Ukrainian Aircraft Shot Down By Separatists

Pro-Russian separatists have shot down an army transport plane in eastern Ukraine, killing 49 servicemen and dealing a massive blow to the campaign to defeat the rebels.

President Petro Poroshenko has summoned his security chiefs for meetings and promised an "adequate" response after the aircraft was shot down by an anti-aircraft missile as it came in to land at Luhansk airport.

Declaring Sunday a day of mourning for the nine crew and 40 paratroopers killed, he said: "All those involved in cynical acts of terrorism of this magnitude must be punished."

A separatist gathers ammunition at the site of the crash

It is the biggest loss of life suffered by government forces in a single incident since Kiev began a military operation to try to defeat the pro-Russia insurgency in east Ukraine.

The incident is likely to fuel tension between Russia and Ukraine's main ally, the United States, which has accused Moscow of arming the rebels.

The plane came down overnight near Novohannivka, a village 12 miles (20km) southeast of Luhansk, close to the Russian border.

Everyone on board was killed

Charred debris was scattered for hundreds of metres over sloping wheat fields.

The tail section jutted up from the ground, with sections of the engine, fuselage and other parts scattered around it.

Rebel forces wearing camouflage fatigues scoured through the wreckage for ammunition that was intended for government forces.

There were 40 paratroopers on the plane when it was downed

"This is how we work. The fascists can bring as many reinforcements as they want but we will do this every time. We will talk to them on our own terms," said a stocky 50-year-old rebel who identified himself as Pyotr, his name de guerre.

Rebels claimed to have shot down a fighter jet over the city of Slavyansk on Saturday, although this has not been confirmed.

Government forces, who hold the airport, attacked rebel positions near the airfield with jets soon after day broke, local residents said.

Luhansk is close to the Russian border

Ukrainian forces reclaimed the city of Mariupol on Friday, a major port for the export of steel.

Ukraine and Russia have begun talks on a peace plan despite the continuing violence.

A rebellion has been raging in east Ukraine since April, with separatists agitating for Russia to absorb the Russian-speaking east after the annexation of Crime in March.

The first flash of light in the footage

Russia denies being behind the uprising and the rebels say they get weapons from army stockpiles.

The US State Department said on Friday that Russia had sent tanks, heavy weapons and rocket launchers to Ukraine in recent days.

Spokeswoman Marie Harf said a convoy of three T-64 tanks, several MB-21 "or Grad" multiple rocket launchers and other military vehicles had crossed the border in the last three days.

20.49 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraq: No Turning Back As Country Is Carved Up

By Sherine Tadros, Middle East Correspondent, in Irbil

It may have taken years to get to this point, but the pace at which Iraq is being carved up is staggering.

Boundaries are being redrawn and alliances are shifting - what is taking days to achieve will take much longer to reverse.

The Kurds are taking advantage of the situation. 

The spokesman for their forces, the Peshmerga, told me they had warned the central government in Baghdad of the growing dissent against them, which allowed the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to advance this much so fast.

"This is just the beginning of ISIS's plan," said Helgurd Hikmet Mela Ali.

"The problem is not ISIS, if it wasn't for the loss of support for the government in these areas then ISIS would not have been able to get this far."

Government forces and tribal fighters on the outskirts of Diyala

The Kurds are now in de facto control of ethnically mixed Kirkuk, which they have long wanted to stake out as their capital. 

Other gains are also within their sights, some are even talking about pushing for full autonomy.

Meanwhile the government seemingly has no plan to take back lost territory north of Baghdad. 

The governor of Mosul, Iraq's second city that fell to extremists earlier this week, says there is little the army can do because they are so hated by the locals.

The plan, he says, is to use local Sunni militias in Mosul to fight the insurgents. 

But he admits that cannot be done right now. 

People shout slogans backing a Shia cleric's call to arms against ISIS

The extremists have successfully branded their mission as an uprising against Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki and the governor says any attempt to fight them would be seen by locals as an attempt to help Maliki regain control.

"The militias will fight for themselves, for the Sunnis, but they will not fight in the name of Maliki," Atheel al Nujafi told me.

ISIS may be on the frontline and in the headlines, but they are not the only force making this advance.

As they sweep through towns they are recruiting men who are fed up with the prime minister and his American backers. 

There are also reports commanders from former president Saddam Hussein's army are also helping ISIS.

What will happen if their common enemy Maliki falls is another question that will determine the future of Iraq.

20.49 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraq: Britain To Give £3m In Emergency Aid

Britain will provide an initial £3m of emergency humanitarian assistance to help civilians fleeing the fighting in Iraq.

The support will include clean water, medicine, women-friendly hygiene kits, sanitation and basic household items.

It comes after Department for International Development experts were deployed to Iraq on Thursday to assess the situation.

Now the UK has activated its Rapid Response Facility, which provides support via approved organisations at times of crisis.

International Development Secretary Justine Greening said: "Iraq is facing serious humanitarian need.

"The UK contribution to the international relief response will include initial funding for clean water, medicine and sanitation, as well as support for the UNHCR to provide dedicated safety and welfare teams to protect vulnerable women."

DiFD added in a statement that the UK will continue to monitor the situation and work with the Red Cross/Red Crescent and the UN.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled their homes amid an offensive by Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The fighters have seized a numbers of towns and cities as they make their way south to the capital, Baghdad.

Many civilians have gone to the autonomous Kurdish region in the north, and aid workers said most people are arriving with little more than the clothes on their backs and little money.

Save The Children said it was "working around the clock" with refugees and displaced people.

20.49 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraq: Iran Offers To Work With Arch Foe US

Iran's president has said he would consider working with the US to combat Islamist militants in Iraq, as he offered help fight the insurgents.

President Hassan Rouhani suggested he would be willing to co-operate with Iran's traditional enemy to keep the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) from taking control of its Middle East neighbour.

In a televised address on Saturday morning Mr Rouhani said Iran would be willing to go to Iraq's assistance and added: "We all should practically and verbally confront terrorist groups."

A refugee boy fleeing his Iraqi home after militants took control

Asked if Tehran would work with the Americans, he said: "We can think about it if we see America start confronting the terrorist groups in Iraq or elsewhere."

President Barack Obama has ruled out putting American troops on the ground in Iraq, but says the White House is considering all other options for support.

Barack Obama has ruled out troops on the ground

He said he would make a decision "in the days ahead" on the options, amid reports that the Pentagon is drafting plans for possible air strikes against the Islamist rebels.

"The United States will do our part, but ultimately it's up to the Iraqis as a sovereign nation to solve their problems," Mr Obama said. "We can't do it for them."

Iran has already sent a Major General from the Revolutionary Guard to Baghdad to meet leaders of the city.

Hassan Rouhani has offered to help Iraq in a televised address

Iran is predominately Shia and does not want to see a Sunni caliphate established on its borders by ISIS fighters, who are now thought to be fewer than 50 miles (80km) from Iraq's capital.

Foreign Secretary William Hague has ruled out sending UK troops, but said Britain may offer other support, such as counter-terrorism expertise, which could see the involvement of the SAS, as it did in Libya.

"Work is under way on that now and we will continue to liaise closely with our United States allies in particular on that," he said.

Britain is to provide £3m in emergency aid to help refugees fleeing the violence.

Volunteers waiting to join the Iraqi army to fight ISIS

It comes as the governor of Mosul told Sky News he would welcome US support in ousting Islamist militants from Iraq, but does not want troops on the ground.

Speaking from Irbil in the Kurdish north after fleeing Mosul when it was taken by ISIS, Atheel al Nujaifi said the insurgents' attack on several Iraqi cities came as a complete surprise to Iraqi authorities.

Mr Nujaifi said: "We need to have weapons. We need to have political support.

A comparison of the Iraqi army and ISIS

"(But) we don't like the American army to come into Iraq and to occupy Iraq another time and turn back to the same problem that happened before."

The UN has said the 7,000-strong ISIS force has carried out summary executions and rapes in its bloody takeover of large swathes of the country. Around 90,000 Iraqi soldiers are said to have deserted their posts.

Some of the areas affected by the fighting

By Saturday morning the Iraqi army had staged a fightback, retaking the towns of Ishaqi, al-Mutasim and Duluiyah, in Salah ad Din province. They have also retaken much of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's home town.

Hundreds of young Iraqis attended volunteer centres across Baghdad to sign up to fight the militants after the country's most senior cleric urged people to take up arms on Friday.

Sheikh Abdulmehdi al Karbalai, a representative for Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, said: "People who are capable of carrying arms and fighting the terrorists in defence of their country ... should volunteer to join the security forces to achieve this sacred goal."

:: Watch a special report on the conflict in Iraq on our catch up service. Sky's Foreign Affairs Correspondent Lisa Holland asks whether the current crisis means the end of Iraq. It's free for TV customers with Sky HD+ boxes connected to broadband.

20.49 | 0 komentar | Read More

McCanns: Search Shows Madeleine May Be Alive

Kate and Gerry McCann believe the lack of evidence found during new police searches proves their daughter could still be alive.

The couple say they are "very pleased" with the digs carried out in Praia da Luz over the last 10 days.

"We are further encouraged that despite the intensive searches, no trace of Madeleine has been found and this reinforces our belief that she could still be alive," they said in a statement.

Kate and Gerry McCann believe their daughter could still be alive

"As parents of a missing child, we have always wanted all reasonable lines of inquiry to be followed and it is gratifying to know that a substantial amount of work will take place over the coming months with the close co-operation of the British and Portuguese authorities.

"We would like to thank all those involved for their efforts and the members of the public who have come forward with information."

The Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz

Officers from the UK have been working with their Portuguese counterparts on sites in and around Praia da Luz, where Madeleine disappeared in 2007.

Police say this is only the "first phase of this major investigation which has been agreed with the Portuguese".

It is thought the UK teams will start flying home today but officers say more searches will take place "shortly".

Further searches in Portugal are expected to start "shortly"

The new operation in Portugal is being carried out at the request of British police.

The three search areas were identified after 41 ground anomalies were identified by both aerial survey and ground analysis.

There were also unconfirmed reports last week that Scotland Yard has been granted permission to question three suspects about the case.

Meanwhile, Mr and Mrs McCann will return to Portugal on Monday to deliver statements to the libel trial of former Portuguese police chief Goncalo Amaral, who they are suing over claims in his book The Truth Of The Lie.

20.49 | 0 komentar | Read More

Solar Flare Could Hit Earth On Friday 13th

A trio of major solar flares could spell trouble for Earth on Friday 13th, scientists have warned.

The solar events, captured on film by Nasa, caused communications blackouts on Tuesday lunchtime - and there may be further consequences tomorrow.

"Impacts from this activity were short-lived and affected high-frequency communications for the daylit side of Earth at the time of the flare," said a statement on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website.

"A Coronal Mass Ejection associated with the activity has been observed moving at a flank from Earth and a glancing blow to Earth from this event is expected on June 13."

The three solar flares emitted this week. Pic: Nasa

A Coronal Mass Ejection releases vast amounts of matter and electromagnetic radiation - resulting in a threat to high-frequency communication systems used by weather stations, aviators, government time stations and international shortwave broadcasters, among others.

Nasa says GPS can also be affected by solar flares.

"Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground," the organisation's website says.

A Coronal Mass Ejection could hit earth tomorrow. Pic: Nasa

"However, when intense enough, they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel."

The solar flares - caused by the build-up of magnetic energy in the sun's atmosphere - are thought to be among the most powerful of the current 11-year solar cycle.

The NOAA has warned of "continuing chances" of further flares in the near future - some of which could be even more powerful.

20.49 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mourning Mum In Call To Legalise Drugs

By Lisa Dowd, Sky News Correspondent

A single mother who lost her only child after she took MDMA is calling for drugs to be legalised and regulated.

Martha Fernback was just 15 when she died after swallowing half a gram of the powder - better known as ecstasy - in July last year.

A verdict of accidental death was recorded at Oxford Coroner's Court after a short hearing.

In a statement following her daughter's inquest, Anne-Marie Cockburn said: "It has been 328 days since my precious girl was safely by my side.

"Martha wanted to get high, she didn't want to die - no parent wants either, but one of those is preferable to the other.

"I wish Martha was sitting her GCSEs alongside her friends at school right now.

"I wish the drug education she received had enabled her to make a more fully informed decision, instead of leaving her so vulnerable and in danger.

"I would like to meet with Theresa May, Norman Baker and Yvette Cooper to start a sensible dialogue for change, from prohibition to strict and responsible regulation of recreational drugs.

"This will help to safeguard our children and lead to a safer society for us all by putting doctors and pharmacists, not dealers, in control of drugs."

The drug that killed the teenager was unusually high in its purity.

On a website set up in her daughter's memory, Ms Cockburn said: "Free drug testing facilities should be widely available in order to fully educate young people and, by putting some safeguarding measures in place, levels of harm are significantly reduced.

"Had Martha been able to access drugs that had been legally produced and labelled accordingly, she would have been able to make a more informed decision - in fact, I'd go as far as to say that she might still be alive."

The inquest heard how the MDMA powder that Martha took was 91% pure and doctors found that the concentration of the drug in her blood was "very high".

The hearing was told that the purity level would normally be around 58%.

After she had taken the drug, Martha had told friends it "was amazing ... it feels like a dream".

But in statements read out at the hearing her friends said she began to "sweat profusely", her behaviour became "more erratic", and she started to tremble and shiver.

She collapsed in a local park, an ambulance was called, but she was pronounced dead at the the city's John Radcliffe Hospital.

Sky News has approached the Home Office for comment but received no immediate statement. 

20.49 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraq Militants Parade Captured Soldiers

Video footage has emerged of militant fighters with captured Iraqi soldiers as the parliament failed to agree on a state of emergency in the country.

A senior government official told the AFP news agency that only 128 of 325 MPs attended the emergency session, which could have seen extra powers given to Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki.

Militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) have seized cities including Mosul, Tikrit and Baiji and fighting was also reported on the outskirts of Samarra, within 70 miles of the capital Baghdad, as a wave of attacks continued southwards.

Mourners react at a funeral in Najaf after a suicide bomb attack

The group, led by Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, wants to create a Sunni state, or caliphate, straddling the border between Iraq and Syria and had previously seized control of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi.

In a statement spokesman Abu Mohammed al Adnani said: "The battle is not yet raging, but it will in Baghdad and Karbala.

"We have a score to settle, for there is an old balance with it (Baghdad), and we must make it even."

Thousands of refugees have fled the violence. Pic: UNHCR

Karbala, southwest of the capital, is one of the holiest sites for Shiite Muslims.

The Army Aviation Command of Iraq released footage which it claimed showed a series of air strikes against militant strongholds in Saladin province.

It comes after Iran President Hassan Rouhani warned on state television the country's security forces would combat terrorism which targeted Shiites in Iraq.

Abu Bakr al Baghdadi leads the ISI insurgents

He said: "In the name of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran we are not prepared to standby and tolerate the violence, we will not tolerate the terrorism."

In the north, the Iraqi army has abandoned its bases in Kirkuk leaving the Kurdish Peshmerga forces to take control, according to a spokesman.

Jabbar Yawar told the Reuters news agency: "The whole of Kirkuk has fallen into the hands of the Peshmerga. No Iraq army remains in Kirkuk now."

Reports also claimed that Iraqi soldiers who fled Mosul have been queuing to buy tickets for flights to Baghdad to take part in the fighting and "hundreds" of young men have crowded outside the main army recruiting centre in the capital to sign up and help battle the militants.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told Sky News security forces were beginning to push back the insurgents.

He said: "This has really caused very, very serious disruption and it is a setback definitely for Iraqi security forces."

Militants left a trail of destruction in the northern city of Mosul

Sky's Diplomatic Editor Tim Marshall said: "The Americans do not want Baghdad to fall, it's embarrassing, because if Baghdad falls then you're starting to march down toward the south.

"A threat to Baghdad and then the south would then threaten the oil supply and then things get even more serious."

More than 500,000 people have fled the conflict in the Mosul region, with many heading into Kurdish areas in the north.

Security has been stepped up at checkpoints in the Iraqi capital

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, meanwhile, condemned the abductions of Turkish consulate staff in Mosul.

US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said America would support a "unified approach" against ISIS aggression.

International Development Secretary Justine Greening added that a team of "humanitarian experts" had been deployed in northern Iraq to assess the situation on the ground.

20.49 | 0 komentar | Read More

Passport Pile-Up: PM Says Backlog Is 30,000

David Cameron has admitted around 30,000 passport applications have been delayed - after the Government earlier denied a backlog.

The Prime Minister told the House of Commons there had been 300,000 more applications than normal at this time of year and that 10% of those had been delayed.

He said emergency plans were being put in place to ensure families who want to go on holiday get their passports back in time.

In an angry exchange at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, Labour leader Ed Miliband said the Government needed to "get a grip" on the unfolding crisis.

He said the row between Mrs May and Education Secretary Michael Gove had distracted the Home Secretary from her job.

He said: "The truth of the picture of this Government is we have the Home Secretary fighting with the Education Secretary but not paying attention to the business of government."

Those British citizens living abroad are being hit

"The truth is that is tens of thousands of people are finding that their holidays are being cancelled because they are not actually getting a passport,"

However, Mr Cameron said the Home Office had been on top of the situation since the beginning of the year.

The Government had on Wednesday morning denied there had been a pile-up of applications after unions claimed a 12-year high in applications and cuts in staffing had lead to a 500,000 backlog.

Mr Cameron and his Home Secretary Theresa May said 250 staff had been redeployed to tackle the problem, working seven days a week around the clock to make sure people got their documents.

Meanwhile Sky has seen a letter sent to the UK Visas and Immigration Department saying 72 of their staff will start training next week on how to process passport applications ready to be redeployed.

The increase in passport applications started in January and coincides with the closures of regional application offices across the world in an attempt to cut costs.

British citizens living abroad now have to apply in the UK and many of those are now reporting significant delays with their applications.

Applications in the Liverpool passport office

Pictures taken by a disillusioned worker in the Liverpool passport office show tens of thousands of applications waiting to be dealt with.

One MP said thousands of families face having their summer holiday plans ruined because documents were not being prepared in anything like the normal time.

Some families who want to make sure their documents are returned in time for them to go on holiday face paying extra for a faster service - up to £55.50 on top of the £72.50 standard fee.

Mr Brokenshire admitted to Sky News that the Passport Office did make a profit from those who elected to use the faster services because they feared their holiday plans could be in jeopardy.

Three million passports have already been issued this year, with officials processing an average of 18,000 applications a day over the last two months. 

The increase has been blamed on the number of people feeling they can now afford holidays with the economic recovery.

Mike Jones, from the PCS Union said: "There are half a million applications that are waiting within the Passport Office at the moment.

Families are frantic for passports to return

"That figure is raised steeply over a number of months. The Home Office and the Passport Office used to have strategies in place for when the figure reached 150,000, that they would put contingency plans in to deal with those amounts."

He told Radio 4's Today programme: "Now we have seen the figures are up to 500,000 and rising at the moment. Even all the contingencies that they are trying to put in place, we are still seeing that figure rising, so there is clearly a crisis going on within the Home Office and the Passport Office as well."

Labour's Geoffrey Robinson, the MP for Coventry North West, claimed the Government had left it so late to react to what he called a "burgeoning problem" that there was not enough time to deal with it before the start of the summer getaway.

"The nub of the problem lies in the cuts the Government has made," he said.

20.49 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraq: Third City Attacked In Militants' Surge

Militants from an al Qaeda splinter group have attacked a town housing Iraq's largest oil refinery, as more than 500,000 people fled an assault on the country's second city.

Some 250 guards at the refinery in Baiji withdrew to another town after the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants sent a delegation of tribal chiefs to persuade them to pull out.

The militants, in around 60 vehicles, moved into the city overnight and released prisoners in the town.

An estimated 500,000 people have fled Mosul and the surrounding area

Security sources said insurgents had overran parts of the north of Tikrit on Wednesday and video footage showed fighting in Kirkuk.

Residents in Baiji said police officers and soldiers were warned not to challenge the fighters, who destroyed a court house and a police station.

Jasim al Qaisi said: "Yesterday at sunset some gunmen contacted the most prominent tribal sheikhs in Baiji and told them 'we are coming to die or control Baiji, so we advise you to ask your sons in the police and army to lay down their weapons and withdraw'."

ISIL fighters wave their flag at the Sykes Picot Border. Pic: albaraka_news

A senior government official said the production of crude oil in Iraq - which produces around 3.5 million barrels of oil per day - could be affected after the attack on Baiji.

It comes after the militants seized control of Iraq's second city Mosul on Tuesday, forcing an estimated 500,000 people to flee the area.

Gunmen, wearing military uniforms and all-black clothing, have been guarding banks and government buildings in the city and calling over loudspeakers for government employees to return to work.

Insurgents have struck in Mosul, Baiji, Tikrit and Kirkuk

The militants also seized the Turkish consulate in the city and reportedly kidnapped the head of the diplomatic mission and 24 staff members, according to police.

Families have made their way into the Kurdistan region, which has its own military force the Peshmerga.

Bodies of soldiers and policemen have been left in the street, according to reports.

People celebrate as ISIL fighters occupy Mosul. Pic: albaraka_news

One officer said: "We can't beat them. We can't. They are well trained in street fighting and we're not.

"We need a whole army to drive them out of Mosul. They're like ghosts: they appear, strike and disappear in seconds."

Ninevah province governor Atheel al Nujaifi said on Wednesday authorities had a plan to restore security.

People queue at a border crossing into the Kurdistan region

Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has asked parliament to declare a state of emergency that would grant him additional powers to tackle the crisis. He also appealed for help from the international community.

And Iraq's Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, has said Baghdad will co-operate with Kurdish forces to "flush out these foreign fighters".

Influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al Sadr has called for the formation of militia units to help defend religious sites in Iraq.

ISIL has made serious gains in Iraq in the last year, seizing control of the city of Falluja and parts of Ramadi.

The group is also fighting President Bashar al Assad's regime in Syria.

Led by Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, it was formed after a split with al Qaeda's international leader Ayman al Zawahiri.

20.49 | 0 komentar | Read More