YSR Reddy declared dead in tragic chopper crash

The worst fears have unfortunately come true. Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy is said to have been killed in a helicopter crash on a hill in the dense Nallamalla forests, some 40 nautical miles (70 kms) east of Kurnool town. It may be recalled that the chopper carrying the AP chief minister, his Principal Secretary P Subramanyam, chief security officer ASC John Wesley and two pilots went off the radar screens since early morning on Wednesday. The helicopter went missing over the Naxal and tiger-infested Nalamalla forests amid bad weather and incessant rains. The AP chief minister left Hyderabad on a six-seater Bell 430 chopper at 8:35 am on Wednesday for Chittoor district. After 9:27 am, radio contact with the chopper was lost. The helicopter was found in a burnt and mangled state and survivors are unlikely. The bodies of all the five people on board the ill-fated helicopter have been found today. "As of now, we have located the helicopter. We are not sure whether it has crashed or not. Our helicopters are there. We are trying to locate whether there are any survivors," Air Commodore Sagar Bharati of the Bangalore Air Command told reporters. K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao, Rajya Sabha member and a close aide of the AP chief minister, also confirmed that the chopper has been found. Union Home Secretary, G.K. Pillai said in New Delhi that it seems the helicopter crash landed but there is no confirmation yet. YSR, as he was popularly known, was an influential political leader who propelled the Congress party-led coalition to victory in the assembly cum general elections in May this year.

Florida woman calls 911 three times over McDonald's Chicken McNugget shortage

Latreasa Goodman , who called 911 over her McNugget emergency

A woman in Florida has been ordered to appear in court after calling the police three times because a McDonald's restaurant had run out of Chicken McNuggets.

Latreasa Goodman, 27, purchased a 10-piece McNugget meal from a branch of the fast food chain in Fort Pierce on Feb 28, but was then told she would receive different items from the menu because McNuggets were out of stock. When she asked for her money back, she was told that that company policy was not to give refunds.

She told police who arrived at the restaurant: "This is an emergency. If I would have known they didn't have McNuggets, I wouldn't have given my money, and now she wants to give me a McDouble, but I don't want one."

"I called 911 because I couldn't get a refund, and I wanted my McNuggets," she said, according to the Fort Pierce Police Department report.

She was charged with misusing the 911 emergency system.

Last month, another Florida resident called 911 over a perceived fast food foul-up.

Jean Fortune, 66, dialed 911 to complain that the Boynton Beach branch of Burger King was out of lemonade to go with his chicken combo meal.

Pink dolphin appears in US lake

The world's only pink Bottlenose dolphin which was discovered in an inland lake in Louisiana, USA, has become such an attraction that conservationists have warned tourists to leave it alone.

Charter boat captain Erik Rue, 42, photographed the animal, which is actually an albino, when he began studying it after the mammal first surfaced in Lake Calcasieu, an inland saltwater estuary, north of the Gulf of Mexico in southwestern USA.

Capt Rue originally saw the dolphin, which also has reddish eyes, swimming with a pod of four other dolphins, with one appearing to be its mother which never left its side.

He said: "I just happened to see a little pod of dolphins, and I noticed one that was a little lighter.

"It was absolutely stunningly pink.

"I had never seen anything like it. It's the same color throughout the whole body and it looks like it just came out of a paint booth.

"The dolphin appears to be healthy and normal other than its coloration, which is quite beautiful and stunningly pink.

"The mammal is entirely pink from tip to tail and has reddish eyes indicating it's albinism. The skin appears smooth, glossy pink and without flaws.

"I have personally spotted the pink dolphin 40 to 50 times in the time since the original sighting as it has apparently taken up residence with its family in the Calcasieu ship channel.

"As time has passed the young mammal has grown and sometimes ventures away from its mother to feed and play but always remains in the vicinity of the pod.

"Surprisingly, it does not appear to be drastically affected by the environment or sunlight as might be expected considering its condition, although it tends to remain below the surface a little more than the others in the pod."

Regina Asmutis-Silvia, senior biologist with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said: "I have never seen a dolphin coloured in this way in all my career.

"It is a truly beautiful dolphin but people should be careful, as with any dolphins, to respect it - observe from a distance, limit their time watching, don't chase or harass it

"While this animal looks pink, it is an albino which you can notice in the pink eyes.

"Albinism is a genetic trait and it unclear as to the type of albinism this animal inherited."

A close relation of dolphins, the Amazon River Botos, called pink dolphins, live in South America in the Amazon.

British entrepreneur Rob Williams dies on skiing holiday in tragedy played out on Twitter

The 29-year-old died after he and business partner, Jason Tavaria, who together run a multi-million pound music firm, became separated from their party during a blizzard at the Swiss resort of Verbier, while on a trip with Michelle Dewberry, the winner of BBC television reality show the Apprentice.

Urgent appeals were posted by her on the Twitter website and Mr Tavaria, also 29, sent his friends and rescue teams a GPS satellite navigation signal from his iPhone, which pinpointed his location. He was rescued six hours later.

Mr Williams, however, had fallen 66ft down a cliff on to rocks below and due to the "white-out" conditions, a rescue helicopter could not be scrambled. Search teams on foot found him seven hours after he had gone missing, by which time the businessman had died in the freezing conditions.

After the initial posts left on Twitter, there was a long period of silence as the tragic death of Mr Williams became known.

The business partners had met at Liverpool University and launched the music equipment and instrument firm Dolphin Music. They are one of the leading providers of musical equipment on the internet and have also opened a flagship Guitar Shop in Liverpool city centre. They employ 54 staff and have achieved sales in excess of £9.2 million in 2007, when it was ranked Britain's 11th fastest-growing company.

Apple products 'banned' from Bill Gates' home

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has banned arch-rival Apple's iPhone and iPod gadgets from the family home, his wife has revealed.

Melinda Gates told Vogue magazine: "There are very few things that are on the banned list in our household. But iPods and iPhones are two things we don't get for our kids."

Her admission has raised giggles in the technology community, with some members of the blogosphere speculating that Gates' three children – Jennifer, 13, Rory, 10 and Phoebe, 7 – must instead use phones running the Windows Mobile operating system, and listen to their favourite songs on Microsoft's much-criticised Zune music players.

Mr Gates, a multi-billionaire, lives in a lodge-like house overlooking Lake Washington. According to reports, the home boasts plenty of cutting-edge technology, including automatic lighting, speakers hidden inside walls to create the impression of music following visitors wherever they go, and portable touch pads that control everything from the televisions to the temperature.

Mrs Gates admitted to be swayed by Apple's iPhone device, which combines a touch-screen music player and web browser with a fully featured mobile phone. "Every now and then I look at my friends and say 'Ooh, I wouldn't mind having that iPhone'," she said.

Bill Gates has stepped down from his role as chief executive of Microsoft, the company he co-founded with Paul Allen, in order to concentrate on the philanthropic work carried out by his charitable organisation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Last month, at TED 2009, the technology, entertainment and design conference, Gates let loose a swarm of mosquitoes to highlight the dangers of malaria.

“Malaria is spread by mosquitoes,” he yelled to the crowd before unleashing the insects, which were not carrying the disease. “I brought some. Here, I’ll let them roam around. There is no reason only poor people should be infected.”

Military to use new gel that stops bullets

A new "bullet-busting" shock-absorbent gel is set to save the lives of British soldiers by substantially reinforcing their helmets.

The Ministry of Defence has awarded £100,000 to a small company that has developed a special substance that hardens immediately on impact.

It is hoped that the shock-absorbing substance will soon be fitted onto the inside of soldiers' helmets reducing in half the kinetic energy of a bullet or piece of shrapnel and hopefully making them impenetrable.

The gel, called d3O locks instantly into a solidified form when it is hit at high impact.

"When moved slowly, the molecules will slip past each other, but in a high-energy impact they will snag and lock together, becoming solid," said Richard Palmer, who invented the gel. "In doing so they absorb energy."

The d3O gel has already expanded into a range of sporting goods and is found in ski gloves, shin guards, ballet shoe pointes and horse-riding equipment. The substance relies on "intelligent molecules" that "shock lock" together to absorb energy and create a solid pad. Once the pressure has gone they return to their normal flexible state.

The gel is stitched into clothing or equipment that is supple until it stiffens into a protective barrier on impact.

If the product is taken on by defence contractors it could be used to reduce the current bulky and restrictive armour used by troops in on the frontline with gel pads inserted into key protective areas.

Mr Palmer said it was the equivalent to comparing "cumbersome" RoboCop to Spiderman with the latter's protection "nimble covert and flexible".

Fish with human faces spotted in South Korea

The "humanoid" carp are attracting attention in the town of Chongju in the centre of the country where they live in a small pond.

They are believed to be hybrid descendants of two carp species – the carp and the leather carp, also known as a tangerine fish.

Both fish are females and more than three feet long. They appear to have distinctive human noses, eyes and lips.

The fish live in a pond behind the home of a 64-year old South Korean man and have been there since 1986 although their looks are only just starting to attract attention.

"My fish have been getting more and more human for the past couple of years," the owner said.

He added that he knows of other fish with similar features, and as they are both females it will be impossible for them to breed and have fish-faced offspring.

This is the second time in recent months that carp have made headlines in Asia. Last November a shoal of the fish in Changsha, in China's Hunan Province turned on a duck who landed on their lake looking for food.

The Koi carp took exception to the intruder and fought back, bunching together into a seething mass to assert their authority, forcing the duck to fly away.

Looking for work? Debt collectors are in demand in the UK

An opportunity may have arisen for the estate agents and luxury car salemen put out of work by the recession.

Provident Financial, which lends to low-income households in Britain, plans to hire more debt collectors this year as an increasing number of consumers turn to the company as banks shun riskier customers.

The business may not be widely known in more affluent parts of the country, but Provident's agents already visit one in twenty British households. Customers of the doorstep lender borrow smaller amounts, on average around £400, which is paid back in weekly installments, with a sizeable "fixed charge" attached.

For every £100 borrowed, Provident's customers on average pay back £3 a week for 57 weeks. That amounts to £171 paid back on a £100 loan.

Provident aims to hire between 200 and 250 people this year, around 80 of whom will go door-to-door to retrieve outstanding debts. Collection accounts for "99pc of the man hours," according to chief executive Peter Crook.

Unlike its rival Cattles, Provident has been able to keep its level of loan arrears and impairments steady over the course of 2008, despite the worsening economy, by tightening up its lending criteria and turning away more applicants. The business has continued to grow despite this because of the increase in people approaching Provident for loans.

Banks, credit card companies and non-secured lenders have retreated from serving lower-income households since the summer of 2007, leaving an "increasingly under-served" market for Provident.

Unemployment to exceed 2m for first time under New Labour

Unemployment is expected to exceed two million for the first time since Labour came to power in 1997.

Official figures to be released on Wednesday morning will show that tens of thousands of people lost their jobs in the three months to December.

They come amid evidence that Britain's jobless total is rising twice as fast as the European average.

The unemployment total hit 1.92 million in the three months to the end of November. Since then thousands of staff have been sacked by major employers, including 27,000 at Woolworths.

A further 2,300 were made redundant by the Royal Bank of Scotland on Tuesday.

The number of people who claimed Jobseekers' Allowance in January will also be released, offering a more up-to-date insight into the damage being done to the jobs market by the recession. The total reached 1.16 million in December.

An analysis by the TUC showed that while Britain's unemployment rate - 6.1 per cent - is lower than the European average of 7.7 per cent, it is now rising twice as fast as the European average.

Between December 2007 and October 2008, Britain had the third sharpest increase in unemployment, behind Spain and Ireland, said the unions.

Over the same period, unemployment in France went up by just 0.1 per cent and fell 0.8 per cent in Germany.

In advance of the figures' release, James Purnell, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said: "We know times are tough and we will do all we can to help people who lose their jobs find another as quickly as possible to prevent the long-term unemployment which has so scarred communities in the past from taking root."

Gordon Brown is to meet business leaders shortly before the figures are announced, to discuss ways of giving more assistance to people losing their jobs.

Rihanna postpones Indonesia concert after 'attack' by boyfriend Chris Brown

Rihanna, the R&B singer, has postponed a concert in Indonesia for the second time after claims she suffered "horrific" injuries allegedly at the hands of boyfriend Chris Brown.

Local promoter Showmaster said the William Morris Agency in Los Angeles had told them Thursday's concert in Jakarta would be cancelled.

Promoter Troy Reza Warokka said: "We spoke to Tony Goldring of William Morris Agency and he said the concert had to be cancelled because of an assault case involving Rihanna's boyfriend.

"He offered to reschedule but we don't think we'll take it up, not this year at least. This is her second postponement. Her fans are traumatised and we've spent so much money on production and promotional materials."

The 20-year-old Barbados-born singer pulled out of the Grammy Awards on Sunday amid rreports she was the victim of domestic assault allegedly at the hands of singer-songwriter Brown.

She has reportedly cancelled her 21st birthday party and gone into hiding after it was claimed she may need plastic surgery.

Her injuries are said to include a swollen and bruised face, bloody nose, split lip and bite marks on her forearm and fingers.

Brown, 19, was arrested on Sunday and freed on $50,000 (34,500) bail. He also pulled out of the Grammys.

Website TMZ.com claims an onlooker in LA's residential Hancock Park area called police after witnessing a "loud, violent confrontation". Hours earlier, the couple had attended a pre-Grammys gala at the Beverly Hilton hotel.

The young singer, who has a clean-cut image, has previously spoken of the "terror" he felt when witnessing his mother suffering domestic abuse at the hands of his stepfather.

Kanye West, who toured with Rihanna, said that the reports of alleged abuse were "devastating."

"I feel like, just as a person, I don't care how famous she is or even if she just worked at McDonald's, that should never happen," he said. "It should never come to that place." Rihanna had cancelled a concert in the Indonesian capital in November last year on security concerns following the execution of three Islamist militants behind 2002 bombings on Bali island.

Gandhi's sandals and spectacles to be sold at auction in New York

Mahatma Gandhi's sandals and distinctive spectacles are to be sold in a unique auction lot also including his pocket watch.

The sandals were given to a British army officer in 1931 prior to the Round Table talks in London that were held to discuss Indian self rule.

Gandhi gave his metal rimmed, circular lensed glasses to an army colonel with the words: "These gave me the vision to free India."

His Zenith pocket watch was given to his grand niece, Abha Gandhi, his assistant of six years, in whose arms he died after being shot in 1948.

As Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, commonly known as Mahatma, had few possessions these items are of huge interest and are expected to well exceed the estimate of £30,000.

Gandhi was pictured wearing the pocket watch, made in about 1910, and it is expectted to be the highlight of the lot.

A bowl and plate that were given by the great political and spiritual leader to his grand niece are also for sale.

The items have letters of provenance and were collected by the unnamed vendor who is now selling them.

Michelle Halpern, from Antiquorum Auctioneers in New York, which is staging the auction, said: "This is a truly historic sale of Gandhi's possessions. Of course he didn't have much, so anything of his that comes up for sale is worth that much more.

RBS, Morgan Stanley and UBS to axe 6,500 jobs

Royal Bank of Scotland, Morgan Stanley and UBS are cutting more than 6,500 jobs in the latest blow to the ailing financial services industry.

RBS said it was in consultation with staff over plans to make 2,300 UK employees redundant. The cuts will affect about 2pc of UK staff.

Morgan Stanley kicked off its latest redundancy programme as part of a global restructuring that will see as many as 2,000 staff lose their jobs, hundreds of whom are likely to be UK based.

The majority of the RBS and Morgan Stanley redundancies are expected to come from back-office operations.

UBS said it would axe a further 2,200 jobs in its troubled investment bank. The Swiss institution expects staff numbers in the division to have shrunk to 15,000 by the end of this year, down from 26,000 in October 2007.

RBS, which claimed compulsory redundancies would be kept to a minimum, said the cuts would not affect customer-facing branch staff.

"It is essential that we consistently review our business to ensure that we are able to operate as efficiently as possible, especially in the current economic circumstances," said Alan Dickinson, chief executive of RBS UK.

"Staff have given everything they have over the last year, which makes the decision to cut any job an extremely tough one."

Banks have been forced to reduce headcount sharply as business has dried up and the global recession has intensified.

A Morgan Stanley spokesman said: "We are continually evaluating business conditions in an effort to be right-sized for the current environment."

The US bank has already made 8,680 – or about 6pc – of its global workforce redundant. RBS has cut about 3,950 jobs.

The redundancies come as Deutsche Bank became the latest investment bank to announce a sharp fall in bonuses. Staff were told the size of their bonuses yesterday with the average payout down 60pc year-on-year.

The job cuts are not confined to banks. City law firm Lovells has revealed plans to cut up to 94 staff, while call-centre operator Sitel said it was making 220 employees redundant.

Luxury carmaker Bentley said it is also cutting 220 jobs and revealed all staff will take a 10pc pay cut.

WS Atkins to cut 1,000 jobs

WS Atkins, the design and engineering group, is to cut approximately 1,000 jobs as a result of "uncertainty" in its Middle East and UK markets.

The company, which has been appointed the official engineering design services provider to the London 2012 Olympics, said its building design arm has been "severely impacted" by the economic conditions and the deferral of projects by the Learning and Skills Council.

The Middle East business had performed well until "confidence in the region was significantly impacted by the global economic slowdown," it added.

WS Atkins, whose business revolves around infrastructure projects, had been eyeing expansion in the buoyant Middle East as the cash-rich emirates such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi embarked on spending sprees in new buildings and transport links. However, projects are now being put on hold as the financial crisis grips the area.

WS Atkins will axe 5pc of its workforce, which totalled 18,600 last year, with 260 already cut in the UK and 200 in the Middle East. However, Keith Clarke, the chief executive, insisted its general performance and cash generation remained "good".

"The economic environment is difficult and will remain challenging, but we continue to have confidence in the underlying strength of our business," he added.

Mr Clarke said WS Atkins expects performance in the year to March 31 to be in line with expectations.

However, analysts, who are expecting annual pre-tax profits to increase from £91m to £98m, warned that the job cuts suggest WS Atkins will find 2009/2010 tough.

"In [the full-year to 2010], we are assuming that profits will start to fall," said John Lawson at Investec.

China exports fall by most in 13 years, imports drop by record

China's exports fell by the most in almost 13 years as demand dried up in the U.S. and Europe and imports plunged by a record, signaling a deepening slump in the world's third-biggest economy.

Outbound shipments declined 17.5pc in January from a year earlier and imports fell 43.1pc, the customs bureau said on its website today. Both numbers were worse than economists' forecasts.

The $39.11bn trade surplus, the nation's second biggest on record, may add to tensions as global leaders seek to avoid a trade war amid the worst financial crisis since World War II. China's economic slowdown has already cost the jobs of 20 million migrant workers and growth may slide to 6.1 percent this quarter, the least since 1999, estimates show.

"It's a very eye-catching trade surplus and people will ask how it can be so high at a time that everybody else's economy is suffering," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist at SJS Markets Ltd in Hong Kong. "What's happening here is really dramatic, underscoring plunging global demand."

Falling commodity prices drove down import costs as China's demand for raw materials also faltered because of the export slowdown and a property slump. The value of crude-oil imports fell 57pc from a year earlier.

Exports to the European Union fell 17.4pc. Those to the U.S. slid 9.8pc. Shipments of electronics dropped 21pc. Steel slid 32.5pc and toys declined 14.7pc.

Government researchers have advocated weakening the yuan against the dollar to support exports. China should "actively guide" the yuan to about 6.93 against the dollar to aid growth and bolster employment, according to a report by the Ministry of Finance's research institute published Feb. 7.

HBOS whistleblower Paul Moore breaks silence to condemn Crosby

Paul Moore, the whistleblower whose claims about risk taking at HBOS led to the resignation of its former boss Sir James Crosby from the UK's financial watchdog, has poured scorn on his defence.

Mr Moore's claim to the Treasury Select Committee that he was sacked by Sir James for warning that the bank's lending policy had become dangerously overheated has sparked a political row and questions over Gordon Brown's judgment.

Sir James resigned as deputy chairman of the Financial Services Authority following the allegations, saying that he did not wish to become a distraction but insisting that there was "no merit" to Mr Moore's claims.

But Mr Moore, 50, responded: "Why would you resign if you totally deny all allegations?"

He told the Daily Telegraph that he "totally stood by" his claims about his sacking and said he had extensive correspondence to back them up which he was prepared to submit to an inquiry for scrutiny.

And he described an unpublished report by the respected accountants KPMG which exonerated Sir James of wrongdoing as "inaccurate, inadequate and without weight".

He also accused the leaders of Britain's main banks, whom he holds responsible for the current financial crisis, of being out of touch and arrogant.

"I feel genuinely sorry that people who are so senior are so unable to see things as ordinary people see them."

Sir James, 52, is a close adviser to Gordon Brown and had recently carried out a review of the mortgage market for the Government and his departure will be a blow to the Prime Minister.

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King says UK economy is in 'deep' recession

The Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has warned that the UK is in 'deep' recession and delivered its clearest signal that it will move beyond cutting interest rates to help revive the economy.

The risks to the economy remain "heavily weighted to the downside," the Bank of England said today in is its gloomiest assessment so far. The speed of deterioration is accelerating, the Bank said in its latest Quarterly Inflation Report, and the economy may shrink by 4pc by the middle of this year. Inflation will drop to 0.5pc at the end of next year, it added.

Governor King also gave a sharp signal that interest rates are heading below 1pc as the Bank steps up efforts to prevent what's already the deepest recession since the early 1980s turning into something worse. The news drove sterling almost two cents lower against the dollar to $1.44, and put it on the back foot against the euro.

The report provides "strong support for our view that rates are heading to zero or very close," said Jonathan Loynes, an economist at the Capital Economics.

Today's assessment comes as the barrage of bad news from most parts of the economy continues. Unemployment reached nearly two million, its highest level for almost 12 years, in January, figures earlier today showed. That comes on top of confirmation last month that the recession is officially the worse since 1980.

The Bank insisted that the weakness in sterling - its down 28pc against the dollar since the start of 2008 - will eventually help pull the economy out of recession. However, Hetha Metal, an economist at the Ernst & Young ITEM Club, doubts the pound will make a powerful impact because overseas demand for British goods will remain weak.

Governor King and the rest of the Monetary Policy Committee have so far reacted to the downturn by aggressively cutting interest rates, the speed of which increased after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in October deepened the crisis and its fall-out on the wider economy.

The Bank today also signaled it will take measures to inject more money into the economy as earlier moves to make money cheaper become redundant. These measures include buying assets such as corporate and Government bonds.

Oxford students threatened over unpaid rent

Hundreds of Oxford University students could fail to graduate after amassing debts of £200,000. Some students at the university's Pembroke College have fallen behind in rent as the recession starts to bite.

They have been warned that degree certificates will be withheld if students fail to clear their debts.

Students have traditionally charged their rent, food and course fees to their 'battels' - a form of tab - which is paid off at the end of term.

But the collective overdraft at Pembroke - where Samuel Johnson, JRR Tolkien and J William Fulbright studied - has now reached £200,000.

The university is now pledging to "chase students" falling behind on their repayments.

John Church, the bursar, said: "In the greater scheme of things the money owed is not a great deal but we want to reduce the amount so the finance committee has decided to chase students up for the outstanding debt.

"If debts are not paid students will not formally graduate and some have actually decided not to take their final exams - they obviously don't have mothers to make proud.

"Students who refuse to pay will be punished. At the end of the day they owe the college the money and it must be paid."

Virgin Atlantic accused of sexism over anniversary advert

Virgin Atlantic's anniversary TV ad campaign, featuring crowds lusting after female cabin crew, has prompted complaints to the advertising watchdog that it is sexist and insulting to women. The 90-second commercial, set to Frankie Goes to Hollywood classic Relax, features a glamorous red-suited cabin crew and pilot walking through an airport for Virgin Atlantic's first flight in 1984.

As the pilot and entourage walk through the airport crowds of people, mostly men, ogle the array of glamourous air hostesses. One man inadvertently squirts hamburger filling over himself while watching the procession.

At the end of the ad, which runs with the line "Still red hot", two men are seen mesmerised by the pilot and his crew.

"I need to change my job," remarks one of the men. "I need to change my ticket," says the other.

But despite receiving 29 complaints the Advertising Standards Authority said that the £6m ad campaign, which also includes press advertising, is not sexist.

The ASA said: "The general crux of the complaints was that the ad was offensive because it was sexist and presented a stereotypical view of gender roles."

Shark rescued after biting on giant fishing hook

An endangered shark was saved from a slow and painful death by a rescue team after getting a giant fishing hook stuck in its throat. Scuba divers spotted the distressed female grey nurse shark swimming near Julian Rocks in the Cape Byron Marine Park, off the far north coast of New South Wales, in Australia, and took underwater photos of the animal.

After reporting the sighting to the authorities, a team of experts from nearby theme park Sea World, the NSW Fisheries Department and the Marine Parks Authority went out to help the three-metre shark.

The team located the shark in about 15 metres of water, with eight other grey nurse sharks, and marine scientists coaxed it into a see-through tube before carefully removing the embedded gaff.

Sea World director of marine sciences Trevor Long led the expedition in the theme park's rescue boat.

"We had an ambitious thought that we could find the shark and catch it and we were prepared to stay as long as it took," he said.

"However, we were extremely fortunate to find it on the first dive. The rescue team were able to rope noose the injured shark and tire her out, allowing them to place her in a specially designed Perspex tube."

The shark was lifted from the water and placed in a 4,000 litre tank using a crane, with the rescue team then turning the shark on her back, placing her in a dormant state.

"When the shark was in a relaxed state, we inserted a large PVC pipe into her mouth and conducted a delicate procedure to remove the gaff hook, which was lodged in her oesophagus" said Mr Long.

Girl with dentist phobia starved to death

An eight-year-old girl starved to death after developing such a fear of dentists that she refused to eat, an inquest heard. Sophie Waller had a phobia about her teeth which caused her to keep her mouth clamped shut.

She wouldn't eat, drink or speak and weighed less than four stone when she died.

The girl died 11 days after being released from hospital after an operation to remove her milk teeth, and despite her parents' attempts to obtain help from the National Health Service, the inquest heard.

Her mother Janet Waller, 34, a nursery teacher, told an inquest she asked to take her daughter back to the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, four days before she died, but was refused.

She was referred to a child psychologist, Kerry Davidson, who, she said, told her Sophie would be all right because she had sucked a water melon.

She carried on ringing Dr Davidson as Sophie got weaker and was allegedly told she would be alright if she was eating anything.

The psychologist did not see the child after she left hospital and had arranged an appointment for the next week, four days after Sophie died.

Seal with phobia of fish astonishes staff at sanctuary

A seal has astonished staff at a marine sanctuary at Hunstanton in north Norfolk by refusing to feed on fish. Heidi, a five-week-old pup, was rescued from Heacham beach in Norfolk after she was separated from her mother.

She was taken to Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary in north Norfolk, where herring is the staple diet of all the rescued seals.

But for two weeks she refused to eat any and the animal care team had to resort to blending special herring smoothies for Heidi and feeding them to her by tube due to her phobia.

Matthew Fuller, from the animal care team at the sanctuary, said: "It's the first time we've ever come across a herring phobia and it's really quite unusual as all the seals get fed on herring."

Mr Fuller has his own theory about Heidi, who lost her mother in bad weather and was found by the sanctuary on January 21 when she was about three weeks old and in good condition.

"It is probably because it's quite stressful and confusing coming to the sanctuary and she was pining for her mummy," he said. "And herring really smells."

Madonna in raunchy magazine shoot with naked Jesus

Madonna has appeared in a risqué magazine shoot with Jesus Luz, the 22-year-old toyboy who is rumoured to be her new boyfriend. The 50-year-old Queen of Pop is pictured in a series of steamy shots in the new issue of W magazine.

Jesus appears naked in some of the images, modesty protected with a white towel. In another, he lies spread-eagled on a hotel bed in a pair of black briefs while Madonna locks the door. In the next shot, they are writhing around on the sheets. They share a passionate kiss in one black and white photograph.

Madonna keeps her clothes on throughout the shoot, wearing a succession of black dresses with a crucifix necklace.

The photo spread was shot in Rio de Janeiro by Steven Klein. It is believed to be the first time the pair met and they have been spotted out together on several recent occasions.

Madonna recently divorced husband Guy Ritchie and has moved to New York.

Brazilian model Jesus is reportedly now charging $135,000 (£93,000) per show, rather than the $225 (£155) per show he was paid last year. His mother is said to be four years younger than Madonna.

The last man with whom Madonna was linked, baseball star Alex Rodriguez, is at the centre of controversy this week after admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs earlier in his career.

Tim Geithner unveils new plan to rescue US banking system

US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has admitted America’s original bank bail-out was “inadequate”, as he set out a revamped plan to provide more than $2 trillion to stabilise ailing financial institutions and revive lending. Mr Geithner, who as the former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was instrumental in devising the previous $700bn bail-out, admitted that the “force of government support” in the Autumn failed to prevent the “deepening pressure brought on by the financial crisis.”

Admitting public distrust in the first bail-out, led by his predecessor as Treasury Secretary, Hank Paulson, Mr Geithner admitted that today's “comprehensive strategy will cost money, involve risk, and take time.”

Today's plan comes a day after President Barack Obama used his first White House press conference to tell Americans that passing his massive economic stimulus bill would mean the difference between "catastrophe" and saving or creating "up to four million jobs."

US stock markets markets responded badly to the plan, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average extending losses to more than 3pc in early trading.

Australian bush fires: fears death toll from 'Black Saturday' could rise to 300

The toll from the Australian bushfires could rise as high as 300 as the full horror of the infernos that swept through Victoria on 'Black Saturday' becomes clear.

Authorities have warned the country to brace for more bad news and the discovery of more dead bodies as rescue teams move in to more fire-ravaged towns. The toll currently stands at 173.

Police have set up a special squad to investigate the fires and said they are closing in on the arsonists suspected of lighting several of the deadly fires.

News of the mounting number of dead comes as some residents from the badly-hit Kinglake area were finally allowed back up the mountain to see what remained of their homes and communities. Police and fire service workers have begun to escort convoys of locals from Whittlesea to Kinglake. Water and food was also trucked up the hill to aid the scores of people who had remained in the town as the fires raged through. Residents, who have not had access to television since they evacuated on Saturday will see the blackened hills, incinerated homes and burned out cars for the first time. Many have lost friends or relatives to the chaos and heat.

The fourth day after the infernos also brought more stories of loss and miraculous survival. One woman told of her neighbour who had lost both her daughters and another two people who had perished while sheltering in a storm drain.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie snub London's posh restaurants for a pre-Bafta curry

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie shunned the Michelin-starred restaurants of London in favour of a local curry house for a pre-Bafta meal, it has emerged. The glamorous Hollywood couple arrived at the Dorchester hotel on Park Lane on Saturday, but opted not to eat in the Alain Ducasse restaurant where meals are around £100.

Instead they went to the Noor Jahan, an Indian restaurant in South Kensington where diners can expect to pay just £20 a head.

Shauyab Ahmed, part-owner of the restaurant, said: "They booked a table for 12 at 7.30pm and were a bit late arriving, but that was OK.

"The other customers loved it and were very happy to see them."

And the Bafta-nominated actors were not the only two famous faces around the table that night.

They were joined by former supermodel Claudia Schiffer and her film director husband Matthew Vaughn, as well as actor Robert Downey Junior.

The party dined on a feast of vegetable samosas, tandoori lamb chops and the house special, lamb passanda – a favourite dish of Vaughn's, who recommended the 40-seat restaurant.