British Honeymooner Killed: Shark attack

The couple had only been married for two weeks

A hunt has been launched for a rogue shark after a British man was killed in an attack while on honeymoon in the Seychelles.The Foreign Office confirmed the death of Ian Martin Redmond, from Lancashire, on the islands.The 30-year-old was believed to have been attacked by a 6ft shark as he swam off Anse Lazio beach, on the island of Paslin.A Foreign Office spokesman confirmed the death of Mr Redmond and said: "We are providing consular assistance to the next of kin."A local restaurateur told Sky News: "I heard an ambulance was coming to the beach and I went around and saw somebody on the floor and I asked a policeman and he said it was a shark attack."

The location is regularly voted as one of the best beaches in the world but it was the second fatal shark attack, after a 36-year-old French tourist was killed there on August 2.A Seychelles government minister chaired an emergency meeting last night to discuss the freak attacks and later released a statement announcing a swimming ban."With immediate effect, the Seychelles Maritime Safety Administration has issued a temporary ban on swimming or entering the water in certain bays of the island of Praslin and islands off the coast of Praslin following two fatal shark attacks this month in the northwest area of the island."They are the first fatal attacks around the small Indian Ocean nation for almost 50 years, prompting speculation the deaths were the result of a single rogue shark.Australian research scientist Dr Jonathan Werry told Sky News that environmental conditions can affect shark behaviour."They have specific drivers, generally physical or biological drivers, that coincide with their movement into a coastal area."An in many cases when you look at an attack there are other features that have correlated and led to that attack."An employee at the four-star La Reserve hotel confirmed the latest victim was staying there with his wife.It is believed Mr Redmond was snorkelling some 20 yards from the shore while his wife stayed on the beach.Authorities launched a hunt for the shark and cautioned beachgoers in other areas about swimming dangers.

 

"We haven't had a reliable sighting. We don't know where that number came from. People have been guessing. We have no idea whatsoever about what type of variety of shark it would be," Jumeau said.Jumeau told ABC News that a special committee had been assembled last night, composed of standing authorities from the National Parks, the Seychelles Fishing Authority, area police, the Coast Guard, marine biologists, hotel security and residents of the area to coordinate their actions in guarding the area and preventing a third attack."A domestic advisory has been announced to make sure people don't go too far out. They are monitoring the waters to insure that they can get the shark. There's probably just one shark, but we are certainly taking precautions. There is no panic on the island, no wild shark hunt, although some of the popular beaches around that area have been closed and are being patrolled," said Jumeau.Current precautions include using fishing nets to cordon off areas of the bay. Fishing boats are also circulating in the area with bait in hopes of luring the shark.Seychelles officials tried to downplay the dangers of sharks in the area."In Seychelles, we don't even think about sharks, it's that rare, Seychelles is not known for that . . . That beach is one of my favorite beaches, and until now I would have gone into the water without hesitation .

Australia bomb hoax 'was extortion attempt

The offender had had previous contact with Ms Pulver, police say

Australian police say an elaborate hoax in which a fake bomb was attached to a teenager was an attempt at extortion.

Madeleine Pulver, 18, was at home in Sydney when an intruder apparently entered and placed a suspected explosive device round her neck.Police took 10 hours to remove the device, evacuating nearby streets in the wealthy suburb of Mosman.They said the intruder left behind a note attached to the device that confirmed the motive was extortion.The offender had had previous contact with Ms Pulver and was wearing some sort of disguise, they said.'Hollywood script'
New South Wales Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Murdoch told journalists the device turned out to be "a very, very elaborate hoax"."But it was made and certainly gave the appearance of a legitimate improvised explosive device. We had to treat it seriously until we could prove otherwise and that's exactly what we did and that's why it took so long."The device was attached "by a chain or something similar," he told ABC radio.The demands made on the note have not been revealed but New South Wales police Detective Superintendent Luke Moore said: "We are treating this as an attempted extortion - a very serious attempted extortion."BBC correspondent Nick Bryant says police were baffled by the device, saying it was very sophisticated and very confusing.Bomb disposal experts used X-ray equipment to gain a better sense of precisely what they were dealing with, and even sought assistance from the British military.During the operation, several streets were cordoned off in Mosman, one of Sydney's wealthiest suburbs on the city's lower north shore. Ambulances and fire crews rushed to the area.Four people remained in the room with the schoolgirl during the operation, two bomb disposal experts and two police negotiators trying to keep her calm.Our correspondent says that Ms Pulver, who is part of a very rich family living in a very rich part of Sydney, was apparently in remarkable spirits throughout her ordeal.Ms Pulver was taken to hospital for checks before being released on Thursday and is now recovering with her parents.Agence France-Presse news agency said the teenager's father, William Pulver, was a successful businessman who was chief executive of a linguistic solutions software company.Mr Pulver said Madeleine was "in pretty good spirits".He told the Sydney Morning Herald: "She is a little tired and a little sore from holding this damn device in place for about 10 hours but she is now, as we are, eager to get on with her life."Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard told Fairfax radio she was shocked by the case."When I looked at it this morning, the first thing I said was, 'It's like a Hollywood script - the kind of thing you would see at the cinema or on TV,"' she said."You would never expect it to happen in real life in Australia."

Police outside the home of the 18-year old girl who called saying she had a bomb strapped to her earlier today, in Australia