Man Threw Alligator Into Wendy's Drive-Through

A Florida man has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after he threw a live alligator through the drive-through window of a Wendy's restaurant.

Joshua James, 23, pulled up to place an order at the restaurant in Loxahatchee and after the server handed him a drink and turned around, he threw the three-and-half foot reptile through the serving window, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC) officials said.

His mother told WPTV that her son was not violent and claimed the incident was part of a joke aimed at a friend who worked in the restaurant.

She told the TV station: "He's a prankster. He does stuff like this because he thinks it's funny."

James was arrested this week by US Marshals over the incident, which took place in October last year.

He is also accused of unlawful possession and transportation of an alligator.

The FFWCC told WPTV that James admitted capturing the reptile on Southern Boulevard and bringing it to the fast food restaurant.

The alligator was later released into a nearby canal.

India blocks Facebook's Free Basics app

Mark Zuckerberg says he will continue to campaign for the Free Basics project [Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters]

Indian regulators have effectively blocked Free Basics, a controversial Facebook online service that sought to bring free access to a limited version of the social network and other sites to the country's poorest people.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Monday outlawed charging different prices for downloading different kinds of internet content.

The ruling, which regulators said was guided by the principles of net neutrality, is a major setback for Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook chief executive, who had lobbied hard for the programme as part of a campaign to expand Internet access to billions of people around the world.

Yet, it is a victory for critics who argued that Facebook's Free Basics programme gave an unfair advantage to some internet services over others.

The ruling essentially bans programmes such as Free Basics that are based on what is known as "zero rating" in industry jargon, because they do not charge for downloading certain kinds of data. In a policy memo, Indian regulators warned that such programmes raise the risk that users' "knowledge and outlook ... would be shaped only by the information made available by those select offerings".

Critics of Free Basics have argued that the free service effectively steers users towards Facebook and its partners, while making it harder for other internet services, including homegrown startups, to build their own audiences.

They also say that the project will only make Facebook's founder Zuckerberg and his partners richer, while activists have described the service as "a poor internet for poor people".

Free Basics is a key pillar of Facebook's ambitious Internet.org programme, which looks to deliver internet access to billions of people globally.

The app, offered through Facebook's mobile operator partner Reliance Communications since last year, provides free access to a stripped-down version of Facebook and certain other websites - including some that provide information such as weather forecasts, health education and job listings.

While Zuckerburg has acknowledged that his business would benefit from gaining more users around the world, he has also argued that internet access is a powerful tool for economic development in low-income regions.

On Monday, Zuckerberg posted on Facebook that he would continue to campaign for Free Basics.

"While we're disappointed with today's decision, I want to personally communicate that we are committed to keep working to break down barriers to connectivity in India and around the world," Zuckerberg said.

"We know that connecting them can help lift people out of poverty, create millions of jobs and spread education opportunities. We care about these people, and that's why we're so committed to connecting them."

Only 252 million of India's 1.2 billion people have access to the internet. Facebook has about 130 million users in India and sees a huge opportunity to expand by reaching those without internet access.

At Least Nine Dead In German Train Collision

The passenger trains collided near Bad Aibling, around 40 miles southeast of Munich, at 6.48am local time.

The railway track from above

Several carriages overturned and the trains were left partially derailed and wedged into each other.

German transport minister Alexander Dobrindt said the trains had been travelling around a curve and could have been moving at a speed of around 100kmph (62mph) each.

He added: "We expect that both drivers did not have sight contact previously and, therefore, collided without being able to brake or slow down."

After the crash, hundreds of rescuers from Germany and neighbouring Austria rushed to the site, working in hilly terrain to pull around 500 people from the wreckage.

Nine people have been confirmed dead and two people are still missing.

Around 100 people were injured - including 15 very seriously hurt and 40 seriously hurt. 

Police say all of those injured have been taken to hospital.

Bernd Rosenbusch, the head of the Bayerische Oberlandbahn, which runs the trains, described the crash as "a huge shock", adding: "We are doing everything to help the passengers, relatives and employees."

Mr Dobrindt said it was too early to discuss the cause of the crash but added that two of the trains' three blackboxes had been recovered.

Experts have said the key may lie in the fact that the trains were on a single railway track.

Nigel Harris, managing editor of Rail Magazine, told Sky News: "Experience very sadly tells us that, in these circumstances, more often than not, one of the drivers might have passed a red signal.

"Once that signal has been missed...there is a horrible danger of something coming the other way.

"But, looking at the damage, it's highly likely that both drivers are among the dead, so your key witnesses are also missing."

Mr Dobrindt said the stretch of track was fitted with a safety system designed to automatically stop trains to prevent such a crash and it is not known why this did not work.

Germany's deadliest post-war train crash was in 1998, when a high-speed ICE train between Munich and Hamburg derailed at the northern town of Eschede, killing 101 people and injuring 88.

Germany train crash: Deaths as two trains collide

The trains collided head-on on a single stretch of line linking Bavaria with Austria [Michael Dalder/Reuters]

Police say at least nine people have been killed and more than 100 have been injured in an early-morning train crash in southern Germany.

Emergency services tried to reach people trapped in the wreckage after two trains collided near the town of Bad Aibling, in Bavaria, around 7am local time on Tuesday.

Al Jazeera's Dominic Kane, who is reporting from Berlin, said the trains had collided head-on on a single stretch of line between Rosenheim and Holzkirchen that links Bavaria with Austria.

"Obviously German emergency services are scrambling resources right at this moment," Al Jazeera's correspondent said.

Police said of the injured located so far, at least 15 people were critically injured and 50 had severe injuries.

The DPA news agency reported that one train was derailed after the collision and several carriages overturned.

"This is the biggest accident we have had in years in this region and we have many emergency doctors, ambulances and helicopters on the scene," police spokesman Stefan Sonntag told The Associated Press.

Turkey Holidays Down 40% On Security Worries

TUI is the world's largest tour operator

The London-listed firm made the announcement in its first-quarter results but said it was maintaining its guidance for a 10% rise in underlying full-year profits despite the slump.

TUI, behind the Thomson and First Choice brands, said it had expanded capacity in destinations such as Spain and Greece in response while it has also invested in Cape Verde and Bulgaria.

Terror attacks in Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia and Paris in recent months have hit demand for the travel industry, while the Zika outbreak in the Americas is also hurting bookings.

The start to any year is crucial for holiday firms because the bulk of summer bookings tend to be made during the first three months.

TUI said demand for breaks in Turkey fell - particularly in Germany - after 10 Germans were killed in a suicide bombing in Istanbullast month.

A total of 14% of its customers visited the country last summer.

Ten Germans died in the Istanbul bombing

Turkey borders Syria, which is currently in turmoil amid a civil war that has seen so-called Islamic State take a foothold.

The resulting refugee and migrant crisis has placed huge pressure on southern European nations while Russia has told its citizens to avoid Turkey after it shot down one of its warplanes last year.

Turkey has responded to the growing tourist exodus by offering jet fuel subsidies to operators.

TUI reported a loss before tax of €220.2m (£171.2m) between October and December - traditionally a quiet period - despite a 5% rise in revenue.

The company stopped flights to Sharm el-Sheikh in November following the bombing of a Russian airliner, while 33 of its customers were killed in the Tunisian beach massacre last June.

While security fears are likely to pull holiday costs down in areas considered potentially hostile, stronger demand elsewhere could force those prices higher.

No-frills airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet have reacted to the concerns by cutting prices in recent months - aided by weaker fuel costs.

TUI chief executive, Friedrich Joussen, said: "Our scale business model and own hotel content means that we have been able to act quickly to remix capacity to alternative, profitable destinations.

"In addition, our own hotels in destinations outside Turkey (such as Spain and the Canaries) are benefiting from the shift in demand.

"Based on current trading, and the resilience of our integrated business model, we continue to expect to deliver underlying (profit) growth of at east 10% in 2015/16."

Its share price fell 2.3% when the FTSE 100 began trading on Tuesday.

Another Whale In Trouble Off Norfolk Coast

Although the whale is just 300 to 400 yards from the shoreline, rescuers have said the whale is still alive.

Mike Puplett, of the UK Coastguard, is urging locals to keep a safe distance from the scene.

He told Sky News: "They are well out of the area they should be and it is difficult to assume why they are coming ashore.

Reports suggest that the whale is just 300 to 400 yards from the shoreline

"Sperm whales, if that is indeed what it is, tends to inhabit deeper waters than the North Sea."

The latest report follows the death of a sperm whale in Hunstanton on Thursday, despite efforts to save it.

Sealife experts had said the 46ft bull's chances of survival had not been good, and organ failure was a major risk as its immense weight - normally supported by the sea - could have damaged its insides.

It was the 30th sperm whale to die in the North Sea this year - with others also found washed up in France, Germany and The Netherlands.

Experts believe the male whales normally live off the west coast of Norway, but they may have taken a wrong turn as they headed south to find female companions.

Another theory is that they could have been lured by food.

Zayn Malik’s Pillowtalk Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100

As a former member of One Direction, Zayn Malik is no stranger to topping the charts, but the U.K. singer hit the No. 1 spot on his own this week with debut single “Pillowtalk.” The sexy slow jam debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and On Demand Songs charts, the U.S. Digital Songs Chart, and the U.K. singles sales chart. “Pillowtalk” has also sat atop Spotify’s global chart since its Jan. 29 release, becoming the streaming service’s fastest track by a debut artist to hold the spot.

“Thank you to all my fans and supporters,” Malik said in a statement, “we have achieved this together and I am grateful.”

The week after the track’s initial release, the 23-year-old shared an acoustic version of the song and teased his next single, “Late Nights.” The song would presumably join “Pillowtalk” on Malik’s solo record Mind of Mine, which drops this March on the anniversary of his departure from One Direction.