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.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on the telephone with French leader Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who both expressed "extreme concern" over the violence and called for a ceasefire.

A separatist gathers ammunition at the site of the crash

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

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.

Everyone on board was killed

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

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.

"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.

Luhansk is close to the Russian border

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.

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.

The first flash of light in the footage

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 Crimea in March.

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.

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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.

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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.

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Two Casualties As Plane Crashes Near M1

A light aircraft has crashed close to the M1 motorway in Nottinghamshire with two people on board, according to police.

A Nottinghamshire Police spokeswoman confirmed there were two casualties in the accident, which took place close to junction 26 of the motorway, near Hucknall Aerodrome, at around 1.30pm on Saturday.

It was unclear what condition they were in.

The spokeswoman said: "The police, fire service and ambulance service attended and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch will be investigating this incident."

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Iraqi Civilians Flee Islamist Advance

Aid agencies are preparing to cope with nearly one million Iraqis believed to have fled their homes as Islamist insurgents have seized control of parts of the country.

The mass movement of people began after fighters from an al Qaeda breakaway group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), seized the northern city of Mosul in a surprise assault on Monday.

Since then, more civilians have fled as the militants have advanced southward toward the capital.

Unicef's Jeffrey Bates, who is near Irbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq, said the agency estimated nearly 500,000 people had crossed into the region over the past three days.

An Iraqi refugee wipes tears from her eyes

"The situation is still very fluid in that we are not able to really calculate exact numbers or even exact locations at this point.

"So a lot of energy is going into mapping out where populations have gone, how they've settled into the local communities or indeed if  they're just squatting in hospitals, or schools or fields.

"... Couple that with the 300,000 that were displaced from Anbar and you're getting up to close to a million right now."

Many people have fled to the Kurdish-controlled area of Iraq

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Bates said the Kurdish government had been quite accommodating and open to allowing the influx of the predominantly Arab displaced.

"There was a fear that the checkpoints would get clogged and people would be stranded on roads for days," he said.

"This has actually proven to not have been the case in that the Kurdish government was very able to very quickly process people and give them passes to come into Kurdistan."

Cars and trucks line up at the checkpoint to Kurdistan

Local aid workers said most people are arriving with little more than the clothes on their backs and have little money.

Save The Children said it was "working around the clock" with refugees and displaced people. It said the situation in the region was already tough after thousands of people had been displaced by the conflict in neighbouring Syria, where ISIS is also fighting.

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Daughter 'Lost It' And Shot Mum 'After Taunts'

A woman has told her trial she "lost it" and shot her mother who had claimed to have had a sexual relationship with the daughter's husband.

Susan and Christopher Edwards are accused of murdering Patricia and William Wycherley in 1998, burying them in their garden and pretending they were alive for 15 years.

Susan Edwards admits the manslaughter of her mother on the basis of provocation and the two defendants each deny two counts of murder.

Christopher Edwards

In the witness box, she said was visiting her parents without her 57-year-old husband on a May bank holiday in 1998 at their home in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, and was woken in the night by a noise.

She told the jury she went into her parents' bedroom and found her mother standing over her 85-year-old father, who was dead on the floor.

Former librarian Edwards, 56, said she picked up the gun after her mother had put it on a bed and shot Mrs Wycherley who was provoking her with relentless taunts.

Edwards said: "I knew my father was dead. I don't know how I knew, I just knew. She (her mother) started saying things to me."

According to the defendant, 63-year-old Mrs Wycherley told her she was not wanted as a child, she knew her father abused Edwards when she was growing up and she had had a sexual relationship with Christopher Edwards.

She told the jury: "I picked (the gun) up to keep it from her. She kept saying all of these things. She said she knew of my father's abuse.

Susan Edwards' father William Wycherley

"She kept saying things over and over again. I asked her 'please stop saying these things and go away. Please stop saying these things'.

"She didn't. She kept going on and on. It seemed like a long time. At some point I lost it. I shot my mother."

The Edwards are accused of raking in £245,000 by making it seem like the couple were still alive.

Their neighbours and relatives were told after their deaths that they had gone travelling or had moved to the coast for health reasons, according to prosecutors.

The prosecution claims the Edwards, who married in 1983, had been in severe financial difficulties for much of their relationship and they killed the elderly couple for the cash, claiming pension money and selling the Wycherleys' house.

The trial was adjourned until Monday after Edwards completed her evidence.

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Miliband 'Sorry' Over World Cup Sun Picture

By Jason Farrell, Political Correspondent

Ed Miliband has apologised to the people of Liverpool for posing with a copy of the Sun Newspaper, saying he "is sorry to those who feel offended".

The Labour leader helped promote a World Cup edition on Thursday which was being sent free to 22 million homes.

In a staged photograph, strongly criticised on Twitter, he is seen holding up the paper with the headline "This Is Our England".

David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage also joined the promotion.

A Labour Party spokesman said: "Ed Miliband was promoting England's bid to win the World Cup and is proud to do so.

"But he understands the anger that is felt towards The Sun over Hillsborough by many people in Merseyside and he is sorry to those who feel offended."

Many in Liverpool will never forgive The Sun's reporting of the Hillsborough tragedy and comments it made about the fans' behaviour for which the paper later apologised, saying they were "inaccurate and offensive".

Mr Miliband was lampooned over images of him eating a bacon sandwich

The blunder has raised more questions about how well Ed Miliband is being advised and comes after much lampooned images of him eating a bacon sandwich.

But critics say the larger question is whether he is out of touch with Labour voters.

The Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, attacked Ed Miliband for associating himself with the paper.

In a statement he wrote: "My city was offended and insulted by the lies and smears peddled by The S*n and their hindrance to our fight for justice is something that will never be forgotten."

"For the leader of the Labour Party to make such an offensive gesture insults not only me but every person in the city.

"This is just another example of how out of touch the politicians in their ivory towers are from the lives of ordinary people.

"It begs the question - were the comments he made after the Hillsborough panel report sincere or just sound bites?"

None of the other party leaders felt the need to apologise for their involvement in the promotion.

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Iraqis Told: 'Take Up Arms And Defend Country'

Iraqi army helicopters have fired rockets on a mosque in the city of Tikrit, as a representative of the country's most senior Shi'ite cleric urged people to take up arms and defend the nation from Islamist militants.

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."

Sunni insurgents are edging closer to the country's capital after seizing large swathes of territory as they head south on the road from Mosul to Baghdad.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki travelled to the embattled city of Samarra on Friday for a security meeting. THe city was attacked by militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) earlier in the week.

ISIS fighters have been parading seized military equipment and flying the black and white flag of the Islamic caliphate, or state, they hope to create.

General Lord Richard Dannatt, former chief of the general staff, told Sky News the "bitter" conflict is "almost a fight for the soul of Islam itself".

Amid fears the nation could degenerate into civil war, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki should do more to put aside sectarian differences.

Volunteers who have joined the Iraqi Army to fight ISIS board an army truck

Mr Kerry added he expects President Barack Obama to decide quickly what action the US will take to try and combat ISIS's advance.

The government has implemented an emergency plan to defend the capital, Baghdad.

Security forces are gathering at a base just 20 miles outside Baghdad, ready to protect it from ISIS fighters who have vowed to march on the city.

Brigadier General Saad Maan told the AFP news agency: "The plan consists of intensifying the deployment of forces, and increasing intelligence efforts and the use of technology such as (observation) balloons and cameras and other equipment."

A comparison of the Iraqi army and ISIS

Insurgents have taken control of the northern cities Mosul and Tikrit, having previously seized Fallujah and parts of Ramadi.

The militants have also moved into the towns of Saadiyah and Jalawla in the eastern province of Diyala, after security forces abandoned their positions.

A security source and local official told Reuters that insurgents clashed with Shi'ite militia at two locations in the province.

The Iraqi army fired artillery at Saadiyah and Jalawla from Muqdadiya, 50 miles from the Baghdad city limits, sending dozens of families fleeing towards the Iranian border, security sources said.

Some of the areas affected by the fighting in Iraq

The air force also launched airstrikes on militant fighters' positions around Mosul and Tikrit.

In Mosul, ISIS fighters staged a parade of American Humvee patrol vehicles seized from the Iraqi army.

Witnesses say the fighters are preparing a third assault on Samarra, 70 miles north of Baghdad, following two failed attempts to take the city.

An Iraqi security officer stands guard as Iraqi civilians wait to volunteer

As the chaos spreads, Iraqi Kurdish forces have taken control of Kirkuk, an oil hub close to their autonomous enclave, after government troops abandoned their posts.

ISIS has published Sharia rules for the territory it has gained in northern Iraq, including a ban on drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and an edict on women to wear all-covering, shapeless clothing.

Militants are reported to have executed soldiers and policemen after seizing some towns.

Temporary camps have been set up to take in people who have fled

UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said the number of people killed in Mosul may run into the hundreds.

He said his office had reports the killings included the execution of 18 civilians working for the police.

Four women killed themselves after being raped, while 16 Georgians have been kidnapped, Mr Colville added.

"We've also had reports suggesting that the government forces have also committed excesses, in particular the shelling of civilian areas on 6 and 8 June," he said.

"There are claims that up to 30 civilians may have been killed."

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World Cup: Violent Clashes In Sao Paulo

Police have fired stun grenades and tear gas to break up a protest in Sao Paulo just hours before the opening game of the World Cup.

Officers also used rubber bullets as anger at the money being spent to host the competition spilled over.

Around 100 protesters gathered near a subway station with a red banner reading "If we have no rights, there won't be a Cup".

They were trying to block part of the main highway leading to the Corinthians Arena, which hosts tonight's opening match between Brazil and Croatia.

Lines of police moved in and managed to disperse them, making at least one arrest.

Tear gas has been used to disperse protesters

The demonstrators regrouped about two hours later and clashed with police again three blocks away, hurling rocks and setting fire to rubbish.

At least one protester was arrested, local media reported, and two CNN journalists were hurt , the network said on its website.

CNN producer Barbara Arvanitidis, injured in the protests

One of the journalists had her hand injured by a tear gas canister. The extent of the injuries of the other journalist was not clear, nor if any protesters were hurt..

At least four other protests were called for in Sao Paulo, along with demonstrations in Rio and at least another five cities.

Many Brazilians are furious over the $11.3bn (£8bn) spent on staging the World Cup when basic social services are poorly financed.

Rubber bullets are fired by officers near the Corinthians Arena

Their pessimism has so far overshadowed a brighter mood among the some 800,000 foreign tourists expected to come to Brazil for the event.

After a build-up marred by construction delays and political unrest, the competition will finally get under way after an opening ceremony featuring performances by stars including Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull.

Much of Sao Paulo, Brazil's biggest city, resembled a ghost town today after officials declared a partial holiday to ensure traffic to the Corinthians Arena would be light. 

Riot police march towards the 200 protesters

However, thousands of fans flying into the country are facing a chaotic welcome after ground staff at Rio de Janeiro's Galeao airport voted to stage a 24-hour strike in a row over pay.

Baggage handlers and check-in staff will join colleagues at the city's Santos Dumont airport - an important hub for flights to Sao Paulo, where England play Uruguay next week - in downing tools.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has dismissed complaints about the heavy spending and delays in preparing stadiums and airports.

"What I'm seeing more and more is the welcome given to the teams and the happiness of the Brazilian people with our team," she declared.

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Iraq Air Force Strikes Militant Positions

The Iraqi air force has launched airstrikes on militant fighters' positions around the northern cities of Mosul and Tikrit after they threatened to march south to Baghdad.

Footage showed what state TV said was a bombing raid on Iraq's second city and a witness told AFP at least four air strikes had been aimed at militants occupying the old palace compound of Saddam Hussein in the former dictator's home town. 

Earlier, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) had paraded American Humvees it had seized from fleeing government security forces in Mosul.

Kirkuk is under the control of Kurdish fighters after Iraqi troops left

The group has seized Mosul, Tikrit and Baiji and fighting has also been reported on the outskirts of Samarra, within 70 miles of the capital.

In Baiji, insurgents driving 50 vehicles were reported to have surrounded an oil refinery.

Reports claimed that "hundreds" of young men were crowding outside the main army recruiting centre in the capital to sign up and help battle the militants.

Thousands of refugees have fled the violence. Pic: UNHCR

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

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

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

Abu Bakr al Baghdadi leads the ISI insurgents

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.

ISIS, 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, the group's 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."

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

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

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."

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

Security has been stepped up at checkpoints in the Iraqi capital

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."

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

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

British Foreign Secretary William Hague ruled out any military intervention and top officials of NATO also said they had no plans to get involved militarily.

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Russian Tanks Accused Of Entering Ukraine

Ukraine's interior minister has accused Russia of allowing tanks to cross its border to help pro-Russian separatists there.

Arsen Avakov said that a "column" with armoured vehicles crossed from Russia through border control points controlled by pro-Russian separatists near the Dyakove village in eastern Ukraine.

Mr Avakov said that "part of this column has been destroyed" by Ukrainian forces.

Russia did not immediately respond to the accusations but Reuters correspondents reportedly saw three tanks in the border town of Snizhnye in east Ukraine.

Meanwhile Russia has begun military exercises in its Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad in what the Defence Ministry said was a response to drills by Nato allies in parts of eastern Europe that were launched after Moscow's intervention in Ukraine.

In addition, Latvia said that Nato fighters that carry out air patrols over the Baltics scrambled a record four times on Thursday after a total of 16 Russian military planes were spotted close to Latvia's air space.

Ukraine's Defence Ministry did not reveal the scale of the Russian exercises but said the equipment and number of troops involved "corresponds" to the size of the Nato manoeuvres.

A map showing the location of Kaliningrad and the Baltic states

"The training of the army's group in the Kaliningrad operational (theatre) is being held simultaneously with the international (Nato) exercises of Saber Strike-2014 and BALTOPS-2014 launched in Europe," its statement said.

Kaliningrad is a sliver of territory that is unconnected to the rest of Russia and sandwiched between Nato member states Lithuania and Poland.

NATO countries responded to Russia's annexation of Crimea by sending fighter planes and ships to eastern Europe to reassure allies alarmed by Russia's action.

The alliance and its member states have also stepped up military exercises in eastern Europe, including the three former Soviet republics in the Baltics - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - that now belong to the Western alliance.

Meanwhile, in Ukraine, a former Ukrainian presidential candidate and backer of the pro-Russian separatist movement said he planned to ship food, medicine and money to the eastern part of his country.

Oleg Tsarev said on a visit to Donetsk that his People's Front movement had opened an office in Moscow and was preparing to distribute aid, in conjunction with the self-declared people's republics in eastern Ukraine..

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Rik Mayall Died Of Heart 'Event' After Run

Comic Rik Mayall suffered "an acute cardiac event" after returning from a morning run, his wife has said.

The actor, 56, who died at his home in Barnes, southwest London, on Monday, was best known for the TV shows The Young Ones and Bottom, in which he starred alongside long-time collaborator Adrian Edmondson.

Barbara Mayall said her family has received "thousands and thousands of messages of condolence" from around the world.

She said: "We always knew that Rik was well loved but we are all overwhelmed by so many joining us in our grief.

Rik and Barbara Mayall had been married for 25 years

"We now know that our darling Rik suffered an 'acute cardiac event' at our home around midday on June 9th."

Mrs Mayall said he had just returned from his "usual run" and that many people would have seen him out that morning.

She thanked the press "for their discretion" and "all the wonderful coverage", adding: "It would have made him very happy."

She added: "I am sure that you all know Rik's response would be something along the lines of.....' well thanks very much all of you.............now f*** off!!!"'

Earlier, West London Coroner's Court said a post-mortem examination into Mayall's death had been inconclusive and more tests were being carried out in an attempt to determine how the star died.

Mayall with Ade Edmondson (L) in The Young Ones

The late actor could feature in this weekend's top 40 after a track he recorded for the 2010 World Cup - Noble England - entered at number 38 after a social media campaign by fans.

It had climbed to 11th on Thursday.

Mayall starred in several other programmes including The New Statesman, in which he played conniving MP Alan B'Stard, Blackadder II and Blackadder Goes Forth.

And he appeared in film roles including Drop Dead Fred.

Mayall as MP Alan B'Stard

In 1998, he was seriously injured in a quad bike accident which left him in a coma for several days.

Mayall said doctors had kept him alive on a life-support machine for five days and were about to turn it off when he began to show signs of life.

He leaves his wife and three children - Rosie, Sidney and Bonnie who paid tribute to her "foul-mouthed father".

She wrote on Facebook: "My dad was loved not only by my family, but by many many others.

"We will never forget him and neither will the world.

"RIP to the man, the myth, the legend - my wonderful, generous, foul mouthed and hysterical father. My idol now and forever.

"We love you daddy."

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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 these had been delayed.

He said emergency plans were being put in place to ensure families who want to go on holiday get their passports 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 Theresa May and Education Secretary Michael Gove had distracted the Home Secretary from her job.

"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," he said.

"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."

Those British citizens living abroad are being hit

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

Earlier on Wednesday the Government 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 Mrs 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 with a view to being 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.

Applications in the Liverpool passport office

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

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

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 face paying extra for a faster service - up to £55.50 on top of the £72.50 standard fee.

Families are frantic to get their passports

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. 

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

"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. 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."

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Iraq: Tikrit Seized As Militants Surge South

Militants from an al Qaeda splinter group have launched a wave of attacks south of captured Mosul a day after more than 500,000 people fled the city.

Iraqi police said insurgents from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) had seized control of Tikrit and freed hundreds of prisoners, AFP news agency reported.

The provincial governor, who is based in the city, is missing, officials have told AP.

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

The city, which is the hometown of former dictator Saddam Hussein, lies roughly halfway between the capital, Baghdad, and Mosul, which was captured on Tuesday.

In northern Baghdad a suicide bomber killed at least 15 people and wounded more than 30 others after detonating explosives inside a tent where local Shiite tribal leaders were meeting.

Some 250 guards at Iraq's largest oil refinery in Baiji were also forced to withdraw to another town after ISIL militants sent a delegation of tribal chiefs to persuade them to pull out.

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

Video footage also showed fighting on the outskirts of Kirkuk, close to the Kurdistan region, and there were reports of clashes further south at an entrance to the city of Samarra, which is just 70 miles (110km) north of Baghdad.

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.

In Mosul, gunmen wearing military uniforms and all-black clothing have been guarding banks and government buildings 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 second city and reportedly kidnapped the head of the diplomatic mission and 48 staff members, according to police.

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

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

People celebrate as ISIL fighters occupy Mosul. Pic: albaraka_news

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

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.

People queue at a border crossing into the Kurdistan region

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari 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.

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

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

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Black Cab Demo Causes Central London 'Gridlock'

Parts of central London have been left gridlocked after thousands of black cab drivers took industrial action at Trafalgar Square.

Up to 12,000 black cabs headed to the centre of the capital with the intent of causing traffic chaos.

Helicopter footage showed long queues of cabs across Westminster Bridge and along Whitehall to Trafalgar Square.

The traditional cabbies were protesting at Transport for London's (TfL) regulation of rival cab service Uber.

A line of black cabs pictured in Westminster

The Google-backed app allows users to order a car at the touch of a button, and the fare is calculated using GPS tracking.

But traditional cabbies say this is effectively a taxi meter, which only black cabs are legally entitled to use in the capital.

Sky's Ashish Joshi said that Trafalgar Square was "gridlocked" just before the protest officially started at 2pm.

He said: "This is technology against tradition. It's the new Battle of Trafalgar."

The protest is aimed at Transport for London and Uber

One driver with 15 years of experience told Sky News: "It's got to be a level playing field. England are playing Italy on Saturday, what if Italy turn up with 15 men against England?

"We love competition, we thrive on competition in this city, but it's got to be a fair competition."

But Uber general manager Jo Bertram has defended the company's business model, and says the number of app downloads has soared.

She said: "Londoners are voting with their fingers, tapping the app in support of new and innovative services as we see our biggest day of sign-ups in London today since launch two years ago.

Drivers in Spain took part in a similar protest

"In fact, today we're seeing an 850% increase in sign-ups compared to last Wednesday.

"Unsurprisingly, the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, which is stuck in the dark ages, is intent on holding London to ransom and causing significant economic impact to Londoners today, estimated to be £125m."

Earlier the app goaded black cab drivers by urging them to sign up to their pre-booking app, saying it gave greater "choice for consumers".

But the cabbies dismissed it as a PR stunt.

Similar demonstrations have also taken place today in Paris, Madrid and Barcelona.

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Madeleine McCann Police Search A Third Site

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 7:29am UK, Wednesday 11 June 2014

Here is a timeline of the key events since Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

2007

:: May 3 - Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

Jane Tanner, one of the friends eating with the McCanns, later reports seeing a man carrying a child away earlier that night.

:: May 5 - Portuguese police reveal they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal, and say they have a sketch of a suspect.

:: May 14 - Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an "arguido", or official suspect.

:: May 25 - Detectives release a description of the man reported by Jane Tanner three weeks earlier after pressure from the McCanns, their legal team and the British Government.

:: May 30 - Mr and Mrs McCann meet the Pope in Rome in the first of a series of trips around Europe and beyond to highlight the search for their daughter.

:: August 6 - A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the McCanns' holiday apartment.

:: August 11 - Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.

:: September 7 - During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both "arguidos" in their daughter's disappearance.

:: September 9 - The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

:: October 2 - Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.

:: October 25 - The McCanns release a new artist's impression drawn by an FBI-trained expert showing the man described by Jane Tanner.

2008

:: March 19 - Mr and Mrs McCann accept £550,000 libel damages and front-page apologies from Express Newspapers over allegations they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

:: April 7 - Three Portuguese detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, fly to Britain to re-interview the seven friends on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine vanished.

:: July 17 - Mr Murat receives £600,000 in libel damages from four newspaper groups over "seriously defamatory" articles connecting him with the child's disappearance.

:: July 21 - The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.

:: August 4 - Thousands of pages of evidence from the Portuguese police files in the exhaustive investigation into Madeleine's disappearance are made public.

2009

:: January 13 - Mr McCann returns to Portugal for the first time since coming back to the UK without his daughter.

:: March 24 - The McCanns launch a localised new appeal for information focused on the area in the Algarve where Madeleine disappeared.

:: April 4 - Mr McCann goes back to Portugal to help film a reconstruction of the events on the night his daughter vanished.

:: April 22 - The McCanns fly to the US to record an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey to mark two years since Madeleine's disappearance.

:: June 14 - Dying paedophile Raymond Hewlett says he was in the Algarve when Madeleine disappeared and has an alibi - but has no plans to reveal it.

:: August 6 - Detectives say they are hunting a "Victoria Beckham lookalike" with an Australian or New Zealand accent, reportedly seen in Barcelona three days after the little girl went missing.

2010

:: Feb 18 -  Kate and Gerry McCann say they are "pleased and relieved" at a judge's decision to uphold a ban on a book by former detective Goncalo Amaral.

:: Mar 3 -  A newly-released file from Portugese police on possible sightings is called "gold dust" and could lead to a breakthrough, says a spokesman for the McCanns.

:: May 1 - Kate McCann reveals she had thoughts about being "wiped out" in a motorway crash to end the pain of losing Madeleine - but vows never to give up.

:: November 10 - Madeleine's parents launch an online petition to help force a UK and Portuguese joint review of all evidence in the case.

:: November 15 -  The McCanns sign a deal to write a book about their daughter's disappearance.

2011

:: May 13 - The Prime Minister David Cameron asks London's Metropolitan Police to help investigate the case.

:: November 23 - Kate and Gerry McCann appear at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics.

They tell how media pressure affected their family life and accuse newspaper editors of hampering the search for their missing daughter.

Kate McCann says she felt "violated" when her diary was published without her permission.

:: December 5 - Scotland Yard detectives spend time in Barcelona as part of their re-examination of the case.

2012

:: March 9 - Portuguese police in Oporto launch a review of the original investigation.

:: April 26 - Scotland Yard says Madeleine McCann may still be alive and release an artist's impression of what she may look like as a nine-year-old.

:: July 6 - British detectives examine a claim that the little girl's body is buried near the apartment from where she vanished. It comes after a self-styled investigator sends police radar scans he claims show a burial site.

2013

:: February 11 - Gerry McCann calls for politicians to implement the conclusions of the Leveson Inquiry in full, backed by legislation.

:: February 13 - Police say the results of DNA tests on a girl in New Zealand who was mistaken for Madeleine reveal that she is not the missing British girl.

:: February 21 - Retired solicitor Tony Bennett who published claims that Madeleine McCann's parents caused her death is given a suspended jail sentence.

:: May 2 - Madeleine McCann's parents tell Sky News a police review into their daughter's disappearance is making "excellent progress" as they mark the sixth anniversary since she went missing.

:: May 17 - Scotland Yard say they have identified a number of "people of interest" they want to speak to. It believes it has found enough evidence to reopen the case but the Portuguese authorities are still resistant. 

:: June 15 - The Home Office agrees to fund a full-scale investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

:: October 13 - UK detectives reviewing the case say key details in the timeline of her disappearance have "significantly changed".

:: October 14 - A fresh appeal is launched in a bid to find a suspect detectives say is of "vital importance", with two new separate e-fits - thought to be of the same man seen on the night Madeleine went missing - released by police.

:: October 17 - Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the Scotland Yard team, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, and Mr and Mrs McCann meet officers in Lisbon to be briefed on the Portuguese case.

:: October 23 - Britain's most senior police officer Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe defends the way the Portuguese dealt with the initial investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, saying it would have been "very difficult" to immediately know if they were dealing with a serious crime.

:: October 24 - Detectives in Portugal reopen the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance after an internal review uncovers new lines of inquiry and witnesses who were never questioned during the original Portuguese investigation.

2014

:: January 3 - A family source says Kate and Gerry McCann have been denied permission to give evidence at a Portuguese libel trial over a book about the case by former local police chief Goncalo Amaral.

:: January 13 - British police investigate three burglars who were in the area when Madeleine disappeared, and whose phones were apparently "red hot" after she went missing. A letter is sent to Portuguese police asking for help to track them down.

:: January 29 - Scotland Yard officers, including the detective leading the case, fly to Portugal to meet police there and discuss the latest developments.

:: March 19 - Officers from Operation Grange launch a search for a man who sexually assaulted five British girls in the Algarve between 2004 and 2006.

:: April 23 - Detectives identify five new cases where a lone intruder abused young British girls in holiday apartments in the Algarve.

:: May 1 - Kate and Gerry McCann give an interview to Sky News where they are desperate to find out what happened to Madeleine, even if it is the "worst case scenario" as they back calls for a Child Rescue Alert service similar to the Amber Alert system in the US.

:: May 6 - Scotland Yard plans to dig for evidence in three locations in Praia da Luz are approved, with officers set to use ground penetrating radar.

:: May 8 - British Officers reportedly use a military helicopter to photograph potential excavation sites and hold a four-hour meeting with Portuguese colleagues to agree a timetable for new searches.

:: May 22 - Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley says the investigation will enter a "substantial phase of operational activity" in Portugal in the coming weeks. 

:: June 2 - Portuguese police seal off an area of scrubland to the west of Praia da Luz as they prepare to examine the potential excavation site.

:: June 11 - Police begin to search an area between Praia da Luz and the town of Lagos behind a water treatment plant. The search of the scrubland site was wound down on June 9.

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Cameron Sets Out 'British Values' For Schools

'Trojan Horse': Full Statement

Updated: 10:45am UK, Monday 09 June 2014

The full statement from Park View Educational Trust on a damning Ofsted inspection of its schools as part of the checks sparked by alleged Islamist infiltration plot.

"On behalf of the staff, students and parents who have worked so hard to improve their schools, we're extremely disappointed to confirm that Ofsted has graded Park View, Golden Hillock and Nansen schools as inadequate and put them into special measures.

"We support the role of Ofsted in holding schools to account in a fair and transparent way. But we wholeheartedly dispute the validity of these gradings.

"Park View, Golden Hillock and Nansen are categorically not inadequate schools.

"Our Ofsted inspections were ordered in a climate of suspicion, created by the hoax Trojan letter and by the anonymous unproven allegations about our schools in the media.

"Ofsted inspectors came to our schools looking for extremism, looking for segregation, looking for proof that our children have religion forced upon them as part of an Islamic plot.

"The Ofsted reports find absolutely no evidence of this because this is categorically not what is happening at our schools. Our schools do not tolerate or promote extremism of any kind. We have made a major commitment to raising all students' awareness of extremism, people who know and have worked with our schools are appalled at the way we have been misrepresented.

"Our schools serve some of the most disadvantaged communities in Britain. In spite of this, 75% of students at Park View achieved at least five good GCSEs last year including English and maths. This makes it the best school of its type in England.

"Golden Hillock and Nansen are on course to get their best results ever.

"Quite simply this is because we believe our role is to break the link between demographics, deprivation and destiny. We refuse to let our students' backgrounds limit what they can achieve and who they can become.

"The speed and the ferocity with which Park View school in particular has been condemned is truly shocking.

"Park View School, where we are standing today, has helped to transform the lives of local families by realising their hope and ambition for educational success. School communities in Park View, Golden Hillock and Nansen, that have worked hard to turn round failing schools, are being condemned when they should be being celebrated.

"The problem here is not extremism, or segregation, or religious indoctrination, all the things that Ofsted looked for but failed to find in our schools. The problem here is the knee-jerk actions of some politicians that have undermined the great work we do here and undermined community cohesion across Birmingham and across many of our cities.

"They have put Muslim children from these communities at substantial risk of not being accepted as equal, legitimate and valued members of British society.

"And they have allowed suspicion to be cast on the aspirations of their parents and anyone else who believes that these children deserve the same rights and excellent standards of education as any other child.

"It is important you know that we will now be challenging all these reports through the appropriate legal channels."

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Rolf Harris 'Used Fame To Mesmerise Women'

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter, at Southwark Crown Court

Entertainer Rolf Harris "mesmerised" his victims with his fame and talent before sexually assaulting them, a jury has heard.

Harris, 84, who is facing 12 counts of indecent assault, was described by prosecutor Sasha Wass QC in her closing speech as being a man of "deviant sexual behaviour".

Drawing on his fame as an entertainer for more than 50 years, Ms Wass told the jury of six men and six women his celebrity status was no excuse for his behaviour.

Reminding them of how he had burst into song during his evidence last month, she said: "All men are equal in the eyes of the law, you cannot buy your way out, you cannot bully your way out and you certainly cannot sing your way out of a criminal charge."

She also explained how the police investigation into Harris had "uncovered more and more women" who had been abused in the "seemingly untouchable world of the famous children's entertainer".

Ms Wass said the prosecution had "no doubt" of Harris's guilt, adding the evidence against him was "compelling" and that the victims had "no motive in making it up".

She said: "It has never been acceptable for an older man, in particular one with responsibility over children, to abuse them.

"They suffered a dreadful set of experiences at the hands of Rolf Harris and neither fame, age, wealth or talent provide any excuse for this behaviour."

Ms Wass said Harris was "arrogant, brazen and didn't believe he would be challenged" as he carried out the alleged assaults over a period of almost 20 years.

She said: "There is a strikingly similar pattern of deviant behaviour. How he treats women of all ages as objects for him to abuse and take advantage of when trapped and they could not get away."

Earlier she had described his technique of molesting women by saying: "Mr Harris started with a bear hug and then rapidly moved his hands over their bodies. They were trapped and then the sexual assaults very suddenly and very swiftly took place."

She dismissed Harris's defence as a "smoke screen and a red herring" also labelling it as "spurious" - in particular his claims that a make up artist could not have been groped by him because he is allergic to face powder.

Ms Wass said: "The accounts they (victims) give paint a picture like Rolf Harris pictures, each stroke is vague or unclear but put together you can identify what happens."

She also compared him to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, reminded the jury that Harris had admitted "being good at concealing his dark side".

Referring to the main victim, the best friend of his daughter Bindi, Ms Wass said "there was no place in which she felt safe, not even her own home".

Ms Wass said that Harris used the victim even in her late twenties for his "own sexual gratification, like she was a blow up doll" as she had been "dehumanised" by him.

Harris, dressed in a blue pinstriped suit and tie, listened to proceedings via a hearing loop as his wife Alwyn and daughter looked on from the public gallery.

He denies 12 counts of indecent assault on four girls and women aged between seven or eight years old and 19.

The trial continues with the jury expected to retire next week.

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Rat Poison Plot Captured On Camera In Italy

A mother and son have been accused of poisoning a rich elderly relative after their alleged murder attempt was caught on camera.

Elisabetta Martini, 62, and Marco Coggiola, 36, were arrested after they laced the 97-year-old woman's beverages with rat poison at her nursing home in Pinerolo, near Turin, in northern Italy.

Elisabetta Martini and Marco Coggiola

The pair allegedly carried out the plot in order to get inheritance from the relative. 

Police say the mother and son poisoned the woman on at least three occasions - adding the poison to coffee, water and a milkshake.

Doctors twice tested the woman's blood after she became ill but could not find anything wrong.

CCTV shows Coggiola appearing to hold the poison in his hand

But on the third occasion they found traces of rat poison and discovered a stash of the solution at of the home of the two accused.

The rat poison they allegedly used

Video footage at the nursing home shows Martini feeding the elderly woman a drink, allegedly spiked with the poison.

Both have been charged with attempted murder. Italian police say both have confessed to the plan.

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