket attacks from Lebanon against Israel that left no victims, targeting the area where these projectiles were fired from."

The border between the two countries has been relatively quiet since a war between Israel and Lebanon's Hizbollah militant group in 2006.

A Lebanese soldier examines the remains of an Israeli artillery shell

However, tensions rose this month when an Israeli soldier was shot dead by Lebanese troops while driving near the border on December 16.

Last week, Hizbollah blamed Israel for the assassination of one of its commanders in Beirut, an accusation Israel has denied.

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Building With Hole Is For 'Flashy Rich People'

Popularly known as the "the flashy rich people's circle", an upright circular building with a 47-metre-wide hole in the middle is proving controversial.

The yellow structure, in the shape of giant Polo mint, has recently been completed and has been praised and criticised alike in China.

One local resident called it "unique" but some people on the internet said it was a crass symbol of wealth and nicknamed it "Tuhao Circle" or "Copper Coin Building".

The 33-storey-high Guangzhou Circle Building is designed to resemble an ancient Chinese jade disc.

It is becoming a landmark of Guangzhou city, despite being in the middle of a suburb 40 minutes away from the central business district.

Architect Joseph di Pasquale drew inspiration from seeing a jade disc at a museum in Guangzhou.

The structure has been criticised by some

He said the hole in the building was key to the structure because the empty centre would evoke an emotional response from its viewers.

It also forms a figure-eight with its reflection on the Pearl River, suggesting the Chinese lucky number eight.

"I think he (the architect) is very brave. He made something that other people did not have the courage to make. It's a circular building, which is really unique in Guangzhou," said architecture student, Ash Sze.

One unidentified student said: "It's quite unusual. I'm quite intrigued to see a building with a circular hole in the middle. Personally, I think it's for the flashy rich people."

The building will house China's largest plastics trading floor, the Guangdong Plastics Exchange, where 300bn yuan (£30bn) worth of plastic raw materials and goods are traded annually.

Encased in 8,920 copper plates and built at a cost of around 70m yuan (£7m), the building on an island in Yangzhong county in the province of Jiangsu, hovers 15 storeys above ground.

It is not the first controversial building in China.

Earlier this year, a viewing tower built in the shape of a giant puffer fish caused a storm of protest on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter.

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Female Suicide Bomber Blamed For Russia Blast

Train Station Bombing 'Embarrassing' For Putin

Updated: 3:19pm UK, Sunday 29 December 2013

By Lisa Holland, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

Russia is desperate to show itself as a world power and world powers seek to cover themselves in glory by staging successful, glamorous and above all secure international events.

But the Volgograd station bombing shows Russia as a country not in control of its own territory and that is acutely embarrassing for President Vladimir Putin.

It should be 'show time' in Russia next year.

The Winter Olympics are due to be held in the Russian Black sea resort of Sochi from the beginning of February and President Vladimir Putin wants it to be an event which showcases Russia.

The reality is a security nightmare and warlords such as the Chechen Doku Umarov - known as 'Russia's Bin Laden' - are threatening to wreck the party.

He has already called for new attacks against civilians and has pledged to 'endeavour to destroy the Olympic Games'.

He claimed responsibility for the metro and airport bombings in Moscow in 2010 and 2011 in which dozens were killed.

Mr Putin is unleashing a massive security operation to tackle Islamist militants. Suicide bombings and other attacks linked to Islamic rebels in the north Caucasus have rocked Russia for years.

The government has deployed tens of thousands of soldiers, police and other security personnel to protect the Olympics.  It is Mr Putin's pet project. He has promised it will be the 'safest Olympics in history'.

He has even pushed through new laws which threaten to punish the relatives of those who turn themselves into suicide bombers.

One of the hallmarks of high-profile bomb blasts in recent years linked to the North Caucasus is the use of female suicide bombers.

The 2010 metro attack, a bus bombing in Volgograd in October which killed 39 and this latest train station bombing all involved female suicide bombers.

Russia is very familiar with the use of so-called 'black widows' - often the widows or sisters of fighters from the North Caucasus killed by Russian security.

The new law is aimed at deterring them from joining the 'jihad' for fear of retribution for their surviving relatives.

Mr Putin has plans for a massive security zone around Sochi - stretching for 60 miles along the Black Sea coast and 30 miles inland.

Russian forces will patrol the mountains towering over the resort and use drones to keep constant watch over the Olympic facilities.

Cars from outside the security zone will be banned for a month before and after the games and there will be extensive security checks for visitors.

In another attempt to avoid controversy hanging over the event, President Putin recently staged an amnesty of political prisoners.

He does not want campaign groups using the event as a platform to air their human rights grievances.

High-profile prisoners such as two members of the feminist Russian punk band Pussy Riot were freed, along with the so-called 'Arctic 30' which included  28 activists and two journalists caught up in a protest to scale a Russian oil platform in the arctic sea.

He also freed jailed former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky after 10 years in prison.

Though the amnesty has failed to silence critics who say thousands more remain in jail.

Mr Putin is doing all he can to prevent anyone raining on his Olympic parade.

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