Foreigners stranded by India floods
Rescue attempts are under way to reach hundreds of foreign tourists who are stranded in India's Himalayan region of Ladakh. The country's air force is trying to get them out of the Zanskar Valley near Leh by helicopters. At least 150 people have now died after flash floods hit the country. Unexpected heavy rains have destoyed houses, uprooted telephone towers and deposited boulders and mud up to 15 feet high on main roads. Thousands of tourists travel to Ladakh every year to visit old Buddhist monasteries and for adventure sports such as white water rafting. At least 300 people are still missing and 25,000 people affected by the floods, army officials said. At least 7,000 soldiers were deployed to rebuild roads and bridges, they said. "It will take a lot of time and effort to restore the communication network," said Brigadier Sanjay Chawla of the Indian Army said from Leh.(itn)
Man struck with hammer in Belfast
A young man has been hit in the face with a hammer during a street robbery in south Belfast. The 18-year-old was walking along Wellington Park Terrace when he was approached by a man who knocked him to the ground. The attacker demanded money and threatened him with the hammer. When he could not find any, he hit the teenager with the weapon and then stole his iPod. The incident happened at about 3am on Tuesday morning. The attacker was in his late 20s with ginger hair, and was wearing a blue Londsdale jumper and blue jeans.(press asociation)
Campbell's ex-agent denies lying
Naomi Campbell's former agent has been accused of lying after claiming the supermodel knowingly received "blood diamonds" from former Liberian president Charles Taylor. Carole White repeatedly denied making up her account of what happened at a September 1997 party hosted by Nelson Mandela in Pretoria, South Africa. Campbell insisted she did not know who gave her a gift of diamonds after the gathering - but her ex-agent and actress Mia Farrow have both contradicted her claim. On Monday Ms White told the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague, the Netherlands, that Campbell was flirting with Taylor at the dinner and he said he would give the model some diamonds. On Tuesday Taylor's defence lawyer, Courtenay Griffiths QC, suggested that her evidence was a "figment of her imagination". She denied this. Mr Griffiths repeatedly quizzed Ms White about a witness statement in which she said she heard Taylor promising to give Campbell the diamonds at the dinner table. She admitted on Tuesday that she did not hear him say he would make the gift saying: "He nodded that he was going to send her diamonds. I didn't hear the words, I don't recall them. "When Naomi Campbell leaned back to tell me that Charles Taylor was going to send her diamonds, he was in agreement. I don't recall the conversation word for word.(press association)
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Rescue attempts are under way to reach hundreds of foreign tourists who are stranded in India's Himalayan region of Ladakh. The country's air force is trying to get them out of the Zanskar Valley near Leh by helicopters. At least 150 people have now died after flash floods hit the country. Unexpected heavy rains have destoyed houses, uprooted telephone towers and deposited boulders and mud up to 15 feet high on main roads. Thousands of tourists travel to Ladakh every year to visit old Buddhist monasteries and for adventure sports such as white water rafting. At least 300 people are still missing and 25,000 people affected by the floods, army officials said. At least 7,000 soldiers were deployed to rebuild roads and bridges, they said. "It will take a lot of time and effort to restore the communication network," said Brigadier Sanjay Chawla of the Indian Army said from Leh.(itn)
Man struck with hammer in Belfast
A young man has been hit in the face with a hammer during a street robbery in south Belfast. The 18-year-old was walking along Wellington Park Terrace when he was approached by a man who knocked him to the ground. The attacker demanded money and threatened him with the hammer. When he could not find any, he hit the teenager with the weapon and then stole his iPod. The incident happened at about 3am on Tuesday morning. The attacker was in his late 20s with ginger hair, and was wearing a blue Londsdale jumper and blue jeans.(press asociation)
Campbell's ex-agent denies lying
Naomi Campbell's former agent has been accused of lying after claiming the supermodel knowingly received "blood diamonds" from former Liberian president Charles Taylor. Carole White repeatedly denied making up her account of what happened at a September 1997 party hosted by Nelson Mandela in Pretoria, South Africa. Campbell insisted she did not know who gave her a gift of diamonds after the gathering - but her ex-agent and actress Mia Farrow have both contradicted her claim. On Monday Ms White told the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague, the Netherlands, that Campbell was flirting with Taylor at the dinner and he said he would give the model some diamonds. On Tuesday Taylor's defence lawyer, Courtenay Griffiths QC, suggested that her evidence was a "figment of her imagination". She denied this. Mr Griffiths repeatedly quizzed Ms White about a witness statement in which she said she heard Taylor promising to give Campbell the diamonds at the dinner table. She admitted on Tuesday that she did not hear him say he would make the gift saying: "He nodded that he was going to send her diamonds. I didn't hear the words, I don't recall them. "When Naomi Campbell leaned back to tell me that Charles Taylor was going to send her diamonds, he was in agreement. I don't recall the conversation word for word.(press association)
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