Zimbabwe's Opposition Appeals Mugabe Poll Win

Zimbabwe's main opposition party has gone to the country's top court to challenge the result of last month's election which gave President Robert Mugabe another five years in power.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) claims the poll on July 31 was a "farce" riddled with fraud and voters were allegedly intimidated by Mr Mugabe's ZANU-PF party.

Lawyers for the MDC have lodged papers with the constitutional court in the capital Harare arguing the result was rigged, should be annulled and a new election held.

Zimbabwe's electoral commission had declared veteran politician Mr Mugabe the winner with 61% of the votes in the presidential election, against MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai with 34%.

"We want a fresh election within 60 days. The prayer that we also seek is to declare the election null and void," MDC spokesman Douglas Mwonzora told journalists outside the court.

Morgan Tsvangirai served as Mr Mugabe's PM in a fractious unity government

Zimbabwe's constitution says the court must rule on the case within 14 days.

Most analysts believe the MDC's legal challenge to Mr Mugabe's victory will not be successful given ZANU-PF's dominance over the judiciary and state institutions in the country.

Mr Mugabe, who has been president since 1987, will be sworn in only after the case is decided.

ZANU-PF has denied any vote-rigging in the election, which Mr Tsvangirai, who has served as Mugabe's prime minister in a fractious unity government, has called a "coup by ballot".

Election observers from the African Union and the Southern African Development Community broadly approved the presidential and parliamentary elections as orderly and free.

But the vote result has been questioned by the West.

The United States, which maintains sanctions against Mr Mugabe, has said it does not believe his re-election was credible.

The European Union, which has been looking at easing sanctions, has also expressed concerns over alleged serious flaws in the vote.

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Venezuela: Maduro Sleeps In Chavez's Tomb

Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro makes no secret of his devotion to the late leader Hugo Chavez - and now he has admitted he sometimes sleeps in the mausoleum where his mentor's remains are kept.

Mr Maduro, who served as Mr Chavez's vice president, was named by him as his successor before he died.

He said he likes to be close to the former leader's remains so he can "carefully consider" his actions.

Mr Maduro, right, claims he sleeps with Mr Chavez's remains to 'reflect'

Mr Maduro went on: "I sometimes come at night. At times, many times, I sleep here."

Sometimes, he brings an entourage: "We enter at night and we stay to sleep. At night we reflect on things here."

During the campaign for the April 14 election he narrowly won, Mr Maduro caused a furore when he said Mr Chavez came to him in the form of a little bird that flew around his head.

Mr Maduro has promised to continue with Mr Chavez's self-styled socialist revolution.

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Plane Crashes Into Homes: Six Feared Dead

Fire and rescue personnel surround the site of the crash

Up to six people are feared dead after a small plane crashed in the US and engulfed two houses in flames.

The multi-engine, propeller-driven plane struck the homes near Tweed New Haven Airport, in the town of East Haven, Connecticut, as it went in to land.

National Transportation Safety Board investigator Robert Gretz said there were casualty reports of two or three people in the plane and two or three on the ground.

The plane may have been carrying two passengers, officials said

He said authorities were at the scene looking for victims.

Soon after the crash, officials had said at least three people were missing: the pilot and two children, aged one and 13, in one of the houses.

Governor Dannel Malloy later said the plane may also have been carrying two passengers but officials were still trying to verify whether that was true.

The plane was coming in to Tweed New Haven Airport

East Haven fire chief Douglas Jackson said: "We haven't recovered anybody at this point, and we presume there is going to be a very bad outcome."

He added: "There was an intense fire. There's heavy damage to both structures that were affected on both sides, the motor vehicle and then the aircraft involved."

A neighbour, David Esposito, said he heard a loud noise and then a thump. "No engine noise, nothing. A woman was screaming her kids were in there," he said.

The retired teacher said he ran into the upstairs of the house, where the woman believed her children were, and started frantically searching but could not find them.

Firefighters said they are predicting a "bad outcome"

He returned downstairs and kept looking but then had to drag the woman out when the flames became too strong.

Mr Gretz said: "The plane struck two houses. One of the houses was struck more severely and part of the plane is actually in the basement, and obviously some of the house is in the basement as well.

"The state police are working with the fire department to go through the house to look for victims.

"What I saw was that it (the plane) was inverted with the left wing in one house, the right wing in the other, and I would say probably about 50 to 60% of it was consumed by fire, mostly the forward portion, forward of the wings.

"I was able to identify the two wings and the tail from what I saw, and with the forward portion being more buried towards the basement of the house."

Mayor Joseph Maturo said the houses were still unstable and crews had not yet completed a full search.

The plane, a Rockwell International Turbo Commander 690B, flew out of Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and crashed at 11.25 am US time.

Tweed's airport manager, Lori Hoffman-Soares, said the pilot had been in communication with air traffic control and had not issued a distress call.

"All we know is that it missed the approach and continued on," she said.

East Haven, which has a population of 30,000, is 80 miles (130km) northeast of New York City, on Long Island Sound.

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Olympic Boycott Urged Over Russia Gay Rights

By Katie Stallard, Russia Correspondent

Calls are growing for a boycott of next year's Winter Olympics in Russia in protest at what campaigners have called its "barbaric" new homophobic laws.

Broadcaster Stephen Fry has appealed directly to David Cameron and members of the International Olympic Committee [IOC] to stop the games being held in Russia, comparing Vladimir Putin's treatment of gay people to Adolf Hitler's treatment of Jews.

He said allowing the games to go ahead in Putin's Russia would be comparable to the decision to hold the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany.

Four-time Olympic champion diver Greg Louganis yesterday delivered a 320,000 signature petition to IOC headquarters in Switzerland, urging it to condemn Russia's "anti-gay laws".

Stephen Fry has compared Russia's actions to the Nazis

US President Barack Obama said earlier this week: "I think they [Putin and Russia] understand that for most of the countries that participate in the Olympics, we wouldn't tolerate gays and lesbians being treated differently." 

Asked by TV host Jay Leno whether this was "like Germany: let's round up the Jews, let's round up the gays," President Obama replied: "I have no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgender persons in a way that intimidate them or are harmful to them."

The White House later cancelled a planned meeting with President Putin in Moscow, primarily over Russia's decision to grant whistleblower Edward Snowden asylum, but also citing a lack of progress on human rights among a number of issues of concern.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin signed a new bill into law in June banning "homosexual propaganda" - making it illegal to give anyone under 18 information about homosexuality.

Anyone deemed to be promoting gay rights, or "non-traditional relationships" to young people in Russia could now be arrested and fined, or in the case of foreigners, detained and deported.

Protesters gathered outside the Russian consulate in New York

Critics say the law is intentionally vaguely-worded and part of a broader crackdown on gay rights in Russia.

The country's sports minister has said the law will apply to athletes and spectators at the Sochi games, due to be held in the Russian Black Sea resort in February 2014.

In an open letter to the British Prime Minister and IOC, Stephen Fry said: "The IOC absolutely must take a firm stance on behalf of the shared humanity it is supposed to represent against the barbaric, fascist law that Putin has pushed through the Duma.

"An absolute ban on the Russian Winter Olympics of 2014 on Sochi is simply essential.

"Stage them elsewhere in Utah, Lillyhammer, anywhere you like. At all costs Putin cannot be seen to have the approval of the civilised world.

"He is making scapegoats of gay people, just as Hitler did Jews. He cannot be allowed to get away with it."

Leading Russian LGBT rights campaigner Nikolai Alexeyev, head of the organisation Gay Russia, told Sky News it had seen an increase in homophobic violence since the introduction of the law.

He said: "The situation is deteriorating in the last months due to the very big discussions around the law banning homosexual propaganda.

Scuffles broke out outside parliament when the new law was debated in June

"Of course this law gave a sort of carte blanche top to the anti-gay people - anti-gay activists - to further attack LGBT people.

"We saw in recent months a rise in homophobic crimes, we saw that several people were killed on the basis of hatred towards LGBT people.

"The situation is very tense now due to this law and the forthcoming Olympic Games, which is now very much linked to this gay topic due to the outrage from the international community."

The controversial law has also prompted a campaign to boycott Russian vodka in the United States, as well as criticism from pop stars including Madonna and Lady Gaga.

In a message on her Twitter account earlier this week, Lady Gaga called the Russian government "criminal".

She added: "Why didn't you arrest me when you had the chance, Russia? Because you didn't want answer to the world?""

"Oppression will be met with revolution. Russian LGBTs you are not alone. We will fight for your freedom."

An IOC spokeswoman confirmed it had received a petition from activists and said it had "engaged in an open and constructive discussion" with them.

Campaigners want protests and publicity during next year's winter games

Speaking in Sochi on Wednesday, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said the law would not "infringe on rights of people based on sexual orientation, either at the Olympics, or before or after" - as long as children were not involved.

He said gay athletes could "get on with their private life, including telling adults about its advantages and attractiveness, but not involve children".

LGBT campaigner Nikolai Alexeyev said a boycott would not be fair to the sportsmen and women who have trained towards the games.

The Sochi Olympics should instead to be used to draw attention to the current situation in Russia, said Mr Alexeyev.

"I think it's not very just to these athletes to deny them this opportunity to compete and I think that it would be much more practical to express outrage against these homophobic laws in Russia by showing some kind of support during the Olympic Games, during the press conference, during the TV reports from the games, during any Olympic competitions."

He added: "To wear the rainbow pins, wear the rainbow flags, to do something during the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics … to try to do the gay pride in Sochi like we want to do on the day of the opening of the games.

"I think this will attract more publicity around the world because the eyes of the world will be on Sochi during the games in February next year."

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Malaria Jab a Step Closer After Vaccine Trial

Tests on a new malaria vaccine have raised hopes the battle is being won against the disease which kills hundreds of thousands of people every year.

The experimental drug, which is known as PfSPZ and is made from living Plasmodium falciparum parasites, has proved highly effective in early-stage clinical trials.

Although the "proof of concept" trial was small - involving 40 adults - it could pave the way for the first vaccine offering 100% protection.

Manufacturing the vaccine was itself an achievement for researchers.

2010: 90% of all malaria deaths occurred in the poorest parts of Africa

Scientists first exposed sterile mosquitoes to malaria-infected blood before irradiating them to weaken the malaria parasites. Then the mosquitoes had to be carefully dissected to extract the parasites to make the serum.

"This was something that everybody said was not possible; and here it is," said Navy Captain Judith Epstein, one of the researchers from research company Sanaria, in Rockville, Maryland.

"We're in the first stages now of really being able to have a completely effective vaccine," she said, adding she hoped to see licensing of the vaccine within three to five years.

Early results of the vaccine are promising though not yet a breakthrough

Malaria infected 219 million people in 2010 and killed an estimated 660,000, according to the World Health Organisation - the equivalent of one child in Africa dying every minute.

"It's an important proof of concept," said Dr Anthony Fauci, director of America's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, adding that the results were the most promising yet of any experimental vaccine, though he resisted calling the trial a breakthrough.

"There are several more steps before you can feel comfortable that you have something that might be ready for prime time," he said.

"So we're really not there yet, but it's encouraging to see these very favourable results."

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Oprah Winfrey 'Victim Of Racism' In Swiss Shop

Oprah Winfrey has said she recently became a victim of racism when a shop assistant in Switzerland refused to show her a £24,477 handbag saying it would be "too expensive" for her.

The US chat show host, who is one of the richest women in the world, was in Zurich for Tina Turner's wedding when she decided to go shopping alone.

Winfrey told Entertainment Tonight: "I was in Zurich the other day, in a store whose name I will not mention. I didn't have my eyelashes on, but I was in full Oprah Winfrey gear. I had my little Donna Karan skirt and my little sandals. But obviously The Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Zurich.

"I go into a store and I say to the woman, 'Excuse me, may I see the bag right above your head?' and she says to me, 'No. It's too expensive.'"

The bag was apparently in the shop window behind a security wall.

Trois Pommes owner Trudie Goetz

When Winfrey insisted again, the woman replied: "No, no you don't want to see that one, you want to see this one because that one will cost too much. You will not be able to afford that."

The assistant then started to show the media owner smaller bags before she asked for a third time and was refused again.

"She said, 'Oh I don't want to hurt your feelings' and I said, 'Ok thank you so much you're probably right I can't afford it.'" said the 59-year-old.

Winfrey, who is the world's only African-American billionaire, then walked out of the shop calmly.

She said: "I could've had the whole blow-up thing and thrown down the black card but why do that but that clearly is you know … it (racism) still exists, of course it does."

Blick newspaper reported that the owner of the boutique Trois Pommes, Trudie Goetz, had apologised for the incident.

Ms Goetz, who is also believed to have attended Tina Turner's wedding, said there had been a "misunderstanding" caused by the assistant's failure to recognise Winfrey.

"We don't have any facial recognition here," Blick quoted Ms Goetz as saying.

The revelation came after she was asked whether anyone had ever called her the "n word" on US television show.

She said no one in their right mind would call her that to her face, adding that racism showed itself in other ways.

"It shows up for me this way. Sometimes I'm in a boardroom or I'm in situations where I'm the only woman, I'm the only African American person within a 100 mile radius and I can see in the energy of the people there, they don't sense that I should be holding one of those seats.

"I can sense that. But I can never tell is it racism is it sexism because often it's both. I mean the sexism thing is huge. The higher the ladder you climb it gets huge, because men are used to running things."

Oprah has just been awarded America's highest civilian honour - the Presidential Medal of Freedom - which she will receive from President Barack Obama at the White House later in the year.

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Zimbabwe: Mugabe Claims Victory A Blow To West

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has declared his election victory an "enemy blow" to the "British and their allies".

Mr Mugabe accused his main rival Morgan Tsvangirai, who declared the election null and void, of being a tool of the West.

The president's re-election last week marks a 33-year unbroken run in power but there have been allegations of vote-rigging and election fraud.

Mr Mugabe, Africa's oldest leader at the age of 89, said his ZANU-PF party's two-thirds majority victory had "dealt the enemy a blow".

He added: "But now they, even as the whole of Africa is sending us messages of congratulations to say 'well done', they say the elections were not free. And where are they talking? London and Washington and Ottawa."

Voters were sent to the wrong polling stations and turned away

Mr Mugabe reminded Western governments that they had pledged to consider lifting sanctions if the elections were found to be free and fair.

Mr Tsvangirai has announced that his MDC party will challenge the outcome of the July 31 election in court, alleging vote-rigging and intimidation by ZANU-PF party officials.

The African Union and the Southern African Development Community have declare the elections "free" and "credible" but refused to go so far as to say they were fair.

This, despite, monitors finding evidence of "irregularities" including people being sent to the wrong voting stations and two million more voting cards being printed than necessary.

Some two million too many voting cards were printed

Foreign Secretary William Hague has voiced "grave concerns" over activities that "call into serious question the credibility of the election".

He said there was no evidence that the roll of eligible voters was made available for all parties to scrutinise ahead of the vote.

He added: "We also have concerns over reports of large numbers of voters who were turned away, particularly in urban areas, the very high numbers of extra ballot papers that were printed and additional polling stations apparently added on election day itself."

The United States, which maintains sanctions against Mr Mugabe, has said it does not believe Mr Mugabe's re-election was credible.

Morgan Tsvangirai will challenge the legitimacy of Mr Mugabe's victory

The European Union, which has been looking at easing sanctions, has also expressed concerns over alleged serious flaws in the vote.

Mr Mugabe, indicated his critics should not expect any let-up in economic nationalism policies, such as the violent seizure of white-owned farms after 2000, that have also earned Western disapproval.

He said: "Our task is to look ahead. What we say we shall do, we will do."

The Zimbabwe stock exchange's main Industrial Index shed 1% on Wednesday, following a 1.7% fall on Tuesday and an 11% drop on Monday, the first trading day after Mr Mugabe's re-election was formerly announced.

Investors fear that ZANU-PF's boosted majority could embolden it to pursue even more radical economic nationalism.

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Two British Women In Acid Attack In Zanzibar

Two teenage British volunteers have had acid thrown in their faces in a late night attack on the island of Zanzibar.

The 18-year-old women were attacked as they were walking through the streets of Stone Town, the historical centre of the capital of the east African island, by two men on a moped.

The acid splashed their faces, chests and hands and they had to be flown to hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for treatment.

The two teenagers were working with the volunteering organisation i-to-i and had been out there on a four-week trip. They had been due to return home to the UK on Saturday.

Their parents are understood to have been informed.

The island is a popular destination for gap year students doing voluntary work.

Deputy Police Commissioner Mkadam Khamis said: "Police in Zanzibar have launched a manhunt, and we ask for public assistance in identifying the attackers."

He added: "The motive for the attack on the volunteers, aged 18 years, has not been established."

Saleh Mohammed Jidawi, a senior health ministry official, said that the women's wounds were "not life threatening".

The assault is the first against foreigners in the popular tourist destination, however, there have been a series of attacks in the archipelago, mainly on grounds of religion.

A Muslim cleric was subjected to an acid attack in November. In February a Catholic priest was shot dead and in December another priest was shot and wounded.

The Indian Ocean islands, famed for their white sand beaches and historical buildings in Stone Town, listed as a world heritage site by Unesco,  are mainly Muslim, with 3% of the 1.2 million people Christian.

The attack on the island, 22 miles off the coast of Tanzania, came at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as people began to celebrate the Eid holiday.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "We are aware of an incident and are providing consular assistance."

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Mafia Boss Domenico Rancadore Held In London

Wanted Mafia boss Domenico Rancadore has reportedly been arrested in London by British police after 19 years on the run.

Rancadore was arrested at the home he shared with his English wife following a request from the Italian authorities, according to the Italy's ANSA news agency.

The 64-year-old, who had been sentenced to seven years behind bars in Italy for Mafia-related crimes, had reportedly been running a travel agency in London.

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Iraq Bombs: Dozens Killed In Car Blasts

At least 51 people have been killed by a series of car bombs that ripped through busy markets and shopping streets in and around Baghdad.

More than 100 were wounded in the blasts as Iraq battles with its worst surge of sectarian violence in five years.

More than 1,000 were killed in the country in July - the highest monthly death toll since 2008, the United Nations said.

The Interior Ministry ramped up security in the capital this week by closing roads and deploying additional police and helicopters.

Bombs went off in northern, eastern and southern districts of the capital late on Tuesday, in areas crowded with shoppers and worshippers near a mosque.

Wreckage at the scene of a blast in Baghdad's Karrada district

One of the attacks hit a square in central Baghdad, where a parked car bomb killed five and wounded 18.

In a mainly Shi'ite neighbourhood to the south, another car bomb exploded close to a shop selling ice cream after the evening breaking of the Ramadan fast.

In Nahrawan, 30km (20 miles) southeast of Baghdad, militants targeted a crowded commercial street with a car bomb.

On the northern outskirts of the capital, a bomb exploded near a packed market.

Co-ordinated strikes that kill scores of people have become more common in Iraq in recent months.

Sunni Islamist militants have been regaining momentum in their insurgency against the Shi'ite-led government since the start of the year and have been emboldened by the civil war in neighbouring Syria, which has stoked sectarian tensions across the Middle East.

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Kenya Airport Fire: Inbound Flights Diverted

Kenya's main international airport has been closed as firefighters tackle a large blaze in the arrivals area.

Inbound flights have been rerouted to other Kenyan airports while the fire continues to burn at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

Eyewitnesses say the billowing smoke can be seen from miles away, and stranded passengers are standing on pavements outside the airport holding their luggage.

"It was huge, the smoke billowing, and it didn't seem to be stopping," said Barry Fisher, who had hoped to fly to Ethiopia but was turned away.

Stranded passengers are standing on the pavement outside the airport

A British passenger, Martyn Collbeck, said he was surprised that the airport wasn't shut down sooner so that emergency vehicles could respond.

"When I arrived there were one or two fire engines parked outside the international arrivals, it spread very fast," said Mr Collbeck, who had been scheduled to fly back to London on an early morning KLM flight.

"There were a couple of explosions which I think were a couple of gas canisters. I would have expected more fire engines to respond faster."

The country's largest newspaper, The Daily Nation, reported last month that Nairobi County doesn't have a single working fire engine, and that three fire engines were auctioned off in 2009 because the county hadn't paid a $1,000 (£650) repair bill.

The fire happened at an airport in Nairobi

The fire burned for four hours before it was contained.

Transport secretary Michael Kamau said: "The fire started at a very central part of the airport and this made access difficult. But we have closed the airport indefinitely as we try to contain the fire."

It is the busiest airport in East Africa, and its closure is likely to affect flights throughout the region.

An official from the Civil Aviation Authority said only emergency landings would be allowed. No casualties have been reported.

The fire comes less than 48 hours after a fuel jet pump failure caused huge delays at the airport, forcing some flights to be rerouted to the airport in the coastal town of Mombasa, Uganda and Rwanda.

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North Korea To Re-Open Factory Park

North Korea is re-opening an industrial zone - run jointly with Seoul - to South Korea firms that was shut amid military tensions.

The North also said it will guarantee the attendance of its workers and the safety of all South Koreans at the Kaesong complex.

Crucially, it also proposed that both North and South prevent any similar closure of Kaesong - that shut in April - in the future by ensuring operations are never again "affected by any situation in any case".

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Embassy Threat Came From Bugged Al Qaeda Call

Opportunity Knocks With Embassy Scare

Updated: 1:39pm UK, Monday 05 August 2013

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent

Talk about an opportunity.

Intelligence, from somewhere, indicated a serious plot to attack US interests - notably an embassy, in an unspecified Muslim nation.

Washington moves quickly. Some 22 embassies are 'closed'.

Within hours senators are defending the National Security Agency's highly controversial programmes for intercepting, that means bugging of some kind, of emails and phones across the US and the rest of the world.

"There has been an awful lot of (terrorist) chatter, which is very reminiscent of what we saw pre-9/11," said the Republican senator Saxby Chambliss on NBC's Meet the Press.

"As we come to the end of Ramadan, which is always an interesting time for terrorists, and the upcoming 9/11 anniversary, this is the most serious threat that I have seen in the last several years."

Mr Chambliss said he believed the intelligence had been gathered by the NSA using foreign surveillance powers granted under section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

"This is a good indication of why they (the surveillance powers) are so important," he said.

Another Republican, Lindsey Graham weighed in. The senator said: "It is scary … the NSA programme is proving its worth yet again."

Coming at a time when the NSA is being investigated and pilloried in some quarters for violating the privacy of individuals. And at a time when the NSA has been exposed for spending $100m (£65m) on the UK's GCHQ facility in Cheltenham as part of its programme of global electronic surveillance, the US embassy scares are a Godsend.

Any attack on an American embassy would be extremely difficult. After the 1998 bombing of the Nairobi mission in which hundreds died, American diplomatic buildings closely resemble high value military installations, wrapped in concrete.

Ayman al Zawahiri, the new leader of al Qaeda, last week issued a call to arms and orders to his followers to attack US interests.

His statement was timed to coincide with the jail break of al Qaeda supporters in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan.

Al Qaeda threats are real. They are a tactical nightmare.

They are hard to stop, and take intense amounts of funding to prevent.

But al Qaeda has never posed a strategic threat to any Western nation. It can't disrupt trade, shut down power supplies, or topple governments.

It does, however, affect our lives every day as a consequence of the natural vigilance that sensible precautions against terror would require.

And as a result of legislation like the US Patriot Act and the UK's draft Communications Bill, both of which curtail individual liberties of ordinary citizens in the name of fighting terror.

It may be cynical to suggest that had it not been for the work of the NSA and other electronic surveillance organisations, that a terrible atrocity would not have been avoided.

But no plot is ever unravelled by electronic spying alone.

The focus of the latest operation appears to be the Yemen. The British embassy has closed there and asked all of its citizens to get out of the country.

The last time a major terror attack was foiled which emanated from the Yemen was when printers were loaded with plastic explosives and sent by courier to targets in the US.

They were intercepted in the UK. On information supplied by a Saudi agent. A good old fashioned human spy.

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Python Attack: Snake Kills Two Sleeping Boys

Police in eastern Canada have launched a criminal investigation after a python apparently escaped from a pet shop and killed two children by asphyxiating them in their sleep.

The two boys - named locally as Noah Barthe, five, and his brother Connor, seven - were at a sleepover at their best friend's flat in the town of Campbellton when it is believed they were attacked by the snake.

It is understood the animal had escaped from the Reptile Ocean pet shop, which specialises in exotic pets and is run by family friend Jean-Claude Savoie, located on the ground floor of the building.

The boys were sleeping in the living room of the residence on Pleasant Street when they were apparently attacked by the snake early on Monday morning. Police were called to the scene at 6.30am local time.

Alain Tremblay from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) told Canadian news station CBC News that officers were in the first stage of a criminal investigation.

He said: "I can tell you it's a criminal investigation right now to determine if any criminal act is responsible for the death of the two boys."

Corporal Tremblay confirmed that the snake involved is an African rock python, as long as 4.5 metres and weighing about 45kg. The animals are non-venomous and would usually kill by constricting victims.

Police outside the exotic pet store in Campbellton (Pic: CBC News)

Police have suggested the python entered the upstairs apartment via the two-storey building's ventilation system.

RCMP said in a statement: "The preliminary investigation has led police to believe that a large exotic snake had escaped its enclosure at the store.

"(It) got into the ventilation system, then into the upstairs apartment. It's believed the two boys were strangled by the snake."

The boys' mother, Mandy Trecartin, lives close to the Reptile Ocean store. She is a good friend of the shop owner and regularly let her sons stay over there.

A former shop employee is reported to have called Ms Trecartin as soon as he heard about the tragedy to find out what happened.

Tim Thomas told Canada's National Post: "She told me straight up, it was her two children that died; I didn't know what to say, I was in shock."

Mr Savoie, who described the dead brothers as "like an extended family", told Global News that he found a "horrific scene" when he checked on the boys at about 6am.

An example of an African rock python (file pic)

"I thought they were sleeping and I've seen the hole in the ceiling, (and) everything has fallen. I turn the lights on and I've seen this horrific scene," Mr Savoie said.

He added: "The snake was gone but I found the snake ... it went through the ceiling and was sleeping in the living room.

"I have so many mixed emotions right now. I can't believe this is real."

The python, which he had owned for ten years, has been recaptured.

The local community expressed shock at what had happened. One neighbour said: "We could not believe that something like this could happen, but it has happened."

But another Campbellton resident was less sympathetic. She said: "The fact that you have an apartment with animals like that below, the risk is always there."

Experts said attacks on humans by exotic snakes are extremely rare and, according to local officials, the reptile owner was fully licenced.

Connor Barthe (L) and Noah Barthe (Pic: Facebook / Mandy Trecartin)

Exotic snake seller Alexandre Tremblay suggested the snake was "way under-fed and badly housed".

"For a snake to be able to get out of that size it just has to be really hungry and not in good conditions. Because usually snakes are very easy-going ... it's rare that snakes get out," he told Sky News.

Lisa Janes, co-owner of Little Ray's Reptile Zoo, a zoo and education programme in Ontario, told CBC News that snakes do not usually see humans as food, pointing out that more people are killed by dogs than by snakes.

According to a report in the the Toronto Sun, snake expert Michel Leblanc is baffled over how the snake was able to kill both boys.

"It is rather odd ... because usually the snakes feed on rabbits, for example.

"Generally, it will only attack something he can swallow. It will not kill for nothing," he said.

Reptile Ocean's Facebook page was flooded with criticism when news of the deaths spread and has now been shut down, the National Post reported. An unknown administrator earlier replied to the angry comments saying it had been "a terrible accident without a meaning".

"There is nobody to blame. The snake broke out of its enclosure. The enclosure locked. There was no negligence. This is a terrible accident," the message posted on Monday afternoon read.

An online petition calling for the shop, which reportedly has three employees, to be shut down had been started prior to the deaths. It has been open for almost 17 years.

Post-mortem examinations on the two boys' bodies are due to be carried out today.

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Killer Gunman 'Bear-Hugged' By Hero Official

A feuding gunman has opened fire at a town meeting in Pennsylvania, killing at least three people, before he was wrestled to the ground by a local official.

The suspect blasted shots through the wall of the municipal building in Ross Township in northeastern Pennsylvania and then barged into the room, still firing.

Three other people were injured as he was disarmed and then shot with his own weapon. 

State police said the gunman, identified as 59-year-old Rockne Newell, was in a long-running dispute with township officials over the possible condemnation of his unkempt property.

The small township building is cordoned off after the shooting

They said about 15 to 18 residents and town officials were at the meeting when the gunfire erupted.

The Pocono Record said one of its reporters, Chris Reber, was also in the township building at the time.

He said the shooter fired through the walls, sending clouds of plaster into the room where around 15 people were sitting on folding chairs.

"The thing that got my attention: plaster flying out, blowing out through the walls. Witnesses would later tell me they saw pictures exploding away from the walls," he said.

After crawling out through a hallway and fleeing into the parking lot, Mr Reber said he saw the shooter emerge from the building.

Three people died and three were injured, including the gunman

"The gunman was this guy wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt. I saw him go back out to his car - a silver Impala - and get another gun," he added.

"(A local official) Bernie Kozen bear-hugged the gunman and took him down. He shot the shooter with his own gun."

Local state representative Matt Cartwright hailed the official's actions.

"Mr Kozen is a true hero tonight," he said.

The suspect was taken into police custody after being treated at a local hospital.

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US Embassy Security Closures Are Extended

The US is extending the closure of some of its embassies in the Middle East and Africa through to August 10 over security fears.

The State Department said a small number of additional posts would also be closed, while certain others would reopen on Monday.

The Obama administration announced on Friday that 22 posts would be closed over the weekend.

The State Department also announced a global travel alert, warning that al Qaeda or its allies might target either US government or private American interests.

On the extension, spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement: "This is not an indication of a new threat stream, merely an indication of our commitment to exercise caution and take appropriate steps to protect our employees including local employees and visitors to our facilities."

The Department of State building in New York

It said diplomatic posts in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Cairo, Riyadh, Dhahran, Jeddah, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Manama, Muscat, Sanaa, Tripoli, Antanarivo, Bujumbura, Djibouti, Khartoum, Kigali, and Port Louis would be closed from Monday through to Saturday of the coming week.

Those reopening for normal operations on Monday include Dhaka, Algiers, Nouakchott, Kabul, Herat, Mazar el Sharif, Baghdad, Basrah, and Erbil.

The extension came as security forces closed roads, put up extra blast walls and increased patrols on Sunday near some of the 22 diplomatic missions ordered to close.

In recent days, US officials have said they have received significant and detailed intelligence suggesting a possible attack, with some clues pointing to the al Qaeda terror network.

The US embassy compound in Yemen was stormed last year

The State Department said the potential for terrorism was particularly acute in the Middle East and North Africa with a possible attack occurring on or coming from the Arabian Peninsula.

"The threat was specific as to how enormous it was going to be and also that certain dates were given," Representative Pete King, who chairs a House panel on counter-terrorism and intelligence, told ABC on Sunday.

Mr King said he believes al Qaeda "is in many ways stronger than it was before 9/11 because it has mutated and it's spread in dramatically different locations."

The terror network's Yemen branch, known as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, "is the most deadly of all the al-Qaeda affiliates," Mr King said.

In Yemen's capital, Sanaa, security was beefed up on Sunday around the embassy building and the nearby Sheraton Hotel where US marines stay.

In the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, troops set up new blast barriers last week to block several streets leading into the city's already heavily fortified Green Zone, home to the sprawling US embassy and Iraqi government offices.

In the Jordanian capital of Amman, a Jordanian security officer said bomb squads searched the perimeter of the US embassy while additional security vehicles were deployed in the area, including troop carriers with special forces trained in counter-terrorism.

Security also was tightened around the homes of US diplomats in Amman, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

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Syria: Assad Vows To Stamp Out 'Terror'

Syria's President Bashar al Assad has said that the country's crisis will only be solved by stamping out "terror", referring to the rebels fighting his regime.

In a speech on Syrian state television, Mr Assad also dismissed the political opposition to his regime as a "failure" that could play no role in solving the country's civil war.

"No solution can be reached with terror except by striking it with an iron fist," Mr Assad said.

"I don't think that any sane human being would think that terrorism can be dealt with via politics," he added.

"There may be a role for politics in dealing with terrorism pre-emptively," said Mr Assad, adding that as soon as "terrorism" has arisen, it can only be struck out.

Assad: Syria's economic woes 'are linked to the security situation'

In March 2011 a widespread protest movement calling for political change in Syria broke out.

In response, the regime unleashed a crackdown against dissent, while systematically labelling dissidents and rebels as "terrorists" and refusing to recognise the existence of a popular revolt.

The movement later morphed into an increasingly radical insurgency and more than 100,000 people have since been killed, the UN says.

The war has also forced millions to flee their homes, while plunging Syria into an unprecedented economic crisis.

Destruction in the war-torn Syrian city of Homs

In his latest speech, Mr Assad also said Syria's economic woes "are linked to the security situation, and they can only be solved by striking terror".

Mr Assad's speech comes a week after the army, backed by pro-regime paramilitary troops and Lebanon's Shiite Hizbollah movement, reclaimed a strategic district of the central city of Homs, after a suffocating siege on rebels that lasted more than a year.

"In this kind of fight, we as Syrians either win together or lose together," he said.

Mr Assad also said that the army, untrained for guerrilla warfare, "has achieved the impossible".

"There is only one kind of war that is bigger than guerrilla warfare, and that is a people's war, one that is fought by the army alongside the citizens," he said, adding that "the hand of God is with those who stand together".

In an Army Day message carried by state media on August 1, Mr Assad said he was "sure of victory" in the bloody conflict.

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Dog Attack: Toddler Killed By Family Pet

A two-year-old Australian boy has been mauled to death by a mastiff cross dog at his grandmother's house.

The attack happened on Sunday afternoon at Deniliquin in New South Wales when the boy reportedly went outside to get an ice-cream from a back fridge and the dog, a family pet, followed.

The boy has been named by local media as Deeon Higgins. The dog, called Kingston according to reports, is thought to have belonged to his 24-year-old cousin.

It is not clear what sparked the attack. The toddler's mother and grandmother both desperately tried to pull the dog off the child but to no avail, with the boy suffering severe head and face injuries.

Mastiff dogs are not considered a dangerous breed (File)

"The child's grandmother, aged 70, intervened but was unable to release the child. The child's mother arrived and fought the dog off the boy," police said in a statement.

"He and his grandmother were taken to Deniliquin Hospital ... but he died a short time later. The older woman has been treated for exhaustion, bruising and abrasions."

The dog, not usually considered a dangerous breed, was captured and put down.

Detective Inspector Darren Cloak of the Deniliquin police said the family and local residents were "shocked" and "distraught" by the death.

News of the attack is said to have shocked the small town of Deniliquin

"The community will be saddened by this, it's a tragic set of circumstances," he said.

A family spokesman told the Sydney Morning Herald that the family was devastated by what had happened.

"We have lost a gorgeous little boy who we all loved so much," the newspaper was told.

New South Wales state premier Barry O'Farrell said he would review regulations covering dangerous dogs while Prime Minister Kevin Rudd vowed any support needed.

"I'm all ears in terms of anything any level of government wants by way of support, on practical levels, to control wild dogs," said Mr Rudd, who faces national elections in five weeks.

"We await those requests. All I can say is that this is horrible, absolutely horrible."

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Interpol Global Security Alert After Jailbreaks

Interpol has issued a global security alert, urging countries to be on their guard following a series of prison breaks believed linked to al Qaeda.

The international police organisation warning comes after the US State Department put out a worldwide travel alert and decided to close 21 of its embassies and consulates across the Muslim world today.

The US measure was in response to non-specific information suggesting the terror network was planning attacks during the month of August.

The Obama Administration has warned US citizens of the potential for terrorism particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.

US joint chiefs of staff chairman General Martin Dempsey said there was a "significant threat", describing it as "more specific" than previous threats.

A section of the British embassy compound in Yemen

Meanwhile, Britain is shutting the doors of its embassy in Yemen for two days starting today due to increased security concerns. France is also closing its embassy for the same reason.

Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has withdrawn a number of staff from the capital Sana'a, and British nationals have been warned against all travel to the country.

Those still in Yemen have been advised to leave immediately, as it is "extremely unlikely" their evacuation could be arranged if the security situation deteriorates.

The FCO recommended particular vigilance during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ends on August 8, when "tensions could be heightened".

Interpol urged countries around the world to show "increased vigilance", following a series of prison escapes over the past month which freed hundreds of terrorists in Iraq, Libya and Pakistan.

The State Department warned US citizens of the potential for terrorism

An elaborate raid earlier this week freed 252 inmates from a prison in Dera Ismail Khan in Pakistan.

Rocket-propelled grenades and bombs were used in the assault, with the Taliban claiming that two dozen newly-liberated militants had been smuggled into its tribal heartland.

Interpol said it was "asking its member countries to closely follow and swiftly process any information linked to these events and the escaped prisoners".

It added: "They are also requested to alert the relevant member country and Interpol general secretariat headquarters if any escaped terrorist is located or intelligence developed which could help prevent another terrorist attack."

Four Americans were killed in the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi

Yemen has become a stronghold of al Qaeda over recent years, with local offshoot al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula believed to have several hundred members.

This was despite efforts by the country's authorities to suppress the group and US drones killing leaders including Anwar al Awlaki.

Yemen was the source of an attempt to bomb a US-bound airliner in 2009.

There has been unrest recently after the mutiny of troops in the Republican Guard, with fighting around the presidential palace on Friday.

The latest alert by the US warned that al Qaeda or its allies may target American government or private US interests.

It cited dangers involved with public transportation systems and other prime sites for tourists, noting that previous terrorist attacks have centred on subway and rail networks as well as aircraft and boats.

The US State Department issued a major warning last year informing American diplomatic facilities across the Muslim world about potential violence connected to the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

In Benghazi, Libya, four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed in an attack on the US consulate.

The deadly assault has prompted several calls for investigations from House Republicans who have accused the Obama administration of misleading Americans about the attack.

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Australia: Kevin Rudd Names Election Date

The Australian prime minister has called a national election as his Labor Party looks to close the gap with the conservative opposition.

Kevin Rudd was first elected prime minister in 2007, but was defeated in 2010 by his then deputy Julia Gillard in an internal leadership contest within his centre-left Labour Party.

He won back the leadership in a similar challenge on June 26 as the government faced the prospect of a record loss under Ms Gillard.

Since then, Mr Rudd has changed several key policy positions and opinion polls suggest Labor is closing the lead of the conservative opposition.

The party has been in power since 2007 and helped Australia's economy avoid recession following the 2008 global financial crisis, aided by a prolonged mining boom.

But a budget update on Friday showed Australia's economic growth is slowing as the mining investment boom ends, with rising unemployment particularly in the manufacturing sector.

In an email to supporters, Mr Rudd said: "It's on. We've got one hell of a fight on our hands.

"Australians now face a choice. And the choice couldn't be starker. I have a positive vision about the country we can be."

The election date would mean Mr Rudd missing the G20 summit in St Petersburg, even though Australia will take over as chair of the G20 for the coming year.

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Zimbabwe: 'Grave Concerns' Over Election

Zimbabwe: Mugabe's Party Claims Win

Updated: 2:28pm UK, Thursday 01 August 2013

Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has dismissed the country's national elections as a "huge farce" and the results invalid because of intimidation and ballot-rigging by President Robert Mugabe's ruling party, which has claimed victory.

"In our view, that election is null and void," he said, after a senior Zanu-PF source earlier claimed a resounding victory for President Mugabe in Zimbabwe's presidential and parliamentary elections.

The unnamed senior official said the outcome was already clear and told Reuters news agency: "We've taken this election. We've buried the MDC. We never had any doubt that we were going to win."

The opposition, Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), immediately claimed the elections had been "a monumental fraud" and held an emergency meeting.

"Zimbabweans have been taken for a ride by Zanu-PF and Mugabe, we do not accept it," a senior source told Reuters.

Releasing results early is illegal, and the police had warned they would arrest anybody making premature claims before the official five days the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission had said it could take to announce the result.

Riot police took up positions outside the Zanu-PF party's headquarters in central Harare and other key locations in the capital, including an MDC office.

The party later withdrew what it said was an unauthorised message on its Twitter feed claiming a landslide win, and insisted that it was awaiting the release of the official count.

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) - the country's leading domestic election monitoring agency - said the credibility of the vote was "seriously compromised" by irregularities on polling day.

It said as many as one million eligible voters were not on the electoral roll, and urban voters, who mainly favour Mr Tsvangirai, had been turned away from polling stations in their thousands.

Conversely, only a small number had been prevented from voting in the countryside, where President Mugabe has most support.

It also cast doubt on the authenticity of the voters' roll, noting that 99.97% of voters in the countryside were registered, compared to 67.9% in urban areas.

"It is not sufficient for elections to be peaceful for elections to be credible," ZESN chairman Solomon Zwana said. "They must offer all citizens ... an equal opportunity to vote."

Separate reports claimed key MDC members had lost their seats, even in the capital, and that the election was looking like a "disaster" for Mr Tsvangirai.

To win an outright victory, one of the candidates has to secure more than 50% of the vote.

Half the country's 12.9 million population was eligible to vote at the more than 9,000 polling stations nationwide.

The dispute erupted as polling stations closed and counting got under way amid fears of a repeat of the violence that marred the 2008 election.

Turnout was high, particularly in urban areas where the polling stations stayed open late into the evening to allow everyone in the queues to cast their votes.

The presidential contest pit the 89-year-old incumbent President Mugabe against his main rival Mr Tsvangirai, who his supporters believed a big turnout would favour, blunting the impact of any manipulation of the vote.

Zimbabweans voted in large numbers despite concerns about the credibility of the electoral process, and the vote was relatively peaceful compared to disputed and violent polls in 2008.

However, the fiercely contested election was dogged by claims of intimidation and vote rigging, despite assurances by official poll monitors of "a peaceful, orderly and free and fair vote".

It is the third time Mr Tsvangirai has tried to unseat President Mugabe, who denies vote rigging and said he would step down if he failed to extend his 33-year grip on power for another five years.

Sky Correspondent Emma Hurd, in South Africa, said: "Analysts inside Zimbabwe say it was going to be close anyway - that Robert Mugabe was not going to be wiped out in a landslide victory by the opposition.

"But what all independent observers seem to agree on is that there will have been some element of rigging in the process.

"The question remains how much, and whether Robert Mugabe really needed to do it in the first place to win."

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