Bus Crash That Left 26 Dead Caused By 'Suicidal' Driver

A bus crash that left 26 dead was caused by a "suicidal" driver who deliberately set the vehicle on fire, investigators believe.

The driver and all his 25 passengers were killed when the tour bus caught fire and smashed into a barrier on a highway in Taiwan in July.

Taiwanese authorities said they believe Su Ming-cheng poured petrol over the driver's seat and the floor of the bus near the exit before setting it alight with a lighter.

They had previously said he was drunk.

Local prosecutors said in a statement: "(Su), who was drunk driving, committed suicide by pouring gasoline and setting a fire, killing other passengers."

An investigation of his phone records in the days before the crash found that his relatives had pleaded with him not to take his own life.

Authorities also said he was a regular drinker with a history of violence.

At the time of his death, he was facing two lawsuits for sexual assault and fighting with a tour guide, both carried out while he was drunk.

"Because of this, Su was depressed," prosecutors added.

Su was briefly suspended by his employer in May for a different altercation with a tour guide.

The job driving a Chinese group of tourists from China's northeastern city of Dalian was his first after returning to work.

The crash prompted Chinese authorities to insist that Taiwan improve safety for those visiting from the mainland.

Skydiver Dies After Crash-Landing On Car

A skydiver has died after her parachute failed to open during a jump and she landed on a parked car.

Witnesses said the 49-year-old was "spinning like a top" before she crashed at about 3.45pm on Saturday in Shotton Colliery, Co Durham.

The victim had made parachute jumps before but not in the UK, and was using her own equipment.

She hit a hatchback in a cul-de-sac close to the airfield, and residents performed CPR before paramedics arrived.

The woman, from Hebburn in South Tyneside, was flown by air ambulance to James Cook University Hospital but died from her serious injuries.

A post-mortem will be carried out and Durham Police have launched an investigation in conjunction with the Health and Safety Executive and the British Parachute Association.

The skydiving centre where the fatal jump began will remain closed today.

Ian Rosenvinge, the centre's manager, told the Newcastle Chronicle that the canopy on the woman's parachute had started to rotate, which resulted in her descent being much faster than usual.

Dozens Killed In Bangladesh Factory Blaze

At least 25 people have died in a huge blaze at a packaging factory in Bangladesh, which firefighters are battling to contain.

Around 100 people were working at the site when the fire started in the boiler room of the Tampaco Foils factory in the industrial town of Tongi, north of the country's capital Dhaka.

Seventy people were injured, many of them in a critical condition, according to Parvez Mia, a doctor at the Tongi government hospital.

Police said there may still be some workers trapped inside the four-storey building.

There may also have been chemicals stored on the ground floor, which officials say would explain how the fire spread so rapidly after it started at 6am local time.

Mohammad Rokon, 35, was one of those who escaped the fire with minor injuries.

He said: "I was working inside the office room when I heard an explosion and felt a tremor.

"Then suddenly the ceiling started to fall on me.

"I almost became unconscious but I forced myself to go out with the help of my phone's flashlight."

The fire comes as many people prepared to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.

The packaging factory supplies brands including British American Tobacco and Nestle Bangladesh, according to its website.

An investigation into the fire has been launched by Bangladesh's factory inspection department.

Fires and accidents are common in Bangladeshi factories, particularly in the clothing industry, which is the world's second-largest.

Workers have little chance of escape, with building regulations rarely enforced, chemicals badly stored and many fire exits blocked or padlocked to prevent theft.

Four years ago at least 111 workers were killed in a fire at a nine-storey garment factory in the Ashulia industrial area.

Six months later, 1,138 people died after the Rana Plaza clothing factory collapsed.

North Korea Won't Submit To 'Nuclear Blackmail'

North Korea has said it will not submit to US "nuclear blackmail", following the West's condemnation of its fifth and largest nuclear test.

Pyongyang is facing a fresh round of international sanctions after the detonation, which triggered an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.

At an emergency meeting on Friday night requested by the US and Japan, the UN Security Council condemned the "brazen defiance" of Pyongyang.

Even China, which is North Korea's main ally, slammed the nuclear tests.

Charlie Webster Thanks Hospital As She Is Discharged

TV presenter Charlie Webster has been discharged from hospital more than five weeks after nearly dying from malaria she contracted in Brazil.

The 33-year-old fell ill during the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Rio and was diagnosed with a rare strain of the mosquito-borne disease after being taken to hospital.

On Friday night the Team GB ambassador wrote on social media: "Hey, guess who?! After five weeks, I'm out of hospital, alive and finally recovering (even my kidneys have started to slowly improve)!

big thank you to the doctors in Rio and to the exceptional NHS and all the wonderful staff at St James's for literally saving my life.

"I am so grateful for all your messages of support and to my family and friends who have been by my side throughout. Massive love."

Webster, from Sheffield, had recently completed a 3,000-mile charity cycle ride from London to Rio when she became ill.

Her condition quickly deteriorated and she was put into a medically induced coma.

Doctors diagnosed the rare strain of malaria and  she underwent kidney dialysis.

The US and Russia have unveiled a plan aimed at ending the Syrian civil war and leading to political transition in the country.

The US and Russia have unveiled a plan aimed at ending the Syrian civil war and leading to political transition in the country.

The agreement calls for a nationwide ceasefire to begin on 12 September - the start of the Muslim Eid al Adha holiday.

If the cessation of hostilities holds for seven days, it will be followed by an unlikely military partnership between the US and Russia to target Islamic State and al Qaeda.

The Syrian government has told Moscow it is prepared to comply with the deal.

Facebook Backtracks Over Censored Vietnam War Girl Photo

Facebook has reversed its decision to censor a Vietnam War photograph of a naked girl escaping a napalm attack in 1972.

The decision follows criticism of the social network, which was accused of "changing reality" by removing the iconic image from its platform.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning picture, which shows a naked nine-year-old child crying, became the centre of a freedom of speech debate in Norway after Facebook deleted it from an author's profile page.

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg joined a number of users in posting the picture on their accounts in protest, but it was swiftly removed from the prime minister's page.

She said: "What (Facebook) do by removing images of this kind, whatever the good intentions, is to edit our common history.

"I want my children and other children to grow up in a society where history is taught as it was, where they can learn from historical events and mistakes.

"Today, pictures are such an important element in making an impression, that if you edit past events or people, you change history and you change reality."

After her post was taken down Ms Solberg retaliated by censoring the image with a large black strip.

She then republished it along with blacked out images of Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King and Ronald Reagan.

The girl in the image, Kim Phuc, is now 53 and lives in Canada.

A spokesperson for Ms Phuc said she was "saddened by those who would focus on the nudity in the historic picture rather than the powerful message it conveys".

Facebook initially said the picture of the girl had been removed as "it is difficult to create a distinction between allowing a photograph of a nude child in one instance and not others".

It added: "Our solutions won't always be perfect, but we will continue to try and improve our policies and the ways in which we apply them."

But announcing the decision to reinstate the picture, Facebook said the image's "status as an iconic image of historic importance ... outweighs the value of protecting the community by removal".

"Because of its status as an iconic image of historical importance, the value of permitting sharing outweighs the value of protecting the community by removal, so we have decided to reinstate the image on Facebook where we are aware it has been removed," a spokesperson said.

Facebook first removed the image when it was posted by author Tom Egeland, who wrote a status about photography that can influence the world.

After posting a news article about the removal, Mr Egeland's account was suspended for 24 hours.

In response the editor of a Norwegian newspaper penned an open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, warning him: "I think you are abusing your power."

Aftenposten editor Espen Egil Hansen added: "If you will not distinguish between child pornography and documentary photographs from a war, this will simply promote stupidity and fail to bring human beings closer to each other."