Australia: Naked Man Stuck In Washing Machine

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

An Australian man put police officers in a spin when they had to free him from a washing machine after a game of hide and seek went wrong.

The man from Mooropna, north of Melbourne, became stuck in the top-loading machine as he tried to use it as an elaborate hiding place. 

It took 20 minutes to free the man, with rescuers using olive oil to ease him out.

Sergeant Tim Gleeson said the man had climbed into it naked while waiting for his partner to come home on Saturday afternoon.

"He was trying to surprise his missus and became stuck," Sgt Gleeson told News Corp Australia.

"They greased him up until he was free."

Other emergency services including firefighters, paramedics, and even a local search and rescue squad were also involved in the operation.

Shepparton Police Sergeant Michelle De Araugo told the Shepparton News: "He was very well wedged in there and we were concerned for his health and wellbeing.

"It was just a game gone wrong. It would be fair to say the gentleman was very embarrassed."

The man's ordeal came just days after an 11-year-old girl in Utah in the United States became stuck in a washing machine.

She was stuck for 90 minutes as her sister and cousins tried to free her using butter, peanut butter and ice. Fire fighters freed her unharmed apart from a few bruises.

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Jailed Ex-Marine Challenges Murder Conviction

A former Royal Marine jailed for life last year for murdering an injured insurgent in Afghanistan is seeking to appeal his conviction.

Alexander Blackman, who was found guilty of the killing and dismissed from the Marines when he was sentenced in December, has lodged an appeal application, the Judicial Office has confirmed.

He is bidding to overturn both his conviction and sentence.

On November 8 a court martial board in Bulford, Wiltshire, found the 39-year-old guilty of murdering the insurgent who had been seriously injured in an attack by an Apache helicopter in Helmand more than two years ago.

The murder of the Afghan fighter was filmed on a colleague's helmet camera

Two other Marines were acquitted. Charges against a further two were previously discontinued.

Blackman, who denied murder, had 15 years' experience in the Royal Marines.

He completed tours of Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland during his military career and, before a video of the murder came to light, he was being considered for promotion to Colour Sergeant.

He has said he feels ashamed at his actions, describing them as "a stupid lack of self-control and lapse in judgment".

Blackman shot the injured Afghan fighter in the chest at close range with a 9mm pistol.

The murder was filmed by a camera mounted on the helmet of one of his colleagues.

A recording of his words captured him admitting he had broken the Geneva Convention on the treatment of war prisoners.

He was named after three leading judges overturned an anonymity ruling in what had become known as the "Marine A" case.

The killing took place in 'the most dangerous square mile in Afghanistan'

Sentencing Blackman in December, Judge Advocate General Jeff Blackett told him: "You intended to kill him and that shot certainly hastened his death.

"This was not an action taken in the heat of battle.

"You treated that Afghan man with contempt and murdered him in cold blood.

"This offence was unique and unprecedented in recent history.

"You were obliged to care for him, instead you executed him."

After his sentencing, Blackman said he was "devastated" at being given a life sentence.

The married commando, known to friends and family as Al, said he was "very sorry" for his actions, which were filmed while on patrol in "the most dangerous square mile in Afghanistan".

The killing happened five months into an arduous six-month tour of Helmand province in 2011 with Plymouth-based 42 Commando.

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Chickasaw: Last Monolingual Speaker Dies At 93

The last monolingual Chickasaw language speaker has died in her Oklahoma home at the age of 93.

Emily "Shonsh-She" Johnson Dickerson, spoke only Chickasaw for her entire life and was one of an estimated 70 remaining fluent speakers of the language.

Joshua Hinson, director of the Chickasaw Nation Language Department, said her death was "monumental".

He said: "I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the loss and what this means to the Chickasaw Nation."

Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby said: "Emily Dickerson was a treasured elder who held the Chickasaw language and ways of life close to her heart.

Bill Anoatubby described Emily Dickerson as a "treasured elder"

"This is a sad day for all Chickasaw people because we have lost a cherished member of our Chickasaw family and an unequalled source of knowledge about our language and culture.

"My condolences go out to her closest friends and family as we mourn the loss of a woman who holds a special place in the hearts of her family and her tribe."

Born on February 22, 1920, with the Chickasaw name of Shonsh-she, Emily Dickerson's childhood was spent in Oklahoma picking cotton, harvesting peanuts and chaffing broom corn as a farm labourer.

When she married in 1968, she raised her children to speak only Chickasaw until they enrolled in public school.

Her son, Carlin Thompson, said his mother's health had started to deteriorate after she fell and broke her hip a few months ago.

The blue area shows the Chickasaw Nation in the south of Oklahoma

Her funeral took place on Saturday east of Ada near the Kullihoma ceremonial grounds on Chickasaw Nation land.

Native Indians from the Chickasaw tribe had their ancient homelands in Kentucky, Tennessee and the northern Mississippi and Alabama.

After encounters with European explorers and traders from England, France and Spain they were forced to sell their land in 1832 and move to the Indian Territory in Oklahoma during the era of Indian removal in the 1830s.

Their language, Chickashshanonmpa, was spoken by less than 1,000 speakers in 1994 and this figure has now dropped to less than 70, the majority of whom are over the age of 55.

Former astronaut John Herrington is one of the best-known members of the Chickasaw Nation.

He became the first enrolled member of a native American tribe to fly into space during a Space Shuttle mission in 2002.

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Finley Boyle: Girl Dies After Dental Procedure

A three-year-old girl has died after suffering brain damage during a visit to the dentist.

Finley Boyle visited Island Dentistry for Children in Kailua, Hawaii, with her mother Ashley on December 3 to get four root canals done.

According to court documents, she was given different drugs to sedate her but she then went into cardiac arrest.

The lawsuit claims she was left unattended for 26 minutes without CPR, leading to extensive brain damage.

Her family has said it will file a wrongful death lawsuit against the Honolulu dentist.

Family lawyer Rick Fried told KHON-TV her death was "tragic".

He said: "I think the parents felt that Finley wouldn't want to live. I don't think anyone of us would.

"She didn't know she was alive basically."

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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.

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 Globetrotters basketball team.

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 obtained a previously unpublished photograph of Mr Rodman riding one of Mr Kim's horses in August, thought to have been taken 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 will continue to provide funding for the trip in order to honour its contractual obligations.

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."

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NHS 'Needs £1bn' For Longer GP Opening Hours

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

More than 20,000 extra GPs, nurses and other NHS staff are needed if the Prime Minister wants his plan for longer surgery opening hours to work, the head of the Royal College of GPs has warned.

In her first major TV interview since taking up the post, Dr Maureen Baker told Sky News that GPs needed an extra £1bn of taxpayers' money to recruit sufficient staff to keep practices open seven days a week.

Without the extra money, the NHS risks becoming unsustainable as GPs and hospitals struggle to cope with the extra demand from patients over the winter months, she said.

"If we were to move to seven days a week we would need 10,000 more GPs.

"We probably need the same number of practice nurses and a proportionate number of support staff.

"We don't think seven days a week is realistic."

Dr Baker took over as head of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) in November, a month after the Prime Minister declared his intention to get GPs to work more hours.

According to the British Medical Association (BMA), there are just over 40,000 GPs currently working in the UK.

The RCGP wants that figure to rise by a quarter.

In a dire assessment of the current state of GP practices, Dr Baker said family doctors feel "besieged" as they struggle to deal with the influx of patients, particularly in the winter months.

"It is constant demand with very little let-up," she said.

"We know our colleagues are working 11 to 12-hour days, and that is really difficult to do day after day when it is a job you need to be on top form for.

"They are feeling pressurised and besieged and looking for a bit of respite."

She said GPs need more resources, adding: "The consequence (of not having extra resources) will be the winter pressure effect that comes up every year gets longer and longer.

"My fear is the whole of the NHS becomes unsustainable due to the failure to properly invest in general practice."

She also criticised the Government's £500m handout to hospitals to help them cope this winter.

David Cameron wants longer opening hours for GP surgeries

"It wasn't the best use of money. It was a short-term fix, finger-in-the-dyke stuff," she said.

"There is nothing about the use of that money that will stop the same pressures emerging again and again."

In October, the Prime Minister said he would like GP surgeries to open from 8am until 8pm and at weekends to fit in with the lifestyles of working people.

He told Sky News: "Sometimes people using accident and emergency really just need to see a GP.

"But for hard-working people it is often too difficult because you are at work, you can't get an appointment at the time that fits."

A Department of Health spokesperson said: "GPs do a vital job which is why we increased their overall budget last year as part of our protection of NHS funding.

"We have made £50m available to help innovative GPs to extend their services and stay open longer - either on their own or by working with other local practices.

"We have also asked Health Education England to see how we can get 50% of medical students to become GPs."

Some GP surgeries are testing out new ways of working to improve waiting times for appointments.

Under a system devised by the organisation Patient Access, GPs call back patients within an hour of them ringing the surgery.

Within a week of introducing the system GPs at the Phoenix Surgery in Swindon were dealing with 60% of patients over the phone.

The rest were given same-day appointments for a face-to-face consultation.

Dr Peter Swinyard said: "I can deal with two or three patients in the time it used to take me to deal with one.

"I was terrified. You have been working in a certain pattern for 29 years and now you're doing something different.

"But we are providing a better service, a service that patients have a right to expect."

:: All this week Sky News will have live coverage examining the crisis in the NHS. Watch 'A Matter Of Life And Death' on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

We also want to hear your experiences of the NHS - the good and the bad - tweet us using the hashtag #NHSlifeanddeath

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Osborne: We Need To Cut An Extra £25bn

A further £25bn of cuts - including £12bn from benefits - must be made after the next election if the Government is to eliminate the UK's deficit, Chancellor George Osborne has said.

Mr Osborne, who set out his priorities for the next 12 months in a speech saying 2014 will be "the year of hard truths", argued that the size of the state and the welfare system must become "permanently smaller".

He claimed Labour was "simply not being straight with people" by suggesting there was a "magic wand" which would allow a chancellor to spend more on public services.

Mr Osborne said: "Thanks to the hard work of the British people, our economy is on the mend - and our country is doing better.

Mr Osborne meets graduate apprentice Tom Mosdale (left) in Birmingham

"But what was hard won can be easily lost. So we have a choice in 2014. We can give up, go back to square one, risk everything.

"Or we can confront the hard truth that more difficult decisions are needed - and work through the plan that is turning Britain around. I say: 'let's finish the job'."

"Welfare cannot be protected from further substantial cuts.

"I can tell you today that, on the Treasury's current forecasts, £12bn of further welfare cuts are needed in the first two years of the next Parliament."

And he said curbing public spending was the only way to ensure future jobs and prosperity.

"Government is going top have to be permanently smaller - and so too is the welfare system," he said.

Mr Osborne has also indicated he supported keeping benefits for pensioners such as winter fuel payments and free bus passes.

Nick Clegg said the Tories were making a 'monumental mistake'

Instead he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he would look at targeting housing benefits for under 25s, and means-testing social housing.

But Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said Conservatives were making a "monumental mistake" in seeking "cuts for cuts' sake" and placing the burden of future deficit reduction on benefit claimants alone.

The Lib Dem leader told a Westminster press conference that the major parties were now putting forward "three very different visions" for how to balance the books, create economic stability and support public services.

Mr Clegg said Liberal Democrats agreed on the need for fiscal responsibility to deal with the deficit by 2017/18, but the "big difference" from Conservatives was that "we believe that the way we finish that job should be done fairly".

Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said: "George Osborne is desperate to stop talking about the cost-of-living crisis on his watch. But that won't stop working people from doing so as they are on average £1,600 a year worse-off under the Tories and prices are still rising faster than wages.

"Nor will the Chancellor admit the reason why he is being forced to make more cuts is because his failure on growth and living standards has led to his failure to balance the books by 2015."

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Ban For Hands-On-Head Driver Caught On Camera

A mechanic has been banned from driving for a year after he was caught driving with his hands on his head.

A mobile safety camera captured Richard Newton driving with no hands on the steering wheel on the A171 near Scaling Dam reservoir in North Yorkshire.

In footage released by North Yorkshire Police, he is seen travelling at more than 60mph for around 25 seconds as cars pass him on the opposite side of the road.

The 36-year-old of Abbots Road, Whitby, was found guilty of dangerous driving at for the incident, which happened in August.

Scarborough Magistrates' Court also ordered him to carry out 100 hours of community service and pay a total of £685.

Dave Brown, head of North Yorkshire Police's Mobile Safety Camera Team, said: "This case demonstrates two things, one is the sheer stupidity of some people who put others in danger, and the other is the ability of our safety camera to capture a range of offences.

"This is yet another case which shows that these cameras are about safety and not just speeding.

"We will take action against all manner of offences to ensure we keep our roads as safe as possible for everyone."

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Eusebio Funeral: Fans Pay Stadium Tribute

Eusebio's Career In Stats

Updated: 9:00am UK, Sunday 05 January 2014

Eusebio played for Portugal 64 times between 1961 and 1973, scoring 41 goals

Honours

1966 FIFA World Cup third place

Individual

1966 FIFA World Cup Golden Shoe (9 goals)

1966 FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball

UEFA Golden Player Portugal

FIFA World Cup appearances

6 caps, 9 goals. 5 wins; 1 loss

England 1966

Portugal 3-1 Hungary

Portugal 3-0 Bulgaria (1 goal)

Portugal 3-1 Brazil (2)

Portugal 5-3 Korea DPR (4)

England 2-1 Portugal (1)

Portugal 2-1 USSR (1)

Club Career

1957 - 1960: Sporting Lourenço Marques, now Maxaquene (Mozambique)

1960 - 1975: Benfica

1975: Rhode Island Oceaners (USA)

1975: Boston Minutemen (USA)

1976: Toronto Metros-Croatia (USA)

1976: Monterrey (Mexico)

1976-1977: Beira Mar

1977: Las Vegas Quicksilver (USA)

1977: Uniao de Tomar

1978: New Jersey Americans (USA)

Honours

UEFA European Cup winner: 1962

Portuguese Championship winner: 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975

North American Soccer League winner: 1976

Portuguese Cup winner: 1962, 1964, 1969, 1970, 1972

Individual

FIFA 100 inductee

European Footballer of the Year: 1965

European Golden Boot: 1968, 1973

Portuguese Footballer of the Year: 1970, 1973

Portuguese Championship top scorer: 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1973

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Storms: UK Hit By More Flooding And Chaos

Britain is being battered again by storms and gale force winds - bringing flooding and travel chaos to many parts of the UK.

Stormy seas have caused problems in southwest coastal regions, and forecasters say there will be more violent weather over the next few days.

Wave heights in the Atlantic at midday on Monday Pic: magicseaweed.com

In a statement to the Commons, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said one million homes in England have so far been protected by flood defences.

But he said there was a likelihood of more flooding "for some time to come" in Dorset and Wiltshire.

More flooding is expected in Dorset

As gusts of up to 70mph hit western coasts, people were urged to remain vigilant and stay away from coastal roads, promenades and jetties with 25ft-high waves crashing on to beaches.

A rock fall in Porthcothan Bay, Cornwall

There are fears the next high tides will bring further coastal flooding.

Aberystwyth seafront - including 600 rooms of the university's student halls of residence facing the beach - was evacuated and rescue centres set up as high tides battered the coastline.

The search continues for Harry Martin, who went missing in the storms

Sky's Mike McCarthy, at the scene, said: "The worst predictions are being realised. We have seen waves bringing rocks and stones forward over the fencing."

Student Millie Farmer, 19, said 12ft waves had crashed on to the promenade, ripping up paving slabs and leaving debris scattered on the front.

The severe weather has already taken its toll on the transport network and there was more disruption for commuters with roads closed and trains delayed or cancelled in areas.

:: Send us your weather photos or video to news@sky.com or text your pictures to 84501

Southern Railway services between Horsham and Dorking in Surrey will be out of action until early February after a landslip in Ockley.

The village of Bury surrounded by flood water from the River Arun

And with hail providing an additional hazard, driving conditions are expected to be difficult too with the RAC expecting Monday to be one of the busiest days of the year for breakdowns, with 11,000 call-outs expected.

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning - meaning "be aware" - for heavy rain, along with hail and thunder, in southern and western parts of Scotland, across Northern Ireland, north Wales, northwest and northeast England and the South.

With the ground saturated already following recent storms, the Environment Agency (EA) has issued three severe flood warnings.

This is the latest storm front to hit Britain

All are in Dorset - one is near Bournemouth, another at Preston Beach in Weymouth, and the third is in the Chiswell area of Chesil Beach.

There are also more than 300 flood warnings and alerts covering every region in England and Wales.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has 29 flood warnings and alerts in place.

Waves crash around Portreath Pier on the north coast of Cornwall

Mr Paterson was in Maidenhead earlier to inspect the town's flood defences and reiterated the Government's commitment to expand schemes to protect homes and businesses.

The scene where the man on his mobility scooter fell into the river

He said: "It is absolutely awful being flooded and I really do offer my real sympathies to those that have been flooded. It is really shocking for young families and terribly disruptive for businesses."

The weather conditions that brought misery over the festive period continued to prove treacherous at the weekend - with a 47-year-old man becoming the third person to die in the recent storms.

The unnamed victim died when his mobility scooter fell into the swollen River Thames at Osney Lock, Oxford, at 6.30pm on Saturday.

Environment Secretary Owen Paterson inspects flood defences in Maidenhead

A search is continuing for missing 18-year-old student Harry Martin, who was last seen leaving his home in Newton Ferrers, near Plymouth, on Thursday afternoon to take photos of the storms.

A 27-year-old man from Surrey was found on Porthleven Sands beach in Cornwall after he was swept out to sea on New Year's Eve night and a woman died after being rescued from the sea in Croyde Bay, north Devon.

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