Child Killer Father Hangs Himself In Jail

A father who cut his children's throats after a custody battle with his French former wife has hanged himself in prison, according to legal officials in France.

Julian Stevenson was living in the French city of Lyon when he slit 10-year-old Matthew and five-year-old Carla's throats with a kitchen knife in May.

The 47-year-old, who had a history of violence and alcoholism, murdered his children in a fit of rage then fled the scene on rollerskates.

The flat block in Lyon where Julian Stevenson lived

He was discovered moments later walking the suburban streets covered in blood.

Stevenson had been embroiled in a bitter custody battle with his assistant accountant former wife and was banned from having contact with his children without a third person present in 2010.

However, this order was partially reversed in the weeks before the murder, and Stevenson was believed to be having his first visit alone with his children when he killed them.

A murder notice was pinned to the door of the flat

In the hours before their deaths Stevenson, an unemployed former haulage firm manager, was captured on CCTV in a bakery with them buying sweets – they were each carrying a balloon.

But Stevenson's former wife, Stephanie, whom he had badly beaten in 2005 and 2010, became anxious about the visit and arrived at his Lyon flat to find him in the stairwell of the four-storey block covered in blood.

Stevenson, who had been living in France for a decade, appeared briefly in court in May and was being held in Corbas prison in Lyon where he was found hanged on Monday.

A source at the local public prosecutors' office told the news agency AFP: "He hanged himself  on Monday in a sports hall reserved for inmates held in solitary confinement."

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are aware of the death of a British national in detention in France on December 30. We are providing consular assistance to the family."

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Schumacher Showing 'Slight Improvement'

Michael Schumacher has shown "slight improvement" after a surgical procedure but is not out of danger, doctors treating him have said.

The operation to remove the largest of a series of blood clots in the racing driver's brain took around two hours, and the coming hours are 'critical' according to medical staff in Grenoble, France.

Schumacher continues to be kept in an artificial coma after he suffered a severe head injury while skiing off-piste in the resort of Meribel on Sunday.

He was reportedly travelling at speeds of up to 60mph when the accident happened, and is thought to have been saved by his skiing helmet, which split on impact.

Rescuers were on hand within minutes and he was initially conscious after the fall before deteriorating into a critical condition.

Doctors have refused to give a prognosis for the 44-year-old Formula One champion.

Schumacher's family are being kept fully informed about his treatment.

Following the surgery, a new scan on Tuesday morning showed "a slight improvement" said the hospital's director general Jacqueline Hubert.

But Professor Emmanuel Gay, one of the specialists treating Schumacher, told a news conference: "The dangers are still there. We cannot say that we have won because there are still some highs and some lows, but it's better than yesterday.

"He is still in a very critical condition, this has not changed. And we still cannot tell how he will be, which state he will be in when he does wake up.

"We cannot speculate on the future because once again it would be too early to do so."

The seven-times F1 champion was admitted to hospital suffering from intracranial haematoma - blood clots - bruising and swelling of the brain.

Professor Gay warned: "There are still many haematomas in the brain, with little bits everywhere.

"That is what makes the situation critical and it needs to be looked at hour by hour, day by day.

"The situation can still evolve, but we won't be able to evacuate the other haematomas at the moment because they are not accessible. They are not as big as the one we removed yesterday."

Schumacher has received an outpouring of support from the racing world, with former and current stars urging him to pull through.

German chancellor Angela Merkel said she was "extremely shocked along with millions of Germans" to learn of the accident.

Schumacher retired from F1 for the final time in 2012 after a three-season comeback with Mercedes.

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Michael Schumacher: Hospital Press Conference As It Happened

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North Dakota Train Blast Prompts Evacuation

Many residents have left a town in North Dakota after a train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded, but officials warned that toxic smoke could blow into the area.

No injuries have been reported

A mile-long train derailed just outside the small town of Casselton, starting a series of blazes and sending an enormous fireball high into the sky.

People said the blasts rattled the windows of properties in the area, including the town's City Hall.

There were fears of smoke overwhelming Casselton, and health experts were testing the quality of the air.

Cass County sheriff's office advised the town's 2,400 residents to evacuate because of concerns about the smoke - and about two-thirds of the town's residents had heeded the recommendation.

A shelter was set up in Fargo, about 25 miles (40km) away.

The fire burned out but smoke remained in the area.

"Is it highly hazardous or did most of it burn off in the fire?" Sheriff Paul Laney said of elements in burning crude that could be risky for health.

"We just don't know."

Investigators say they are still trying to work out what caused several of the carriages from the  train to leave the tracks on Monday afternoon.

They said it appears to be the result of the train colliding with a grain carriage.

The explosion occurred about a mile outside Casselton

Nobody was injured, but the mayor of Casselton told the AP news agency he felt like a bullet had been dodged.

"There have been numerous derailments in this area," Mayor Ed McConnell said.

"It's almost gotten to the point that it looks like not if we're going to have an accident, it's when.

"We dodged a bullet by having it out of town, but this is too close for comfort."

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Fontana Killings: Four Dead In California Home

Two children and two adults have been found dead in a home in southern California.

Police went to the Fontana home after a 16-year-old boy called on Monday night to say his family members had been injured or killed in the house.

The deaths were being treated as homicides.

Police found a bloody scene as they discovered the bodies of a boy, believed to be about 10 years old, a girl about 12 years old, and a man and woman both about 35 or 40 years old.

"There is some amounts of blood in different areas of the house," Fontana police Sergeant Doug Imhof told local station KABC-TV.

"There's a couple of weapons that have been seen by our detectives just looking, but they haven't been able to search the house because they can't until they obtain a search warrant."

It appeared all four lived in the home, though their relationship was not immediately established, he said.

A neighbour in Fontana - a city of about 200,000 people about 50 miles (80km) east of downtown Los Angeles - told KABC that there was arguing coming from the house earlier in the evening.

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Phoenix Bank Robbery: Video Released

Police have released surveillance footage of a bank robbery in Phoenix that led to a shoot-out in the streets in which the suspect was killed.

The video shows the robber, identified as Mario Edward Garnett, 40, entering the Compass Bank branch in west Phoenix, a mask on his face and a gun in his hand.

He then filled a bag with money from the tellers and the vault, police said, and is seen in the video fleeing the scene.

Garnett died moments later as he ran into police who shot and killed him outside the bank.

No one else was injured in the robbery or gun battle.

Authorities have connected Garnett to a December 23 bank robbery attempt in Atlanta, a bank robbery later that same day in Tupelo, Mississippi, where a police officer was shot dead.

The robberies came about five months after Garnett was released from federal prison.

He was detained for nearly two years after pleading guilty to threatening to kill President Barack Obama in 2010.

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Young People Sell Future Earnings To Investors

By Hannah Thomas-Peter, New York Correspondent

A new industry is offering people the chance to "sell" a portion of themselves to investors in return for a cut of their future earnings.

Start-up companies such as Pave match carefully vetted, mainly young individuals, known as "prospects" with those willing to offer a one-time cash infusion.

On average prospects seek to raise around $20,000 (£12,100), although so far amounts have ranged between $3,000 (£1,800) and $50,000 (£30,300).

They choose to repay up to 10% of their future earnings on an annual basis for either five or 10 years.

Pave determines what the percentage repayment will be based on the qualifications of the candidate.

The company's co-founder and COO Oren Bass told Sky News: "There's a huge debt issue in the States, particularly for young people.

"They don't have a funding option that really enables them to make choices to think long-term. So there are two big issues that Pave addresses.

"One is that under the Pave agreement the payments are always linked to income so they are by definition always affordable, and that allows the prospect to actually take risks that they may not have taken if their funding was debt for example, which is a specified payment regardless of what happens to you during their lifetime.

Pave matches 'prospects' to people willing to make an investment

"The second value proposition is that because real people are actually funding you, you can benefit from their guidance and their mentorship and advice."

Many of the prospects are social entrepreneurs who are saddled with student loans, but there are also journalists and musicians on the site.

Ify Walker has founded her own education recruitment company and is a typical prospect: bright, driven and keen to monetise her potential.

She told Sky News: "My husband and I went to law school and we both have several degrees and we walked out with over $200,000 dollars in loans.

"Pave is one of the very few organisations that is saying look, we have a solution to this: we want to accelerate the potential of young people and we want to do that immediately, we don't want to wait ten years for people to give their best selves to society, so let's actually do that now, let's take backers who have resources, let's connect them to people who have a vision and a goal and let's make that partnership work for the better of our community and our world."

There are protections in place for those who choose this alternative method of funding.

If prospects don't earn above a certain amount, they don't have to pay, which sets the arrangement apart from a traditional fixed debt scenario, and if an individual becomes very successful they can choose to buy themselves out of the contract for five times the amount raised.

Almost half of the prospects at Pave use their investment to pay off punitive debt.

They also often have multiple backers, allowing them access to more expertise and networks than might be afforded by a single investor.

A company called Fantex tries to sell stock in American football players

Upstart is another company with a similar set up.

It caps payments at up to 7% of earnings.

Like Pave, it takes a 3% fee from its "upstarts" and a smaller service fee from investors.

Hedge fund partner Benjamin Borton has invested in five upstarts.

He said: "There's an economic return and a social return.

"If you invest in a company, particularly a start-up company, the numbers would suggest that 50% of those will go out of business, whereas if you invest in a person, the chance of getting zero pay back is very low if you are good at choosing someone.

"So even if they take a job and that job doesn't work out, they can go on to the next one.

"If we can accelerate the speed with which these kids get to that place of optimal productivity, then we've done great and I think if you do that, then you are going to achieve a good rate of return as well."

So far 282 backers have invested more than $2m (£1.2m) through Upstart. Almost 200 individuals have achieved their funding goals.

The state of Orgeon has recently given preliminary approval for public universities to pilot the model for students.

One company called Fantex is trying to sell stock in American football players, although it has had limited success so far.

Sceptics warn that this is an as-yet unregulated industry, and there is nothing to stop someone setting up a more exploitative business as long as it operates within the law.

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Crop Circles On California Farm In Salinas Valley

A giant and intricate crop circle that appeared, seemingly overnight, on a farm in Salinas Valley, California has been drawing large crowds.

The circle was reported by two friends who claimed on YouTube to have witnessed two bursts of light before dawn on Sunday morning.

Such is the demand to see the mysterious phenomenon that security guards have been employed to keep onlookers at bay.

So far no one, terrestrial or extra-terrestrial, has come forward to claim responsibility.

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Right-To-Life Family Wins Jahi Court Order

A family in California have won an 11th-hour court order to keep a brain-dead girl on life support until at least January 7.

A judge ordered that 13-year-old Jahi McMath should be kept alive beyond a prior court-appointed deadline, which was set for 5pm local time Monday (1am UK time).

Jahi's family want to move her to a New York facility (Pic: KPIX/CBS)

The new order was issued by Judge Evelio Grillo in the Alameda County Superior Court.

Jahi suffered complications after she underwent a tonsillectomy at the Children's Hospital of Oakland on December 9.

She began to bleed heavily when she awoke from the operation, and eventually went into cardiac arrest.

Both the hospital and an independent paediatric neurologist from Stanford University have concluded the girl is brain dead.

But Jahi's family are hoping to keep her alive and move her to a facility in New York.

Speaking after the latest court order, Jahi's mother Latasha Nailah Winkfield said: "I need some more time to get her out of here, so I'm really, really happy about this. 

"I believe my daughter is alive. I don't care what they say."

After two California care homes withdrew offers to accept her, Jahi's family view the New York option as their "last, last hope", according to the family's lawyer, Chris Dolan.

The hospital says it would need to confirm there is "lawful transportation" included in any plan to transfer Jahi, and written permission from the coroner.

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Doctor On Trial For Selling Baby She Delivered

A doctor has gone on trial in China accused of selling a newborn baby boy she had helped deliver.

Zhang Shuxia, an obstetrician at the Fuping County Maternal an Child Health Care Hospital in Shaanxi Province, has been charged with trafficking infants.

On July 16, 23-year-old Dong Shanshan gave birth to a baby boy, delivered by Dr Zhang.

According to police reports, she told the new mother that her son had congenital defects and would be better off in state care.

The baby was taken away before Mrs Dong or her husband even saw their child.

It is alleged that Dr Zhang sneaked the baby out of the hospital and sold him to traffickers for around £3,000.

His parents came to believe that he might have been abducted and reported his disappearance to police four days later.

The baby's parents were told their child had congenital defects

The child was eventually found in the neighbouring province of Henan a fortnight later at the home of a man who had three daughters, but wanted a son.

He was dramatically reunited with his grateful but emotional mother.

Dr Zhang and five other suspects involved in the case were detained on suspicion of human trafficking.

The case was widely reported in the Chinese media, leading to the parents of at least 10 other children to come forward.

All said that Dr Zhang told them their babies were already dead or seriously ill and it would be best if she took them away.

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WikiLeaks: Assange Dad Assad Visit 'Unapproved'

Wikileaks has said it was unaware of and did not approve a delegation to Syria which met with President Bashar al Assad, and reportedly included Julian Assange's father.

It came after Australia's Wikileaks Party announced it was to to take part in the "solidarity delegation", which it said aimed to show opposition to violence and Western military intervention.

John Shipton, the father of the WikiLeaks founder and chief executive of Australia's WikiLeaks Party, was said to be among those who travelled to the conflict-torn country.

The group met with Mr Assad on December 23, according to a post on the Syrian president's Twitter feed.

The visit has sparked an angry backlash in Australia, with the centre-left Labour opposition branding it "extraordinary" and "irresponsible".

Australia's WikiLeaks Party was founded by Julian Assange

Labour frontbencher Chris Bowen said: "The Assad regime has been widely criticised and correctly criticised around the world.

"For an Australian political party to think it's sensible to go and have discussions and try and provide some legitimacy, is something I think which they have to explain."

The WikiLeaks Party was founded by Mr Assange as part of his failed campaign for election to Australia's parliament this year, but is separate to the controversial leaks website.

WikiLeaks has distanced itself from the delegation. On its official Twitter feed, the group said: "Peace brokering a good idea, but obvious meeting would be spun without care. Did not know or approve."

According to The Australian newspaper, the delegation included Mr Shipton and WikiLeaks national council member Gail Malone, as well as Sydney university academic Tim Anderson and refugee activist Jamal Daoud.

Mr Shipton announced plans to set up a WikiLeaks Party office in Damascus in a show of solidarity with ordinary Syrians, reported The Australian.

It came as it was reported that Scandinavian escort vessels preparing to remove Syria's chemical weapons had been returned to port, after it became apparent an end-of-year deadline would not be met.

The US-Russia deal for Syria to surrender more than 1,000 tons of chemical agents avoided American-led military strikes after a chemical weapons attack on August 21 near Damascus, which the US says killed 1,400 people.

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