Wildfires Spare 90% Of Canada's Fort McMurray

Authorities have revealed most of Fort McMurray remains intact despite a week of damage caused by wildfires devastating Canada's oil sands region.

Thousands of homes were burnt to the ground, but authorities say the damage is far less extensive than first feared.

Officials have toured the town for the first time following the evacuation of 88,000 people.

They discovered blocks of residential properties that have been reduced to blackened ruins.

But despite the damage, officials say that the battle to contain the wildfires may have reached a turning point.

Drizzle has started to fall in some areas and favourable winds have turned the fires' advance away from the city.

:: Rain Offers Hope For Blaze-Hit Firefighters

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said some 2,400 structures in Fort McMurray were burnt, but added that officials were encouraged by how much of the town escaped destruction.

It is estimated almost 90% of the buildings were saved. The wildfires have burnt around 204,000 hectares of land in Alberta.

Ms Notley said: "We were really encouraged ... to see the extent of residential communities that were saved.

"That of course doesn't mean there aren't going to be some really heartbreaking images for some people to see when they come back."

"First responders and repair crews have weeks of work ahead of them to make the city safe for the people of Fort McMurray and the surrounding communities.

"But it is going to be made safe. It is a home you will return to. And we are going to work together to get this job done."

Ms Notley added that it is still not safe for residents to enter the city without an escort.

Many parts of the town are still smouldering and large areas remain without power, water and gas.

schools except one that had been under construction were intact.

Insurance experts earlier lowered their estimates of the cost of damage from the blaze, which began on 1 May.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has vowed a multi-year commitment by the national government to rebuild Fort McMurray.

"We will support and invest in rebuilding Fort McMurray in a broad range of ways in the coming days, weeks, months and yes, years," he said.

Liverpool To Highlight Soft Drink Sugar Levels

Public health officials in Liverpool are tackling an "alarming level" of child tooth decay by exposing sugar levels in soft drinks.

A campaign called: "Is your child's sweet tooth harming their health?" will say how many sugar cubes are in drinks, including Lucozade, Coca-Cola, Tropicana, Capri-Sun and Ribena.

Around 2,000 children in Liverpool will have tooth extractions by age five and over a third will have had tooth decay, say health chiefs.

Public Health Liverpool said a 14-year old recently needed 15 adult teeth removing.

The campaign highlights that 500ml of Lucozade contains 15.5 cubes of sugar while an equivalent bottle of Coca-Cola has 13.5 cubes and a Frijj chocolate milkshake has 12.7 cubes - against a maximum daily allowance of five to seven cubes for children, depending upon their age.

Cut-out boards will be in placed in children's centres, doctors' surgeries, health centres and hospitals.

Director of Public Health Liverpool, Dr Sandra Davies, said: "We are the first local authority in the country to name how much sugar is in specific brands because we feel it is really important that all parents have the facts they need when making decisions about which drinks to give their children.

"Our advice to parents is to take their child to the dentist by the age of one and teach them to brush their teeth correctly from an early age."

Councillor Tim Beaumont, Mayoral lead for wellbeing, said the situation was "contributing to the obesity issue in Liverpool which means that one in four children starting primary school are overweight, rising to 38% for secondary school age pupils."

Sondos Albadri, Liverpool University Paediatric Dentistry Consultant, added: "There is a myth that baby teeth are not important but they are vital as they help guide adult teeth into position. Persistent infections can be detrimental to general health and early loss of baby teeth can lead to problems with adult teeth later.

"I had to remove 15 adult teeth on a 14-year-old recently, and while that is an extreme case it is by no means a rare occurrence."

A new sugar tax on the soft drinks industry, hailed by campaigners after being announced in Chancellor George Osborne's Budget two months ago, is to be introduced in the UK in two years.

Amazon To Improve Delivery Amid Race Concerns

Amazon says it will improve its same-day delivery service following claims that some black and minority neighbourhoods are excluded.

Bloomberg said its analysis of the areas eligible for same-day delivery in 27 US cities was biased in favoured of white residents.

For example in Boston, most of the city was eligible for the service - apart from the predominantly black neighbourhood of Roxbury in the centre.

But Amazon has denied that race played a role in determining delivery boundaries.

Now an internal Amazon document obtained by the Congressional Black Caucus, which represents black members of Congress, lays out Amazon's plans to allay concerns.

The letter says same-day delivery will not be launched in any new cities regions until 100% coverage is provided in existing cities.

It said: "Very shortly, we will be expanding Prime Same Day Service to every zip code of the 27 cities where Prime Same Day delivery is currently launched.

"We will further not launch the service in any new regions, until we are able to secure a carrier for every zip code.

"We are still figuring out the details and procuring last mile delivery for each of these zips, but we should have 100 percent coverage shortly."

Congressman Bobby Rush of Illinois has demanded a Federal Trade Commission investigation.

Free same-day delivery was launched last year, and is available to eligible Amazon Prime members.

Amazon has said that it determines delivery areas based on the concentration of Prime members in an area, distance to warehouses, and the ability to find delivery workers in an area.

Facebook Exec's Touching Post On Husband's Death

Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg - whose husband died in a treadmill accident last year - says she did not realise how hard it would be to succeed at work as a single mother.

In a post marking the one-year anniversary of David Goldberg's death, she said she had entered a "new and unfamiliar world".

"I did not understand how often I would look at my son’s or daughter’s crying face and not know how to stop the tears.

"I did not really get how hard it is to succeed at work when you are overwhelmed at home."

Mr Goldberg was exercising at a Mexican resort last May when he collapsed, and hit his head as he fell off the treadmill.

The couple - both key figures in the tech world - married in 2004

Resort workers found him lying in a pool of blood next to the exercise machine, with an injury to the back of his head.

He later died at a hospital in Nuevo Vallarta.

The businessman had worked for firms including Yahoo, and ran online survey provider SurveyMonkey.

He married Ms Sandberg - Facebook's Chief Operating Officer - in 2004.

Her post continued: "I never understood how often the world would remind my children and me of what we don't have - from father-daughter dances to Parent Night at school.

"Until we lost Dave, my brother said that he too did not realise how many 'father' events there were at their public school in Houston and how hard they must be for the many children without fathers."

Ms Sandberg, 46, is worth around $1bn, and added: "I realise how extremely fortunate I am not to face the financial burdens so many single mothers and widows face.

"Poverty is one of the hidden and devastating aftereffects of loss for women."

The Osbournes: Ozzy And Sharon Split Fears

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne may have split up after more than 33 years of marriage.

A spokesman for the couple told the Press Association: "At this time Ozzy is not at the marital home."

The Black Sabbath frontman, 67, has been fighting a public battle with drug and alcohol addiction for decades.

The couple have been rumoured to have temporarily split up before, however this time reports suggest the singer's addictions are not to blame.

In 2013, Mrs Osbourne, 63, a former judge on The X factor, denied claims the pair were getting divorced after her husband relapsed.

She insisted their marriage was not in trouble and that they were working hard to resolve their problems.

The couple married in 1982 and found themselves enjoying a fresh wave of fame 20 years later when their family became the subject of hit MTV documentary The Osbournes.

Hundreds On British Cruise Ship Have Norovirus

A British cruise ship has docked in the US with more than 250 passengers on board sick with norovirus.

The Balmoral was carrying 919 mainly British passengers on a five-week "Old England to New England" cruise from the UK to the US.

It docked in Portland, Maine, on Sunday and passengers suffering the stomach virus were quarantined in their cabins.

Eight members of the 520-strong crew were also reportedly sick with norovirus.

Its symptoms include nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

The symptoms appear one to two days after you become infected and usually last for up to three days.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the ship owners, Fred Olsen Cruises, had increased cleaning and disinfection procedures on board.

The Balmoral set sail from Southampton on 16 April and is due to return home on May 20.

It has now left Portland and is heading for Saint John, in the Canadian province of New Brunswick.

A statement from Fred Olsen Cruises said: "Fred.Olsen has been undertaking extensive sanitisation measures and cleaning of the ship, in accordance with its strict illness containment and prevention plan.

"Commonly, the illness abates within one or two days. Those guests who are affected are asked to remain in their rooms during this time – with complimentary room service and in-room entertainment.

"Fred.Olsen is co-operating fully with all the necessary maritime agencies and authorities,‎ as Balmoral continues on her cruise, and will continue to make e‎very effort possible to ensure the safety and well-being of all its guests and crew on board, which is of paramount importance."

In May last year the Balmoral was forced to cut short a cruise after a number of passengers fell ill with a stomach bug.

:: If you are on board the ship, or know someone who is, you can get in touch and share your views and experiences at news@sky.com

Man Gets Life For 1984 Melanie Road Murder

A 64-year-old father-of-four has been jailed for life after pleading guilty to the murder of 17-year-old Melanie Road in Bath 32 years ago.

Christopher Hampton will serve a minimum of 22 years after he admitted killing the teenager in the early hours of 9 June, 1984, as she made a 20-minute walk home alone following a night out with friends. 

Melanie was sexually assaulted and died from multiple stab wounds to her chest and back.

Her body was discovered at 5.30am by a milkman and his son, near a block of garages a short distance from her home.

Melanie's family said she was 'caring, kind, sensible and intelligent'

Hampton, from Staple Hill Road, Fishponds, Bristol, had been due to stand trial at Bristol Crown Court on Monday after denying the charge, but changed his plea at the last minute.

Members of Melanie's family, including her 81-year-old mother Jean, sat in the public gallery of court room one to hear Hampton admit his guilt.

Grey-haired Hampton, wearing glasses and a black suit and shirt, stood up and clearly replied "Guilty" as the murder charge was put to him.

The painter and decorator was caught only after his 41-year-old daughter was arrested over a minor incident in 2014 and her DNA profile was put on the national database.

Christopher Hampton was caught after his daughter's DNA was taken

A familial match was identified with DNA taken from Melanie's body and clothing in 1984 - prompting police to request a mouth swab from Hampton. 

His DNA was found to match the sample taken from staining on Melanie's trousers.

Hampton had refused to answer questions in police interviews, referring to a statement read by his lawyer that merely said: "I did not kill or rape Melanie Road."

After Hampton's guilty plea, Melanie's mother described what it had been like to see the man who had evaded justice for her daughter's murder for so long.

She said: "When we finally went to the court in Bath and I saw this man standing there I thought 'it's not a man, he's a monster,' how could he do that?

Melanie with her friend Suzy Heap

"And then I realised that his wife and his daughter were sitting behind me - both blonde hair, the same as Melanie.

"How could he do that to somebody and then live with people like that and them not knowing?

"It hurts beyond repair. I always said if I got hold of him I'd strangle him or stick a knife into him, but I wouldn't even use my energy up on him.

"I feel he should be shut up in a dungeon...and left to rot, because he's not worth looking after."

Weeping as she read a victim impact statement in court, Melanie's sister Karen said she felt like she had been "living in a horror film" and her sister's death had affected every aspect of her life.

She said: "For me and my family, nothing has ever felt safe again. This is a nightmare I can't ever wake up from."

She said Melanie was "caring, kind, sensible and intelligent" about life and going travelling, but "her future was brutally taken".

Melanie's brother Adrian said: "I have spent the last 32 years worrying about every man that ever walked down the street, asking myself, 'did you kill our little sister Melanie?'."