Taliban's Mullah Baradar Released From Custody

By Neville Lazarus, Sky News Asia Producer

The most senior leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan has been released from custody in Pakistan to help the struggling Afghan peace process.

According to a Sky News source, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who is second to Taliban chief Mullah Omar, will have to remain in the country, although he is free to move around any city.

He will be provided with high security, although the source claimed this is a way for authorities to keep him under watch.

Before his release, preparations had been made for Baradar to be taken to Qatar or Saudi Arabia where he could actively work on the peace process.

But the source said Pakistan objected to such a move because it wants to remain pivotal and influential in any future peace talks between Hamid Karzai's Afghan government, the Taliban and western powers.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has pushed for Mr Baradar's release

Sartaj Aziz, advisor on foreign affairs and national security to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said: "Handing over the key Taliban commander to Afghanistan will sabotage the purpose behind the decision of releasing him."

Pakistan authorities have resisted immense pressure for his release since his arrest in Karachi in February 2010.

Many believe the arrest was made to stop him negotiating with the Afghan government and cutting Pakistan out of the talks.

His arrest infuriated Mr Karzai, who last month reiterated demands for his release when he travelled to Pakistan for talks with Mr Sharif.

Baradar, 55, was born in the southern province of Uruzgan and fought the Soviet forces in the late 1980s.

He co-founded the Taliban and became a trusted friend of Omar, rising to become his top military strategist.

After the fall of the Taliban, he fled to Pakistan and became the most senior leader in the organisation's Quetta Shura branch after Omar.

He is credited with bringing together all factions of the Taliban under one umbrella and commands great respect and influence in the movement both in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Even before his detention, he had reached out to the Karzai government and steps to begin peace talks had been taken.

Baradar is the first Taliban prisoner released under the mechanism agreed by the two sides at the Chequers summit in the UK earlier this year.

Pakistan has released at least 33 Taliban inmates over the last year at the request of the Afghan government.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

US 'Almost Blew Up Atomic Bomb Over Itself'

The US Air Force almost detonated a huge atomic bomb over North Carolina in 1961, a newly declassified document has revealed.

Two hydrogen bombs were accidentally dropped over the city of Goldsboro just two days after President John F Kennedy's inauguration, when the B-52 plane carrying them broke up in mid-air.

And a report obtained by investigative journalist Eric Schlosser under freedom of information laws showed one of the devices began to detonate - but that a single switch prevented disaster.

Had the switch failed - as the other three safety mechanisms had - millions of lives across Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City would have been at risk.

The bomb was 260 times more powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima

US government scientist Parker F Jones' report was published for the first time in The Guardian newspaper, which said the bomb was 260 times more powerful than the one that devastated Hiroshima in 1945.

Mr Jones said in the report: "It would have been bad news in spades.

"The MK 39 Mod 2 bomb did not possess adequate safety for the airborne alert role in the B-52.

"One simple, dynamo-technology, low voltage switch stood between the United States and a major catastrophe."

John F Kennedy's inauguration took place two days before the accident

The accident happened at the height of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.

While the US government has previously acknowledged the accident, the 1969 document is the first confirmation of how close the country came to nuclear catastrophe on that day.

Mr Schlosser said: "The US government has consistently tried to withhold information from the American people in order to prevent questions being asked about our nuclear weapons policy.

"We were told there was no possibility of these weapons accidentally detonating, yet here's one that very nearly did."

Mr Jones jokingly titled the report Goldsboro Revisited, Or: How I Learned To Mistrust The H-Bomb, a reference to Stanley Kubrick's classic 1964 film about nuclear armageddon, Dr Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Labour Pledge To Tackle 'Cost Of Living Crisis'

Labour leader Ed Miliband has declared he will fight to tackle what he described as Britain's "cost of living crisis", as he set out his party's plans to help struggling households.

Taking to the streets of Brighton on the eve of his party's conference, he said if in power Labour would strengthen the national minimum wage and provide "childcare for parents who need it".

He also confirmed his promise to abolish the "bedroom tax" cut to housing benefit, and pledged an "economy that works for working people".

Mr Miliband addresses the crowd in Brighton

Mr Miliband accused David Cameron's Government of only standing up for the "privileged few", and promised those gathered for his street rally "a government that fights for you".

Addressing the crowd from a small platform, he said it was "wrong that millions of people in our country are going out to work unable to afford to bring up their families".

He attacked the Government for failing to take steps to help people struggling to cope with rising prices.

"Right across the country, from all walks of life, people are facing this cost of living crisis," he said.

"Living standards falling month after month after month. Gas and electric bills, train fares, petrol prices, the weekly food shop and a Prime Minister who refuses to act.

"Why does he refuse to act? He refuses to act because of who he stands for, he stands for just a privileged few at the top."

He went on: "The way a country succeeds is not just with a few at the top it's with what I call the forgotten wealth creators.

"The people who put in the hours, who do the work, who do two jobs, who do the shifts.

"They are the people we should be supporting in this country.

"That's how we tackle the cost of living crisis, that's how we have an economy that works for working people again in our country."

Labour is proposing to give the parents of primary school children guaranteed access to childcare between 8am to 6pm under its plans to help working families.

The initiative, which Labour is expected to say can he be paid for through existing central government funds, is one of several cost of living issues which are to be the focus of its conference.

Other policy pledges include strengthening the minimum wage in specific sectors such as retail and catering, as well as fresh action to crack down on energy bills.

Mr McBride (far left) with Gordon Brown

Mr Miliband has appointed Alan Buckle, deputy chairman at accountants KPMG, to investigate how the role and powers of the Low Pay Commission could be extended to strengthen the minimum wage.

Mr Buckle will consult widely with employers and employee groups on ways to restore the value of the minimum wage so that it catches up with where it was in 2010.

He will also look at which particular sectors can afford to pay more.

Earlier, Mr Miliband, took a stroll along Brighton seafront with his wife Justine and children Daniel and Samuel.

Sky's Sophy Ridge, in Brighton, said: "I think this all does feed into the image that Ed Miliband wants to project of himself - somebody who's a family man, someone who's sticking up for hard-working people and the cost of living - particularly trying to appeal to female voters, who have become really crucial in the next election."

The conference comes as Mr Miliband has been forced to deny any involvement in attempts to smear opponents amid claims that "damaging" emails could have been sent by him to one of the key figures in a plot to attack senior Tories.

The potential link between Mr Miliband and Derek Draper, who was behind a proposed Labour-supporting political gossip website, is among the latest allegations in a memoir from Gordon Brown's former spin doctor.

The drip-feed of claims from Damian McBride threatens to overshadow the Labour Party conference despite Mr Miliband's efforts to seize the initiative by announcing he would scrap the "bedroom tax" if he wins the 2015 General Election.

In the latest extracts from Mr McBride's memoir Power Trip, being serialised in the Daily Mail, the former member of the Brown inner circle suggests Mr Miliband could "have problems" if any emails to Mr Draper became public.

Labour sources denied that Mr Miliband had any involvement in the proposed Red Rag website, which ultimately brought about the downfall of Mr McBride.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nairobi Shopping Mall: Gunmen Kill 'At Least 22'

At least 22 people have reportedly been killed in a suspected terrorist attack on a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

Gunmen opened fire and detonated grenades inside the Westgate centre, a mall popular with expatriates.

Police chief Benson Kibue described the incident as a terrorist attack, telling the AP news agency up to 10 men exchanged gunfire with police.

A spokesman for Kenya's Ministry of Interior added: "It is a possibility that it is an attack by terrorists, so we are treating the matter very seriously."

An injured woman is carried to an ambulance inside a shopping trolley

At least 22 people were killed in attack, according to a Kenyan Red Cross official who spoke to AP.

Earlier, Abbas Guled, a spokesman for the charity, said: "The casualties are many and that's only what we have on the outside. Inside there are even more casualties and shooting is still going on."

Staff at a supermarket and a jewellery store were among a number of people taken hostage by the attackers, according to Nairobi-based journalist Abdi Osman Adan.

Cars and shopping trolleys were left abandoned outside the mall

He told Sky News witnesses reported seeing the attackers "firing at any police officers who tried to approach the building".

Security forces were still trying to rescue those trapped inside the mall hours after the start of the siege, going from shop to shop to evacuate shoppers and staff.

Graphic photographs taken at the scene showed people with serious injuries being treated at a makeshift hospital inside a food court.

An ambulance arrives as a woman flees from the shopping centre

Other images showed injured people being carried out of the mall in shopping trolleys, as well as upturned tables and chairs from where people had fled the shooting.

Elijah Kamua, who witnessed the attack, said the gunmen asked Muslims to stand up and leave and that non-Muslims would be targeted.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, although the Somali militant group al Shabaab had previously threatened to attack the mall.

Satpal Singh, who was in a cafe when the attackers struck, said he ran downstairs and was shot near the main exit of the mall.

Shoppers leave the mall, which is situated in an affluent area of Nairobi

"A Somali guy shot at me," he said. "He was carrying a rifle, an AK-47."

Another witness, who gave only his first name, Jay, added: "They were not speaking Swahili. They spoke something that seemed like Arabic or Somali."

In a message posted on Twitter, Kenya Police urged the public "to remain calm" and not to speculate about the attack.

"We urge you to stay away (from the mall)," they added.

The shooting happened in Kenya's capital city Nairobi

Westgate is situated in western Nairobi and is popular with both foreigners and rich Kenyans.

According to the centre's website, it is the city's "premier shopping mall" and offers a "serene and safe enviornment away from the city centre hubbub".

It has more than 80 stores and features a waterfall with tropical gardens.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "We are looking into whether any British nationals have been caught up in the incident and are ready to provide consular assistance.

"We are advising British nationals to avoid the area."

More follows...

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hamzah Khan's Father 'Warned Of Neglect'

The father of a four-year-old boy whose mummified body was found in his mother's bedroom told police the youngster was being neglected the year before his death, a court has been told.

Aftab Khan was giving evidence at the trial of Amanda Hutton, who denies manslaughter over the death of her son Hamzah Khan in December 2009.

The youngster's body was found by police nearly two years later.

During a day of harrowing testimony at Bradford Crown Court, jurors heard how police visited Hutton's house nine times before Hamzah's death.

They were also read a transcript of an interview Mr Khan gave to police after he was arrested for hitting Hutton in 2008.

He told officers his son was undernourished and neglected and threatened to contact social services, warning: "Believe me, I'm going to get in touch ... because it's gone so far now."

He also described how Hutton refused to let him take Hamzah to see a doctor, despite telling her "time and time again" he was not well.

Earlier, the court heard how a text message sent to Hutton from a phone belonging to Hamzah's brother, Qaiser Khan, in December 2008 accused her of "neglect and abuse".

It read: "Watch out Monday you *****. I'm going to go to the police station to report you for child neglect and abuse. Look at Hamzah."

The 22-year-old, who said he could not remember sending the message, also gave evidence at his mother's trial.

He told jurors how he saw Hamzah sleeping in a buggy that "stank" of urine and had to be disinfected.

He described seeing the youngster eat the contents of his own nappy and drink "mouldy, off milk" his mother had given him as a punishment.

A witness previously said Hamzah "didn't get fed much" and "looked really skinny, stick thin" in the days before his death.

Hutton rejects prosecutors' claims that she starved her son to death, insisting he died after he was taken ill.

The trial continues.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria Hands Over Chemical Weapons Details

The Assad regime has given details of its toxic weapons programme to the world's chemical weapons watchdog.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the body tasked with dismantling Syria's stockpile of nerve agents, said that Syria had given an "initial declaration" outlining its programme.

It will not release the details of the declaration and is now seeking to verify what has been outlined.

OPCW is looking at ways to fast-track moves to secure and destroy Syria's arsenal of poison gas and nerve agents as well as its production facilities.

Mr Assad says the US should foot the bill for destroying chemical weapons

Under a US/Russia agreement brokered last weekend, under which Syria is expected to put its chemical weapons stocks under international control, inspectors are due to be on the ground in Syria by November.

However, on Thursday Russia's President Vladimir Putin conceded he could not be 100% certain that his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al Assad, would fully give up his deadly weapons stash.

OPCW postponed a meeting of its executive council, which was due to take place on Sunday, at which it was to discuss how to dismantle the country's chemical weapons programme.

The body said it would set another date for the meeting.

In an interview with Fox News earlier this week, Mr Assad said he was committed to destroying his stockpile of chemical arms - but warned it would take a year to do so and coast at least £600m ($1bn).

A man suffering the affects of the sarin attack on August 21

He said: "It needs a lot of money, it needs about one billion (US dollars). If the American administration is ready to pay those money, and to take responsibility of bringing toxic materials to the United States, why don't they do it?"

UN weapons inspectors on Tuesday released a report in which they said there was "clear and convincing evidence" that chemical weapons were used in an attack in Damascus on August 21.

According to reports and chilling pictures of the horrific attack, 1,400 people were killed, including scores of children.

In their 38-page report, the UN inspectors said chemical weapons had been used on a "relatively large scale".

Rockets tested at the attack site were found to contain sarin, while the area in which they landed was contaminated with the deadly gas.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Godfrey Bloom: UKIP MEP Calls Women 'Sluts'

Outspoken UKIP politician Godfrey Bloom has sparked a new row by calling women "sluts" at the party's conference.

The MEP, who started a furore this summer by claiming taxpayers' money was being wasted on foreign aid sent to "Bongo Bongo Land", was involved in an extraordinary row on Friday.

He argued with Sky News after he was challenged about a comment made at a fringe meeting at the party's annual gathering in London.

The event was designed to promote the advancement of women in politics. After two female UKIP members joked they did not clean behind the fridge, Mr Bloom admits he joked: "This place is full of sluts."

"I made a joke and said 'oh well, you're all sluts' and everybody laughed and all the women laughed," he said afterwards.

"Was there a single woman in there who didn't laugh at the joke?"

The politician dubbed Sky's Darren McCaffrey a "sad little man" after he pointed out the word "sluts" could be considered highly derogatory.

Godfrey Bloom with UKIP's conference book

He then set off down the street but managed to have another clash with Channel 4 reporter Michael Crick en route.

Mr Crick had held up UKIP's conference book, which proclaims the party is "changing the face of politics", and asked why it did not feature any ethnic minorities.

Mr Bloom called the reporter a "racist" and rapped him over the head with the book before leaping into a taxi.

Before he sped off, he said: "What a racist comment. How dare you? That's an appalling thing to say. You're picking people out for the colour of your skin? You disgust me."

UKIP leader Nigel Farage said Mr Bloom should lose the party whip for his "selfish and stupid" comments. He said he would speak to UKIP chairman Steve Crowther about the matter at 6pm.

The row came just hours after Mr Farage had tried to brush off controversial comments by his party members as "occasional difficulties".

He also revealed, in his conference speech to delegates, that he had had a "blistering row" with Mr Bloom only days ago.

The party will be furious that the leader's address, in which he warned of a UKIP "earthquake" at next year's European elections, has been overshadowed.

The MEP apparently hit Michael Crick with it as he left

Mr Bloom, MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, later insisted his comment was harmless.

He wrote on Twitter: "Made a purposely outrageous joke among friends which was taken as joke by women present.

"It should not be taken out of context and misinterpreted by a hostile press."

The politician is no stranger to controversy. He first raised eyebrows this summer by claiming taxpayers' money was being wasted on foreign aid sent to "Bongo Bongo Land".

And then last month he suggested women were more suited to "finding mustard in the pantry" than driving cars. He also called 20th century feminists "shrill, bored, middle class women of a certain physical genre".

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Liverpool Player's Assault Trial Collapses

The assault case against Liverpool footballer Raheem Sterling has collapsed due to his ex-girlfriend's "disappointing evidence".

Sterling was alleged to have attacked 19-year-old model Shana Ann Rose Halliday following a row about a text message, Liverpool Magistrates' Court heard.

But Sterling, from Southport, was formally found not guilty by magistrates when the Crown Prosecution Service withdrew its case after magistrates refused to treat Miss Halliday as a hostile witness.

More follows...

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Assad To Destroy Chemical Weapons 'In A Year'

Syrian leader Bashar al Assad has said he is committed to destroying his stockpile of chemical arms - but warned it would take a year to do so.

In an interview with Fox News, Mr Assad said he was committed to getting rid of the arsenal but conceded it would cost at least £600m ($1bn).

And he also challenged America to foot the bill.

"It needs a lot of money, it needs about one billion (US dollars)," he told the US crew at the presidential palace in Damascus.

"If the American administration is ready to pay those money, and to take responsibility of bringing toxic materials to the United States, why don't they do it?"

Mr Assad denied responsibility for the gas attack. Picture: Fox News

Mr Assad also insisted that his decision to destroy the weapons was not forced upon him by the threat of US strikes.

He said destroying the weapons was "a very complicated operation, technically".

"So it depends, you have to ask the experts what they mean by quickly. It has a certain schedule," he said.

"It needs a year, or maybe a little bit more."

Assad forces have been shelling in Idlib, activists say

Mr Assad also said a UN report that found "clear and convincing evidence" of a sarin nerve gas attack in Syria last month is "unrealistic", and denied responsibility for it.

He also used the one-hour interview to criticise the American stance in the Syrian crisis, saying that, unlike Russia, Washington had tried to get involved in Syria's leadership and governance.

And as diplomatic wrangling over Syria's chemical weapons continues, a roadside bomb in a central Syria has killed at least 14 members of President Assad's minority Alawite.

Rebels take cover in the Idlib countryside in northwestern Syria

The blast targeted two buses near the Alawite village of Jabourin, north of Homs city, said the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Alawites are an offshoot sect of Shia Islam who mostly support Mr Assad and have been increasingly targeted by hardline fighters among the Sunni Muslim-dominated opposition.

More than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria's civil war

And Turkey has closed one of its border gates to Syria following clashes near the town of Azaz, which is close to the Turkish frontier.

The fighting between the Western-backed Free Syrian Army fighters and an al Qaeda-affiliated rebel group appears to have ceased.

The clashes comes as US Senator John McCain penned an opinion piece for a Russian website in which he criticises Vladimir Putin's close ties with the Assad regime.

Mr McCain's column was in response to Mr Putin's piece in The New York Times last week which was highly critical of America's response to the Syrian crisis.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Alien Bugs' Discovered In Earth's Atmosphere

British scientists believe they have found small bugs from outer space in the Earth's atmosphere.

Extra-terrestrial? The scientists found this small organism on a balloon

Tiny organisms were discovered by University of Sheffield experts on a research balloon they had sent 27km (16.7 miles) into the atmosphere during last month's Perseids meteor shower.

The microscopic bugs were detected when the balloon landed back on the ground in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

Bug number two: researchers say they are confident in their findings

But the scientists insist the samples could not have been carried from the Earth's surface into the stratosphere - the second layer of our atmosphere, which stretches up to 50km (31 miles) from the ground.

Strict tests were taken to avoid any contamination, they said.

This fragment of an organism was also found, scientists said

Professor Milton Wainwright, who led the team, said: "Most people will assume that these biological particles must have just drifted up to the stratosphere from Earth, but it is generally accepted that a particle of the size found cannot be lifted from Earth to heights of, for example, 27km.

"The only known exception is by a violent volcanic eruption, none of which occurred within three years of the sampling trip."

He went on: "We can only conclude that the biological entities originated from space.

The Perseids meteor shower pictured last month from Bulgaria

"Our conclusion then is that life is continually arriving to Earth from space, life is not restricted to this planet and it almost certainly did not originate here."

The findings are to be published in the Journal of Cosmology.

The stratosphere stretches as high as 50km over the Earth's surface

"If life does continue to arrive from space then we have to completely change our view of biology and evolution," Prof Wainwright added. "New textbooks will have to be written."

He said further "crucial" tests on the samples are planned and researchers will carry out further experiments during a meteor shower in October.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Baby Killed By Airport Conveyor Belt

A five-month-old baby has died after becoming trapped by an airport conveyor belt in Alicante, according to reports.

The baby had arrived at Alicante Airport with his family on a flight from London and they were waiting for their luggage when the accident happened.

It is believed the accident happened on the special baggage belt area - which is reserved for the collection of larger suitcases, pushchairs and musical instruments.

It is unclear whether the baby was left or fell onto the conveyor belt.

The airport's emergency services tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate the baby.

The family are understood to be from North America.

A Guardia Civil spokesman said it was investigating the incident, but said it was currently being put down as 'an accident.'

More follows...

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Leicester Fire Deaths: Murder Charge For Teen

A teenager has been charged with murder in relation to the house fire which killed a mother and her three children in Leicester.

The 18-year-old has been charged with four counts of murder following the deaths of Shehnila Taufiq, who was in her 40s, her 19-year-old daughter Zainab and sons Bilal, 17, and Jamal, 15, Leicestershire Police said.

More follows...

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ottawa: Train Crashes Into Bus 'Killing Many'

Passengers shouted "Stop! Stop!" as a bus drove through a lowered crossing barrier and on to tracks seconds before it was hit by a train.

Witnesses said that the bus driver appeared to plough drive straight through the barrier in the middle of the morning rush-hour 12 miles south of the Canadian capital.

The impact ripped off the front of the double-decker bus, killing five people and injuring six others.

The derailed train. Pic: Laura Stone

None of the passengers travelling on the Via Rail passenger just outside a suburban train station of Fallowfield at around 8.48am local time, the middle of the morning commute.

Tanner Trepaniere, who was on board the bus, said passengers could see the train bearing down on them as the bus approached the crossing.

She said: "People started screaming, 'Stop, stop!' because they could see the train coming down the track."

Pascal Lolgis, who witnessed the crash, said the bus appeared to drive through a lowered crossing barrier across the Ottawa to Toronto line.

"Boom! It went into the train like that. He just didn't stop."

Another witness, Mark Cogan, said the rail barrier had been down but the bus carried on.

"The train is going through and I was just looking around, just watching things happen. And noticed that in the bus lane, the double-decker bus ... I saw him, and he just kept going.

The bus at the scene of the smash. Pic: Darryl Praill

"I just thought maybe there's a side way around or something, but instantly, he just ... he smoked the train. He went through the guard rail and just hammered the train, and then it was just mayhem."

Chad Mariage, who was on his way to work, was seated toward the back of the bus's second level when the accident happened.

He said: "The impact was pretty severe. People were a screaming on the bus just prior to the crash, he said, adding that the crash 'wasn't a direct hit.'

"We could all see the train coming towards us almost in slow motion. The bus driver hit the brakes but too late."

The train tracks in the area cross both a major city road and a transit line reserved solely for buses.

Transportation Safety Board of Canada spokesman Chris Krepski tells CBC News Network investigation could take as long as a year.

He said: "Obviously we'll let the first responders do their work. Once their work is complete we'll start to take a closer look at the accident scene, document the wreckage, take some photos of the wreckage.

"We'll also take a very close look at the crossing design, what the sightlines were at the crossing, whether or not any kind of warning or protection systems at the crossing were working.

"We'll also examine the data from the locomotive event recorder, similar to a black box on an aircraft, which documents what controls were being used at the time of the crash."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed his condolences in a message on Twitter saying: "Deeply saddened to hear about the bus-train collision in Ottawa this morning. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those involved."

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mummified Boy Found In Cot: Mother On Trial

The mummified corpse of a four-year-old boy was found in a cot in his mother's bedroom almost two years after he starved to death, a jury has been told.

Hamzah Khan's body was still dressed in a babygro when police made the "dreadful discovery" at his house in Bradford, West Yorkshire, a court has heard.

Details of how the child's body was found in September 2011 were outlined at the trial of his mother, Amanda Hutton, at Bradford Crown Court.

Opening the case for the prosecution, Paul Greaney QC told the jury that the body of Hamzah, who died on December 15 2009, was found after police entered Hutton's home because of concerns about a smell.

"What they discovered disturbed even hardened officers," Mr Greaney said.

"Within a cot in the bedroom of Amanda Hutton, a police officer named Richard Dove made a dreadful discovery.

"Within that cot, beneath other items, he found the mummified corpse of a child."

Hutton, 43, denies her son's manslaughter.

Hamzah's remains fitted into clothing intended for a baby aged six to nine months because the boy's growth had been stunted, Mr Greaney said.

"It had been stunted because he was malnourished over a lengthy period and that state of affairs resulted in his death," he said.

"In short, he starved to death. How had a child starved to death in 21st century England?"

The trial is taking place at Bradford Crown Court. Pic: Betty Longbottom

The jury was told that Hutton, who the prosecutor said was an abuser of alcohol and cannabis, ordered pizza within hours of her son's death and continued to claim child benefit for him.

Mr Greaney said that in police interviews Hutton said she had gone to consult a pharmacist at a supermarket after her son had become particularly unwell on December 14, 2009.

"She explained that when she returned Hamzah was near to death. She sought to revive him but to no effect.

"She described placing Hamzah into his cot, making plain that she had treated his body with dignity, and it is right that we should observe that Hamzah's body was found, it was found with a teddy."

Hutton told police that things deteriorated after her son's death and she began to drink a bottle of vodka a day, Mr Greaney added.

"She made no call for assistance - for a doctor or an ambulance," he said.

The jury of four women and eight men were shown pictures of the inside of Hutton's home.

The lounge was filled with rubbish, including pizza boxes and empty bottles, which was so deep the carpet was not visible.

Mr Greaney pointed out to the jury how Hutton's bedroom was noticeably less cluttered and the blue travel cot where Hamzah's body was found was visible.

He told the jury that a police officer said to Hutton "you know what's been found, don't you Amanda?" as the defendant was being taken to the police station.

The prosecutor said she told the officer: "He died two years ago on the 15th December."

Hutton had worked as care assistant in the past and there was evidence that she had undergone some first-aid training, the prosecutor said.

The jury also heard that Hamzah's father, Aftab Khan, was separated from Hutton and lived elsewhere and there was evidence he had been violent towards the defendant.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Clegg: Lib Dems Can Keep UK On Right Path

Good Week For Nick Clegg In Glasgow

Updated: 4:27pm UK, Wednesday 18 September 2013

By Adam Boulton, Political Editor

The Liberal Democrat's five days in Glasgow have gone Nick Clegg's way.

From keeping Trident to backing the coalition's austerity economic policy, conference votes have backed the leader.

Underlining that they have real power now to actually do things, ministers have had some headline-grabbing announcements on plastic bags and free primary-school meals.

There has been precious little dissent at a meeting where many pundits predicted a few months ago a panicked party would be moving to dump its leader.

Instead, Mr Clegg's rivals have looked less of a threat this week.

For all his leftist rhetoric about hating the Tories, Vince Cable overplayed his hand signalling disagreement on the economy and ended up voting in support of Mr Clegg.

The pugnacious Climate Secretary Ed Davey won the vote for nuclear power but seems to have become a bit of a figure of fun.

Party president Tim Farron has remained studiously loyal throughout.

And the disgraced Chris Huhne, Mr Clegg's one-time rival for the top job, is no longer even a member of the party.

Yet, for all this, Mr Clegg and his allies are more confident about an upturn in the UK economy than they are of an improvement in the Lib Dem's dismal opinion-poll ratings.

Aides have deliberately drawn attention to an internal poll which shows that only one voter in four now says they would consider voting for the party.

In most current polls, it is getting barely half that with around 10% support.

The slump in popularity dates from when the Lib Dems went into coalition with the Conservatives.

So Mr Clegg was far from triumphalist in his close of conference leader's speech.

Instead he wanted to cheer his activists up by reminding them what the Lib Dems have achieved in government, while trying to persuade the viewing public that it will be worth voting for them next time.

And all this in spite of the criticism which has come the Lib Dem's way.

"Every insult we have had to endure since we entered government, every snipe, every bad headline, every blow to our support - that was all worth it, because we are turning Britain around," he said.

Mr Clegg told his supporters they should be proud of government policies such as the pupil premium, the cap on the cost of social care, investment in railways, parental leave, the move to a £10,000 income tax threshold and free primary-school meals.

He also boasted about their negative contribution blocking the Conservatives, he claimed, on ID cards, detention of child immigrants and cuts in foreign aid.

All this, he said, would be threatened if the next general election does not deliver another coalition government.

"The absolute worst thing to do would be to give the keys to Number 10 to a single party government - Labour or the Conservatives," he declared.

"In 2015 the clapped-out politics of red, blue, blue, red threatens everything we have achieved.

"But back in government - and next time that will mean back in coalition government - the Liberal Democrats can keep the country on the right path."

Mr Clegg made clear the Lib Dems could form a coalition with either of the big two parties but insisted "we're no-one's little brother".

He mocked those who speculated he would be more "comfortable" with either Ed Miliband or David Cameron.

And he explicitly rejected the view of the late Roy Jenkins, a founder of the party, of "aligning with a modernising Labour Party". 

"We have out own values, our own liberal beliefs. We're not trying to get back into government to fold into one of the other parties," Mr Clegg said.

"We want to be there to anchor them to the liberal centre ground, right in the centre, bang in the middle."

As has become commonplace in leader's speeches, Mr Clegg talked about his own family background.

With a half-Russian father, a Dutch mother and a Spanish wife, it is certainly cosmopolitan.

He admitted: "My upbringing was privileged: home counties, private school, Cambridge University."

His main purpose seemed to be to say that he is not exceptional anymore, a parent of three children in ordinary state schools.

And rather than parade an adoring wife across the stage, like his political rivals, he deliberately stepped down into the audience to salute her.

Mr Clegg knows that neither the conference nor his big speech will turn around Lib Dem fortunes overnight.

He consoles himself that there are still nearly two years of government to go until the next election.

He believes that the coalition will survive that long, during which the UK economy will continue recovery.

But before then two big votes will take place in Britain next year: the European parliamentary and local elections in May and the Scottish independence referendum in September.

On present form those elections look like an uphill battle for the Lib Dems.

But Mr Clegg rightly noted that perhaps the most memorable thing about his conference speech in Glasgow was that it took place with exactly one year to go until Scotland's vote on breaking up the United Kingdom.

So crucial is the referendum that the Lib Dems have postponed their conference next year, which would have taken place the same week, and will now follow the Labour and Tory gatherings.

Mr Clegg - and earlier the Scottish Secretary Michael Moore - argued fiercely for no to independence.

The Lib Dems have always favoured devolution and federalism but they believe it should be possible to be English or Scottish and British.

If Scotland votes yes to independence, Mr Clegg knows only too well that all bets will be off about the coalition's alleged achievements and for the 2015 General Election.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria: Nato Defends Military Strikes Option

Syria: How The Crisis Has Developed

Updated: 11:34am UK, Wednesday 18 September 2013

:: March 2011 - Protesters stage demonstrations in Damascus and security forces in Daraa shoot dead several campaigners, leading to unrest and violence.

:: May - The Syrian military deploys tanks in a bid to quash demonstrations.

:: July 19 - The UK freezes £100m of Syrian assets.

:: August 18 - US President Barack Obama calls on Bashar al Assad to step down. The US freezes all assets of the Syrian government.

:: November 16 - The Free Syrian Army attacks a military base near Damascus.

:: February 4, 2012 - A UN Security Council resolution on Syria is rejected for a second time by Russia and China.

:: March 1 - Government troops seize the Baba Amr district of Homs after an intense battle lasting for several weeks.

:: April 12 - A UN-brokered ceasefire comes into force after fierce fighting in the country.

:: May 23 - Dozens of people, many of them women and children, die in Houla, near Homs. Foreign Secretary William Hague says they were "massacred at the hands of Syrian forces". The UN later accuses the Syrian military of committing war crimes.

:: August - Barack Obama says the use of chemical weapons against civilians would represent the crossing of a "red line".

:: March 6, 2013 - Foreign Secretary William Hague says Britain will provide opposition forces with "non-lethal equipment for the protection of civilians".

:: April-May - Britain says there is credible evidence to suggest Syrian forces have used chemical weapons in Adra, Darayya and Saraqiq and calls for an investigation by the UN.

:: April 29 - Syrian prime minister Wael Nader al Halqi survives an assassination attempt as a car bomb explodes in Damascus.

:: May 14 - Footage of a Syrian rebel commander apparently cutting out a soldier's heart is condemned by the country's National Coalition.

:: June 6 - Syrian forces, backed by Hizbollah fighters, recapture the strategic border town of Qusair.

:: June 6 - Human Rights Watch releases footage which it claims shows Syrian troops shelling school buildings.

:: July 25 - The UN says the number of people killed in the civil war has reached 100,000.

:: August 21 - An alleged chemical attack in Damascus kills 1,300 people, according to the opposition. Doctors Without Borders says 335 people died from "neurotoxic" symptoms.

:: August 25 - Foreign Secretary William Hague says a chemical attack by the Syrian government is the only "plausible explanation" for the deaths.

:: August 26 - UN inspectors brave sniper fire to gather "valuable" evidence from one site of the alleged chemical attack, as the US Secretary of State John Kerry says the Assad regime would face action over the "moral obscenity".

:: August 27 - The UK recalls Parliament to hold a vote on August 29 on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. David Cameron and Barack Obama agree there is "no doubt" the Assad regime is responsible for the alleged attack.

:: August 28 - Britain tables a draft UN resolution condemning the alleged attack and "authorising all necessary measures".

:: August 29 - David Cameron is forced to rule out military action after narrowly losing a Commons vote on the principle of intervention.

:: August 31 - President Obama says the US "should take military action" in Syria but confirms he will seek authorisation from Congress before launching any strikes against the Assad regime. He says the US is "prepared to strike whenever we choose".

:: September 2 - a French intelligence reports claims the Assad regime was responsible for a "massive and coordinated" chemical attack in Damascus.

:: September 3 - Israel says it has carried out a joint missile test with the US in the Mediterranean.

:: September 4 - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approve a draft US resolution authorising the use of military force in Syria. Meanwhile, MPs in France debate whether to join any possible military intervention, although they do not vote on the subject.

:: September 5 - World leaders meet at the G20 summit in Russia, with the crisis in Syria high on the agenda.

:: September 6 - Britain pledges £52m in aid to Syria, as David Cameron hits back at a reported jibe from Russia that Britain is a "small island".

:: September 8 - The RAF sends up two Typhoon jets in Cyprus as warplanes, thought to have come from Syria, enter international airspace. Meanwhile John Kerry says more nations than his country can use are prepared to join military action against Syria.

:: September 9 - Russia urges Syrian President Bashar al Assad to hand over his chemical weapons to avert a US-led military strike on Damascus.

:: September 10 - President Barack Obama delays a Congress vote on air strikes as Russia gives the US its plan for putting Syria's chemical weapons under international contral.

:: September 11 - A UN report confirms at least eight massacres were carried by the Assad regime and one by rebels over the past 18 months.

:: September 12 - Syria formally applies to join the Chemical Weapons Convention. Russia and US hold two days of talks on the issue.

:: September 14 - The US and Russia agree on a giving Syria a deadline of one week to produce a list of chemical weapons they possess. 

:: September 16 - British, French and US foreign ministers meet in Paris and warn "there will be consequences" if Syria fails to abide by the plan to hand over its chemical weapons arsenal.

:: September 18 - Syria hands Russia "new materials" on the Damascus gas attack which it claims implicate rebels. Russia also calls the UN report into the incident "biased" and "politicised".

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Daniel Pelka Report: 'No One Suspected Abuse'

By Lisa Dowd, Midlands Correspondent

Chance after chance was missed to intervene in the case of a four-year-old boy who was beaten to death by his mother and stepfather.

A serious case review into the death of Daniel Pelka found repeated failures by agencies set up to safeguard children's welfare.

But it concluded that nobody could have predicted his death at the hands of an abusive mother and stepfather last year.

The report's author, Ron Lock, said: "No one professional, with what they knew of Daniel's circumstances, suspected or could have predicted that he would be killed.

"This was a complex and tragic case.

"Daniel's mother seemed plausible in her concerns about him, and no concerns were expressed by neighbours or the wider community.

"Strong concerns nevertheless emerged about Daniel's circumstances and his care, although at no point were practitioners who had contact with him prepared to think the unthinkable and consider that he might be suffering abuse.

"But if professionals had used more enquiring minds, and been more focused in their intentions to address concerns, it's likely that Daniel would have been better protected from the people who killed him."

Magdelena Luczak and Mariusz Krezolek were both jailed for life

Daniel was brought up in a chaotic family where violence and heavy drinking were the norm. He was known to police, social services, teachers and doctors.

But the report found that not one professional asked him what was going on at home.

Mr Lock said: "He didn't speak good English. His self-esteem was so low, he was a very isolated little boy so people found it hard to engage him.

"His mother often spoke on his behalf, as did his sibling, so rather than ask Daniel others were asked what he was thinking and to ask his mum and sibling was not going to give the correct answers."

Responding to the report, Children's Minister Edward Timpson said social workers had to allowed to move away from a "tick box culture where there is too much red tape".

They must "move to a child centred system where social workers ... are out there with children talking to them".

Daniel was terrorised at his home in Coventry by his mother Magdelena Luczak and his stepfather Mariusz Krezolek.

He was starved, beaten and force-fed salt. At school he rooted through bins for food and once turned up with two black eyes. He later died from a serious head injury on March 3, 2012.

The four-year-old had 40 injuries on his body when he died

The review found the couple misled authorities by lying about his injuries and pretending he had an eating disorder, rendering Daniel "invisible" to health professionals.

But it also highlighted how stretched children's services were in the city.

It described overworked staff who were "naive", who were not "inquisitive" and assumed others were "intervening".

It noted missed opportunities to help Daniel, including 27 reports of domestic violence to police.

In January 2011 he went to hospital with a broken arm - a spiral fracture suggested twisting -  but professionals were too ready to accept it was accidental.

In September, when Daniel started school, teachers noticed a pattern of injuries which they failed to record or act on.

In February 2012 he saw a community paediatrician - his weight loss was not recognised and child abuse was not even considered.

A few weeks later the four-year-old was dead. He had 40 injuries and a doctor said he looked like a concentration camp victim.

Martin Reeves, chief executive of Coventry City Council, said: "Professionals didn't have the whole picture. Daniel's voice wasn't heard at all.

"Arguably they are basic errors, but we have to put this against a backdrop of social care workers, police, health colleagues working every day making what some would argue are impossible judgement calls on child protection, so I think our key now is how do we learn from those issues."

The review, by the Coventry Safeguarding Children Board, has published 15 recommendations aimed at preventing such a failure happening again.

Luczak and Krezolek, both originally from Poland, were convicted of Daniel's murder in a trial earlier this year and are now both serving minimum 30-year terms in prison.

Ray Jones, professor of social work at Kingston University, told Sky News that up to 170 serious case review reports were prepared every year.

He said: "We're giving more time to the bureaucracy and procedures than giving time to actually spending the hours finding what is happening in a family. We've got the priorities wrong."

The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) also questioned the effectiveness of serious case reviews.

Chief Executive Bridget Robb said that the findings are not properly shared with child protection social workers.

Research the BASW carried out showed that one quarter of its members never get the chance to read serious case review reports.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Austria Siege: Four Shot Dead By Gunman

Special forces are surrounding an gunman who is barricaded inside a farmhouse after shooting dead three policemen and a medic.

The farmhouse has been sealed off by armoured vehicles

The suspect, said to be 55-years-old, has opened fire as dozens of elite armed Cobra officers surround the building.

The man first shot two police officers as they tried to arrest him in woodland near the Lower Austrian town of Anaberg, around 60 miles west of Vienna, late on Monday.

Security forces are taking no chances

The then killed a medic who was treating a wounded officer at the scene, before taking an officer hostage and fleeing in a stolen police car to his home at Kollapriel, near Melk, about 70km (40 miles) away.

One report says the man has hand grenades

That officer was later found dead in the car, according to Austrian media reports.

A police spokesman said: "The gunman keeps shooting at the Cobra forces ... The Cobra forces are working very slowly and very carefully."

Officers have come under fire from the man

At a roadblock he reportedly then shot a second police officer, and took another prisoner before stealing a police car, and driving about 40 miles to his farm at Kollapriel, near the city of Melk.

The Austria Press Agency says that the gunman and police had exchanged fire several times during the standoff. One report said he had hand grenades.

The gunman is said to be known to police as a poacher, often leaving the heads of dead animals on roads.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Washington Navy Yard Killer 'Hearing Voices'

US Deadliest Shootings

Updated: 10:32am UK, Tuesday 17 September 2013

The shooting at the Washington navy yard has been described by Barack Obama as "yet another mass shooting". It is part of a grim list in modern US history.

:: Sandy Hook, Connecticut, December 14, 2012:

Adam Lanza, 20, killed his mother before opening fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, killing 20 children and six adults. He then turned the gun on himself.

It is the worst school shooting in America's history and second only to the Virginia Tech massacre in terms of the country's deadliest ever attacks.

Both attacks make up a grim history of mass murders using firearms in the US.

:: Aurora, Colorado, July 20, 2012:

A masked gunman burst in on the Century 16 cinema during a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises throwing tear gas before opening fire.

He killed 12 and injured 58. James Eagan Holmes, 24, is the sole suspect and was arrested at the scene. He will appear in court in January.

:: Fort Hood, Killeen, Texas, November 5, 2009:

A 42-year-old US Army Major, serving as a psychiatrist, opened fire inside the US military base killing 13 and wounding 29 in an attack deemed an act of terrorism. Hasan was shot and captured and is paralysed from the waist down.

Before the killing he had been in touch with the late al Qaeda recruiter Anwar al Awlaki to ask whether he would be considered a martyr if he died shooting US soldiers.

:: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, April 16, 2007:

Seung-Hui Cho, 23, killed 32 and injured 17 in America's deadliest shooting. He launched two separate attacks at the campus two hours apart before killing himself.

Cho had a history of mental illness and was in therapy through his school years.

:: Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, October 2, 2006:

Charles Carl Roberts shot dead five and injured five in an attack at an Amish school. The 32-year-old dish washer at a local restaurant then killed himself.

He was driven by anger at God over the death of his premature daughter.

:: Red Lake Indian Reservation, March 21, 2005:

Sixteen-year-old Jeffrey Weise killed his grandfather and grandfather's companion before opening fire at Red Lake High School. He killed nine and injured seven, then took his own life.

He blamed years of school bullying for the attack.

:: Forth Worth, Sept 25, 1999:

Unemployed white supremacist Larry Gene Ashbrook opened fire on the congregation of Wedgwood Baptist Church, killing seven and wounding seven. He then turned the gun on himself.

Ashbrook, 47, was a member of a group that advocated killing minorities.

:: Atlanta, July 29, 1999:

Mark Orrin Barton, a trader, opened fire in two investment offices killing nine and wounding 12. He killed himself after a six-hour police manhunt.

The 44-year-old had been upset by big financial losses.

:: Columbine High School, Colorado, April 20, 1999:

Students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, opened fire on schoolmates after bombs they had planted in the cafeteria failed to go off. They killed 13 and injured 21 before killing themselves.

The students were motivated by their anger at society. Harris had a history of depression.

:: McDonald's, San Ysidro, California, July 18 1984:

Welder James Huberty walked into a McDonald's and opened fire killing 21 people and wounding 19 before being shot by a police sniper.

The 51-year-old thought society was about to collapse. When asked where he was going as he left the house for the killing, he told his wife: "hunting humans".

:: University of Texas, Austin, August 1, 1966:

Engineering student Charles Joseph Whitman, 25, opened fire on students from the 28th floor of the main campus building. He killed 13 and wounded 32 before being shot dead by a police marksman. He also killed his wife and mother.

In a note he said he was suffering irrational thoughts and wanted to relieve his wife and mother from suffering but offered no explanation for the university attack.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Grand Theft Auto V: Stab Victim's Game Stolen

A man who bought one of the first copies of Grand Theft Auto V has been attacked and robbed of the game as he made his way home.

The 23-year-old was hit with a brick and stabbed shortly after leaving an Asda supermarket in Colindale, north London, where the game went on sale at midnight.

He also had his watch and mobile phone stolen and is now recovering in hospital, where his condition is said to be stable.

A police spokesman said it was not clear whether the man was deliberately targeted for the game.

The man bought the game from an Asda store moments after it went on sale

GTA V is one of the most eagerly anticipated games ever and is expected to smash sales records.

It could shift as many as 25 million copies in its first year, generating £1bn for developer Rockstar.

The game, in which players take on the role of a criminal in a fictional city, is thought to be the most expensive ever made.

It is estimated to have cost £170m - more than most Hollywood blockbusters, including the likes of 3D film Avatar.

The game is expected to sell up to 25 million copies in the next year

Video games website IGN.com described GTA V as a "masterpiece" and predicted an outbreak of "GTA flu".

A poll of almost 11,000 of its readers found nearly half had booked the game's launch date off as holiday.

Although GTA V officially went on sale at midnight, some gamers claimed to have received their pre-ordered copies from Amazon up to four days early.

The online retailer launched an investigation, saying it had "established processes in place to deliver new titles to customers on their release date".

The Grand Theft Auto franchise has sold around 135 million copies worldwide since its 1997 debut.

The previous game in the series, GTA IV, is believed to have sold 25 million copies since its release five years ago.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Muslim Woman Must Remove Veil In Court

Browne Lobs Conference Grenades

Updated: 3:34pm UK, Monday 16 September 2013

By Anushka Asthana, Political Correspondent

Jeremy Browne, the Lib Dem Home Office Minister, was accused by one commentator of lobbing headline-grabbing "grenades" at the party conference.

His first hit was on Saturday after he compared immigration of Romanians into the UK with British retirees with villas in Spain or France.

This time he chose an even more controversial subject - whether Muslim girls should be banned from wearing the veil.

This is a contentious issue that pitches those who think freedom of expression should never be restricted against others who claim women subject to peer pressure are unable to make a free choice.

Mr Browne said he believed there should be a national debate about the issue, particularly regarding those under 18.

Society deemed children too young to make decisions over issues such as marriage, he said.

So how could it be sure that girls are making an informed choice about making the veil, he asked, and not being forced into the situation?

Nick Clegg was quick to response in a robust way, declaring it un-British to issue any central edict banning people from expressing their religion.

It is the obvious liberal position.

But it is interesting that the Deputy Prime Minister spoke of two possible exceptions.

He said that women should have to reveal their faces when passing through airport security, and he claimed there was an issue for teachers in the classroom.

Mr Clegg questioned whether covering a child's face might interfere with her education and that is an argument that is gaining traction.

The Prime Minister has already said he would support a ban on veils at a school attended by one of his children.

Others on his back benches want to go further.

Tory MP Dr Sarah Wollaston warns of "serious consequences" if women's faces are hidden from view in courts.

Facial expression is a key part of communication, she has claimed.

Coming after a college was forced to overturn a ban on the veil when it triggered widespread protests, all the politicians know that their views are controversial - not least Mr Browne.

He has called for a debate despite saying that his own instinct was against any legislation.

Did he simply want to make a story? And if so, what grenade might he lob next?

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria: UN Probing 14 Alleged Gas Attacks

The head of a UN panel on war crimes in Syria has revealed it is investigating 14 suspected chemical attacks, as a report appeared to show "clear evidence" of their use.

UN Commission chairman Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said the Geneva-based probe had not yet determined the exact materials used but was awaiting evidence from a separate team of chemical weapons inspectors whose findings are expected to be made public later.

A photograph of that report appeared to show the first page which revealed "clear and convincing evidence that surface-to-surface rockets containing the nerve agent Sarin were used".

"The conclusion is that chemical weapons have been used in the ongoing conflict between the parties in the Syrian Arab Republic ... against civilians including children on a relatively large scale," the inspectors said.

The inspection team was tasked with determining whether chemical weapons were used in an attack in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21, which the US says killed at least 1,400 people.

Ban Ki-moon receiving the report from Swedish expert Ake Sellstrom

Their findings, they said, were taken from samples they collected in the Ghouta area of Damascus.

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall said: "I assume that the UN report will go on talk about the type of weapon that was used.

"Other people will say, 'well only one side had the ability to do that'."

Their report will reveal which chemical agents were used, but will not make a judgement on who was responsible.

Details of the report are due to be presented in New York by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

At his news conference, Mr Pinheiro stressed that the "vast majority" of casualties of the conflict had been killed by conventional weapons such as guns and mortars.

He added that the Commission believed that President Bashar al Assad's government had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, while rebel groups had perpetrated war crimes but not crimes against humanity because there was "not a clear chain of command".

William Hague, Lauren Fabius and John Kerry in Paris

The developments came as British Foreign Secretary William Hague met with his French counterpart Lauren Fabius and US Secretary of State John Kerry in Paris to discuss the Syrian chemical weapons handover hammered out by the US and Russia.

Mr Kerry warned Mr Assad the allies would "not tolerate anything less than full compliance" with the agreement.

The accord offered the Syrian leader "no lifeline" and he had "lost all legitimacy", Mr Kerry added.

They want the agreed framework to be put into a "strong and binding" UN resolution, under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which can authorise both the use of force and non-military action.

However, Russia's understanding of the deal reached with the US in Geneva appears to be at odds with that of the Western allies, in that it believes a military option should only be on the table in the event of non-compliance from Syria.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov immediately cautioned against imposing tough penalties on Mr Assad, warning that a threatening UN resolution may "wreck peace talks".

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Costa Concordia: Ship Heaved Off Rocky Seabed

By Tom Kington, in Giglio

Crews attempting to right the Costa Concordia have successfully detached the wrecked cruise liner from the rocks on which it was impaled.

The salvage operation got under way this morning, after a three-hour delay due to bad weather.

Engineer Sergio Girotto said the crippled vessel would not budge for some three hours after the operation began.

After 6,000 tons of pressure was applied, the vessel was pulled free from the rocks.

Mr Girotto said: "We saw the detachment."

The rescue effort will see the giant ship gradually rotated and hauled 65 degrees back to upright position for eventual towing.

The operation just outside the small Italian island of Giglio, off the Tuscan coast, is expected to last up to 12 hours, taking it into Monday evening.

Engineers say the lifting can continue after darkness falls.

The Costa Concordia hit granite outcrops on the night of January 13, 2012

As it rose, an ever wider strip of rusted hull has emerged from the sea.

The cruise liner capsized in shallow water 20 months ago after smashing into rock, prompting the chaotic evacuation of 4,200 passengers and crew, and causing the deaths of 32 people.

Two bodies are still missing, and officials said they saw no sign of them as the ship was detached from the rocks.

The first two hours were considered critical in the €600m (£503m) "parbuckling" operation.

"Images show the lifting is happening as planned," said Italian Civil Protection Agency chief Franco Gabrielli, who added that no pollutants had been seen escaping from the vessel as it rose.

"There is significant deformation of the side of the vessel, showing the parbuckling operation needed to happen as soon as possible."

Parbuckling is a proven method to raise capsized vessels, notably used by the US military to right the USS Oklahoma in 1943 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

A storm hit Giglio on Sunday night, delaying the start of the operation

But the 114,000-ton Concordia has been described as the largest cruise ship ever to require the rotation, making this one most complex and costly maritime salvage operations ever attempted.

Engineers are using remote controls to guide a synchronised leverage system of pulleys, counterweights and huge chains looped under the Concordia's carcass to delicately lift the ship upright.

They started the operation by applying bursts of pressure on the pulleys, which are attached to the underwater platform and to towers on the landward side of the ship.

The ship will continue to be pulled upright by the pulleys, Mr Girotto said, "but we will get to a point when we need less pressure".

Ship captain Francesco Schettino is on trial

Soon, massive tanks attached to the exposed side of the ship will touch the water, providing buoyancy.

About 29,000 tons of water will pour out of the ship as it is pulled upright, and an even greater amount, 43,000 tons, will enter the ship.

What does come out will be polluted water that has swilled inside the ship for months in a mix of residual fuels, heavy metals and rotten food, including more than three tons of melon, 500 litres of olive oil, 14,000 packets of cigarettes, 18,000 bottles of wine, eight tons of beef and over 11 tons of fish.

But officials say the risk of an environmental damage is limited.

The Concordia's captain is on trial on the mainland for alleged manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the ship during the evacuation.

Francesco Schettino says the reef was not on the nautical charts for the liner's week-long Mediterranean cruise.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Washington Navy Yard Shooting: Several Dead

Two gunmen have shot 12 people, killing four, in an attack at the US Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters in Washington, according to police sources.

The men, one dressed in military fatigues, launched their attack on one of the biggest naval command buildings in the US in the early morning rush as people arrived for work.

Navy officials told Sky News that they were dealing with two gunmen and later confirmed that one had been killed.

Washington Post were reporting the men had shot dead four people and injured eight, sparking fears that it could be a terrorist attack.

Six schools in Washington have been put on lockdown.

A helicopter lifts a person from the roof at the navy yard

Authorities have officially confirmed only that there have been several fatalities and that at least 10 have been injured.

The President is being regularly briefed on the rapidly unfolding situation as law enforcement teams attempt to locate the gunmen inside the naval base.

Police and federal agents from multiple law enforcement agencies responded as the base, where 3,000 people work, was secured while officers searched for the shooter inside the complex.

Ambulances were parked outside, streets in the area were closed and flights at Reagan National Airport were temporarily halted.

Witnesses described a gunman opening fire from the fourth floor, aiming down on people in the first-floor cafeteria. Others said a gunman fired at them in a third-floor hallway.

Patricia Ward, who works at the command centre, and witnessed the attack said: "It just happened so fast."

She said that a gunman had been shooting into the atrium and added: "but I didn't pay any attention to that, I just kept on running."

Responding to questions about the level of security at the base Ms Ward said: "It's not secure enough for me."

She said that staff had to have a card to get on to the complex and that without one it would be difficult to pass security.

Todd Brundidge, an executive assistant with Navy Sea Systems Command, said he and other co-workers encountered a gunman in a hallway of their building on the third floor. 

SWAT teams on the roof at Navy Sea Systems Command

"He just turned and started firing," he said.

Terrie Durham, an executive assistant, said she also saw the gunman firing toward her and Mr Brundridge.

"He aimed high and missed," she said. "He said nothing. As soon as I realised he was shooting, we just said, 'Get out of the building.'"

Officials at MedStar Washington Hospital Center said two shooting victims had been brought there.

Teams on the ground at America's oldest navy yard

Sky News US Correspondent Greg Milam said: "If it is confirmed there is more than one gunman it suggests a level of coordination, of planing, maybe something more than just domestic issues, maybe you start then to question whether there is a terrorist motivation."

Tim Jones, a journalist with Sky News radio, said that when he visited the navy yard in April this year, he had found there were very few security checks to get on  to the base.

He said: "I showed my passport at the security gate, and got waved through. No scanners, no pat-downs, nothing.

I was only there to visit the museum, but got totally lost on the site, and was never challenged. My impression is there's a very significant civilian workforce on this base."

One of the gunmen, has been described as black, wearing dark clothing and around 5ft 10ins. They were said to have been carrying AR-15 rifles.

The weapon is the country's best selling rifle and the same weapon used in the both the Aurora cinema shooting where 12 were killed and the Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut last year, where gunman Adam Lanza killed 20 children.

A helicopter in the skies above the naval base

A Navy statement said: "An active shooter was reported inside the ... building on the Washington Navy Yard at 8:20 am Eastern Time.

"Emergency personnel remain on scene and a 'shelter in place' order has been issued for Navy Yard personnel."

Secretary of the navy Ray Mabus said: "I'm deeply shocked and saddened by the shooting this morning at the Navy Yard.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. I have complete confidence in our first responders, and I continue to be completely focused on this very difficult situation."

Naval Sea Systems Command is the largest of the Navy's five system commands and accounts for a quarter of the Navy's entire budget.

It builds, buys and maintains the Navy's ships and submarines and their combat systems.

:: US Navy Base Shooting: Live Updates

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Peru Drugs: Melissa Reid To Plead Guilty

Peru Drugs Girl Plea

Updated: 2:15pm UK, Sunday 15 September 2013

The harsh reality for those caught trying to smuggle cocaine out of Peru is that sooner or later the penny drops: plead guilty and get a reduced sentence or fight the case and risk decades behind bars - often up to 20 years.

It's a bit like that in many legal systems, including our own in Britain, where early guilty pleas are often rewarded with shorter sentences.

But in Peru, where they see a steady flow of young women from around the globe caught with cocaine at the airport, there is very little sympathy for the story of how they ended up there.

Michaella McCollum, from Dungannon, and Melissa Reid, from Lenzie near Glasgow, who are both 20, are accused of trying to smuggle some 11kg (24lb) of cocaine out of the country.

They say they were forced to by a Columbian gang who threatened their families if they didn't go through with it, but the Peruvian legal system seems to show little interest.

There is no trial by jury in Peru, no witnesses will be sought other than the arresting officers and there's very little opportunity for the defence's case to be scrutinised.

"All the girls (caught smuggling drugs) have the same story," a senior prison official told me as we walked around the recreation area of Ancon 2, one of Peru's most notorious prisons last month.

"Many are naive to the system we have in this country. If you are caught with drugs then the system views it as a rather straightforward case.

"Why they did it, who made them do it, who threatened who - that's a wider issue. The fact remains, they still had drugs in their bag and they didn't tell anyone until they were caught by the drugs officers at the airport."

They talk tough in Peru.

According to the United Nations, Peru is now the number one producer of cocaine in the world.

A kilo of pure, refined cocaine is worth around $1,000 in Peru, by the time it reaches Europe that price has soared to around £80,000 while in Asia it can be worth $100,000 (£63,000) and in Australia that same $1,000 kilo bar is worth $120,000 (£69,900).

Mellissa Reid is now facing what the Peruvian system calls the 'six-and-eight'.

Six years and eight months for drug smuggling - a specific length because sentences under seven years entitle the prisoner to early release and transfer to their home nation.

The newspapers make it sound very simple today suggesting a release could happen as early as three years.

When I filmed inside Ancon 2 prison in the desert north of Lima last month, I spoke to the prison's only British prisoner.

Sarah, a mother-of-two from Croydon in south London, was caught trying to smuggle two kilos of cocaine stuffed in a guitar.

"When I was caught, I couldn't believe it," said the 23-year-old.

"I was told a lawyer was coming to see me - a nun - and that she would fight my case.

"When she visited me in the Dirango police station she said I needed to find $7,000 (£4,400) and she would secure my release.

"My family back home raised the money and paid it to the lawyer. The next day she brought me a blanket and a pillow. I never saw her again."

It's impossible to confirm this ever happened, but Sarah's story is repeated throughout Peru.

Sarah got six-and-eight - she's already served three and a half years.

"They say you could be released after three years. But they string you along. They say 'you'll be out in two weeks' and the two weeks pass and nothing happens. It's torture."

It's expected Michaella McCollum will follow Mellissa Reid in admitting everything for the shorter sentence. The penny's dropped. But talk of early release is dangerous and premature because in Peru nothing is certain and nothing is promised.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Costa Concordia Lift 'To Cause Huge Damage'

By Tom Kington, in Giglio

Salvage officials have warned the 950ft-long (290m) Costa Concordia will bend and suffer enormous internal damage as jacks hoist it off rocks with enough pressure to lift two Eiffel Towers.

But they remain confident the ship's hull will remain intact as 56 massive chains tighten around it on Monday, avoiding the nightmare scenario of the 114,000 tonne vessel shattering and spilling its contents into the waters around the Italian island of Giglio.

"The ship will probably bend during the operation and metal inside will buckle," said Sergio Girotto, project manager for Micoperi, the Italian firm which has teamed-up with US company Titan to raise the Costa Concordia.

The cruise liner capsized in shallow water 20 months ago after smashing into rock, causing the deaths of 32 passengers.

Salvage workers and local authorities confirmed on Sunday that good weather would allow the 10-12 hour operation to start just after 6am on Monday.

"We have 12,000 tonnes of pressure to use, which would lift two Eiffel Towers, but I hope we will only need five or six thousand," he said.

Some 500 engineers and divers are working on the project

That will depend how firmly the ship is wedged onto two pinnacles of underwater granite where it came to rest on the night of January 12, last year, prompting the panicked evacuation of 4,200 passengers and crew.

The two outcrops, which are embedded six metres into the hull of the ship, are the great unknown at the heart of the 600m euro, 'parbuckling' operation, which will see the ship hoisted by jacks on to a bed of 1,000 cement bags and six underwater platforms bigger than a football pitch.

Marine biologist Giandomenico Ardizzone, who has been monitoring the sea bed for the ship's operator Costa Crociere, said he had dived under the vessel on Saturday to fix cameras on the points where the rocks plunge into the hull.

"We have been told to get ready for loud noises during the lifting," said Mr Ardizzone.

The ship is currently wedged onto two pinnacles of rock under the water

Microphones placed throughout the ship will relay the sound of twisting metal to a command centre, where the pressure on the jacks will be controlled. The ship's huge marble spa could shatter during the lifting, added Girotto.

The ship, which is currently lying on its starboard side, it will be pulled onto a platform built at a depth of 31 metres.

"Everyone expects the ship to rise up, but it will appear the opposite," said Mr Ardizzone. "Once it is settled, the water will rise up to deck seven, which is almost at the bridge.

Measuring 55 metres high, the Costa Concordia was designed to sit in eight metres of water when floating.

Now punctured by holes, it will sink onto the platform and the water line will be 23 metres higher than normal, leaving only 24 metres of the ship visible until it is refloated next year and towed off for scrap using massive floatation tanks.

Engineers insist there will be little risk of pollution to the island

"What we will see for the first time are the decks on the starboard side from where people evacuated on the night," said mayor of Giglio Sergio Ortelli.

Mr Ardizzone said that as 29,000 tonnes of water pours out of the ship as it is pulled upright, an even greater amount, 43,000 tonnes, will enter the ship.

"That means less of the ship will be visible out of the water after the parbuckling," he said.

What does come out will be polluted water that has swilled inside the ship for months in a mix of residual fuels, heavy metals and rotten food, including over three tonnes of melon, 500 litres of olive oil, 14,000 packets of cigarettes, 18,000 bottles of wine, eight tonnes of beef and over 11 tonnes of fish.

How the ship will look in the water if the operation is a success

Mr Ardizzone said the quantities of heavy metals and fuels were too small to create concern for the surrounding protected marine park, a view shared by Maria Sargentini, the head of a public commission set up to monitor the operation.

"We have absorbent booms in place around the ship and we are really confident that pollution will be contained," he said.

"The food will likely smell, but it is harmless. After all the island already flushes its sewers into the sea."

Mr Girotto said that in the run up to the parbuckling, 4,000 cubic metres of water had already been removed from the food storage area of the ship and the laundry.

"Those were the two parts of the ship that our samples showed were the most polluted. Now the water down there is much cleaner," he said.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria Crisis: US Says 'Threat Of Force Is Real'

Obama: Syria Strike Threat Remains

Updated: 10:23am UK, Sunday 15 September 2013

US President Barack Obama has indicated that the threat of military action remains should Syria fail to comply with a plan to destroy its chemical weapons.

Mr Obama welcomed the newly-brokered US and Russian plan, calling it an "important, concrete step", but warned that "if diplomacy fails, the United States remains prepared to act".

In a statement, he said the diplomatic solution was working partly due to America's "credible threat" of military force.

Earlier he told the US public, in a television address, that the country would "maintain our military posture in the region to keep the pressure on the Assad regime".

The US and Russia have given Syria one week to submit a "comprehensive list" of its chemical weapons stockpiles - otherwise, the US will seek a UN resolution that could still authorise strikes.

On their final day of talks in Geneva, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that once the details had been handed over the Assad regime would have until November to allow UN inspectors access to the sites.

Destruction of the regime's chemical weapons must then be complete by mid-2014.

Syria has previously said it would need a month to hand over initial details of its weapons stash.

The disarmament plan - instigated by Russia - managed to avert a planned US Congress vote on potential military strikes earlier this week, which President Obama looked liked losing.

Speaking in Geneva, Secretary of State Kerry reiterated that he now expected no stalling tactics from Syria.

He said: "The world will now expect the Assad regime to live up to its commitments ... there can be no room for games. Or anything less than full compliance by the Assad regime ... Syria must allow immediate, unfettered access to chemical sites".

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also hailed the US-Russia agreement as "excellent" and said its significance was "hard to overestimate".

The rapport between the two men is seen by many experts as having played a crucial part in getting a difficult deal done.

Russia has long backed away from sanctioning the Syrian regime and strongly resists the possibility of military action.

Mr Lavrov and Mr Kerry also told journalists their teams of experts had reached "a shared assessment" of President Bashar al Assad's existing stockpile.

The US has estimated that Syria possesses around 1,000 metric tonnes of various chemical agents, including mustard and sarin gas, sulfur and VX.

The Russian estimates were initially much lower, according to US officials, but Mr Kerry said the two countries had reconciled their different assessments.

A US official told reporters that Washington believed there were 45 sites across Syria linked to the country's chemical weapons programme.

"Roughly half have exploitable quantities of chemical weapons materials," the official said, adding that all of the sites were currently under the control of the government.

France, an important ally for the US in recent weeks, welcomed the chemical weapons deal.

"The draft agreement reached in Geneva about eliminating the Syrian regime's chemical weapons is an important step forward," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.

Fabius said a Russia-U.S. deal to remove Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's chemical weapons was an important first step and called for a political solution to address the mounting death toll in Syria.

He made the comments to reporters in Beijing after meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Fabius will then hold more discussions on the plan's implementation on Monday, when Mr Kerry and British Foreign Secretary William Hague travel to Paris.

Mr Hague said the UK government was also firmly behind the plan.

He tweeted on Saturday: "Have spoken to Secretary Kerry. UK welcomes US-Russia agreement on #Syria chemical weapons. Urgent work on implementation now to take place."

He added: "The priority must now be full and prompt implementation of the agreement, to ensure the transfer of Syria's chemical weapons to international control.

"The onus is now on the Assad regime to comply with this agreement in full. The international community, including Russia, must hold the regime to account."

But influential US Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham said the agreement was a debacle.

In a joint statement, the two Republican lawmakers voiced fear that Washington's friends and foes alike will view the agreement as an "act of provocative weakness on America's part."

Syria's opposition also rejected the US-Russian initiative.

Speaking from Istanbul, the Free Syrian Army's chief said the move would not solve the crisis, claiming Assad's forces had been moving their chemical weapons stockpiles to Lebanon and Iraq over the last few days.

"We in the Free Syrian Army are unconcerned by the implementation of any part of the initiative ... I and my brothers in arms will continue to fight until the regime falls," General Selim Idriss said.

The alleged poison gas attack on the Damascus suburb of Ghouta on August 21 killed more than 1,400 people, according to the US government.

However, the Syrian regime has long denied the claims and says rebel forces were responsible.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Family Calls For Calm After Leicester Killing

The uncle of a man killed in Leicester has appealed for calm and unity following the killing last Thursday.

Antoin Akpom was found injured by police officers in Kent Street and later died.

"Antoin was a loving and devoted father, a hard working young man recognised as a positive role model for all sections of the community," Ronnie Akpom said at an emotional news conference.

"The memory of his infectious smile and kindness will remain with everyone that knew him.

"An innocent life has been lost and the family calls for everyone to keep calm and united and to assist the police with their inquiry so that the people who did this will be brought to justice.

A flower tribute left at the scene for Mr Akpom

"He was from a good family. His mother Cheryl is well known for her work in the community and promoting community cohesion, and more than ever we need cohesion in the community now."

Mr Akpom's uncle also expressed sympathy with relatives of a family who died in a fire hours after the killing.

"Our deepest condolences go to the Taufiq family from Wood Hill who have also tragically lost family members," he said.

Four members of the Taufiq family died in the fire

Police have been investigating links between the two crimes - although there is no suggestion that the fire victims were involved in the death of Mr Akpom - with one theory being the house was mistakenly targeted.

Neurosurgeon Muhammad Taufiq al Sattar is mourning the death of his wife Shehnila Taufiq who perished in the fire at the couple's terraced home in Wood Hill, in the Spinney Hills area of Leicester, in the early hours of Friday.

Their children, 19-year-old daughter Zainab and sons Jamal, 17, and Bilal, 15, also died in their fire.

Police are continuing to investigate the cause of the fire

Roger Bannister, Assistant Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police, said: "While we are investigating links between the two crimes there is absolutely no evidence to suggest those who died in the fire, or indeed anyone else who lives in that property, was involved in the assault in Kent Street.

"Because of the close proximity - in terms of time and location - of the two incidents, it is right that we look at whether there are links between the two crimes.

A 19-year-old man is being questioned over the death of Mr Akpom after being arrested in London on Friday, but two women also held over the killing have been released without charge.

Muhammad Taufiq lost his wife and three children in the fire

Police originally detained three women - aged 19, 20 and 27 - and two men aged 19 and 49 on Saturday in connection with the blaze, though two of the women have since been released without charge.

Leicester East MP Keith Vaz visited Wood Hill on Sunday after police lifted a cordon which had been in place since the house fire and attended a tribute to Mr Akpom at Leicester Nirvana FC.

"The whole city is in shock. The police have done a superb job so far and I think everyone wants to see the perpetrators of these five deaths brought to justice as quickly as possible," he said.

A minute's silence was held before matches played by Leicester Nirvana over the weekend out of respect for Mr Akpom, who coached and played for the club.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More