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Czech man with no heart dies after six months
A Czech father of one who survived for more than six months without a real heart has died at the age of 37.
Jakub Halik had his heart replaced with two mechanical pumps in pioneering surgery last April after an aggressive cancerous tumour was found.
Doctors say his death was caused by liver failure, and not the artificial heart itself.
Mr Halik, a former firefighter, was waiting on the transplant list for a suitable donor when he died.
Despite not having a pulse and always having to carry a battery pack to power his mechanical heart, Mr Halik was able to walk around and even use the hospital gym.
He was not able to accept a donor heart earlier because the cancer meant he would not be able to take the drugs he would need for a successful organ transplant.
The radical surgery had only ever been tried on one other patient, a man in Texas, who survived for just a week.
'Healthy man' Mr Halik's operation was carried out by Jan Pirk, director of cardiology at the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine in Prague.
His team used two plastic pumps, each designed to perform the separate tasks of the left and right sides of the heart.
Speaking at a press conference in August more than four months after the surgery, Mr Halik said he felt "very good physically", and said he had made the right choice to proceed with the operation.
"It was hard for me but I didn't have any other chance at all," he told reporters. "It was acknowledged that with the tumour I can survive for about one year and I decided to fight and do it this way."
He said the experience of living without a heart had not been difficult.
"I don't even realise it, because the functions of the body are the same, only my heart is not beating and I have no pulse anymore," Mr Halik said. "Otherwise I am functioning like a healthy man at present."
Doctors said it is unclear how Mr Halik's liver failed. They are awaiting the outcome of a post-mortem examination.
Czech man with no heart dies after six months
A Czech father of one who survived for more than six months without a real heart has died at the age of 37.
Jakub Halik had his heart replaced with two mechanical pumps in pioneering surgery last April after an aggressive cancerous tumour was found.
Doctors say his death was caused by liver failure, and not the artificial heart itself.
Mr Halik, a former firefighter, was waiting on the transplant list for a suitable donor when he died.
Despite not having a pulse and always having to carry a battery pack to power his mechanical heart, Mr Halik was able to walk around and even use the hospital gym.
He was not able to accept a donor heart earlier because the cancer meant he would not be able to take the drugs he would need for a successful organ transplant.
The radical surgery had only ever been tried on one other patient, a man in Texas, who survived for just a week.
'Healthy man' Mr Halik's operation was carried out by Jan Pirk, director of cardiology at the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine in Prague.
His team used two plastic pumps, each designed to perform the separate tasks of the left and right sides of the heart.
Speaking at a press conference in August more than four months after the surgery, Mr Halik said he felt "very good physically", and said he had made the right choice to proceed with the operation.
"It was hard for me but I didn't have any other chance at all," he told reporters. "It was acknowledged that with the tumour I can survive for about one year and I decided to fight and do it this way."
He said the experience of living without a heart had not been difficult.
"I don't even realise it, because the functions of the body are the same, only my heart is not beating and I have no pulse anymore," Mr Halik said. "Otherwise I am functioning like a healthy man at present."
Doctors said it is unclear how Mr Halik's liver failed. They are awaiting the outcome of a post-mortem examination.
503760-1163799-504230
Pirates have kidnapped seven crew members during an attack on their ship off the coast of Nigeria.
Six Russians and one Estonian have been abducted from the Liberty 249, operator Bourbon - a French shipping company - confirmed.
Another nine crew members were safe and on their way to the Nigerian port of Onne, a spokeswoman said.
There has been a spate of pirate attacks on cargo ships off the West African coast in recent months.
Bourbon did not disclose the vessel's exact location at the time of the attack on Monday but said an emergency unit had been set up to help the missing sailors.
"The emergency unit has been set up to aim at their rapid liberation under the safest security conditions," the company said in a statement.
The firm has been targeted by pirates in Nigeria before.
In 2010, three French crewmen were kidnapped off a Bourbon-operated ship in an oilfield in the Niger delta, the heart of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry.
The hostages were later released.
The trade in stolen oil has fuelled violence and corruption in the Niger delta.
Although attacks in the region have declined since a 2009 amnesty for militants, piracy is on the rise in parts of West Africa.
In the first six months of this year, the International Maritime Bureau has recorded 17 pirate attacks in Nigerian waters this year - a significant increase on 2011.
Last week, a Greek tanker carrying 32,000 tonnes of petrol went missing with a crew of 24 on its way to the port of Abidjan in the Ivory Coast.
In August, pirates attacked a Greek tanker off the coast of Togo, stealing 3,000 tonnes of fuel.
Pirates have kidnapped seven crew members during an attack on their ship off the coast of Nigeria.
Six Russians and one Estonian have been abducted from the Liberty 249, operator Bourbon - a French shipping company - confirmed.
Another nine crew members were safe and on their way to the Nigerian port of Onne, a spokeswoman said.
There has been a spate of pirate attacks on cargo ships off the West African coast in recent months.
Bourbon did not disclose the vessel's exact location at the time of the attack on Monday but said an emergency unit had been set up to help the missing sailors.
"The emergency unit has been set up to aim at their rapid liberation under the safest security conditions," the company said in a statement.
The firm has been targeted by pirates in Nigeria before.
In 2010, three French crewmen were kidnapped off a Bourbon-operated ship in an oilfield in the Niger delta, the heart of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry.
The hostages were later released.
The trade in stolen oil has fuelled violence and corruption in the Niger delta.
Although attacks in the region have declined since a 2009 amnesty for militants, piracy is on the rise in parts of West Africa.
In the first six months of this year, the International Maritime Bureau has recorded 17 pirate attacks in Nigerian waters this year - a significant increase on 2011.
Last week, a Greek tanker carrying 32,000 tonnes of petrol went missing with a crew of 24 on its way to the port of Abidjan in the Ivory Coast.
In August, pirates attacked a Greek tanker off the coast of Togo, stealing 3,000 tonnes of fuel.
503760-1163799-504230
Downing Street denies Cameron and Osborne cat feud
Downing Street has denied rumours of a feud between cats belonging to the chancellor and prime minister after they were pictured fighting.
George Osborne's Freya was photographed slugging David Cameron's Larry with a nasty-looking left claw, the evidence being posted on Twitter.
But the PM's spokeswoman insisted the two tabbies were able to "co-exist".
She added that she would not "get into commenting on the adventures of our feline friends".
Residents of Numbers 10 and 11 Downing Street have historically disagreed strongly over policy.
Labour's Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were reportedly often left hissing over public sector reform impasses.
But Mr Osborne and Mr Cameron are thought to be among the more friendly prime minister-chancellor teams of recent decades.
Five-year-old Larry, in fact, has sometimes been castigated for a lack of aggression, and his suitability for "mousing" duties was questioned as a result of repeatedly falling asleep on the job.
The Political Pictures snap seems to confirm Freya's dominance. In it she bats Larry away, while he raises his right paw in what could be placatory fashion.
Larry came to Downing Street from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in February last year after a large rat was seen scuttling past the door of No 10 during live television broadcasts.
Freya went missing from the Osborne's old home in Notting Hill, west London, for two years, her owners being identified when a vet found the details on a microchip. They were reunited last year.
Perhaps hardened by her time on the road, Freya has been drafted in for pest control duties, in an arrangement described by the Daily Mail as a "job-share to avoid hurting Larry's feelings".
503760-1163799-504230
Links: 1st: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-19977958
2nd: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-19977958
3rd: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-19967916
Links: 1st: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-19977958
2nd: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-19977958
3rd: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-19967916
Deadly fire at Germany workshop
Deadly fire at Germany workshop 'caused by gas leak' Firefighters said that smoke from the blaze had spread very quickly.
A fire which killed 14 people on Monday at a workshop for disabled people in south-western Germany was the fault of a gas leak, investigators say.
An inquiry into possible charges of manslaughter by negligence has been opened into the blaze, in the Black Forest town of Titisee-Neustadt.
Police say all 14 people who died have now been identified.
The centre, where disabled people were working on ornaments for Christmas markets, is run by the Caritas charity.
The fire, it is now known, began in one room, and did not affect the entire building.
A day after the fire, the building in which it took place shows little sign of damage, the BBC's Imogen Foulkes reports from Titisee-Neustadt.
However, the blaze caused thick smoke to spread very quickly, overcoming those who died, our correspondent adds.
'Terrible event' About 50 people were believed to be in the building when the fire started.
The blaze occurred at about 14:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Monday, and flames were first spotted on the roof of the modern three-storey building.
More than 100 firefighters backed by helicopters tackled the blaze - some, wearing breathing apparatus, braved the thick smoke to rescue a number of people trapped inside.
Eight people were hurt; none are thought to be suffering from life-threatening injuries.
The centre is run by Caritas, a relief organisation affiliated with the Catholic Church, and offers a range of workshops to people with both mental and physical disabilities.
"We know the colleagues at the scene will do everything to find out the cause for this terrible event," Caritas president Peter Neher said in a statement posted on the organisation's German website.
Police have spoken of the bewilderment of many of the survivors over what happened.
"I don't know anything in the past that was so horrible as this, in the whole region, not only in our town," Titisee-Neustadt's mayor Armin Hinterseh told the BBC.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman said on Twitter that she was "shocked" by the loss of so many lives.
Deadly fire at Germany workshop 'caused by gas leak' Firefighters said that smoke from the blaze had spread very quickly.
A fire which killed 14 people on Monday at a workshop for disabled people in south-western Germany was the fault of a gas leak, investigators say.
An inquiry into possible charges of manslaughter by negligence has been opened into the blaze, in the Black Forest town of Titisee-Neustadt.
Police say all 14 people who died have now been identified.
The centre, where disabled people were working on ornaments for Christmas markets, is run by the Caritas charity.
The fire, it is now known, began in one room, and did not affect the entire building.
A day after the fire, the building in which it took place shows little sign of damage, the BBC's Imogen Foulkes reports from Titisee-Neustadt.
However, the blaze caused thick smoke to spread very quickly, overcoming those who died, our correspondent adds.
'Terrible event' About 50 people were believed to be in the building when the fire started.
The blaze occurred at about 14:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Monday, and flames were first spotted on the roof of the modern three-storey building.
More than 100 firefighters backed by helicopters tackled the blaze - some, wearing breathing apparatus, braved the thick smoke to rescue a number of people trapped inside.
Eight people were hurt; none are thought to be suffering from life-threatening injuries.
The centre is run by Caritas, a relief organisation affiliated with the Catholic Church, and offers a range of workshops to people with both mental and physical disabilities.
"We know the colleagues at the scene will do everything to find out the cause for this terrible event," Caritas president Peter Neher said in a statement posted on the organisation's German website.
Police have spoken of the bewilderment of many of the survivors over what happened.
"I don't know anything in the past that was so horrible as this, in the whole region, not only in our town," Titisee-Neustadt's mayor Armin Hinterseh told the BBC.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman said on Twitter that she was "shocked" by the loss of so many lives.
Train services are being resumed in the Channel Tunnel after a freight train fire on the French side caused traffic to be suspended, the operator says.
All train services in the north tunnel were suspended as French firefighters dealt with the incident, according to Eurotunnel spokesman John Keefe.
The freight train was immediately diverted to an emergency siding.
Nobody was hurt and everybody on the train was safely evacuated, the spokesman added.
Eurostar passenger train services and freight traffic between London and Paris and Brussels were affected by the suspension.
The freight train affected was a HGV shuttle heading from Folkestone in England to Coquelles in France, Mr Keefe said.
'Car ablaze'It appears that a car transporter caught fire on the rear part of a freight train, a source at Eurotunnel said, on condition of anonymity.
Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteThe blazing saloon on the transporter passed within 20 metres of our Eurostar. Not exactly reassuring!”
Paul CunninghamRTE Europe correspondent
Paul Cunningham, Europe correspondent for the Irish public broadcaster RTE, witnessed the fire from a London-bound Eurostar passenger train waiting to enter the tunnel at the French end.
In dramatic updates on Twitter, he described how the two trains passed each other.
"Train emerges from Channel Tunnel with car ablaze while on transporter," he wrote.
"The blazing saloon on the transporter passed within 20 metres of our Eurostar. Not exactly reassuring!
"The car closest to the transporter cab was ablaze. 2 other cars behind it - one of which also seemed to be catching fire."
He tweeted later to say his fellow passengers had remained "calm and good-humoured" despite the delay to their journey.
All train services in the north tunnel were suspended as French firefighters dealt with the incident, according to Eurotunnel spokesman John Keefe.
The freight train was immediately diverted to an emergency siding.
Nobody was hurt and everybody on the train was safely evacuated, the spokesman added.
Eurostar passenger train services and freight traffic between London and Paris and Brussels were affected by the suspension.
The freight train affected was a HGV shuttle heading from Folkestone in England to Coquelles in France, Mr Keefe said.
'Car ablaze'It appears that a car transporter caught fire on the rear part of a freight train, a source at Eurotunnel said, on condition of anonymity.
Continue reading the main story“Start QuoteThe blazing saloon on the transporter passed within 20 metres of our Eurostar. Not exactly reassuring!”
Paul CunninghamRTE Europe correspondent
Paul Cunningham, Europe correspondent for the Irish public broadcaster RTE, witnessed the fire from a London-bound Eurostar passenger train waiting to enter the tunnel at the French end.
In dramatic updates on Twitter, he described how the two trains passed each other.
"Train emerges from Channel Tunnel with car ablaze while on transporter," he wrote.
"The blazing saloon on the transporter passed within 20 metres of our Eurostar. Not exactly reassuring!
"The car closest to the transporter cab was ablaze. 2 other cars behind it - one of which also seemed to be catching fire."
He tweeted later to say his fellow passengers had remained "calm and good-humoured" despite the delay to their journey.
Concorde crash: Continental Airlines killings verdict quashed
A French appeals court has cleared US airline Continental of criminal blame for the July 2000 crash of a Concorde jet shortly after take-off from Paris.
The ruling comes two years after another French court fined the airline and held it criminally responsible for the crash in which 113 people died.
But Continental may still be liable for damages after the court said the firm still bore civil responsibility.
A piece of metal from a Continental jet was blamed for causing the crash.
But Continental labelled the initial court decision and its explanation absurd, and launched an appeal.
The Air France Concorde burst into flames and crashed into nearby buildings after it took off from Charles de Gaulle airport, killing all 109 people on board and four hotel workers.
Most of the passengers were German tourists heading to New York to join a cruise to the Caribbean.
In 2010, a French court decided that the crash had been caused by a titanium strip that had fallen from a Continental airliner.
The US operator was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, fined 200,000 euros (£160,000) and ordered to pay 1m euros in damages to Air France.
In addition, a Continental mechanic, John Taylor, was given a 15-month suspended prison sentence over the crash.
Thursday's ruling overturned the criminal convictions of Mr Taylor and Continental and quashed the 200,000-euro fine.
But the court said Continental still bore civil responsibility and upheld the 1m-euro payment.
Separately, Air France is suing Continental for 15m euros at a commercial tribunal.
The US airline had consistently argued that the Concorde caught fire before it hit the metal strip, and that they were being used as a scapegoat to protect France's airline industry.
Continental merged with United Airlines earlier this year.
The airline's parent firm, United Continental Holdings, said in a statement it supported the court's decision that Continental was not to blame.
"We have long maintained that neither Continental nor its employees were responsible for this tragic event and are satisfied that this verdict was overturned," the statement said.
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2nd story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20545637
3rd story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20545201
2nd story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20545637
3rd story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20545201
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