Ebola Crisis: Alex Crawford's Special Report

In a week when the World Health Organisation declared deaths from ebola have reached over 4,000, Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford gained exclusive access to a body recovery team in Liberia.

You can watch a special version of the highlights of the report, or watch the full documentary and read her full story.

Our Health Correspondent Thomas Moore looks in detail at this latest global health crisis in this Sky News special report.

:: Watch a special Sky News programme on the ebola crisis at 3.30pm today and 3.30pm on Sunday - available on skynews.com, Sky News for iPad and on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202 and Freeview 132.

Video: Liberia Gripped By Ebola Virus Fear

Video: Africa Ebola Crisis: Special Report

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Ebola Exercise To Test Britain's Readiness

A national exercise is being held to test Britain's readiness for an ebola outbreak, with actors simulating symptoms of the deadly virus.

Government ministers will join dozens of medical professionals, some of whom will wear protective equipment, for the eight-hour drill in locations across the country.

Sky sources understand one of the locations that has been a part of the exercise is the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, where a two-hour drill was conducted.

A simulated meeting of the Government's COBRA emergency committee will also be held, chaired by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Meanwhile, aid ship RFA Argus, which is to be sent to Sierra Leone next week to help fight the outbreak, has arrived in Falmouth, Cornwall, to be loaded with medical supplies before being deployed to West Africa.

It will carry three Merlin helicopters, aircrew and engineers to provide transport and support to medical teams and aid workers there.

Video: Hospital Staff Throw Gloves At PM

The exercise was ordered by David Cameron as part of the UK's contingency plan against ebola, which has killed more than 4,000 people in West Africa.

It comes after the Prime Minister was forced to defend the decision to introduce enhanced screening for the virus at major points of entry, saying it had been taken on "medical advice".

Questions have been raised about the checks, with a spokesman for Gatwick saying the airport had not been given any instructions about how the screening should be carried out.

The move was also criticised by health experts, with one describing it as a "complete waste of time", while Labour MP Keith Vaz said the lack of precise information was "shambolic".

Video: Ebola Screening Coming To The UK

Mr Cameron said: "What we do is listen to the medical advice and we act on that advice, and that's why we are introducing the screening processes at the appropriate ports and airports.

"What we are focusing on as a country is taking action right across the board to deal with this problem at source."

The Department of Health has said it will provide further details about ebola screenings at Heathrow and Gatwick airports and Eurostar terminals next week.

The department has not revealed the locations of the national exercise, although a spokeswoman said it has been planning its response to an ebola case in the UK "for many months now".

Video: Ebola Crisis: On The Front Line

"It is vital that we test these plans in as realistic a situation as possible - with real people," she said.

As well as ministers these will include hospital staff, the ambulance service and Public Health England.

The spokeswoman added: "It is important to remember that the overall risk to the public in the UK continues to be very low.

"The UK has some of the best public health protection systems in the world with well-developed and well-tested systems for managing infectious disease."

Video: How Doctors Should Deal With Ebola

:: Watch a special Sky News programme on the ebola crisis at 3.30pm today and 3.30pm on Sunday - available on skynews.com, Sky News for iPad and on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202 and Freeview 132.

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IS Militants Push Kurds Towards Turkey Border

Kurdish fighters are struggling to hold on in Kobani as Islamic State militants released footage of themselves fighting in the streets of the Syrian town.

The footage, which could not be verified, showed masked men walking through deserted streets firing machine guns and rocket launchers at unseen targets.

Sky's Middle East correspondent Sherine Tadros, reporting from the Turkey-Syria border, said: "(IS fighters) have been pushing in and pushing back the militias back right to the border with Turkey

"That is where we understand the militias are holding their frontline.

"We can the sound of heavy machine gun fire. It has been near constant for the last few hours.

Video: Calls For Ground Forces In Kobani

"I think it is too early to say the militants are in full control of Kobani but certainly the next few hours seem decisive."

On Friday, the militants overran the Kurdish administrative headquarters in the border town.

Most residents of the predominantly Kurdish town have fled since the IS assault on Kobani began in mid-September, but the UN has warned more than 500 people still trapped there could be massacred.

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said: "When there is an imminent threat to civilians, we cannot, we should not be silent."

Video: Sam Kiley On The Battle For Kobani

More than 200,000 people are believed to have fled over the border to Turkey but thousands of others are said to be unable to cross.

A senior Kurdish official, Ismet Sheikh Hasan, said the latest fighting was focused in the southern and eastern parts of the town.

"We are defending but ... we have only simple weapons and they  have heavy weapons," he told AP in a telephone call.

"They are not besieged and can move easily."

Video: IS Footage Shows Kobani Onslaught

Mr Hasan appealed for international help but added that the US airstrikes that have taken place over the last two weeks have ben largely ineffectual.

On Friday, fighters from the Free Syrian Army and the Kurdish militias told Sky News that they were outgunned by IS.

"We have RPGs, machine guns, light weapons like Kalishnikovs ... and that's what we're using against IS who have tanks, cannons, heavy weapons," Abu El Majed said.

In neighbouring Iraq, US officials have warned that government forces in western Anbar province are in a "tenuous" position in their battle with IS.

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1. Gallery: IS Attacks Town Near Turkish Border

   Turkish army tanks take up position on the Turkish-Syrian border near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa Province

2. Kurdish fighters vowed not to abandon their increasingly desperate efforts to defend the Syrian border town of Kobani from Islamic State militants pressing in from three sides and pounding them with heavy artillery

3. Despite the heavy fighting, which has seen mortars rain down on residential areas in Kobani and stray fire hit Turkish territory, a Reuters reporter saw around 30 people cross over from Turkey, apparently to help with defence of the town

4. An IS fighter walks near a black flag belonging to the Islamic State near Kobani

14. Kurdish refugees from Kobani sit in front of their tents in a camp in the southeastern town of Suruc

15. Islamic State is trying to seize Kobani, which is predominantly Kurdish, and has ramped up its offensive in recent days despite being targeted by US-led coalition airstrikes aimed at halting its progress

16. Turkish Kurds look at Kobani as they stand on top of a house near Mursitpinar border crossing. Continue through for more pictures

Concerns about the situation in the west are in stark contrast to reports from the north where Kurdish fighters are reportedly making headway.

Meanwhile, a cameraman for an Iraqi television station was executed by IS in Tikrit. 

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British Man In Macedonia Did Not Have Ebola

A British man who complained of ebola-like symptoms before he died in Macedonia did not have the disease, according to tests.

"The patient did not have the ebola virus," Macedonian health ministry spokeswoman Jovanka Kostovska said.

Thirty-five people quarantined after they were believed to have come into contact with him were expected to now be released.

More follows...

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'We're After You': UKIP Claims First Elected MP

UKIP leader Nigel Farage has warned David Cameron and Ed Miliband "we're after you" after the party claimed its first elected MP by winning 12,404 votes in the Clacton by-election.

Elsewhere, the party slashed Labour's majority in Heywood and Middleton to just 617 votes, which Mr Farage hailed an "absolutely astonishing" result.

Former Conservative MP Douglas Carswell won a landslide victory in Clacton, Essex, by securing 21,113 of the 35,386 votes cast.

UKIP also forced a recount in Heywood and Middleton, where Labour's Liz McInnes narrowly defeated UKIP's John Bickley.

Mr Farage said the results showed UKIP was now "a truly national party - indeed we are the only party that can challenge in solid Tory and Labour areas".

Video: No Complacency From Labour

He went on: "I've no doubt we'll hear, 'it's just a protest vote'. It's nothing of the kind. People from across the spectrum are saying. 'we've had enough of career politics'. They want to have a proper voice in Westminster.

"From today with Douglas Carswell they have got one, and in a few weeks time I believe they will have another in the shape of Mark Reckless, with another by-election coming up in Rochester and Strood.

"What we saw last night was the biggest and best night in UKIP's history

Video: 'UKIP Vote Risks Labour Government'

"We will now take the people's army of UKIP to the Rochester and Strood, and we will give that absolutely everything we have got."

Mr Farage earlier told Sky's Faisal Islam the strong UKIP result showed the Eurosceptic party was "ripping lumps out of the old Labour vote in the north of England".

Asked if he had a message for both Mr Cameron, who turned 48 yesterday, and Mr Miliband, he replied, "we're after you", adding: "Happy Birthday to David Cameron, and Ed Miliband, you have underestimated us."

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1. Gallery: UKIP Surge In By-Election Results

   UKIP has its first elected MP after Douglas Carswell took almost 60% of the vote in the Clacton by-election.

2. Mr Carswell won the seat with a majority of 12,404 over the Tory candidate Giles Watling.

3. Liz McInnes won the seat for Labour in the Heywood and Middleton contest, but its majority of almost 6,000 in 2010 was slashed to just 617 votes.

4. On a turnout of just 36%, Ms McInnes won with 11,633 votes, defeating UKIP's John Bickley on 11,016.

5. Ed Miliband's party's majority had been almost 6,000 in 2010, but a UKIP surge saw a 17.65% swing to Nigel Farage's party.

6. A triumphant Mr Carswell said "there is nothing that we cannot achieve" after winning Clacton.

7. UKIP's first elected MP to Parliament forced the election after defecting from the Tories.

8. Mr Carswell was the favourite to win, but there were still nerves on the night.

9. Mr Carswell took almost 60% of the vote.

10. Mr Farage said: "Congratulations Douglas Carswell, a brave and honourable man who has a just reward."

11. Ms McInnes won with 11,633 votes in Heywood and Middleton, defeating Mr Bickley on 11,016.

12. Despite UKIP's loss in the Lancashire constituency, Mr Bickley told Sky News "the Labour vote had collapsed".

13. Mr Farage went on to tell Sky News: "We are ripping lumps out of the old Labour vote in the north of England. The truth of what has happened in the North today is that if you are anywhere north of Birmingham, if you vote Conservative you get Labour."

14. He added: "And the reason we haven't won up there, despite a fantastic campaign, is that too many people have stuck with the Conservatives, not recognising that UKIP is now the challenger to Labour in every urban seat in the north of England."

15. Turnout in Clacton was 51.2%, while in Heywood and Middleton it was just 36%.

Mr Cameron said UKIP's success in Clacton and better-than-expected showing in Heywood and Middleton both spoke to a "wider truth" that a vote for UKIP risked a Labour government.

"If you vote UKIP you are in danger of getting a Labour government with Ed Miliband as Prime Minister, Ed Balls as Chancellor, and you'll get no action on immigration, no European referendum, and most importantly you won't get a continuation of the plan that's delivering success for our economy and security for our people," the Prime Minister said.

"That is the wider lesson of last night and we have several months to demonstrate that only a Conservative government can give people the stability and security that we all want to see."

Video: UKIP Finally Makes The Breakthrough

Mr Miliband, who would not be drawn on the nail-biting recount at Heywood and Middleton, said: "There won't be a shred of complacency from us as we reach out to all of those voters who didn't vote Labour and those who didn't vote at all."

He said the 2015 election was a "fight against disillusionment and despair about politics" which he was determined to win.

Mr Carswell, who triggered the Clacton by-election when he defected from the Tories, said UKIP's success revealed a "profound change in British politics".

Video: What Does UKIP's Win Mean For 2015?

Ms McInnes, who gained 11,633 votes in Heywood and Middleton where voter turnout fell to just 36%, said the by-election result was a win for the NHS.

Analysts said Labour's vote was damaged by the low turnout. Voter turnout was higher in Clacton, where 51.2% of voters cast their ballot.

Sky's Jon Craig said the dramatic decline of Labour's majority in Heywood would trigger further debate about Ed Miliband's leadership.

Video: Inside The UKIP Party's Party

Concerns over the result have been raised by some Labour MPs, with one branding the vote "awful" and "terrible" and a member of the shadow cabinet describing it as "very worrying".

Sky's Joey Jones said one senior MP had warned Monday's gathering of the Parliamentary Labour Party "could be an absolute bloodbath". 

Voters in Heywood cast their ballot for a new MP following the death of Labour's Jim Dobbin last month, who held the seat from 1997 and was returned in 2010 with a significant majority.

Video: Interview: Labour MP

UKIP's next target is Rochester and Strood, where defector Mr Reckless is hoping to return to Parliament following his defection.

The by-election there is expected to take place early next month.

:: Watch full coverage and reaction throughout the day on Sky News - available on skynews.com, Sky News for iPad and on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202 and Freeview 132.

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Alice's Body Wrapped In Bag And Weighted Down

The inquest into murdered Alice Gross has heard the teenager's body was wrapped in a bag and weighted down in a river by logs.

Alice's mother Rosalind Hodgkiss attended the formal opening of the inquest, which also heard the 14-year-old was identified by dental records.

The inquiry at the West London Coroner's Court heard the cause of Alice's death remained unknown and further tests were ongoing.

Alice's mum attended the brief hearing

Coroner's officer John Chadwick told the court: "On September 30, as a result of a search of the River Brent, the body of Alice Gross was found by London Fire Brigade divers.

"The deceased was found submerged, wrapped in a bag and had been weighted down. Alice was pronounced life extinct at 22.45pm."

Video: 'You Have To Be Incredibly Careful'

The coroner signed forms to allow Alice's body to be released to her family.

The hearing lasted only a few minutes and was adjourned until 29 January.

Alice went missing from her home in Hanwell, west London, on 28 August.

Video: Alice: Body Found In Suspect Hunt

Just over a month later, her body was found hidden on the bed of the River Brent.

The Metropolitan Police's Deputy Commissioner, Craig Mackey, has defended the amount of time it took to find her body, saying it was a "colossal" investigation.

The body of the prime suspect, Arnis Zalkalns, was found in Boston Manor Park - a mile from where Alice's body was recovered - on October 4.

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1. Gallery: Parents 'Devastated' At Alice Death

   A post-mortem into the death of Alice Gross has proved inconclusive

2. The schoolgirl's body was found in a river in west London on October 1

3. A cordon had been put in place after the discovery of human remains in the River Brent

4. Forensic officers at the scene

5. Alice's father has changed his Facebook profile picture from a campaign poster to a field of wild flowers

6. Alice's family had made a heartfelt plea for the safe return of the missing teenager

7. Scotland Yard released new images of Alice as police staged a reconstruction of her last-known movements

8. The teenager disappeared on 28 August

9. Police received more than 1,000 calls from the public in response to appeals

10. Alice pictured with sister Nina

11. The 14-year-old had been missing for five weeks

12. Police had carried out a fingertip search around Alice's home in Hanwell, west London. This image shows officers searching the area on September 22

13. The hunt for the 14-year-old had been the biggest search operation since the 7/7 bombings in 2005

14. A dinghy was brought in to help in the search

15. Here, on September 18, forensics officers are seen in the garden of builder Arnis Zalkalns

16. Zalkalns, a Latvian national, was named as the main suspect by police after he, too, went missing from his home in Boston Manor Road, which runs between Hanwell and Brentford

17. September 8: a police diver enters the Grand Union Canal to search for the missing schoolgirl

18. September 7: Police search the River Brent, near Hanwell

19. A missing persons flyer is attached to a lamppost in central London

22. Alice was seen on CCTV at Brentford Lock

23. Arnis Zalkalns was seen on CCTV in the same area

The Latvian vanished from his flat in Ealing a week after Alice is thought to have been abducted and murdered while walking home along a canal towpath.

Zalkalns was filmed cycling along the same route behind Alice on the day she went missing.

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UKIP Near-Miss Will Send Biggest Shock Waves

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

As I left the count with UKIP's deputy leader Paul Nuttall after a nail-biting night at Heywood and Middleton, he said to me: "I need a pint of Guinness!"

The Guinness and the foaming pints of bitter favoured by the UKIP leader Nigel Farage will taste especially good today after a storming by-election victory in Clacton, and a photo-finish in the safe Labour seat of Heywood and Middleton.

Douglas Carswell's comfortable victory by 12,404 votes in Clacton was predictable, but is still an ominous warning to David Cameron and the Conservatives of the damage UKIP can potentially inflict on the Tories in next year's General Election.

But Labour's near-defeat in Heywood and Middleton, clinging on by just 617 votes after a recount demanded by UKIP, has already sent shock waves through the Labour high command and will reignite the criticism of Ed Miliband's leadership inside his party.

Bad tactics, bad strategy, bad leadership, his accusers will claim.

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1. Gallery: The UKIP History In Pictures

   1993: UKIP is founded by Alan Sked in response to the Maastricht Treaty, which set out the modern day EU and paved the way for the Euro. He left the party in 1997 saying it had become a "racist party for the far-right". He is now the leader of New Deal, which has been called UKIP of the Left.

2. 1999: The party takes its first three seats in the European Parliament, under the leadership of the millionaire businessman Michael Holmes. Nigel Farage is one of those MEPs.

3. 2000: Michael Holmes resigns and Jeffrey Titford takes over as leader of UKIP. He leads the party to field 420 candidates at the 2001 General Election and secure 1.5% of the vote.

4. 2002: Former Conservative Roger Knapman takes over at the helm.

5. 2004: The party wins 12 seats at the European Elections, among the UKIP MEPs is the chat show host Robert Kilroy Silk.

6. 2005: Growing speculation Robert Kilroy Silk will take on the leadership comes to nothing and he announces he is leaving the party, calling it a "joke", setting up his own party, Veritas.

7. 2006: In a radio interview David Cameron calls UKIP members "fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists, mostly". It's the same year Nigel Farage is elected leader with 45% of the votes. Mr Farage drives an armoured vehicle to the Conservative Party Conference demanding an apology.

8. 2009: UKIP wins 13 seats at the European Elections but Mr Farage steps down as leader so he can concentrate on preparing for the General Election.

9. 2010: Nigel Farage decides to oppose House of Commons Speaker John Bercow in Buckingham - not the done thing. He fails to win the seat and goes on to reject the party's manifesto as "486 pages of drivel".

10. 2011: Ed Miliband hits the campaign trail at the Barnsley by-election (pictured) but UKIP candidate comes second to Labour, indicating the party presents a challenge to both Left and Right.

11. February 2013: Diane James wins UKIP's highest by-election showing with 27.8% of the vote at Eastleigh. The Liberal Democrats hold the seat.

12. September 2013: MEP Godfrey Bloom quits the party after provoking a row when he called women party activists, who didn't clean behind their fridges, "sluts". It came shortly after he made a reference to "bongo-bongo land".

13. May 2014: UKIP becomes the first party other than Labour or the Conservatives in more than a century to win the majority share of the vote in a UK election at the local and European elections. Mr Farage claims he delivered the "earthquake" he promised.

14. August 2014: Conservative MP Douglas Carswell announces he is defecting to UKIP triggering a by-election in Clacton.

15. September 2014: Conservative MP Mark Reckless follows Mr Carswell and defects to UKIP on the eve of the Tory party conference, triggering a by-election in Rochester and Strood.

16. October 2014: Nigel Farage announces he has parked his tanks on Labour's lawns as he joins the campaign trail in Heywood and Middleton, where a by-election is triggered by the death of the Labour MP Jim Dobbin, on the same day as the Clacton vote.

Until now, Labour has complacently assumed that UKIP could unseat Conservative MPs but merely eat into Labour majorities in its safe seats in the north of England. That assumption has now been shattered by the Heywood and Middleton result.

Make no mistake, Labour got a horrendous fright in this former northern stronghold. At the beginning of the night, senior Labour figures were confident of victory and expected to win with a comfortable majority, with UKIP in second place.

But after it was revealed that the turnout was just 36% and not in the mid-40s, as they expected, I watched as the colour drained from the faces of the Labour campaign team.

They stared at the bundles on the tables in the centre of the room and saw that they were virtually identical in size.

Video: Speech: Douglas Carswell MP

As UKIP successfully called for a recount, Mr Nuttall declared that the margin between the two parties was 620 votes. He turned out to be almost spot on.

Last week, I went to Clacton on the day Prime Minister David Cameron paid a brief visit and inspected the sea defences being built to protect the coastline against storm damage.

But in a seaside constituency with an elderly electorate, the UKIP storm was always going to blow the Tories away.

Interviewed by Anna Botting on Sky News after his victory, Mr Carswell was gracious enough to admit that Heywood and Middleton was the more significant result.

Video: Interview: Labour MP

After Clacton, though, the second UKIP defector, Mark Reckless, looks well placed to hold his Rochester and Strood seat in his by-election.

But Mr Cameron's Tory conference gag: "Go to bed with Nigel Farage and wake up with Ed Miliband", looks mistaken now.

That's because these two by-elections, held on the Prime Minister's birthday, have shown that UKIP is capable of damaging Labour as well as the Conservatives.

The lesson for Labour is that just talking about the NHS, as its Heywood and Middleton candidate Liz McInnes did, isn't enough. Voters want to hear about the economy and immigration too.

Video: Interview: Nigel Farage MEP

The lesson for the Conservatives is that trying to out-UKIP UKIP doesn't do any good. Why vote for a party copying UKIP policies when you can vote for the real thing?

The beer and Guinness enjoyed by Mr Farage and Mr Nuttall will certainly taste better than ever now.

But Mr Cameron and Mr Miliband will need a stiff drink after these two results. And their by-election hangover will last seven months, all the way to the General Election in May 2015.

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Ebola Hospital Staff Throw Gloves At Spain PM

Angry staff have been filmed throwing medical gloves and shouting "go away" at the Spanish prime minister after his visit to a hospital where a nurse has ebola.

Teresa Romero, 44, caught the deadly disease while treating a missionary there. He had flown to Madrid after becoming infected in West Africa and later died.

Questions have been raised about safety measures at Carlos III hospital where Mrs Romero is in a stable but serious condition.

Teresa Romero is in a serious but stable condition in hospital

There have been complaints from medical staff that they did not receive the appropriate training.

Nurses' union representative Paloma Panillas said nursing staff "don't trust this situation".

Video: Ebola Crisis: On The Front Line

Health officials revealed Mrs Romero had twice entered the missionary's room - once to change an incontinence pad and then to retrieve items after he had died.

She then accidentally touched her face while still wearing gloves used during the clean up.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who was leaving in his convoy when the medical staff shouted at him, said it was extremely unlikely the disease would spread in Spain.

Speaking outside the hospital, the leader said: "Our first priority is Teresa Romero - she is the only person that we know has the illness."

Video: How Can The UK Stop Ebola?

Mr Rajoy said he had set up a committee headed by the deputy prime minister to handle the crisis.

Seven more people have been admitted to the hospital in relation to Mrs Romero's case - taking the total number under observation or being treated to 14.

The new admissions included two hairdressers who had given her a beauty treatment before she was diagnosed and hospital staff who had treated her after she was admitted on Monday.

All went voluntarily to be monitored for signs of the disease, although none of the 14, including her husband, has so far tested positive for the disease except Ms Romero.

Video: How Doctors Should Deal With Ebola

She said she did not tell doctors she had been in contact with the virus and only found out she had the disease after reading the news online.

The nurse is the first person known to have caught the disease outside of West Africa in the current outbreak, which has killed thousands of people.

Meanwhile, a British man who died in Macedonia after suffering symptoms similar to ebola has been named as Colin Jaffray, according to Sky sources.

Public Health England said it was "unlikely" the death was caused by the virus.

Video: Ebola 'Could Become Next AIDS'

Prime Minister David Cameron has defended the decision to introduce enhanced screening for ebola at Heathrow and Gatwick airport and the Eurostar rail terminals, saying it was taken on "medical advice".

Questions have been raised about the checks with a Gatwick spokesman saying the airport had not been given any instructions about how the screening should be carried out.

The move has also been criticised by health experts, with one describing it as a "complete waste of time".

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MH17 Passenger Was Wearing Oxygen Mask

One of the passengers on the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 shot down over Ukraine was found wearing an oxygen mask, it has emerged.

Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans made the revelation during a late-night TV interview on Wednesday.

"You know that somebody was discovered wearing an oxygen mask and had time to put it on," he said.

Mr Timmermans gave out the information before some relatives knew

The passenger, an Australian, had the elastic strap of the mask around his neck, said Wim de Bruin, a spokesman for the Dutch National Prosecutor's Office, which is carrying out a criminal investigation into the crash.

It raises the possibility that some passengers knew the plane they were on was doomed.

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1. Gallery: Impact Marks On MH17 Fuselage

   These stills were released by the Dutch Safety Board on September 9, 2014

2. They show clearly visible puncture marks scattered across the fuselage of MH17

3. On July 17, the Malaysia Airlines flight lost all 298 passengers and crew

4. The plane was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur

5. The disaster occurred over an area of Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists

6. Crash investigators say it was probably downed by "a large number of high-energy objects"

7. The Dutch Safety Board has ruled out technical fault or human error

After Mr Timmermans made the comments, Dutch prosecutors confirmed it in a letter to the victims' families.

"How and when the mask ended up around the victim's neck is unknown," prosecutors said in the letter, which was published online.

Mr De Bruin said forensic experts investigated the mask "for fingerprints, saliva and DNA and that did not produce any results.

"So it is not known how or when that mask got around the neck of the victim."

He also said he did not know where in the plane the Australian victim was sitting.

None of the other 297 victims of the crash was believed to be wearing an oxygen mask, prosecutors added. Thirty-eight Australian residents and citizens were killed in the disaster

Relatives of the Australian passenger were told about the mask as soon as it was discovered.

But the families of other victims heard about it for the first time when Mr Timmermans mentioned it during the TV interview.

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1. Gallery: The World Mourns For MH17

   Flowers continue to be left outside Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam

2. One of KLM's crews pay their respects

3. They add a bouquet to the growing number of flowers

4. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his wife Margie attend a memorial at St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney

5. Mourners in Australia attend a memorial service held for a family of five killed in the crash

6. Children at the ceremony in Sydney, Australia

7. A photo displayed on a memorial shows teacher, Arnold Huizen who died with his wife Yodricunda Theistiasih Titihalawa and their daughter

8. School children sit together with candles at the Pelita Bangsa school as they remember their teacher Arnold Huizen in Indonesia

9. People light candles during a candle light vigil for the victims of MH17 Kuala Lumpur

Mr Timmermans, the incoming vice-president of the European Commission, later expressed regret for revealing the information.

"The MH17 disaster goes to my heart," he said.

"I should not have made the comment. The last thing I want to do is aggravate the relatives' suffering in any way."

Relatives of victims began calling investigators asking about Mr Timmermans' comments, Mr De Bruin said.

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was shot down on July 17 while flying over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam.

The findings of an initial report by a Dutch-led team of air crash investigators appear to back up claims that the plane was hit by an anti-aircraft missile.

Kiev and the West have accused Moscow-backed separatists of shooting the down airliner with a surface-to-air BUK missile supplied by Russia.

Moscow denies the charge and has pointed the finger back at Kiev.

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Protests As Ebola Victim's Dog Put Down

Animal rights activists scuffled with police after an international social media campaign failed to persuade authorities in Spain to spare a dog whose owner contracted ebola - and whose condition has worsened.

Almost 400,000 people signed a petition to save nursing assistant Teresa Romero's dog, Excalibur.

Mrs Romero's condition deteriorated on Thursday and she is now on a ventilator, according to a hospital official.

Teresa Romero and her dog Excalibur

The 40-year-old is the first person to contract the virus outside of Africa.

Protests erupted outside her apartment in Alcorcon, briefly stopping a police van pulling away with the family pet.

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1. Gallery: Protests To Save Ebola Victim's Dog

   Spanish police block animal rights activists protesting outside the apartment building of the nurse who contracted ebola, Teresa Romero, in Alcorcon, outside Madrid

2. Madrid regional authorities said they would euthanise the dog Excalibur to avoid possible contagion, sparking an outcry by animal rights activists to save the pet

3. The sign reads: "Zero sacrifice. Ana Mato (Spanish health minister) resign."

4. A neighbour tries to get a glimpse of Excalibur as he stands on Ms Romero's balcony. Almost 400,000 people signed a petition to save the dog

5. Excalibur barks from the balcony

8. A van presumably carrying Excalibur leaves her apartment. Continue through for more pictures

Demonstrators chanted "assassins" as batons were used to clear the road.

Madrid's regional government later said the mixed-breed dog was sedated, euthanised and incinerated.

Authorities had obtained a court order to kill the dog, saying they could not rule out the possibility Excalibur could spread the virus.

On Twitter, the hashtag #SalvemosaExcalibur was tweeted more than 400,000 times in 24 hours.

Video: Online Appeal To Save Ebola Dog

Mrs Romero's husband, Javier Limon Romero, also made an emotional appeal for the dog to be spared - but the campaign was in vain.

A 2005 study published in a Centres for Disease Control and Prevention journal suggests dogs are susceptible to the virus.

However, there is no documented case of ebola spreading to people from dogs.

A US veterinary health expert criticised the Spanish authorities.

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1. Gallery: Ebola Crisis: Special Report

"There's never been any evidence of transmission from dogs to humans," said Dr Peter Cowen, a professor at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

"It's never happened in any sense. So we don't have any scientific information that that dog was a risk."

Seven people are currently in isolation at Madrid's Carlos III hospital but Mrs Romero is the only one diagnosed with the virus.

One of the seven, a doctor who treated Mrs Romero over a 16-hour shift, claimed in a letter published by El Pais that he had not been told she had ebola,

Video: Hammond And Kerry: Full Statement

:: Watch Ebola Crisis: A Special Report tonight at 8.30pm on Sky News, featuring exclusive footage from Alex Crawford at the heart of the outbreak in Liberia.

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US Ebola Victim Was About To Realise His Dream

By Sky News US Team

Thomas Eric Duncan, the ebola patient who died in a Texas hospital, had long-held ambitions to join his family in America and was planning to propose to his girlfriend, it has emerged.

Mr Duncan, the first person to be diagnosed with ebola in the US, was born near a leper colony in Liberia but eventually fled the country during the civil war.

The 42-year-old was in America to attend the high-school graduation of his son, who moved to the US as a toddler.

According to his friends and family, Mr Duncan grew up in a village near the Yila Mission, an American Baptist mission hospital and leper colony.

He moved to a middle-class area in the Liberian capital Monrovia for high school. But by the time he was 18, warlord Charles Taylor invaded Liberia from Ivory Coast, initiating years of conflict.

Thomas Eric Duncan arrived in the US on 20 September

Mr Duncan sought to join his half-sister who had moved to the US with her husband in 1989, shortly before Taylor's invasion. But his application was denied.

He fled to a refugee camp in the Ivory Coast, where he met Louise Troh, who would become his girlfriend. Their son was born in the camp.

Video: US Airports To Start Ebola Checks

When Ms Troh's application to live in America was accepted, she and the couple's son moved to the US - but Mr Duncan's efforts to relocate were denied.

He moved to another refugee camp in Ghana, then returned to Liberia where he worked as an executive's chauffeur.

When he arrived in the US on 20 September, it was the coronation of years of efforts.

He had confided that he wanted to ask Ms Troh to marry him, according to a lifelong friend, Thomas Kwenah, quoted by the AP news agency.

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1. Gallery: Ebola Crisis: Special Report

But by then he had already been exposed to ebola. He is believed to have contracted the virus while helping a pregnant neighbour in Liberia who eventually died.

Mr Duncan showed no symptoms on the flights.

But his death on Wednesday in Dallas alarmed the public in the US and raised questions over the authorities' ability to cope with the disease. Officials say an outbreak is unlikely in the US.

A sheriff's deputy who entered Mr Duncan's apartment, apparently without wearing protective clothing, is being tested for ebola in what officials say is an "abundance of caution". 

Video: Ebola: Flight Route Of US Patient

The man has been identified as Michael Monnig in local news reports. His son, Logan, told the Dallas Morning News: "We don't want to cause a panic."

"There is almost no chance my dad would have ebola."

Four people in Mr Duncan's apartment, including Ms Troh, have been quarantined.

Meanwhile, the US military is working to build medical centres in Liberia and may send up to 4,000 soldiers to help with the crisis.

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1. Gallery: The Desperate Fight To Contain The Ebola Outbreak

   A man rests outside the clinic.

2. A woman is comforted after medical officials remove her husband, who is suspected of having the disease.

3. Officials try to prevent themselves from spreading the disease.

4. A local who has just brought his brother to the centre. He had to rely on plastic bags tied around his hands to try to protect himself.

5. A man thought to be infected with ebola waits for treatment.

6. Patients wait to be seen by medical staff.

7. Workers try to decontaminate themselves.

8. A worker with a child who may have caught ebola.

9. A make-shift hand-washing station in Monrovia.

10. Decontaminated boots of medical staff.

11. The basic conditions make containing the disease very difficult.

In Spain, a nurse has tested positive to the deadly virus, while in Australia a woman is being tested. 

US officials have also stepped up airport screening at five airports: New York's JFK, Newark in New Jersey, Washington Dulles, Chicago and Atlanta.

The new checks, taking effect from the weekend, will include taking the temperatures of hundreds of travellers arriving from West Africa.

The UK is facing calls for similar screenings.

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Ebola Airport Screening Announcement Expected

Passengers arriving in the UK are to be screened for signs of ebola, say reports.

Calls for testing have increased over fears Britain could soon have its first cases of the deadly virus, which has so far killed more than 3,800 people in West Africa.

The Government, which previously said checks would be impractical and ineffective, is expected to announce the move shortly.

It comes as the US unveiled extra airport screening after the death of the first patient diagnosed with the deadly virus in America.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has warned it is "entirely possible" ebola could spread to Britain.

Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, called for screening at airports, ports and railway stations.

Video: How Effective Are Anti-Ebola Suits?

Handheld thermal scanners, which check body temperature, could be used to identify passengers who have a high fever, one of the symptoms of the disease.

They are already being used in some African countries, but there are questions over their reliability.

Professor David Heymann, chairman of Public Health England's Advisory Board, told Sky News: "I think that screening at borders sets up a security that is sometimes dangerous because then people think the solution is there.

"The problem in the UK must be understood by everyone in the UK.

Video: Fight Against Ebola Is Our War

"They need to know how the disease is spread and how they can prevent themselves from becoming infected."

Patients can also carry the virus for several weeks before showing any signs of infection.

Public Health England says any worthwhile screening programme would be impractical, and "robust, well-developed" plans are already in place.

Hospitals in London, Sheffield, Liverpool and Newcastle are on stand by to provide "surge capacity" if the virus spreads to Britain.

Video: Row Over Ebola Screening In UK

There are currently no direct flights to the UK from the worst hit countries, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The Prime Minister decided on Wednesday to boost the UK's military involvement in West Africa to 750 troops after chairing a meeting of the COBRA committee.

Medical ship RFA Argus will travel to Sierra Leone, along with three helicopters, aircrew and engineers to provide transport and support to doctors and aid workers.

Concern about the virus spreading across Europe has grown since Spain confirmed it was dealing with the first case caught outside Africa.

Video: Australia Tests Nurse For Ebola

Australia is also examining a possible case after an ebola nurse returned to Queensland from Sierra Leone.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for the world to step up its efforts at a summit attended by the leaders of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

:: Watch Ebola Crisis: A Special Report tonight at 8.30pm on Sky News, featuring exclusive footage from Alex Crawford at the heart of the outbreak in Liberia.

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UK Soldiers Deployed To Ebola Epicentre

British troops are to be deployed to Sierra Leone on a mission to help fight the spiralling ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Up to 700 soldiers from the Royal Scots Borders 1st Battalion, based in Holywood, Northern Ireland, will eventually be stationed near the capital Freetown.

Around 40 troops have already arrived in the country, said the Ministry of Defence, and more are flying out soon.

Commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Matt Munro said: "This is a challenge unlike any, but the point is that we are very well prepared.

"This kind of operation represents, I think, the future for parts of the British Army.

Video: Ebola: School Blocks Charity Mum

"We deployed in the first instance to Sierra Leone at very short notice, not knowing how long my people were likely to be there."

He added that the soldiers were at a very low risk of contracting the virus.

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Argus will also sail and moor off the country's coast and could be used to evacuate any British casualties if needed.

Three Merlin helicopters will be onboard to fly doctors and personnel to hard-to-reach areas.

Video: UK 'Lacks Ebola Experience'

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: "The ebola outbreak in West Africa is already a global threat to public health and it's vital that the UK remains at the forefront of responding to the epidemic.

"We are stepping up significantly the UK's contribution and leadership in work to tackle the outbreak, on land, in the air and at sea.

"At the heart of the package is the commitment to provide more than 750 personnel to help with the establishment of ebola treatment centres and an ebola training academy."

Sky's Deputy Political Editor Joey Jones added: "At this stage it's all about trying to make sure that you can set up the proper infrastructure, the proper health services in some of those hard to reach areas.

Video: Bodies Pile Up After Ebola Strike

"There's no plan for some sort of evacuation or anything like that."

It comes after David Cameron chaired a lunchtime meeting of the emergency COBRA committee.

Four major hospitals in the UK - London's Royal Free Hospital and three others in Sheffield, Newcastle and Liverpool, are on standby to deal with any outbreak in the UK.

The hospitals already have infectious disease units and have been lined up to provide "surge capacity" if the virus spreads to Britain.

Video: Suiting Up In An Ebola Hotspot

Experts have said the UK is the third most likely country outside Africa to report an ebola case, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) warning that sporadic cases in Europe are "unavoidable".

Texas ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan - the first to be diagnosed with the disease in the US - died at the Texas Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday, officials said.

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Ebola Nurse Touched Her Face With Glove

The Spanish nurse being treated for ebola says she touched her face with a tainted protective glove after helping treat a man dying from the virus.

Theresa Romero, 40, is in quarantine in a Madrid hospital but told doctors she believes she made the mistake after cleaning up after the man.

Heath officials said she had twice entered the room of Spanish missionary Manuel Garcia Viejo - once to change his incontinence pad and then to retrieve items after he had died.

Mrs Romero is the first person to contract the virus outside Africa.

She earlier told El Mundo she had no idea how she was infected and that she had followed all precautions.

Teresa Ramos says she followed all the safety procedures

Another three people are also quarantined at the Carlos III hospital, including the woman's husband - who had made a video appeal for authorities not to destroy the couple's dog Excalibur.

But according to unconfirmed reports the animal was euthanised at the veterinary hospital at Madrid's Complutense University on Wednesday.

Video: Bodies Pile Up After Ebola Strike

Some 50 other people - who either had contact with Mrs Romero or treated one of the two missionaries who died at the hospital - are also being monitored.

Spanish leader Mariano Rajoy has called for calm and promised "transparency" over the scare, which has raised questions over whether strict safety rules were properly followed.

As West Africa struggles to cope with a spiralling infection rate, burial teams in Sierra Leone have reportedly gone on strike.

The workers, who arguably have one of the world's most dangerous jobs, complain they have not been paid.

The situation is "very embarrassing", said health ministry spokesman Sidie Yahya Tunis.

He promised that money was available for the workers.

Video: Suiting Up In An Ebola Hotspot

"We haven't been paid for two weeks, so we need our money right now," said one angry worker.

"We don't even care if dead bodies have been littered all over the city - all we want is our money. We've been stigmatised in our communities, so let the government pay us our money."

Sky's Alex Crawford saw first-hand the extreme precautions burial teams in the region have to take as they retrieve corpses.

She said teams in neighbouring Liberia - the worst affected country with more than 2,000 deaths - were overwhelmed, with "not enough hours in the day for them to track down the dead".

Any temporary halt in collection only adds to the risk of further infection because the virus can stay on the bodies, said Sky's Health Correspondent Thomas Moore.

Six hundred people have died from the virus in Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organisation, and more than 3,400 in total.

Video: Online Appeal To Save Ebola Dog

The virus has swept through Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, with the World Bank saying the financial impact could hit $32.6bn (£20bn) by the end of the year

In Britain, David Cameron chaired an emergency meeting as four hospitals stand by to handle any UK cases.

The US has ordered security agents at airports and other entry ports to screen arriving travellers for signs of the disease.

Texas ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan - the first to be diagnosed with the disease in the US - died at the Texas Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday, officials said.

The UN, meanwhile, has said one of its medical officials in Liberia has tested positive for ebola and is receiving treatment.

The unnamed official is the second member of their mission to contract the virus - the other died on 25 September.

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Ebola Outbreak: How Much Is Britain At Risk?

By Thomas Moore, Health And Science Correspondent

As a Spanish nurse becomes the first person outside West Africa to be infected with ebola, here we answer some of your questions.

Now the virus is in Europe, should I panic?

No. The infection of the Spanish nurse is almost certainly a one-off.

Health workers have to go through a strict de-robing procedure to prevent the virus being transferred from their protective gowns onto their skin.

If clothes are removed in the wrong order, if any shortcut is taken on handwashing, or if any sweat is wiped away from the eyes, there can be contamination.

It does not mean the virus is on the loose in Europe. The nurse's contacts have been traced and those deemed to be at high risk have been quarantined as a precaution.

The general population in the UK - or Spain, for that matter - is at no greater risk of ebola today than it was a week ago.

Nurse Teresa Ramos has ebola in Spain

Why bring infected health workers back from Africa at all?

British doctors and nurses are already treating ebola patients in West Africa.

Video: Ebola: School Blocks Charity Mum

Many more will be on their way within weeks, answering the humanitarian call to help countries that have been overwhelmed by the disease.

So far just one - Will Pooley - has been infected and brought back for treatment at London's Royal Free Hospital.

He would not have been able to get the best medical care in Sierra Leone, so the Government repatriated him with strict - and successful - quarantine controls.

But the International Development Secretary Justine Greening has acknowledged on Sky News there is a risk in transferring patients and a hospital is being built with UK money in Sierra Leone.

It will have 12 beds set aside for infected healthcare workers.

What about travellers - shouldn't we screen them?

Video: Bodies Pile Up After Ebola Strike

Public Health England says there is no reason to check arriving air passengers for ebola symptoms. That's in line with advice from the World Health Organisation.

Firstly, it would duplicate the screening of people departing on flights from the affected countries in West Africa.

Secondly, British Airways has suspended direct flights between the UK and Sierra Leone and Liberia.

So passengers from the region would have to change planes in Paris, Brussels, or many other capitals.

Tens of thousands of passengers would have to be checked every day, causing long delays.

Thirdly, temperature scans only detect people with symptoms.

Video: Suiting Up In An Ebola Hotspot

The Liberian passenger now in hospital in the US was healthy when he travelled and only developed symptoms several days later. Checks on arrival wouldn't have picked him up.

So is the NHS prepared?

GPs have been sent a symptom checklist by Public Health England.

Anybody with a fever, who has recently returned from one of the affected countries in West Africa, will be rapidly risk-assessed.

If there is a high chance that their symptoms are due to ebola - rather than malaria or any other tropical disease - they will be quarantined at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

What if we get lots of ebola cases?

Video: UK Ebola Risk 'Remains Low'

The specialist unit at the Royal Free has two beds.

But other NHS hospitals are on standby.

The Royal Liverpool, Royal Victoria in Newcastle and Royal Hallamshire in Sheffield are next in line to receive patients.

And any hospital with an infectious diseases unit could be adapted with quarantine canopies around beds to safely care for patients.

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Texas Ebola Patient Thomas Eric Duncan Dies

By Sky News US Team

Thomas Eric Duncan - the first man diagnosed with ebola in the US - has died, says the Dallas facility where he was being treated.

A release from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital said: "It is with profound sadness and heartfelt disappointment that we must inform you of the death of Thomas Eric Duncan this morning at 7:51am.

"Mr Duncan succumbed to an insidious disease, Ebola. He fought courageously in this battle."

The statement said the hospital staff were "grieving" his death and had sent condolences to his family.

The Liberian national picked up the killer virus in Liberia before flying to Texas where he was admitted to the Dallas hospital.

Video: Bodies Pile Up After Ebola Strike

US authorities are monitoring about 50 people who came into contact with him.

His family said they had visited him on Tuesday at the hospital, but declined to view him via video link because his condition was too "disturbing".

Mr Duncan's nephew, Josephus Weeks, said he and his mother had been unable to sleep after seeing Mr Duncan's face over video during a previous visit.

He was being treated with an experimental drug and had been on a breathing machine while receiving kidney dialysis.

There is no approved treatment for ebola and no vaccine against the virus.

Video: Suiting Up In An Ebola Hotspot

As news of Mr Duncan's death was released, Secretary of State John Kerry was making an urgent appeal for nations to "step up" their response to the outbreak of the deadly virus.

Speaking alongside British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, Mr Kerry said more money, equipment and personnel are needed now.

He said it is essential for airlines to keep flying to West Africa and for borders to remain open to allow for the movement of assistance and medical staff.

The US meanwhile ordered security agents at airports and other entry ports to screen arriving travellers for signs of ebola.

People arriving from ebola-stricken countries in West Africa could begin facing mandatory screening measures as early as this weekend.

Video: 56 Being Checked For Ebola In Spain

Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas did not provide specifics on how the screenings would be conducted.

He said agents would observe all travellers for "general signs of illness".

Customs and Border Protection agents would also distribute fact sheets to arriving travellers that contain details of what symptoms to look for and directions to call a doctor if they become sick within 21 days, Mr Mayorkas said.

According to US media reports, the measures also call for some travellers to have their temperatures taken upon arrival.

The announcement comes just days after President Barack Obama signalled the possibility of tougher screening measures.

Video: Online Appeal To Save Ebola Dog

Mr Obama has been under pressure to act in the wake of first ebola diagnosis on American soil last week.

The current ebola outbreak in West Africa is the deadliest in history, and has already killed nearly 3,500 people.

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Kobani's Fall Will Be A Failure For US Coalition

What appears to be the imminent fall of the Syrian Kurdish city of Kobani would not just be a disaster for the Kurds.

It risks strategic failure for the American-led coalition fighting Islamic State before its campaign has begun in earnest.

Also known by its Arabic name, Ain al Arab, the city sits on Turkey's border. Its civilian population has fled - 160,000 across the frontier.

Some 2,000 Kurdish fighters with the YPG, the armed wing of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), are battling street to street while Islamic State hammers at them with tanks and heavy artillery.

A month-long campaign to sack the city by Islamic State has been largely unaffected by US-led airstrikes - this frontline has been mostly ignored.

IS have raised their black flag in areas around the city

The coalition has focused its efforts around Raqqa, the IS 'capital', and on hitting artisanal oil refineries which generate an estimated $2m (£1.2m) a day in revenues. Fair enough.

But to have focused on these areas to the south of where the Kurds have been fighting an existential battle is baffling.

Video: IS Footage Shows Kobani Onslaught

Rebel groups in Syria are already angry at the airstrikes which have not attacked the Damascus regime which has continued to rain barrel bombs onto civilians.

The al Qaeda-linked al Nusra Front and other Islamist groups have been singled out for attacks by the US and others alongside Islamic State - even though all of these groups have previously been locked in combat with the extremist militants.

Syria's Kurds, alongside their brethren in Iraq, offer the best operational hope for the ground troops that the coalition so badly need to prosecute its war against Islamic State.

But they have been left largely unsupported in and around Kobani.

If the city falls, as it's expected to by none other than Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then, inevitably, the Kurds will feel betrayed and join the growing ranks of Syrian rebels who see the airstrikes as doing little but reinforcing the military strength of the Assad regime.

Video: New Strikes Target IS At Border

Mr Erdogan went on to say that there had to be co-ordination with ground troops and that there was no prospect of a victory over Islamic State if those troops could not be mustered.

An odd statement, really, when one notes that Turkey is directly threatened by Islamic State and has the second largest standing army in NATO with more than enough firepower not only to defend Kobani but to knock the militants back severely.

On top of that, Turkey is currently ruled by an Islamic political party and therefore has more street credibility with Syria's rebels than any Western power.

Of course, Ankara is fearful that in helping the PKK it might reinforce its power and reignite the Kurd fight for autonomy inside Turkey.

It would be ludicrous to expect Turkey to go it alone anywhere in Syria where it has been tightly focused on ridding the region of Bashar al Assad and his Damascus regime.

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1. Gallery: IS Attacks Town Near Turkish Border

   Turkish army tanks take up position on the Turkish-Syrian border near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa Province

2. Kurdish fighters vowed not to abandon their increasingly desperate efforts to defend the Syrian border town of Kobani from Islamic State militants pressing in from three sides and pounding them with heavy artillery

3. Despite the heavy fighting, which has seen mortars rain down on residential areas in Kobani and stray fire hit Turkish territory, a Reuters reporter saw around 30 people cross over from Turkey, apparently to help with defence of the town

4. An IS fighter walks near a black flag belonging to the Islamic State near Kobani

14. Kurdish refugees from Kobani sit in front of their tents in a camp in the southeastern town of Suruc

15. Islamic State is trying to seize Kobani, which is predominantly Kurdish, and has ramped up its offensive in recent days despite being targeted by US-led coalition airstrikes aimed at halting its progress

16. Turkish Kurds look at Kobani as they stand on top of a house near Mursitpinar border crossing. Continue through for more pictures

But therein lies an opportunity for the coalition.

Three years ago Turkey called for a no-fly zone in Syria to prevent Assad's regime from bombing its civilians and rebels.

It would make sense for the international coalition to heed this call.

Russia, still Damascus' ally, would object but probably less noisily now that Islamic State is the target of actual airstrikes.

Imposing a no-fly zone would allow Syria's moderate rebels to take on Assad, and Islamic State, and perhaps do away with the growing sense that the American coalition has a pro-Damascus agenda.

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Dog Set On Fire: Man Jailed For 'Vile' Attack

A man has been jailed for setting fire to a family's pet dog in a savage attack that left the three-year-old border collie so badly burned her ribs and other joints were visible.

Cody had to be put down two weeks after the attack in August 2012.

Andrew Richard Stewart, from Aghalee in County Antrim, was given a 20-month sentence at Belfast Crown Court after admitting the crime.

He will serve 10 months in custody with the remaining 10 on licence.

The 23-year-old has also been banned from keeping animals for 30 years.

Belfast Recorder Judge David McFarland said: "This was a particularly appalling act on Stewart's part. Cody was a much-loved pet.

"Stewart savagely attacked her (Cody) in the most evil and vile fashion.

"It is beyond comprehension that any human being could act in such a manner towards a defenceless creature, which was posing no threat to him."

His friend Jamie Downey, 23, from Craigavon, County Armagh, was also jailed after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice.

"He did nothing to alleviate the suffering of Cody knowing that she had been injured in a most grievous fashion, and then through some misguided loyalty to Stewart agreed with him to concoct what were false stories to divert police attention away from both defendants," the judge said.

Judge McFarland said he had taken into account the distress caused to the dog's owners, Natalie and Martin Agnew and their two young sons, one of whom was only six at the time.

"The parents and two young boys had a much loved pet, which was so cruelly taken from them," he said.

Stewart changed his plea to guilty minutes before Mrs Agnew and her son Jake were due to give evidence on the second day of the trial last month.

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Kobani 'About To Fall' To Islamic State

Turkish President Recep Erdogan says Syrian border town Kobani is 'about to fall' to Islamic State militants and that a ground operation is needed to defeat the group.

Fresh airstrikes targeted fighters who have been bombarding the town with machine-gun fire and shells on Tuesday.

Plumes of smoke billowed into the air over Kobani after US, Saudi Arabian and United Arab Emirates jets launched five attacks against targets south of the city.

In a statement, US Central Command said four armed vehicles, anti-aircraft artillery, a tank and a militant unit were hit during the strikes.

Kobani is just over a mile from Turkey

Airstrikes also took place near Rabiyah, west of al Hasakah and near Deir Ezzor, where a production facility for homemade bombs was destroyed.

Mr Erdogan, in a televised speech in the city of Gaziantep, said airstrikes were not enough to save Kobani.

Video: New Strikes Target IS At Border

He said: "The terror will not be over... unless we co-operate for a ground operation.

"I am telling the West - dropping bombs from the air will not provide a solution. Months have passed but no results have been achieved. Kobani is about to fall."

"We are following the attacks on Kobani and other towns where our Kurdish brothers live with great concern. Turkey is on guard and well-equipped for any threats directed against itself."

IS fighters raised their black flag over two buildings in the key border town after a day of heavy fighting on Monday.

The militants were reported to have moved into the southwest of Kobani overnight, taking several buildings to gain attacking positions on two sides of the town.

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1. Gallery: IS Attacks Town Near Turkish Border

   Turkish army tanks take up position on the Turkish-Syrian border near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa Province

2. Kurdish fighters vowed not to abandon their increasingly desperate efforts to defend the Syrian border town of Kobani from Islamic State militants pressing in from three sides and pounding them with heavy artillery

3. Despite the heavy fighting, which has seen mortars rain down on residential areas in Kobani and stray fire hit Turkish territory, a Reuters reporter saw around 30 people cross over from Turkey, apparently to help with defence of the town

4. An IS fighter walks near a black flag belonging to the Islamic State near Kobani

14. Kurdish refugees from Kobani sit in front of their tents in a camp in the southeastern town of Suruc

15. Islamic State is trying to seize Kobani, which is predominantly Kurdish, and has ramped up its offensive in recent days despite being targeted by US-led coalition airstrikes aimed at halting its progress

16. Turkish Kurds look at Kobani as they stand on top of a house near Mursitpinar border crossing. Continue through for more pictures

Fierce fighting raged in the area over the weekend as local Kurdish fighters struggled to hold out against rocket and mortar attacks - despite support from another three US strikes.

But Jenan Moussa, a reporter just 500m over the border in Turkey, told Sky News that the fighting was much quieter compared with Monday when bullets were "flying over our heads".

"I can still hear shooting and shelling but nothing compared to yesterday," she said.

"I heard and I saw three airstrikes. One on the western side and two on the eastern."

Turkey has put a line of tanks close to the border in a show of force should IS cross the line into its territory.

Video: Firework Attacks In Istanbul Unrest

At least 400 people - fighters from both sides, and civilians - have been killed during three weeks of fighting around the town, according to British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

It said it had documented the deaths from sources on the ground but added the real figure could be double.

Sky News Foreign Affairs Editor Sam Kiley said the Kurds were angry that they had not been getting enough air support.

"If (Kobani) falls then symbolically and strategically it will send a message to the Kurds that the coalition is not going to come to their aid."

IS began its advance on Kobani on 16 September, prompting weeks of street battles and forcing around 160,000 people to flee into Turkey.

Video: Turkey Turns Water Cannon On Kurds

The group - who last week murdered British hostage Alan Henning - controls large areas of Syria and Iraq and wants more territory for its 'caliphate'.

Violent clashes were reported overnight in Istanbul and other Turkish cities as hundreds of demonstrators angered at the IS advance clashed with police.

Protesters set up barricades, threw stones, fireworks and petrol bombs at police in some Istanbul neighbourhoods, said the country's Dogan news agency.

Police also reportedly used tear gas and water cannon on protesters in the Kurdish-dominated cities of Diyarbakir, Batman, Van, Sirnak, Sanliurfa and Hakkari.

Tensions in Turkey - a member of the NATO alliance - are rising after its parliament last week authorised military action if necessary.

Video: Desperate Help Needed In Kobani

The order allows incursions into Syria and Iraq to counter the threat "from all terrorist groups" and also means NATO powers could use the country as a base for airstrikes.

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PM Urges Moazzam Begg To Pass On IS Details

David Cameron has urged ex-Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg to pass on intelligence about IS militants behind hostage kidnaps.

Mr Begg has previously claimed he offered to help the Government secure the release of British aid worker Alan Henning, but says he was prevented from issuing a direct appeal.

He also claimed he knew those who held the 47-year-old, who was murdered by IS militants last week, and and helped to secure the release of hostages from extremists in Syria in the past.

The Prime Minister told BBC's North West Tonight: "We are very happy to work with anybody.

"My understanding is that Moazzam Begg did make some appeals, sadly, as we know, those appeals fell on deaf ears.

Video: Moazzam Begg Walks Free From Prison

"These people in Syria are absolutely brutal and really will stoop to any depths and do the most dreadful and ghastly things, and that is what's happened."

He added that if Mr Begg had information to provide about the identity of IS militants, "he should provide it".

Last week, he walked free from Belmarsh prison after a string of terror charges against him linked to the civil war in Syria were dropped.

More follows...

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Briton Jailed In Morocco For 'Homosexual Acts'

The family of a British tourist jailed in Morocco for being gay are campaigning for his release.

Ray Cole, a retired magazine publisher from Deal in Kent, was arrested last Thursday and given a four-month sentence for "homosexual acts".

His son Adrian Cole told Sky News that his father had been in Morocco for about four weeks when he "suddenly vanished, the Facebook updates stopped, we couldn't reach him on his phone".

While his family looked for him with Interpol and the Foreign Office, Mr Cole managed to use the phone of a fellow inmate to communicate that he was in prison.

Adrian Cole said his father and a friend were waiting at a bus stop when they were approached by police and asked why they were together.

Adrian Cole said his father is "very discreet"

"They accessed my father's phone, and inside one of the folders they found a photograph that they said was compromising," he said.

"Based on that, they were charged with homosexuality."

He said his father, who came out as gay a few years ago, was respectful of Morocco's laws and that he is a "very discreet" person.

Adrian Cole said his father has been sleeping on the floor in a crowded jail, and that the conditions are starting to take a toll on the 70-year-old.

The family plan on launching an appeal.

"Our hope is that they (Moroccan authorities) would see fit to simply remove him from the country," he said.

They have also launched an internet campaign, with a Facebook page calling for his release and a #freeraycole hashtag set up on Twitter.

Former deputy speaker of the House of Commons Nigel Evans said he would talk to the Moroccan ambassador and ask her "to convey to His Majesty a plea from the gay community in the UK to release this man in order that he can return to the UK as soon as possible".

"I deplore the fact that Mr Cole is spending any time in a jail there," Mr Evans, a gay MP, told Pink news.

"I call upon MPs from Morocco to look again at the way they are treating gay people.

"Do they really want their country associated with such archaic laws, and do they really think it is wise to lock someone up for four months for something that is legal in so many countries around the world?"

A Foreign Office spokeswoman confirmed the detention of a British citizen in Morocco and said they are providing consular assistance.

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Shrien Dewani Tells Court He Is Bisexual

A British millionaire accused of murdering his wife on their honeymoon in South Africa has told a judge he is bisexual.

Shrien Dewani, 34, denies orchestrating his wife's death by hiring three men to kill the 28-year-old as they drove through Cape Town's Gugulethu Township on 13 November, 2010.

Appearing at Western Cape High Court in Cape Town, the care home owner denied charges of murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice.

He told judge Jeanette Traverso: "I plead not guilty to all five counts, my lady."

Through a witness statement read to the court by his solicitor Francois van Zyl, he also told the court he was bisexual.

Video: Anni Dewani's Family Want Justice

In it, he said: "My sexual interactions with males were mostly physical experiences or email chats with people I met online or in clubs, including prostitutes."

Footage of the crime scene, including Anni's body inside the taxi, were also shown to the court.

The court heard Dewani had abnormally low levels of hormones and that he and his wife were unlikely to have children. He said he had discussed this with Anni, whom he began dating in summer 2009.

Their relationship broke down, but they got back together in March 2010 and married later that year in Mumbai.

Dewani said the carjacking in Cape Town was a "traumatic experience which resulted in the loss of my wife".

He added he has suffered "flashbacks, nightmares and anxiety attacks" since, which has affected his ability to remember clearly.

Mr van Zyl said his client remembered banging noises coming from the front of the car during the carjacking.

Dewani added: "The next thing I recall is somebody next to me, who told me to lie down. The person had a gun in his hand. He was waving the gun in the air."

Anni Dewani's family, including her father Vinod Hindocha and mother Nilam, were among those in a packed courtroom on Monday.

Prosecutors claim Dewani conspired with Zola Tongo, Mziwamadoda Qwabe and Xolile Mngeni to kill his wife. All three are already serving jail terms in connection with Anni's murder.

He claims he and his wife were kidnapped at gunpoint as they drove through the township.

The court heard Anni Dewani was screaming inside the taxi and he was ordered to keep her quiet as they were driven by another driver. Dewani said he was ordered to get out of the car with a gun to his head and he had to climb out of a window because the door would not open.

He added: "The last thing I had said to Anni was to be quiet and not to say anything."

Dewani was released unharmed, but his wife's body was found in the abandoned taxi the following day with gunshot wounds to the hand and neck.

Before the trial, he was detained in a hospital in Britain with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and has spent the last three years fighting extradition to South Africa.

It is unclear if Dewani will give evidence in his defence. The case is due to run until December.

The trial continues.

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