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Police have launched a murder hunt after a man was stabbed to death in front of his girlfriend and her two young children in Scotland.

Sean Hay was attacked by three men in Wardieburn Street West in the Granton area of Edinburgh.

Officers said one of the attackers produced a weapon and stabbed the 23-year-old, who was from Edinburgh.

He was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where he later died from his injuries.

The three men were last seen running away from the scene of the crime, which happened at around 10.30pm on Tuesday night.

The crime scene was sealed off and officers have been carrying out door-to-door inquiries.

Detective Inspector Richard Thomas, who is leading the investigation, described it as a "shocking" attack, and urged anyone with information to contact them.

He said: "The fact there were two young children present doesn't appear to have discouraged the men from initiating the attack in any way.

"We believe there were a number of people who were in the area at around the time of the disturbance.

"We are appealing for anyone who was in the area and saw what happened to contact police immediately."


sky news

OMG, that's awful...

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China says it will allow demonstrations in three designated city parks during the Olympic Games in Beijing.

But anyone wanting to protest will have to apply for permission from the city's government and police.

The announcement suggests China will have a more relaxed attitude towards protesters during the Olympics than it had in the past.

Chinese citizens are already allowed to stage rallies, although in reality there are few anti-government protests.

Liu Shaowu, director of the Beijing organising committee's security department, said protests would be allowed in Shijie, Zizhuyuan and Ritan parks.

"They are all close to the city proper and the Olympic venues," he told a press conference on the city's security preparations.

But Mr Wu was hazy about how potential protesters would apply for permission, and on whether spontaneous demonstrations would be allowed.

"As for the concrete application, and who handles those applications, I have no clear information at this time," he said.

'Encouraged'

The issue of protests is a sensitive one for China, which this year has had to deal with unrest in Tibetan areas in western China.

Chinese law – as Mr Wu made clear – lets ordinary people stage demonstrations, but few protests take place that are not sanctioned by the government.

To underline just how sensitive the issue is, the Chinese authorities seemed reluctant to publicise exactly where protests would be allowed.

A transcript of Wednesday's press conference on the Beijing organising committee's website expunged the parks' names.

Earlier, Mr Wu made it clear no activities involving ethnic, political or religious activities would be allowed inside Olympic venues.

Previously, Olympic cities have set aside areas for protests, and the International Olympic Committee wanted China to follow suit.

"Past organisers have found ways to manage any protests, and the Chinese authorities were encouraged to do the same," said an IOC spokeswoman.

At the press conference, Mr Wu also dismissed suggestions that the Olympics would be a "kill-joy games" because of excessive security restrictions.

His assessment appears to be shared by the vast majority of Chinese people.

An investigation by the US-based Pew Research Centre found that 96% of Chinese people think the Olympics will be a success.

Nearly as many believe the Olympic Games will improve China's image across the globe.

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BBC News

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Hurricane Dolly has hit the Mexico-Texas coast, lashing the region with winds of up to 100mph (161km/h).

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Dolly dumped about 12in (30cm) of rain over Texas before weakening from a category two to a category one storm, says the US national weather service.

Towns and cities in the Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas were put on alert in case the rain causes flooding.

Power cuts have left more than 12,000 customers without electricity, according to a Texas power company.

Earlier, residents were urged to move away from levees in case they were breached.

"Preparation to protect life and property should be rushed to completion," the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami warned.

Storm surge

The leading edge of the storm reached Texas's South Padre Island before dawn, damaging the roof of an apartment building.

The causeway linking the island to the mainland had been closed earlier.

Storm's path

Forecasters have predicted Dolly would bring a coastal storm surge of up to 6ft (1.8m) above normal.

Based on Dolly's projected path, the US Census Bureau said that about 1.5 million Texans could feel the storm's effects.

Cari Lambrecht, a spokesman for Hidalgo County, Texas, said that shelters able to hold about 400 people have been opened.

She said they were encouraging people in low-lying areas to use the shelters.

"It's so much easier for them to go now instead of us having to pull them out later," she said.

Texas Governor Rick Perry has called up 1,200 National Guard members to help in any emergency caused by the hurricane.

In Mexico, Governor Eugenio Hernandez of the state of Tamaulipas, said officials planned to evacuate 23,000 people to government shelters in Matamoros, Soto La Marina and San Fernando.

In the Gulf of Mexico, Shell Oil evacuated workers from oil rigs, but said it did not expect production to be affected.

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BBC News

A British woman charged with causing the death of her newborn baby son in a hotel room is appearing in court in Crete.

Leah Andrew, 20, is charged with infanticide.

The Crete prosecutor's office said the magistrate would be deciding later whether she would be held in prison or released on bail before her eventual trial.

Police found the dead baby, weighing 5lb 8oz, in a room in the Natali hotel, Malia, in the early hours of Monday morning.

A coroner said the baby, which was discovered wrapped in sheets, showed signs of suffocation.

Andrew was taken by police from Iraklion University Hospital to give evidence at today's hearing.

She was being kept under police guard at the hospital, where she was taken after suffering extensive bleeding.

Police denied she was put on suicide watch and said she was being guarded by two officers simply because she was under arrest.

On Sunday, Andrew was on a night out with her 24-year-old sister, Lydia, and a friend.

It is understood she had not told them she was pregnant, despite being just two weeks short of her due date.

She returned to the hotel at around 3.30am, where she gave birth alone.

Police said that when the sister and friend arrived at the room they saw a sheet with something inside.

They did not open it but called the police.

It is believed Andrew has two sons, aged three and 15 months, who are being looked after by her parents.

A Foreign Office spokesman confirmed that the British Consulate on Crete is providing Andrew and her family with assistance.


sky news

Thanks for the news.

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A 50-year-old woman has witnessed her husband and three children falling to their deaths while climbing near Europe's highest peak.

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The Dutch woman watched as the four victims, who were roped together, fell 1,600ft (500m) down an icy slope in the French-Italian Alpine range.

The woman was treated in hospital for the effects of shock.

The family had been climbing Mont Dolent - part of the Mont Blanc massif - which is 12,500ft high.

"We think one of them slipped and pulled the others down," Oscar Tajola, head of the mountain rescue team in the Italian town of Courmayeur, told the Associated Press news agency.

The woman saw the accident as she descended the mountain alone by another route, officials said.

She later identified the bodies of her husband, who was 56, their 20-year-old son, and two daughters, aged 17 and 23, which were recovered by Italian mountain rescue workers.

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BBC News

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A female suicide bomber has killed eight people and wounded more than 20 in Iraq, police have said.

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The woman detonated her explosives near a military patrol or checkpoint in the town of Baquba, a frequent flashpoint, security officials said.

Those killed were reported to be local Sunni troops recruited to work with US and Iraqi forces.

Baquba, some 65km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, remains a major centre for insurgents and suicide bombers.

The city, the capital of Diyala province, remains a stronghold for al-Qaeda, with regular attacks against US and Iraqi forces and against Sunni tribes who have agreed to work alongside the Americans and the national army.

Earlier this month, another female suicide bomber struck in a busy market near Baquba, killing nine people and wounding many more.

Women are less likely to attract the attention of male security guards because of Arab conventions on relations between men and women, correspondents say.

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BBC News

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A powerful explosion by a beach in the Gaza Strip has killed at least three Palestinians, including a young girl, Hamas officials and medics say.

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At least 20 people were reportedly injured by the blast, which destroyed a car close to the coast in Gaza City.

Reports said the blast was the third in Gaza on Friday. Violence in the area has fallen since the militant group Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007.

Unconfirmed reports said the three men killed were Hamas fighters.

The series of bombings amounted to one of the most serious outbreaks of deadly violence since Hamas took power.

Mysterious blasts

Earlier on Friday, a bombing outside a cafe in Gaza City killed one person and injured four others, Palestinian police reported.

The blast, just after midnight local time, caused extensive damage.

It was unclear why the area was bombed, but there have been attacks on internet cafes, music shops and Christian institutions in Gaza in recent months.

Police also reported a bombing near the home of Marwan Abu Ras, a Hamas official who issues fatwas, or religious edicts, in Gaza. No-one was injured.

The militant Hamas movement seized control of Gaza by force more than a year ago from the Fatah movement of Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority.

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BBC News

need better mountain climbing equipment - oh snap