Chilling footage has emerged of the moment a photographer apparently recorded his own death.

Ahmed Samir Assem was filming protests outside the offices of the Egyptian Army in Cairo when the gunman he was recording turned to face him.

The exact circumstances of the 26-year-old's death have not been verified, but friends and colleagues have claimed the grainy footage shows him being killed.

"At around 6am, a man came into the media centre with a camera covered in blood and told us that one of our colleagues had been injured," Ahmed Abu Zeid, of Assem's newspaper, Al-Horia Wa Al-Adala, told the Daily Telegraph.

"Around an hour later, I received news that Ahmed had been shot by a sniper in the forehead while filming or taking pictures on top of the buildings around the incident.

"Ahmed's camera was the only one which filmed the entire incident from the first moment."

The Muslim Brotherhood has reportedly been using the footage to show army snipers firing on innocent people.

Assem had been filming protests by Muslim brotherhood supporters outside the offices of the Egyptian Army, where ousted President Mohamed Morsi was reportedly being held.

At least 51 people were reportedly killed

Irish politicians will spend a second day debating divisive laws that will legislate for the first time for abortion in limited circumstances.

A vote on the landmark laws, which enshrine a woman's right to a termination if her life is at risk, including from suicide, had been expected to pass at about 5am on Thursday morning.

But as discussions rumbled into dawn with no sign of an end, the Dáil was adjourned with plans for the debate to resume late this afternoon.

The laws will be supported by the vast majority of the country's politicians, but a junior minister who has shown signs of joining a small backbench revolt is likely to lose her job.

Despite the widely anticipated rebellion by Lucinda Creighton, the minister for European affairs, the laws are likely to pass comfortably.

The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013 was drawn up following the death of Savita Halappanavar, an Indian dentist who died in an Irish hospital in October last year after being denied an abortion as she miscarried 17 weeks into her pregnancy.

There are nearly 5million CCTV cameras in the country, new research finds

More in 'sensitive locations' such as car homes, hospitals and schools

Campaigners criticised the growth of the 'surveillance state'

Schoolchildren, the elderly and the infirm are being watched by an astonishing 750,000 spy cameras across Britain, a survey revealed yesterday.

There are nearly 5million CCTV cameras in the country, researchers found - the equivalent of one for every 12 people. Surveillance was particularly high in 'sensitive locations' such as care homes, hospitals and schools.

Campaigners last night criticised the growth of the 'surveillance state', lambasting the Government for embarking upon a journey similar to George Orwell's vision in his novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four.

The British Security Industry Authority (BSIA) estimated there were 4.9million closed-circuit television cameras in the country, but said the figure could be as high as 5.9million. Previous estimates ranged from 1.5million to 4million.

Nick Pickles, director of the privacy campaign Big Brother Watch, criticised the findings. He said: 'This report is another stark reminder of how out of control our surveillance culture has become.

A 30-year-old man is expected to face the ACT Magistrates Court after a car crashed into the main gates of Canberra's United States Embassy on Wednesday night.

The Australian Federal Police bomb response unit attended the Yarralumla complex after ACT Policing, Fire and Rescue and Ambulance crews were called about 6pm.

Investigators said it was too early to tell what circumstances had led to the accident and five-hour police operation, but neither the vehicle or the embassy security gates were extensively damaged.

Former Southern Baptist minister Pat Robertson, 83, said during his "700 Club" show that liking same sex couples' photos on Facebook is considered condoning behavior and added that he'd prefer to punch the "vomit" button to describe how he feels about the images.

Robertson's comments came as a response to an online question posed by a confused fan:

"When we 'like' things on Facebook, if it's something that goes against what is written in the Bible -- such as pictures of same sex couples -- is that considered condoning behavior? How do you explain this to new Christians or youth?"

"You've got a couple of same-sex guys kissing. Do you like that?" Robertson answered. "Well, that makes me want to throw up. To me, I would punch 'vomit,' not 'like,' but they don't give you that option on Facebook."

If you're determined to live through any possible doomsday scenario, the thought of climbing into one of those deep underground shelters might give you pause. After all, who wants to live dormitory style with a bunch of strangers when you've become accustomed to the comforts of your own double-wide at the RV park?

Dug over 100 years ago as part of a limestone mining operation, this bunker in Kansas covers 45 acres sitting 100-150 feet below ground. Developer Robert Vicino says that the structure can withstand a 1 megaton nuclear blast just 10 miles away, but there's no word on how many apocalyptic zombies the doors can hold back. The temperature inside hangs constantly in the low 70s, so it should be fairly comfortable as you wait for things to settle down up on the surface.

Japan's nuclear watchdog said Wednesday that the crippled Fukushima power plant is probably leaking contaminated water into the ocean, a problem long suspected by experts but denied by the plant's operator.

Officials from the Nuclear Regulation Authority said a leak is "strongly suspected" and urged plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. to determine where the water may be leaking from and assess the environmental and other risks, including the impact on the food chain. The watchdog said it would form a panel of experts to look into ways to contain the problem.

The watchdog's findings underscore TEPCO's delayed response in dealing with a problem that experts have long said existed. On Wednesday, the company continued to raise doubts about whether a leak exists.

TEPCO spokesman Noriyuki Imaizumi said the increase in cesium levels in monitoring well water samples does not necessarily mean contaminated water from the plant is leaking to the ocean. TEPCO was running another test on water samples and suspects earlier spikes might have been caused by cesium-laced dust slipping into the samples, he said. But he said TEPCO is open to the watchdog's suggestions to take safety steps.

More than 20 people were taken to hospitals after a second-story deck on a condominium in Ocean isle Beach collapsed onto a patio below.

Brunswick County emergency officials say the deck collapsed about 8:15 p.m. Tuesday.

Emergency services director Anthony Marzano says the injuries included cuts and broken bones but none of the injuries was life-threatening.

Thirteen people were taken to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, S.C., where 11 were treated and released. One person was admitted to the hospital with a broken leg and a second with a broken ankle.

Seven were taken to Brunswick Novant Medical Center in Supply and one was flown to New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington.

Tokyo, Japan -- Masao Yoshida, the man who led the life-risking battle at Japan's crippled nuclear power plant when it was spiraling into meltdowns, died Tuesday of cancer of the esophagus. He was 58.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman Yoshimi Hitosugi said Yoshida died at a Tokyo hospital. TEPCO officials said his illness was not related to radiation exposure.


Yoshida led efforts to stabilize the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant after the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami knocked out its power and cooling systems, causing triple meltdowns and massive radiation leaks.

Recalling the first few days when the three reactors suffered meltdowns in succession, Yoshida later said: "There were several instances when I thought we were all going to die here. I feared the plant was getting out of control and we would be finished."

Yoshida was an outspoken, tall man with a loud voice who wasn't afraid of talking back to higher-ups and was known to his workers as a caring figure. Even then-Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who was extremely frustrated by TEPCO's initial lack of information and slow handling, said after meeting him that Yoshida could be trusted.

On March 12, after Unit 1 reactor building exploded following a meltdown, Yoshida kept pumping in sea water into the reactor to cool it, ignoring an order from the TEPCO headquarters to stop doing so as Kan feared a possibility of sea water triggering a fission chain reaction. Yoshida was initially reprimanded for disobeying the order from above, but later praised for his judgment that eventually helped keep the reactor from turning worse.

"I bow deeply in respect to his leadership and decisiveness," Kan said in his Twitter entry Tuesday.