Fossil human traces line to modern Asians

The person shared a common origin with the ancestors of modern Asians

Researchers have been able to trace a line between some of the earliest modern humans to settle in China and people living in the region today.

The evidence comes from DNA extracted from a 40,000-year-old leg bone found in a cave near Beijing.

Results show that the person it belonged to was related to the ancestors of present-day Asians and Native Americans.

The results are published in the journal PNAS.

Humans who looked broadly like present-day people started to appear in the fossil record of Eurasia between 40,000 and 50,000 years ago.

But many questions remain about the genetic relationships between these early modern humans and present-day Homo sapiens populations.

For example, some evidence hints at extensive migration into Europe after the last Ice Age.

And fossil finds from Red Deer Cave, also in China, and Iwo Eleru in Nigeria point to a hitherto unappreciated diversity among Late Pleistocene humans.

New technique

The team managed to extract genetic material from an ancient leg bone found in 2003 at the site of Tianyuan Cave outside Beijing.

They managed to extract the type of DNA found in the nuclei of cells (nuclear DNA) and genetic material from the cell's "powerhouses" - known as mitochondria.

They used new techniques that can identify ancient genetic information from an archaeological find, even when large amounts of DNA from soil bacteria are also present.

Analysis of the person's DNA showed that they were related to the ancestors of present-day Asians and Native Americans. But the analysis showed that this individual had already diverged from the ancestors of present-day Europeans.

The fossils were discovered in 2003 at Tianyuan near Beijing

"More analyses of additional early modern humans across Eurasia will further refine our understanding of when and how modern humans spread across Europe and Asia", said co-author Svante Pääbo, from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.

Research in the last few years has shown that early modern humans interbred with ancient human species such as the Neanderthals and Denisovans as they migrated from Africa and settled across the world.

Around 40,000 years ago, the Neanderthals and Denisovans were being replaced by Homo sapiens. Genetic studies of people living at this important crossover period could help scientists understand when and how this interbreeding took place.

The researchers found that the person from Tianyuan cave carried about the same proportion of Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA as people in the region today.

How It Should Have Ended : How The Dark Knight Rises Should Have End

HOBBIT anime

The Joy Formidable prove that having stadium-sized ambitions needn’t neuter originality.

Wolf’s Law suggests that, however hefty a burden is placed upon our bones, they’ll adjust accordingly to support the load.

And it’s unsurprising that The Joy Formidable have become keen enough believers in the theorem to appropriate it for the title of their second album. If 2011 debut The Big Roar had them pegged as promotion-pushers to rock’s big leagues, patronage from Dave Grohland support slots with Muse last year must have placed a stadium-sized weight on their skeletons.

Little wonder, then, that Wolf’s Law often finds frontwoman Ritzy Bryan in the midst of existential crisis or bouts of introspective soul-searching. “Let’s sit and talk and slow things down / Just be our old selves again finally,” she pleads on opener This Ladder Is Ours. But for all the talk of hankering for safer past climes, there’s scant nervousness to be found in the orchestration: gorgeously classy strings take on the slightest of nightmarish hues, before a whiplash of riffs comes crashing down.

It’s this tightrope between bruised self-doubt and fun blasts of noise that gives Wolf’s Law its emotional heft; a seesaw of seeking salvation and receiving it courtesy of cathartic anthems. Cholla sees Bryan ask, “What are we doing? Where are we going?” But the boisterous thwack ’n’ thrash turns the chorus into something euphoric rather than moribund.

On Bats, her fretting of “I had a reason, but the reason went away” is given a shot of adrenaline by the bonkers, snot-nosed backing. And while Tendons postures as a love song, it’s as sleazy as it is starry-eyed due to its scuzzy, positively filthy bassline.

Odd spots see them descend into tedium, such as the anaemic balladry of Silent Treatment. But the genuinely bonkers Maw Maw Song is so brilliant that other dreary transgressions can be forgiven. It’s a meandering beast that encompasses Led Zeppelin-shaped wig-outs, prog-rock detours and a gloriously dumb chorus while Bryan shrieks like a rock priestess over the course of seven minutes.

Said track’s a testament to The Joy Formidable’s conviction that having stadium-sized ambitions doesn’t have to neuter your originality. Whatever’s thrown at them next, their bones are unlikely to buckle under the pressure.

Beyonce, Fun and Glee on Obama's inauguration playlist

Beyonce will perform at Super Bowl 47 in N

The 16-track playlist also includes John Legend's Ordinary People and the cast of Glee covering Lady Gaga.

Obama released the official list - some of his favourite music - on the digital music service Spotify.

The artists will all perform at different inaugural events, which start Saturday in Washington DC.

Obama's list also includes Firework by Katy Perry and James Taylor's Your Smiling Face.

Other artists include Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Usher, Smokey Robinson, Brad Paisley and Kelly Clarkson.

Beyonce previously performed at one of Obama's inauguration balls four years ago, singing Etta James's At Last while Obama and his wife Michelle had their first dance.

She will sing the US national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, at this year's inauguration ceremony on Monday.

Clarkson will perform My Country Tis of Thee and Taylor will give his rendition of America the Beautiful.

Wonder, Usher and Taylor were also involved in Obama's inauguration in 2009, having contributed to his inaugural committee CD, Change Is Now: Renewing America's Promise.

It was released in April 2009 and also included tracks by Will.i.am, Wilco and Jennifer Hudson.

Jennifer Hudson Reveals Fiance David Otunga’s New Nickname

Jennifer Hudson’s fiance, David Otunga, is joining the family business – heading into feature films in “The Call,” and the Oscar-winning actress said Hollywood should look out.

“We call him ‘Curtains,’ because when he got the role he was like, ‘Curtains for everybody!’” Jennifer told Access Hollywood as she promoted her upcoming film, “The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete,” at the Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah, on Thursday night.

“He’s so excited,” she continued of WWE star David’s new role. “I can’t wait to see the film… He’s super excited about the project coming out and he got to play an officer in ‘The Call.’ I just got to see the preview for it… Look out, curtains for everybody!”

Jennifer will follow up her Sundance trip with one to Washington, D.C., where she confirmed she’ll performer as part of President Barack Obama’s second inauguration.

The Grammy winner revealed she will be singing, “Let’s Stay Together” at the Inauguration Ball.

“I’m getting it ready,” she said. “It’s Obama – [it’s] one of his favorite songs,” she said.

James Franco To Direct And Star In Film About 60s Hair Stylist And Manson Family Victim Jay Sebring

James Franco has one seriously strange career, and to understand why all you have to do is look at the movies that he has coming out this year. There's the hard-R rated comedy This Is The End, the Disney movie Oz The Great And Powerful, the porn biopic Lovelace, the girls-with-guns thriller Spring Breakers...and that's only part of the list. As the years pass Franco gets busier and busier with weirder and weirder projects, and that continues today with the news that he is making a movie about one of the most famous hair stylists in Hollywood during the 1960s and his tragic death.

Deadline is reporting that Franco is now set to both direct and star in Beautiful People, a new project about Jay Sebring. The film will chronicle the stylist's rise as a "self-created men’s grooming pioneer" and follow through to his early death at the hands of Charles Manson and the Manson family. The site notes that Sebring had a romantic relationship with Sharon Tate, who also notably died during the Manson spree.

The news comes out of Sundance where the actor/director has three movies debuting, Interior. Leather Bar, the documentary Kink, and the aforementioned Lovelace (are you seeing a theme?). Both Oz The Great And Powerful and Spring Breakers will be getting March releases while he also has The Iceman, the Slyvester Stallone-scripted Homefront and a number of other titles set to come out in the coming months. I'd honestly be amazed if even he could keep track of all the movies he has coming out in 2013.

The Nazis prisoners bugged by Germans

A secret listener at Trent Park, one of a team of about 100 German men

Thousands of German POWs held captive in England during World War II were bugged by "secret listeners" who were themselves German, working for the British. Historian Helen Fry and one of the last surviving listeners explain how the prisoners were lulled into divulging secrets of the Nazi war machine.

One group of German generals captured during World War II thought they had hit the jackpot.

Held in a stately home, they were allowed to keep personal servants, drink wine and eat good food.

As a result they boasted of how stupid the British were, and one even wrote to his family to wish that they could join him at his prison, as he rated it so highly.

But what the prisoners did not know was that British intelligence had bugged every part of their accommodation, from lampshades and plant pots right down to the billiards table around which they relaxed on lazy days.

They were gleaning information about the psyche of the Nazi military from the idle gossip flowing between the prisoners.

ritz Lustig spent many hours secretly listening to Germans POWs

Carefully listening in on their conversations were fellow Germans of Jewish origin who had fled from the Nazis.

The bugged prisoners were kept in three locations - Latimer House near Amersham, Wilton Park near Beaconsfield, both in Buckinghamshire, and Trent Park near Cockfosters in north London. The first two held captured U-Boat submarine crews and Luftwaffe pilots, who were bugged for a week or two before being moved on to conventional captivity.

The generals, whose numbers eventually reached a peak of 59 as the war progressed, resided in Trent Park until the war ended.

Hidden nearby in each of the three stately-homes-turned-prisons were the pro-British Germans, listening in a place known as the "M room" - the "m" stood for microphoned - where "secret listeners" were glued to the bugging devices.

Historian Helen Fry, who has written a book called The M Room: Secret Listeners who bugged the Nazis., says the information gleaned by the eavesdropping of the German generals was vitally important to the war effort - so much so that it was given an unlimited budget by the government.

Trent Park was home to 59 German generals during World War II

 

She believes what was learned by the M room operations was as significant as the code-breaking work being done at Bletchley Park.

"British intelligence got the most amazing stuff in bugging the conversations. Churchill said of Trent Park that it afforded a unique insight into the psyche of the enemy. It enabled us to understand the mind-set of the enemy as well as learn military secrets.

"If it wasn't for this bugging operation, we may well have not won the war."

Mrs Fry said the conversation transcripts, which numbered more than 100,000, provided the British with "most of what we knew" about Germany's military capability, its weaponry and its new development of technology during the war.

Through intelligence pieced together from prisoner conversations, the British were able to identify and heavily bomb a V2 rocket site in May 1943 at Peenemunde on the northern coast of Germany, which was preparing to launch deadly rockets at Britain. 

Bugging technology in WWII

Crucially, she adds, the bugging was the first time the British overheard admissions that the German army had taken part in the atrocities and mass killing of Jews and were guilty of war crimes.

"The army had always denied it and that was believed for the last 65 years. What the transcripts show us now is that the German army - with the SS - was complicit in war crimes," she says.

Apart from comfortable living arrangements, the Trent Park generals enjoyed such luxuries as garden parties hosted by Colonel Thomas Kendrick, the MI6 officer who oversaw the entire bugging operation and who later received an OBE for his efforts.

The high-ranking guests chatted away at such events in their native language, unaware that Col Kendrick himself spoke German and that such entertainment was being provided so as to relax them in captivity, making them so unguarded as to spill secrets - which they did.

Mrs Fry also says Winston Churchill was outraged when he learned the generals had been bussed into the lavish Simpson's-in-the-Strand in central London for lunch. He ordered what he called "the pampering of the generals" to be stopped.

But spoiling the generals and boosting their egos was providing so much useful information that the British intelligence officers decided to carry on, and simply stopped telling Churchill about it.

"The generals felt they were being treated according to their status." Mrs Fry said. "One of them wrote home to his family and said 'I really wish you could be here, it's wonderful - but without the barbed wire'.

"They had a British welfare officer who once a week would go into London and buy them shaving cream or socks or whatever they wanted. He was called Lord Aberfeldy but he wasn't a peer at all - he was an intelligence officer.

"But the British thought the generals would be flattered by being looked after by a lord."

Some of the captured German generals are seen here at Trent Park

There are thought to be only two "secret listeners" left alive from an original group of about 100. One of them is Fritz Lustig, 93, who lives in Muswell Hill, north London.

Although born in Berlin and baptised a Protestant, his family had Jewish members and so in the eyes of the Nazis he was "not Aryan enough" and left for England in April 1939.

Eager to help fight the Nazis, he eventually joined the British army's Royal Pioneer Corps and, as he was able to speak English, was later invited to become a secret listener at Latimer House and Wilton Park.

Mr Lustig and other secret listeners were told on their first day by Col Kendrick that "what you will be doing here is more important than firing a gun in action".

"Morale was high among us," Mr Lustig says, "particularly if we had been able to gather something important. Emotionally, we were completely detached from the people we listened to."

He says he can no longer recall prisoner conversations, but does remember marking a transcript with "atrocity" in a red pen at one point.

"We listeners didn't feel that the prisoners were our fellow countrymen any more. We knew of all the horrible things that were happening in eastern Europe, with the killing of Jews, and we knew that would have happened to us if we had stayed in Germany.

"We felt no guilt - on the contrary, we felt proud to be able to contribute to the British war effort. I'm proud of what we did."

Lens-less camera emerges from metamaterials work

Collision avoidance systems could emerge from the lens-less imaging research

Cheap sensors that help cars avoid collisions could emerge from research into a lens-less imaging system.

US scientists have used metamaterials to build the imaging system, which samples infra-red and microwave light.

Metamaterials are materials that have properties purposefully designed rather than determined by their chemistry.

The sensor also compresses the images it captures in contrast to current compression systems, which only squash images after they are taken.

Small sensor

Most imaging systems, such as those found in digital cameras, use a lens to focus a scene on a sensor studded with millions of tiny sensors. More sensors means more detail is captured and, generally, produces a higher resolution image.

The imaging system developed by graduate student John Hunt and colleagues at Duke University in North Carolina has no lens and instead combines a metamaterial mask or aperture and complicated mathematics to generate an image of a scene.

The aperture is used to focus different wavelengths of light in different parts of a scene onto a detector. The different frequencies in the scene are sampled sequentially.

This sampling helped to work out the distribution and mix of light wavelengths and their relative intensities found in a scene, said Mr Hunt.

"Then we use some very elegant maths which was developed in computational imaging to turn that data into a 2D picture," he told the Science podcast. The wavelength sampling was done electronically so happens very fast, he added.

Cheap, small, portable

Currently the imaging system could capture about 10 images per second, he said. In addition, the imaging system compressed the information as it was gathered. Most other image compression systems, such as the widely used Jpeg format, are applied after an image has been snapped.

While imaging systems that capture infra-red and microwave wavelengths already existed, said Mr Hunt, they were typically expensive, bulky or complicated to build.

By contrast, the Duke imaging system used a thin strip of metamaterial mated with some electronics and processing software. Although it did not yet work with visible wavelengths of light, Mr Hunt said it could lead to a range of cheap, small, portable sensors that could find a role in many different fields.

"You could build an imager into the body of a car to do collision-avoidance imaging," he said, "or you could have a cheap handheld device to look through walls for wires and pipes."

A research paper detailing the work has appeared in the journal Science.

Whatever happened to Pluto?

We all remember being taught about the nine planets when we were at school. In recent years, things have changed and there are now only eight, writes space scientist Dr Lucie Green.

It seems that reality TV shows are not the only places you can vote things out - Pluto was kicked out of the planet club in 2006 because of a vote.

It ended up being a case of "last in, first out". Pluto was the last planet discovered, because it was too small and too far away to be seen without the aid of a telescope.

Pluto is six billion km from the Sun - that's 40 times the Earth's distance from the Sun. It took until 1930 for Pluto to be found and even then its discovery was almost an accident.

Dirty icebergs

• Pluto was a planet for 76 years until it was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006
• Pluto's existence was first predicted by Percival Lowell in 1915 and was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930
• Pluto is now thought to be an object in the Kuiper Belt, a disc-shaped area of icy, dark objects beyond Neptune

• "A faint black dot" - watch how Pluto was first discovered
• Diamond crystals and balls of gas - a quick guide to the Solar System

For several decades it had been believed by some people that a 'Planet X' was orbiting beyond Uranus and Neptune and was causing slight changes to the motions of these planets.

In fact, Pluto isn't large enough or in the right orbit to do this, but a search of the skies for Planet X by Clyde Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Arizona led to the discovery of a tiny spot of light that moved against the background stars.

He realised that this tiny spot was an object which was orbiting the Sun and it was announced that a new planet had been discovered.

Planets are not the only things in our Solar System, various groups of objects orbit the Sun. But the main group is the planets, bodies of rock or gas that orbit the Sun.

Then there are the moons orbiting these planets. Earth has just one moon whereas the king of the planets, Jupiter, has over 60. It turns out that even Pluto has three.

In addition to the planets and their moons we have a group of objects called asteroids. These are smallish lumps of rock and metal, most of which orbit the Sun at a distance between that of Mars and Jupiter.

Finally there are the comets, dirty icebergs that orbit at vast distances, perhaps 50,000 times further from the Sun than the Earth is. Asteroids are thought to be remnants of a planet that was unable to fully form and comets are thought to be leftovers of the formation of the Solar System itself.

But the search for objects at the edge of the Solar System continued after the discovery of Pluto.

The search has been fruitful - many hundreds of small objects have been found beyond the orbit of Neptune and in 2003 an object was found that is more massive than Pluto and has a moon of its own. A new planet.

The possibility of discovering more objects of this size quickly became apparent and if Pluto was classified as a planet, then so should all these new objects.

Things were going to get out of hand. It was time to take a step back and think about what we actually mean by a planet and whether Pluto and the other similar objects should have planetary standing.

This task fell to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) - the organization that represents astronomers and astronomical research, and has the responsibility for overseeing how objects are named.

A Planet Definition Committee was formed and members of the IAU debated and discussed until an agreement was reached about what a planet should be defined as.

Demoted

It was decided that it was not good enough for an object to simply orbit the Sun, have enough mass for its own gravity to shape it into a rigid, nearly round object, and have its own moons.

To be a planet an object also has to have sucked up all the other material around it. All other eight planets have swept their orbit around the Sun clean from other objects. Pluto however, lives in a belt of other similar-sized objects.

FIND OUT MORE

A vote was taken at the closing ceremony of the IAU's General Assembly on 24 August 2006 and the fate of Pluto was sealed. Pluto, surrounded by hundreds of other objects orbiting beyond Neptune, was to be demoted from a planet to a new category of objects in the Solar System - a dwarf planet.

One of my colleagues was amongst the voters and I remember him commenting that it made him feel like a controller of the Universe.

I attended the IAU General Assembly in 2012 where once again, at the closing ceremony, a vote was taken, but this time on the definition of the Astronomical Unit - the distance between the Sun and the Earth which is a standard measurement in astronomy.

It was voted that the Astronomical Unit be defined by the exact distance of 149,597,870,700m rather than a value which varied dependant on the mass of the Sun which is very slowly changing over time.

So, the IAU has clear definitions of how objects in our Solar System should be classified. Even though this is necessary, it is slightly artificial to think of discrete types, giving an arbitrary cut-off due to distance from the Sun or nature of the orbit.

Better perhaps to have a spectrum of objects where when one type ends and other begins. For example, in recent years astronomers have found objects that seem to look like both asteroids and comets.

What next?

Because it hasn't yet been visited by a spacecraft, we still have no detailed view of what Pluto is like. A Nasa mission is on its way though - New Horizons was launched in 2006 and will arrive in 2015.

It is interesting to reflect that upon launch New Horizons' target was a planet, but upon arrival it won't be.

The classification of Pluto isn't important though. What is important is that it is part of our culture and symbolises our desire to understand the Universe on our doorstep - it's a Solar System object that we need to learn more about.

Going paperless 'would save NHS billions'

ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt wants the NHS to be paperless by 2018 - a move a report says could help save the health service billions of pounds a year. 

In a speech, Mr Hunt will say a first step is to give people online access to their health records by March 2015.

And by April 2018, any crucial health information should be available to staff at the touch of a button.

PwC suggests a potential £4.4bn could be put back into the NHS with better use of information and technology.

This information technology revolution has been long in the offing.

It was Mr Hunt's predecessor Andrew Lansley who first pledged in 2010 to start an information revolution to ensure patients could use the web to report their experiences, rate NHS organisations and access their records so there would be "no decision about me, without me".

A couple of years on and progress has been patchy, with some parts of the NHS offering a big digital presence and others lagging.

Previous attempts to transform NHS information technology have run into trouble. Labour's scheme, Connecting for Health, allowed X-rays and scans to be stored and sent electronically.

But other parts of the programme - launched in 2002 - became mired in technical problems and contractual wrangling and the national programme has effectively been disbanded and local parts of the health service asked to proceed with upgrading IT systems.

Priorities

In a speech to think tank Policy Exchange, Mr Hunt will say hospitals should plan to make information digitally and securely available by 2014-15.

This will means that different professionals involved in one person's care can start to share information safely on their treatment.

"We need to learn those lessons - and in particular avoid the pitfalls of a hugely complex, centrally specified approach. Only with world-class information systems will the NHS deliver world-class care," he will say.

Mr Hunts comments come as a report by PwC suggests a potential £4.4bn could be put back into the NHS by using better use of information and technology.

Using electronic prescribing and electronic patient records would also give staff more time to spend with patients.

The John Taylor Hospice near Birmingham found that using laptops more than doubled the amount of time clinicians could spend with patients.

Labour says the public will struggle to understand why the government is making information technology a priority at a time when NHS spending has been cut.

Labour's shadow health minister, Jamie Reed, said: "As winter bites, the NHS is facing its toughest time of the year and the government has left it unprepared.

"Patients are waiting too long in A&E and being treated in under-staffed hospitals - they will not thank him for making this a priority. He should sort out the bread and butter issues first."

Phone bill warning to parents over mobile app charges

Anger over huge phone bills caused by purchases made within mobile applications has grown.

Regulator PhonepayPlus has noted a 300% increase in complaints from consumers faced with an unexpectedly large phone bill.

Many apps can be downloaded for free, but users are then encouraged to buy extra items.

Other free apps contained malware that tricked users into running up bills, the regulator added.

Children's "naivety" on social media was also causing concern among parents, PhonepayPlus said.

The regulator said it was working with Facebook to make sure rogue offers and promotions were removed from the site as quickly as possible.

In most mobile app stores, it is free games that make their way to the top of the most downloaded charts, so many games makers have opted for the in-app sales business model.

Burning holes

Many titles, such as the massively popular Angry Birds, give players the chance to progress more quickly in the game by spending small amounts of money.

PhonepayPlus said its figures suggested that two in three 11- to 16-year-olds had downloaded their own apps.

The regulator warned that parents could see bills of "hundreds or even thousands of pounds" as a result of these in-app purchases.

In one of the more extreme cases, it was reported that children had downloaded counterfeit versions of games from Google's Android app store.

These games were infected with malware which, whenever opened, billed £15 to the user's phone bill without their knowledge.

PhonepayPlus' chief executive Paul Whiteing said parents must be vigilant.

"Connected devices will define the age in which today's children live and we are determined to ensure that they can receive the benefits while being protected from the risks," he said.

"Smartphones in children's pockets can burn holes in parents' wallets, so we are working with partners across industry and other agencies to prevent this.

"This is a real challenge for parents and for us as a regulator, but this plan meets that challenge head on."

Helicopter crashes in Vauxhall, central London

 At least two people have died after a helicopter hit the top of a crane and crashed into the ground in a ball of flames at the peak of rush-hour in Vauxhall, south London today.

Two people died at the scene with another two injured people rushed to St Thomas’ Hospital, police and ambulance said.

Witnesses reported seeing a “massive ball of flames” and a deafening "explosion" after the helicopter crashed into the ground, raining debris throughout the area.

It hit a crane in Vauxhall, south London, sending screaming residents, commuters and construction workers running "for their lives".

There is no suggestion it is terrorism, police said. The crash site is located close to MI6's main building.

Witnesses suggested that the helicopter, which is reported to just be carrying the pilot, had plunged more than 60 storeys to the ground as the crane remained precarious.

It then hit two cars, which have been left abandoned and charred amid reports one driver was trapped. Firefighters were able to rescue him from his car before he was rushed to hospital.

The crane was on top of a building called The Tower, in the St George Wharf development, and is billed to be one of Europe's tallest residential towers.

Amid a massive rescue operation, a plume of smoke was seen billowing into the sky above the area.

While it appears there were foggy conditions, the building has been under construction for some time.

There were suggestions that the helicopter, was flying low throughout the area, which is in one of the busiest parts of the capital.

The Agusta 109 civilian helicopter apparently hit the crane on top of a building, Scotland Yard said. 

The crash has caused travel chaos as roads were shut and the local bus station was closed. Local gridlock meant that emergency services struggled to get through.

Fire and rescue services said they were taking "lots of emergency calls" as eyewitnesses described seeing grey smoke towering into the sky, close to Battersea Bridge, in Vauxhall.

More than 60 firefighters and eight fire engines are tackling the blaze.

 

Pictures showed plumes of black smoke billowing into air after the crash, which occurred near Vauxhaull Bus station.

Roads have been closed as emergency services scrambled to the scene.

A witness, Aaron Cane, told BBC Radio Five Live: "I heard a big crash and I looked up.

“There was a massive ball of flames. It is chaos. I just saw the helicopter hit the floor.”

A resident in a nearby building, who only gave his name as Colin, said: "I was having breakfast... when I heard a loud explosion. I looked out the window and there was a massive plume of smoke.

"It had hit the tower and continued flying down. When I heard the explosion I was not that concerned as there building happening all the time. But when I saw the smoke I didn't know what to think."

Another witness Quinn Murray, added: "The helicopter hit the top of the crane and then came down. I saw smoke and fire. I am completely shocked."

  

Another commuter described seeing a "large plume of dark grey smoke" as she crossed Battersea Bridge at around 8am.

She said: "I was coming across the bridge and basically I could see a few cyclists on the bridge looking towards the water.

"I looked over to see what they were looking at and could see a pall of grey smoke coming from the south side.

"You could see a large plume of dark grey smoke."

Paul Ferguson, who was working in an office near the incident, said: "There was a flash and the helicopter plunged to the ground. It exploded and you can imagine the smoke coming out of it.

"It was probably heading from the nearby heliport. It may be that on this misty morning the lights on nearby St George's Tower weren't on and it moved and clipped the edge of the crane and lost control."

 

Another eyewitness Chris Matthison told the BBC: "There was some damage to the crane. It's possible the crane is lying across Nine Elms road.

"The top of the nearest building is steeped in mist and difficult to see."

He added: "I heard a very unusual dull thud, then there was silence. The silence really took my imagination. Emergency services responded very quickly."

Erin Rogers was waiting at a bus stop outside Vauxhall station.

He added: "It was a bit surreal actually. I just had a coffee in my hand, I looked up, heard a bang and saw bits of crane debris falling to the floor.

"Then the helicopter was in flames. The rest of the people at the bus station were looking on going 'What was that?'.

"It's something I will never forget for a long time."

As rush-hour traffic built up, the A3036 Wandsworth Road in Vauxhall was closed in both directions between Vauxhall Cross and the Lansdowne Way junction.

Transport for London said buses in the Vauxhall area were subject to diversion and delays due to the incident. People were advised to avoid the area and seek alternative routes.

The First Capital Connect train company warned its passengers to expect travel difficulties in the Vauxhall area, although its services were not affected.

A Met police spokesman said: "Police were alerted at approx. 08.00hrs on Wednesday 16 January re. an incident at Wandsworth Road SW8.

"At this early stage it appears a helicopter was in collision with a crane on top of a building.

"Met officers, the ambulance service and the London Fire Brigade have attended."

He added: It is too early at this stage to confirm any casualties.

"We will confirm further details on the incident as soon as possible."

Flying conditions this morning were reflected in the fact that London City Airport in Docklands had delays due to poor visibility.

Charlie Sheen To Be A Grandfather

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Caption Charlie Sheen is seen at Fox’s All-Star Party at Castle Green in Pasadena, Calif. on January 8, 2012 Grampa Charlie Sheen!

The actor’s oldest daughter, Cassandra, 28, is expecting her first child.

Charlie’s ex-wife Denise Richards announced the news on Twitter, writing, “I guess some of you have heard… @charliesheen is going to be a Grampa…yes GRAMPA!”

Adding, “his beautiful daughter Cassandra is gonna be a mama”

Cassandra’s mother is the actor’s high school girlfriend Paula Profit.

Charlie and Denise, who were married from 2002 to 2006, have two children together, Sam, 8, Lola, 7. The actor also has 3-year-old twin sons, Bob and Max, with Brooke Mueller – who Denise often looks after when needed.

“They’re our family and they’re Sam and Lola’s brothers and I can’t imagine growing up without my sister, so anytime she needs help, I’m there for the boys,” she said during a visit to Access Hollywood Live in December. “[Sam and Lola] are the best big sisters to [the boys] and they love them.”

Adding, “I know it doesn’t seem normal, but it is our normal. They’re little kids and I love children, and like I said, it’s our daughter’s brothers, so I can’t say no.”

NBA star John Amaechi thanks 'life-saving' medics

Mr Amaechi thanked staff at the hospitals on microblogging site Twitter

Basketball star John Amaechi has thanked two Greater Manchester hospitals for saving his life after an infection left him unable to breathe.

The Stockport-based former NBA player underwent an operation in December after being diagnosed with pneumonia.

He said staff at University Hospital of South Manchester in Wythenshawe and Stockport's Stepping Hill Hospital had provided "exemplary" care.

Mr Amaechi played for several teams in the US before retiring in 2004.

He is the only British player to earn a place in the US Basketball Hall of Fame.

The 42-year-old underwent surgery to deal with empyema, a build-up of infected fluids in the lungs

A build-up of infected fluid in Mr Amaechi's chest was clearly visible on his X-rays

  

Really can't breathe'

He said: "I took part in a charity basketball game and I was finding it very hard to breathe, but I thought it was because I was out of shape.

"If I tried to take a big breath, there was a pain in the side of my chest - it was like a very, very painful stitch.

"Little did I know I had pneumonia at the time.

"A couple of days later, I woke up and I thought 'wow, now I really can't breathe', and I ended up calling 999 and being taken straight to hospital."

He said after being admitted, a doctor at Stepping Hill realised that he had empyema, "which just needed surgery, so they sent me off to Wythenshawe".

He said his consultant, surgeon Piotr Krysiak, had been "amazing" and that he "can't thank Stepping Hill enough for stepping in to save my life in the first place and Wythenshawe for sorting me out so I'm back home".

He added that it had been "the most painful three weeks that I have had in my life", but said he was now recovering slowly.

Megan Fox Talks Baby Weight, Brian Austin Green’s Daddy Duty & Why She’ll Miss Twitter

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Motherhood looks great on Megan Fox.

Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush chatted with the glowing new mom on the red carpet at the Golden Globes on Sunday, where she revealed husband Brian Austin Green’s parents were babysitting baby Noah for the glamorous evening.

“I’m really particular about everything and his mom is really good about making sure she does everything perfect,” she told Billy, when asked if she makes “lists” and feeding schedules for babysitters. “I’m overly worried about everything all of the time.”

“She’s not overly worried – she’s a good mom,” Brian interjected.

The couple, who tied the knot in June 2010 and welcomed baby Noah in late September 2012, are adjusting to life as parents together – they said they average about six hours of sleep per night (often less), and Brian sweetly takes the lead on after hours baby care.

“He’s always done the middle of the night feeding for me to let me rest and recover,” Megan said with a smile. “He’s a really good husband!”

“She did nine, 10 months of work, so I figure I can get up — I can get out of bed,” Brian added.

And in news that may make new moms the world over scream with frustration, the “This Is 40” vixen admitted she lost most of the baby weight… the day of Noah’s birth.

“My baby was kind of small and my pregnancy was small – I walked out of the hospital kind of like this,” she said hesitantly. “Not to be crazy, but… it is what it is.”

“She’s always eaten really well, she’s always worked out and stayed in good shape, so, she did it all through the pregnancy,” Brian explained. “It makes sense then that when you have the baby, your body – for the most part – is there.”

As for why Megan joined Twitter, then quit after one week, she said it was never “her thing.”

“I gave in to see what it was all about – I don’t have the time to keep up with Twitter,” she said. “I have a baby that I need to take care of and I don’t ever want my son to look at me and ask why I’m always on the computer or always on the phone and my answer to be that I’m ‘social networking.’ So, he’s my priority and it’s just not for me.”

However, she did enjoy being able to communicate with her fans.

“Some of the fans made me laugh a lot – some of them are really funny — and I’ll miss interacting with them,” she said.

Ben Affleck On Globe Win: ‘An Incredible Moment’; Talks Oscar Snub

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Caption Ben Affleck, winner of Best Director, poses in the press room during the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 13, 2013 An Oscar nomination eluded Ben Affleck for “Argo,” but on Sunday night the actor/director continued his winning streak at the Golden Globes picking up the statue for Best Director following his previous win at the Critics’ Choice Awards – but is he upset about the Oscar snub?

“I have a lot of respect for the Academy, naturally I was a little disappointed, but I don’t want to overlook the fact that [‘Argo’] got seven nominations, including Best Picture,” Ben told Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush backstage at the Golden Globes.

”[Oscar nominations day] was actually one of the happiest days of my life,” he continued.

Sunday’s Golden Globes also ranked as a high for the 40-year-old star.

“I’m thrilled about [my Globe win]. This is an incredible moment in my professional life and is really significant,” he explained.

The “Argo” director was reeling about besting his fellow directors, including Kathryn Bigelow, Steven Spielberg, Ang Lee and Quentin Tarantino.

“I don’t even know what to say, to even been in the company of guys like that and women like Kathryn Bigelow,” he said if his fellow nominees. “I don’t even know how I got away with this, but I’m going to enjoy tonight.”

The congratulatory messages had already started pouring in from longtime friend Matt Damon.

“Damon has texted me a couple of times… he was just saying congratulations that kind of thing,” Ben added.

dele refuses to reveal baby name but 'is exhausted'

Adele has refused to publicly reveal the name of her baby son but has given some details about life as a new mum.

"I'm exhausted that's how it's changed me," said the singer. "I've got eczema from sterilising bottles so much in water."

The 24-year-old made her first public appearance in months at last night's (14 January) 70th annual Golden Globe awards.

"I'm not revealing his name. I'm not ready, it's too personal and intimate."

"I'm enjoying him on my own at the moment," she added.

At the ceremony in Los Angeles, Skyfall, the theme song for the latest James Bond movie, sung by Adele, was named best song.

Collecting her prize the singer said: "I'd like to thank Paul Epworth who I did the song with. Daniel Craig you've been such a wonderful Bond.

"And this is for my husband Simon who convinced me to do it and to my lovely son. Thank you very much."

It's the star's first child with boyfriend Simon Konecki.

Adele is one of the most successful UK artists of all time.

In December her album 21 overtook Oasis' (What's The Story) Morning Glory? to become the UK's fourth biggest-selling album ever.

The album which includes hits like Rolling In The Deep and Rumour Has It, has now sold 4,500,000 copies.

Justin Timberlake unveils Suit and Tie single

Timberlake's last album FutureSex/LoveSounds was nominated for several Grammy awards

Justin Timberlake has unveiled his first single since 2006 along with details of a new album to be released later this year.

The single, Suit and Tie, features rapper Jay-Z and producer Timbaland.

In an open letter to fans on his website, he said the new album would be called The 20/20 Experience.

"This year is an exciting one for me," he wrote. "As you probably have heard through the 'grapevine,' I'm gearing up for a big 2013."

Timberlake's last album, FutureSex/LoveSounds, released in 2006, was the second solo effort from the former N'Sync member, after which he took a break from music to work as an actor in movies such as The Social Network.

'Next journey'

The six-time Grammy winner hinted to fans last week with a cryptic tweet saying "I think I am ready", linking to a video showing him walk into a studio.

Writing to fans on his website on Sunday, the 31-year-old singer revealed that in June last year, he "quietly started working on what is now, my next journey with that thing I love called MUSIC".

"The inspiration for this really came out of the blue and to be honest, I didn't expect anything out of it," he added.

"I just went into the studio and started playing around with some sounds and songs. It was probably the best time I've had in my career... Just creating with no rules and/or end goal in mind and really enjoying the process.

"What I came up with is something I couldn't be more excited about! It is full of inspiration that I grew up listening to and some newfound muses that I've discovered along the way."

Pop star Beyonce - who is married to Jay-Z - revealed in a recent interview that she is working with Timberlake on the follow up to her 2011 album, 4.

'Red October' cyber-attack found by Russian researchers

Explainer

Red October is said to be one of the most significant attacks ever to be discovered. Key facts include:

• It has been operating since 2007
• Attackers created more than 60 domain names to run the attack, based mostly in Germany and Russia
• Specifically targeted "Cryptofiler" files - an encryption technique used by organisations like Nato and the EU
• Most infection connections were found coming from Switzerland, followed by Kazakhstan and Greece
• Intended targets received personalised correspondence based on gathered intelligence on individual people
• Unlike Stuxnet, another major cyber-attack, Red October is not believed to have caused any physical damage to infrastructure, concentrating solely on stealing information

Source: Kaspersky Labs

A major cyber-attack that may have been stealing confidential documents since 2007 has been discovered by Russian researchers.

Kaspersky Labs told the BBC the malware targeted government institutions such as embassies, nuclear research centres and oil and gas institutes.

It was designed to steal encrypted files - and was even able to recover files that had been deleted.

One expert described the attack find as "very significant".

"It appears to be trying to suck up all the usual things - word documents, PDFs, all the things you'd expect," said Prof Alan Woodward, from the University of Surrey.

"But a couple of the file extensions it's going after are very specific encrypted files."

In a statement, Kaspersky Labs said: "The primary focus of this campaign targets countries in Eastern Europe, former USSR Republics, and countries in Central Asia, although victims can be found everywhere, including Western Europe and North America.

"The main objective of the attackers was to gather sensitive documents from the compromised organisations, which included geopolitical intelligence, credentials to access classified computer systems, and data from personal mobile devices and network equipment."

'Carefully selected'

In an interview with the BBC, the company's chief malware researcher Vitaly Kamluk said victims had been carefully selected.

"It was discovered in October last year," Mr Kamluk said.

"We initiated our checks and quite quickly understood that is this a massive cyber-attack campaign.

"There were a quite limited set of targets that were affected - they were carefully selected. They seem to be related to some high-profile organisations."

Red October - which is named after a Russian submarine featured in the Tom Clancy novel The Hunt For Red October - bears many similarities with Flame, a cyber-attack discovered last year.

Like Flame, Red October is made up of several distinct modules, each with a set objective or function.

"There is a special module for recovering deleted files from USB sticks," Mr Kamluk said.

"It monitors when a USB stick is plugged in, and it will try to undelete files. We haven't seen anything like that in a malware before."

Also unique to Red October was its ability to hide on a machine as if deleted, said Prof Woodward.

"If it's discovered, it hides.

"When everyone thinks the coast is clear, you just send an email and 'boof' it's back and active again."

Cracked encryption

Other modules were designed to target files encrypted using a system known as Cryptofiler - an encryption standard that used to be in widespread use by intelligence agencies but is now less common.

Prof Woodward explained that while Cryptofiler is no longer used for extremely sensitive documents, it is still used by the likes of Nato for protecting privacy and other information that could be valuable to hackers.

Red October's targeting of Cryptofiler files could suggest its encryption methods had been "cracked" by the attackers.

Like most malware attacks, there are clues as to its origin - however security experts warn that any calling cards found within the attack's code could in fact be an attempt to throw investigators off the real scent.

Kaspersky's Mr Kamluk said the code was littered with broken, Russian-influenced English.

"We've seen use of the word 'proga' - a slang word common among Russians which means program or application. It's not used in any other language as far as we know."

But Prof Woodward added: "In the sneaky old world of espionage, it could be a false flag exercise. You can't take those things at face value."

Kaspersky's research indicated there were 55,000 connection targets within 250 different IP addresses. In simpler terms, this means that large numbers of computers were infected in single locations - possibly government buildings or facilities.

A 100-page report into the malware is to be published later this week, the company said.

BBL Cup Final: Leicester Riders beat Newcastle Eagles

match stats

Newcastle		Leicester
80	Points	85
32/87	Field goals	32/60
7/35	Three points	11/22
9/13	Free throws	10/21
38	Rebounds	39
4	Steals	4
7	Turnovers	12
20	Points off turnovers	4
15	Fouls	1

80

Points

85

32/87

Field goals

32/60

7/35

Three points

11/22

9/13

Free throws

10/21

38

Rebounds

39

4

Steals

4

7

Turnovers

12

20

Points off turnovers

4

15

Fouls

1

Scoring summary (Eagles score first): 1st Quarter: 17-20; 2nd Quarter: 19-25; 3rd Quarter: 15-20; 4th Quarter: 29-20.

Leicester Riders survived a Newcastle Eagles' fourth-quarter fightback to win the BBL Cup for the first time in 12 seasons 85-80 at Birmingham's NIA.

The Riders led 65-51 at the start of the final period, only for Newcastle to go into an 80-70 lead.

But a three from Zaire Taylor with 1:16 remaining put Leicester back in charge. 

Riders' Jay Couisnard (17 points) was named most valuable player, and Jamell Anderson and Anthony Rowe each added 15. Joe Chapman hit 27 for the Eagles.

Leicester's start was better and they led almost throughout, hitting three three-pointers in the first quarter - two from GB Olympic captain Andrew Sullivan and one from Anderson - to go in 20-17 ahead at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter they went on an 18-5 run inspired by Sullivan, Anderson and Slovakian signing Pavol Losonsky.

With Charles Smith, so often a match-winner for Newcastle in finals, struggling to find his scoring touch, Eagles reached half-time 45-36 in arrears.

Couisnard all but secured his MVP award in the third period, scoring 12 of his team's 20 points - including a triplet of threes - as the Riders stretched their advantage to 65-51 with 10 minutes remaining.

But when Smith scored a pair of twos and Chapman twice found player-coach Fab Flournoy for baskets in a 10-0 run that levelled the scores with 1:31 remaining, the Riders suddenly had to show their nerve.

Although they missed four of their next eight free-throws, another three from Taylor with 45 seconds remaining proved to be decisive.

Leicester forward and most valuable player Jay Couisnard:

"We knew Newcastle weren't going to quit and they were going to come at us with a run.

"Then big-shot Taylor... he's been doing it all his career - he did a lot of that at college.

"We've got a lot of players who can play from one to 12 - that's why we're so good - we're so balanced.

"Anybody, any day, can be the MVP of any game. We're not a one-man or two-man team."

Newcastle guard Joe Chapman:

"We always fight to the end - it was just a classic battle. We just ran out of gas towards the end."

"We always think we're going to do it - because we're champions and we play like champions. At 1:30, we felt like we had a chance but then they made some big shots."

When asked whether Newcastle's two-week break before the final was significant, Chapman said: "I think [in the]first half it was - I think we didn't get into our rhythm as a team - our big guys couldn't really get their rhythm going.

"Sometimes having a couple of weeks off affects us like that but we're not going to use that as an excuse."

Mali: France pledges 'short' campaign against Islamists

Foreign forces in Mali

• Some 550 French troops in Bamako and Mopti
• French Mirage jets based in Chad, Rafale planes in France
• Nigeria to send 600 troops, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Togo expected to send 500 each and Benin 300
• UK providing two C17 cargo planes for French effort
• France says further logistics help from Denmark and US

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has said that France's involvement in the campaign against Islamist rebels in Mali will last "a matter of weeks".

On Sunday, French warplanes bombed the town of Gao in eastern Mali, extending their raids deep into rebel territory.

France's military began action against the militants in Mali on Friday. It has called a meeting of the UN Security Council for Monday.

Islamists have vowed attacks on French soil in revenge for the campaign.

'Appalling consequences'

Speaking to French media, Mr Fabius rejected any parallel with the protracted Western mission in Afghanistan.

"Later on, we can come as back-up, but we have no intention of staying forever," he said

Mr Fabius said that had France not intervened, there was a risk that the Islamists could have advanced as far as the capital, Bamako, with "appalling consequences".

The French intervention had succeeded in stopping their advance towards the south, he added.

A Malian army officer said on Saturday he believed more than 100 militants had been killed.

Since the start of the French intervention on Friday, at least 11 Malian soldiers and a French helicopter pilot have died.

Human Rights Watch believes 10 civilians, including three children, died in the town of Konna as Malian forces fought to recapture it.

The mayor of Gao, Sadou Arouna Diallo, who is now living in Bamako, thanked the French government for its intervention. He told the BBC: "The bombings are very well targeted... the residents are very satisfied."

A resident of Gao confirmed to the BBC that the strikes were outside of the centre and "extremely accurate".

"I cannot give you the precise figure about the casualties," he said. "But I can tell you there has been extensive damage and a huge loss of life. It's difficult to say who's in control in Gao now."

Surprise move

Islamist groups and secular Tuareg rebels took advantage of chaos following a military coup to seize northern Mali in April 2012.

But the Islamists soon took control of the region's major towns, sidelining the Tuaregs. 

One Islamist group, Ansar Dine, began pushing further south last week, seizing Konna. The town has since been recaptured by Malian troops with French aerial support.

France's decision to intervene in its former colony took many by surprise.

A UN-backed international force from countries in Ecowas, the West African regional bloc, had not been expected until the autumn.

However, Mr Fabius said that "terrorists" had taken advantage of this delay to attack, prompting Mali's interim president to ask for French intervention.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said four Rafale fighter jets, flying from their base in France, had attacked and destroyed rebel training camps and logistics depots in Gao, which acted as back-up bases for terrorist groups.

For months, Gao has been in the hands of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (Mujao), which along with Ansar Dine has sought to enforce an extreme interpretation of Islamic law in northern Mali.

The town is around 500km (310 miles) north-east of a de facto line dividing the rebel-held north of Mali from the government-run south.

Offensive expected

An unnamed Elysee Palace official quoted by AFP said on Sunday that French armed forces had been surprised by the fighting quality and the equipment of the militants they were up against.

BBC Africa correspondent Andrew Harding says it seems clear that French air power is now preparing the ground for a much bigger offensive against the Islamists.

A spokesman for Ansar Dine Islamist group was quoted as saying that the French attacks had focused on three areas: Konna, Douentza and Lere.

But later reports said French bombers had also targeted the northern town of Kidal, described as a headquarters for Ansar Dine and its leader Iyad Ag Ghaly.

Fearing further French air raids, the group's fighters have moved out of the historic town of Timbuktu, Sahara Media report from neighbouring Mauritania.

France has sent around 550 troops to the central town of Mopti and Bamako. They are set to be joined by troops from the neighbouring African states of Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Togo, some of which are now expected to arrive in Mali within days.

The UK has provided two C17 transport planes to aid the French effort.

Islamist groups in West Africa are still holding several French hostages and have threatened reprisals against them and other French targets.

This prompted the French government to step up security across France on Saturday.

On Monday, Abou Dardar, a spokesman for the al-Qaeda-linked Mujao, told AFP: "France has attacked Islam. We will strike at the heart of France."

He said the attacks would be "everywhere. In Bamako, in Africa and in Europe".

.