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Former Miss Venezuela And Ex Killed In Robbery

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 08 Januari 2014 | 16.15

Armed robbers have shot dead a former Miss Venezuela and her British ex-husband in front of their five-year-old daughter.

Monica Spear, 29, and Thomas Henry Berry, 39, were on holiday in Venezuela when the attack happened between Puerto Cabello and Valencia.

Their daughter Maya was shot in the leg during the attempted robbery. She survived and is recovering in hospital.

Authorities said police had arrested five suspects, some under the age of 18.

Former Miss Venezuela Monica Spear Monica Spear was crowned Miss Venezuela in Caracas in 2004

President Nicolas Maduro said the victims' car burst a tyre after running over something on the road, apparently placed by robbers to stop traffic.

He said a recovery truck arrived to help the family but its crew were chased away after they were ambushed by armed robbers.

"They were inside the car and were riddled (with bullets)," the president said on state TV.

"I ask those who assassinated this young person: what explanation do you have?"

Monica Spear And Ex Husband Thomas Henry Berry - Facebook It is understood the couple separated last year

Friends have left messages on Twitter. Venezuelan salsa singer Oscar D'Leon wrote: "I'm so sad for my Venezuela. My condolences for Monica Spear's family.

"Rage and impotence are what I feel right now."

The 2004 Miss Venezuela winner lived in the US but was on holiday at the time of the shooting.

Venezuela has one of the world's highest murder rates, with 79 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2013, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Violence.

Mr Maduro says beating violent crime is his top priority but opponents say the government's plans do not tackle root causes, such as impunity for criminals, corrupt courts and complicity by some poorly-paid police.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles said he and Mr Maduro should leave their political differences to one side.

"We should unite to win the war against violence and insecurity. We're in an emergency ... this situation calls for all of us to take a look at ourselves as a country."

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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Polar Vortex: Deep Freeze Strikes East And South

The record-breaking polar air blast affecting more than half the US population has spread to the East and South, sending the mercury plunging into the single digits.

The polar vortex that started in the Midwest over the weekend covered about half of the country by Tuesday.

In New York City, the temperature fell to -12C (11F), slightly cooler than Boston's -8C (18F).

Across the South, records were shattered.

Passengers wait for trains in Chicago Freezing passengers wait for trains in Chicago

Birmingham, Alabama, dipped to a low of -14C, breaking the record of -12C set in 1970.

Atlanta saw a record low of -14C and Nashville, Tennessee, got down to -17C.

It was just -17C at Washington Dulles International airport, eclipsing the 1988 mark of -13C.

The crippling cold continued to impact the Midwest as well, with the mercury dipping to -24C overnight in the Chicago area.

More than 500 Amtrak passengers were stranded overnight on three Chicago-bound trains that were stopped by blowing and drifting snow in Illinois.

Frozen exterior waterfall at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington The waterfall frozen oustide a museum in Washington

In Kentucky, a fugitive who escaped a minimum security facility on Sunday, surrendered to authorities on Monday because of the cold when temperatures plunged to -29C with the wind chill.

The weather also has been blamed for a number of deaths across Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.

They included a 48-year-old Chicago man who had a heart attack while shovelling snow on Sunday and an elderly woman who was found outside her Indianapolis home early on Monday.

The worst of the big freeze should be over in the next day or two.

Sub-Zero Temperatures Put Chicago Into Deep Freeze A satellite image shows the polar vortex sweeping across the US. Pic: Nasa

Warmer weather - at least, near or above freezing - is in the forecast for much of the stricken part of the country.

On Tuesday, many schools and day care centres across the eastern half of the US were closed.

Officials opened shelters for the homeless and anyone else who needed a warm place.

With the bitter cold slowing baggage handling and aircraft refuelling, airlines cancelled more than 2,000 flights, bringing the four-day total to more than 11,000.

Pensacola, Florida - a Gulf Coast city better known for its white sand beaches than frost - saw its streets deserted as temperatures plummeted.

Sub-Zero Temperatures Put Chicago Into Deep Freeze Nearly half of the US has been impacted by the freezing temperatures

Monica Anderson and Tommy Howard jumped up and down and blew on their hands while they waited for a bus.

"I'm not used to it. It is best just to stay inside until it gets better," said Ms Anderson, who added she could not recall it ever being so cold.

PJM Interconnection, which operates the power grid that serves more than 61 million people in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and South, asked users to conserve electricity because of the cold.

Across the South, the Tennessee Valley Authority said power demand in the morning reached the second-highest winter peak in the history of the Depression-era utility.

Temperatures averaged -15C across the utility's seven-state region.

In Chicago, it was too cold even for the polar bear at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Although polar bears can handle sub-zero temperatures in the wild, the zoo said Anana was kept inside on Monday because she does not have the thick layer of fat that bears typically get from feeding on seals and whale carcasses.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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Former New York City Cops Held Over 9/11 Fraud

Former New York police officers and firefighters, who falsely claimed they were disabled as a result of the September 11 attacks, have been arrested in a sweeping fraud investigation.

They are among more than 100 people charged over the "massive" social security fraud worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The accused allegedly collected tens of thousands of dollars a year in social security disability benefits by claiming they were completely incapacitated by serious psychiatric disorders and other ailments.

But, according to court documents, they were in fact living normal lives; one of the accused flew a helicopter while another played blackjack in Las Vegas.

One of the accused taught and performed mixed martial arts but was still claiming benefits of typically between $30,000 (£18,000) and $50,000 (£30,400) a year. In some instances, the total amount fraudulently obtained was nearly $500,000 (£305,000) per applicant.

Bill Bratton William Bratton called the alleged crimes were "disgraceful"

Of the 106 charged in the decades-long scam, 80 were retired New York police officers or firefighters.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said: "Many participants cynically manufactured claims of mental illness as a result of September 11, dishonouring the first responders who did serve their city at the expense of their own health and safety."

As far back as 1988, the four main defendants - Raymond Lavallee, 83, Thomas Hale, 89, Joseph Esposito, 64, and John Minerva, 61 - conspired to help or make hundreds of applicants falsely claim disabilities in order to collect benefit payments in addition to their public pensions, court documents say.

Prosecutors said the applicants claimed they suffered from a psychiatric condition that prevented them from working, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety or depression.

Mr Vance said: "This alleged scam further depleted the already limited resources available for battling the real and complex conditions of PTSD and depression."

New York City Police Department commissioner William Bratton said: "The retired members of the NYPD indicted in this case have disgraced all first responders who perished during the search and rescue efforts on September 11, 2001, and those who subsequently died from 9/11 related illness, by exploiting their involvements that tragic day for personal gain."

Hale and Esposito, the latter a retired member of the NYPD, allegedly coached benefit applicants to falsely describe symptoms of depression and anxiety to doctors they had recruited.

They instructed applicants on how to fail memory tests with plausibility, how to dress, and on their demeanour.

For example, almost every claim included phrases such as "I nap on and off during the day" and "I have the TV on to keep me company".

More than 2,700 people were killed in New York on September 11, 2001, when two passenger planes, hijacked by Islamist militants, slammed into the World Trade Center.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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Newborn Baby's Body Found Dumped In Rubbish

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 07 Januari 2014 | 16.15

The body of a newborn girl has been found dumped in a biomedical waste disposal truck at a hospital in India.

The child died in the early hours of Monday morning and her family paid the privately-owned Mata Chanan Devi Hospital 1,500 rupees (£15) to keep her body in a mortuary overnight.

However, it was missing when the family returned to collect it at around 10am.

Ashok Kumar, the newborn's uncle, said: "We asked for it and it wasn't there.

India The child had been treated at the Mata Chanan Devi Hospital

"One of the hospital staff suddenly ran towards a truck collecting biomedical waste.

"He looked in the garbage bags and found her there."

The hospital has denied medical negligence, and the hospital's medical superintendent Dr Nidhi Sareen promised to conduct an internal inquiry.

India The hospital's biomedical waste storage site

Delhi's chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said: "Dumping a newborn's body into the garbage is cruel and inhuman.

"We'll investigate the matter and take action against the guilty."

According to some reports, it is thought that the hospital staff mistook the newborn's body as an amputated limb and dumped it into the truck.

Rajesh Kumar Verma, the newborn's father, said his daughter was born prematurely at Khanna Nursing Home in Janakpuri at 1.30pm on Sunday.

The family said she had swelling in her head and the doctors advised them to take her to the hospital.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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Polar Vortex: Deep Freeze Moves Across US

A whirlpool of freezing, dense air known as a "polar vortex" has gripped the US Midwest and is making its way east and south, bringing record low temperatures.

Thermometers plunged to -32C (-25F) in Fargo, North Dakota, while Madison, Wisconsin, hit -28C (-19F) and even Chicago and Minneapolis saw temperatures reach -20F, with wind chills of -50F.

Forecasters say some 187 million people could feel the effects of the frigid blast by the time it has spread across the country.

Nearly 3,200 flights - one out of every 10 domestic departures - were cancelled on Monday, following a weekend of travel disruption across the US.

US-WEATHER-AIRPORTS Snow is removed from the tarmac as a plane lands at New York's JFK Airport

Airline officials said de-icing fluid was freezing and fuel was pumping sluggishly.

More than a foot of snow has been dumped on a large part of the nation's midsection, forcing officials to close schools in Chicago, St Louis and Milwaukee.

In Chicago, transit officials believe the frigid conditions caused a commuter train to strike a bumping post at a central station, injuring 14 passengers.

Polar Vortex The polar vortex will hit temperatures in 48 US states by Tuesday

Authorities said six people were taken to hospital with minor injuries after the accident - the second such incident of the day.

The National Weather Service (NWS) is predicting 48 US states will have wind chills of below zero - an area of 1.5 million square miles.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard upgraded the city's travel emergency level to "red" for a time, making it illegal for anyone to drive except for emergencies or to seek shelter.

The last time the city issued such a warning was in 1978.

A snow plow clears the road of snow along the New York State Thruway Interstate 87 in Tarrytown The extreme weather is affecting area of 1.5 million square miles

Utility crews worked to restore power to more than 40,000 Indiana customers affected by the weekend storm and cautioned that some people could be in the cold and dark for days.

In New York City, the temperature was expected to drop sharply from about 11C (52F) to around -12C (10F) as the Arctic air moved in.

Missouri transport officials said it was too cold for rock salt to be effective and several roads in Illinois were closed because of drifting snow.

Government offices and courts in several states have also been closed.

Temperatures in US polar vortex Predicted temperatures across the US on Tuesday morning

In Newfoundland, Canada, around 30,000 customers remain without power because of rolling blackouts over the last few days.

The record cold temperatures are also affecting southern states.

Louisiana citrus farmers have been warned they could lose any fruit they cannot pick as two nights of freezing temperatures are forecast.

Wild Card Playoffs - San Francisco 49ers v Green Bay Packers Packers fans watch the seventh coldest NFL game in history

Fans braved subzero temperatures to watch the Green Bay Packers lose 20-23 to the San Francisco 49ers at Lambeau Field on Sunday night.

The game kicked off with temperatures of -15C (5F), making it the seventh coldest NFL game in history.

People in Canada have also been reporting hearing loud "booms" known as "frost quakes"

The phenomenon - or cryoseism - takes place when water underground freezes and then expands, forcing the ground to crack and creating the noise.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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Afghan Girl, 10, In 'Suicide Bomb Attempt'

A 10-year-old girl who apparently attempted to carry out a suicide attack wearing a vest packed with explosives has been detained by Afghan authorities.

The girl, named only as Spozhmai, appeared at a news conference in Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province.

She told how her brother, reportedly a Taliban commander, had forced her to wear the vest and ordered her to detonate herself at a police checkpoint.

"I was tired of my stepmother. My brother told me to wear the black vest, go to the police checkpoint and press the button," she told reporters.

"I went past a river and decided to drop the vest. My brother fled and police arrested me."

There are conflicting accounts of the incident, with some officials saying she was wearing the vest when she was arrested and others saying no vest had been recovered.

The Afghanistan-based Tolo TV news channel said the girl was unable to operate the button to detonate the explosives.

The interior ministry said that her brother was a Taliban commander who coerced her into putting on the vest and walking towards the police post in Khanashin district in the southern heartlands of the insurgency.

Taliban militants have been accused in the past of using young boys to plant roadside bombs and act as suicide bombers.

The insurgents, who made no comment on the latest incident, have always denied using children to launch attacks.

The Taliban has been fighting against the US-backed government since it was ousted from power in late 2001 after the 9/11 attacks in the United States.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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Iraq: Militants Pledge To Fight Government

Written By Unknown on Senin, 06 Januari 2014 | 16.15

Al Qaeda-linked militants and tribal fighters who have taken over parts of the strategic Iraqi city of Fallujah have pledged to fight the government.

An unnamed commander of the anti-government Fallujah military council said: "The revolutionaries of Fallujah tribes are resolved to punish those, the covetous, who are linked to the sectarian government."

Al Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) has been steadily tightening its grip in the vast Anbar province in recent months to try to create a Sunni Muslim state straddling the frontier with Syria.

But last week's capture of positions in nearby Ramadi and large parts of Fallujah was the first time in years that Sunni insurgents had taken ground in the province's major cities and held their positions for days.

Iraq Militants have gained a foothold in Iraq

Iraqi government forces battling an al Qaeda offensive near the Syrian border launched an air strike on Ramadi city on Sunday, killing 25 Islamist militants, according to local officials.

In Fallujah, Isil's task has been made easier by disgruntled tribesmen who have joined its fight against the government.

Dozens of families from Fallujah and Ramadi have fled to Kerbala to take refuge from Iraqi government bombardments.

Mohammed, a resident of Ramadi, said: "We are going to Kerbala to get food and cooking gas. We are displaced people, we thank the people of Kerbala."

Kerbala resident Abu Faris said: "We are providing the people of Ramadi with foodstuffs and flour. They were affected (by the violence) and they have nothing, so we are providing them with relief aid."

US Secretary of State John Kerry made it clear that, although Washington would provide "assistance" to Iraqi security forces, it would not put American "boots on the ground".

Mr Kerry told reporters in Jerusalem: "We are not obviously contemplating returning, we are not contemplating putting boots on the ground, this is their fight.

"But we're going to help them in their fight ... we are going to do everything that is possible to help them."


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Dennis Rodman: I Love My Friend Kim Jong-Un

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent in Beijing

US basketball star Dennis Rodman has told Sky News he "loves" the North Korean leader and claims that "when the time comes" he will discuss human rights with Kim Jong-Un.

Mr Rodman was speaking at Beijing airport as he departed for his latest trip to the secretive country.

He is travelling to Pyongyang with a group of 11 American basketball players for a match marking Mr Kim's birthday on Wednesday.

He said: "The only thing we are doing right now, as you can see right now, is all the NBA players here to play a game right now.

"And that's the one thing we're trying to do right now."

It is almost universally accepted that North Korea has the worst human rights record in the world.

As many as 200,000 political prisoners are locked up in labour camps around the country. Escapees have said that torture is routine.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, flanked by his uncle North Korean politician Jang Song-thaek, leaves a military parade in Pyongyang Kim Jong-Un recently had his uncle (L) executed

Asked whether he would bring up the subject of labour camps, Mr Rodman said it was not his job.

Given that he is the only American with such unprecedented access to Mr Kim, Sky News put it to him that it was his responsibility to raise the issue.

"That's not my job," he said. "The only thing I am doing right now, I am only doing one thing: this game is for his birthday. It's for his birthday.

"And I hope that if this opens doors and we can actually talk about certain things, then we can do certain things but I am not going to sit there and go in and say 'hey guy, you're doing the wrong thing'.

"That's not the right thing to do. He's my friend first. He's my friend. I don't give a ****. I tell the world: he's my ******* friend, I love him."

Under the North Korean regime's "three generations of punishment" system, individuals found guilty of a crime are sent to the labour camps with their entire family.

The subsequent two generations of that family are then born in the camp and live their lives locked up inside.

Mr Rodman was asked if he was aware of the 200,000 or so political prisoners in North Korea.

He replied: "Are you aware that lots of people in America is locked up like that too?"

Mr Rodman's unlikely friendship with Mr Kim dates back to February last year when he accompanied the US documentary maker Vice to North Korea with the Harlem Globetrotter basketball team.

Dennis Rodman The Paddy Power promotional image for the event

Sky News understands that Mr Rodman initially believed he was going to meet the South Korean pop star Psy.

He even tweeted that he might bump into the star behind the hit song Gangnam Style.

For reasons which are yet to become clear, Mr Rodman and Mr Kim became friends.

Sky News has seen unpublished photographs of Mr Rodman riding one of Mr Kim's horses last summer at the North Korean leader's ranch outside Pyongyang.

Mr Kim does not speak English and Mr Rodman does not speak Korean.

Their conversations are conducted through North Korean interpreters.

This latest trip was due to be sponsored by the Irish bookmaker Paddy Power.

However, on Christmas Eve, the bookmaker claimed it had pulled its participation.

"Given changed circumstances, Paddy Power has decided to withdraw its association with the Dennis Rodman basketball initiative in North Korea," the company said in a statement.

However, Sky News understands that the bookmaker is still providing private funding for the trip, which it catch-phrased "Hoops not Nukes".

North Korean analysts are split over whether engagement with North Korea by an unusual and eccentric American is an unpalatable publicity stunt or an opportunity for future dialogue.

Dr Daniel Pinkston, North East Asia deputy project director at International Crisis Group, was supportive of the relationship when the Paddy Power event was announced.

"The last few years have been difficult for North Korea watchers seeking new policy prescriptions for dealing with Pyongyang," Dr Pinkston said in a statement on Paddy Power's website in September.

"Thanks to the support of Paddy Power, Rodman's visit had opened a window of opportunity to bring change to North Korea."

In December, Shin Dong-Hyuk, the only person born in a North Korean prison camp known to have escaped to the West, wrote an open letter to Mr Rodman calling on him to engage with Mr Kim.

"I am writing to you, Mr Rodman, because, more than anything else, I want Kim Jong-Un to hear the cries of his people," he wrote.

"Maybe you could use your friendship and your time together to help him understand that he has the power to close the camps and rebuild the country's economy so everyone can afford to eat."

As Mr Rodman left Beijing airport on this latest trip, he left that possibility open.

"When the time comes when I do that I am going to sit down and talk to all the people around the world, when the time comes, I am going to tell you everything that happens.

"But right now I want these guys to go over there and put on a good show for his birthday.

"We will talk about political stuff and anything about refugee camps."

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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Polar Vortex: NFL Fans Brave -26C Wind Chill

Diehard fans have braved freezing temperatures and a wind chill of -26C (-14F) to watch an NFL playoff match in Wisconsin.

The Green Bay Packers took on the San Francisco 49ers at their home field on Sunday night, in one of the coldest American football matches ever played.

A phenomenon described as a polar vortex has plunged states in the north and northwest US into a deep freeze, causing transport chaos and school closures.

Wild Card Playoffs - San Francisco 49ers v Green Bay Packers Some Packers fans - affectionately known as cheeseheads - wore costumes

Fans at the Packers' Lambeau Field swaddled themselves in multiple layers of thick clothing and covered themselves with blankets for the tie, which lasted around three hours.

The 49ers' stars - who are more used to balmy California temperatures - wrapped up on the touchline in signature red blankets.

Despite not being accustomed to the inclement weather, they won 23-20, putting them one step closer to February's Super Bowl.

Wild Card Playoffs - San Francisco 49ers v Green Bay Packers Thick layers were necessary for the three-hour game

The weather phenomenon has seen super-chilled air from the Arctic sucked into North and South Dakota, the Great Lakes states and New England, sending temperatures plunging.

Washington DC has already seen its coldest temperatures for 20 years and several states in the Midwest have recorded their lowest mercury readings for more than a decade.

Icy weather is feared to have been a factor that led to a Delta Airways flight skidding off the runway at JFK Airport on Sunday.

None of the flight's 35 passengers was injured and the aircraft was safely towed to a gate.

Snow at JFK airport Snow at JFK Airport in New York

The busy New York airport suspended operations for about two hours due to slick runways.

In Chicago, about 1,200 flights were cancelled at the city's O'Hare and Midway international airports after more than 11 inches of snow fell.

Weather Bell meteorologist Ryan Maue described the current weather conditions as a once-in-a-generation event.

"If you're under 40 (years old), you've not seen this stuff before," he said.

A snow storm in Scituate, Massachusetts Scituate, Massachusetts, is among the places to have seen blizzards

With much of the northeast of the country already under thick snow and well below zero, a newly emerging weather system is threatening to cause further misery.

The "polar vortex" is an anti-clockwise rotating pool of cold, dense air that forms close to the North Pole, but typically hangs over Canada.

Meteorologists say that unusually, this year, it is heading south and moving towards the north and eastern United States.

Fargo in North Dakota is expected to dip to -31C (-25F), International Falls, Minnesota, is forecast to fall to -35C (-31F) and Indianapolis, Indiana, and Chicago, Illinois, to -26C (-15F).

The forecast prompted Minnesota public school officials to announce a statewide closure for Monday, marking the first such mass closing in 17 years.

The Wisconsin cities of Milwaukee and Madison have also announced school closures to start the week.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard upgraded the city's travel emergency level to "red", making it illegal for anyone to drive except for emergencies or seeking shelter.

The last time the city issued such a travel warning was in 1978.

Temperatures are expected to dip close to freezing in parts of Florida on Tuesday.

In Canada, people have reported hearing loud booms which are thought to be "frost quakes" as temperatures dip to -20C.

The phenomenon, known as a cryoseism, is caused when water in the ground expands in extreme cold, causing it to crack and make the booming noise.

At least 16 deaths have been blamed on a snow storm that swept across the eastern half of the US at the end of last week.

Only a few thousand people have been left without power in the US despite heavy snowfalls, but in Canada, which has seen unusually heavy snow in a country used to cold winters, nearly 90,000 are without power in Newfoundland.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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Obesity Rates Triple In Developing World

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 03 Januari 2014 | 16.15

The number of overweight and obese people has reached almost one billion in the developing world - overtaking rates in industrialised countries, a report has found.

The report by the UK's Overseas Development Institute said the number of obese people has more than tripled in the developing world since 1980.

In 2008, more than 900 million people in poor countries were classed as overweight compared with around 550 million in high-income countries - almost twice as many.

Steve Wiggins, the report's author, said: "The statistics are quite sensational, it is a tripling of the number of people who are considered overweight and obese in the developing world since 1980.

"That takes the number to more than 900 million and that is more than the number of overweight and obese people that we have in the high-income countries, which is probably around 570 million, something like that.

"It is a very rapidly emerging problem and it is now of a very large size."

Overweight peopleat a clinic in China Obesity rates in China have almost doubled since 1980

Rates of obesity are still rising in richer countries, but not at the same rate as in the developing world.

Two countries with particularly high obesity rates are China and Mexico, where the numbers of overweight people have almost doubled since 1980.

In South Africa, obesity has risen by a third and now has a higher rate than the UK.

North Africa, the Middle East and Latin America all have similar overweight and obesity rates to Europe.

Explaining the developing world's obesity epidemic, Mr Wiggins said: "It is associated with incomes and urbanisation and a more sedentary lifestyle, so it is those emerging countries which have done the best at raising their incomes.

"It's the middle-income countries, it is the Chinas, it is the Mexicos, which are the countries which are seeing the highest rates of overweight and obesity at the moment."

Health Week promo image

The report predicts that if current rates continue there will be a huge increase in people suffering certain types of cancer, diabetes, strokes and heart attacks.

It also warns that governments are not doing enough to tackle the crisis, partly due to politicians' reluctance to interfere at the dinner table, the powerful farming and food lobbies and "a large gap" in public awareness as to what constitutes a healthy diet.

Countries singled out for praise in tackling obesity are Denmark and South Korea.

In Denmark, laws against trans-fatty acids have made Danish McDonalds among the healthiest in the world, while in South Korea the government launched a large-scale public education campaign 20 years ago which has turned around obesity rates.

Mr Wiggins said: "A few decades ago the government of Korea said we must encourage our traditional foods, which are low in fats and oils, high in vegetables, high in sea food and so on.

"And there was a lot of public education, a lot of training and a sense that Korean food is good for you."

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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