Putin Calls Obama Over Ukraine Diplomacy

Russia Feeling The Pinch Of Western Sanctions

Updated: 11:11pm UK, Friday 28 March 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

Russia's foreign minister came close to quoting Marx, not Karl, Groucho, in his reaction to the blackballing of Russia from the G8 community of rich nations by the remaining members of the G7.

"The G8 is an informal club, with no formal membership, so no one can be expelled from it. If our western partners believe that such format is no longer needed, so be it," said Sergei Lavrov.

"We aren't clinging to that format and we won't see a big problem if there are no such meetings for a year, or a year-and-half."

So there.

Well, not quite.

Russia may be trying to shrug off the limited sanctions the international community imposed in response to the Crimean annexation – but the cat-like claws of asset freezes and visa bans are already digging into the Russian economic body.

Andrei Klepach, Russia's deputy economics minister, has been an Eeyore ever since the Crimean adventure got under way.

This week he warned that capital flows out of Russia for the first quarter of this year were likely to soar to $70 billion (£42.4bn) - that's $7bn more than the total outflow from Russia last year.

He had already warned of declining growth, pressure on the Rouble and growing inflation.

"Capital outflow was already significant before this, and, of course, growing tensions and cooling relations make it even worse," said Klepach.

He hasn't joined the triumphalist parades and Soviet-style Putin praise parties which have gummed up local TV channels since the Crimea was taken from Ukraine.

Putin's move on the Peninsula might have been a strategic plan. Or a visceral response to the revolution in Kiev which seemed to drag the country, finally, away from the Russian sphere of influence.

He may have calculated on the loyalty of the oligarchs closest to him. Some of whom have, indeed, said they see the sanctions imposed on them as a badge of honour.

But investors want money, not medals.

So already, according to the Financial Times, companies which left profits in Russia to be used for future investment are now repatriating them fast.

They are fearful that their assets could be confined to Russia if a trade war breaks out in earnest.

Russia's economic position has also been weakened with China.

Putin has been looking to expand trade with the Asian giant - and especially to secure a deal to supply it with more oil and gas.

He's expecting, perhaps, to ink such an agreement in May.

But it had been negotiated before the West decided to start seeking alternatives to Russian gas, which supplies around a third of Europe's needs.

Now the Chinese can drive a harder bargain because they are not an additional buyer - but an alternative one of Russian fossil fuels.

Vladimir Putin's foreign minister may agree with Groucho's principal that "I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member".

But in the long term, Russia's economy will cool as it presses its face against the G7 club window.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Missing Plane: Man At Centre Of MH370 Storm

Learning Lessons From Missing Flight MH370

Updated: 9:23am UK, Saturday 29 March 2014

By Ian Woods, Senior Correspondent

The small consolation that should come with every airline crash is that the knowledge gained from the tragedy should help prevent it happening again.

But if that were true, we might already know more about what happened to flight MH370.

After the Air France accident of 2009, in which 228 people died when their flight from Brazil plunged into the Atlantic, 120 representatives of the international aviation industry got together to recommend ways to make it easier to find aircraft which crash into the sea. 

None has been implemented.

They suggested that the flight data recorders - the black boxes - should have larger batteries so they would carry on transmitting a beacon for 90 rather than 30 days. 

But bigger batteries mean extra weight and extra cost for the airlines to install them.

They also suggested the recorders should be designed to break away and float to the surface, rather than sink to the sea floor along with the rest of the fuselage.

And that the frequency of the transmission should be altered to boost how far away it can be heard, beyond its current 2,000 metre maximum.

Salvage expert David Mearns, from Blue Water Recoveries, told Sky News: "If you reduce that frequency, the lower the frequency, the greater the range. 

"You go from 37.5khz , to say, 8.8khz as recommended, I think that would increase the range to over 10,000 metres.

"So that's a five times increase in your detectable range and that would help the teams out there now looking for these black boxes."

As for why the recommendations weren't acted upon? 

"It's a very big industry. It's an international industry," said Mr Mears.

"It takes a lot of time for these things to work themselves through the regulations; how they would operate, how the pilots would be trained to use them; they have to be implemented on the aircraft, so it takes years for these things to be done."

In an age when we can all track most passenger aircraft on our smartphones and computers, how can a plane still go missing? 

Most, but not all, areas of the world are now covered by the Acars ADS-B system, allowing them to be constantly tracked. Although smaller, older aircraft are not equipped.

There are new regulations being introduced around the world compelling airlines to fit them in all passenger aircraft. 

But in some places the deadline is 2020.  

Mikael Robertsson, the founder of Flightradar24.com, told Sky: "Maybe authorities in these countries don't want to rush or I guess it costs quite a lot of money for airlines to upgrade their equipment on board."

In any case, it appears the system on MH370 was switched off. 

One current 777 pilot told Sky he could not think of a good reason why he would do such a thing. 

And with so many flights criss-crossing vast expanses of water, knowing the plane's last position is crucial to a swift recovery. 

Mr Robertsson said: "I think this is something that should be discussed: How much pilots should be able to turn off, and how easy it should be to turn some systems off?"

The backgrounds of the pilots have been scrutinised to assess the likelihood of criminal or suicidal behaviour. 

Professor Robert Bor is a clinical psychologist who has studied those who fly, and was specifically asked to review an incident involving an American Jet Blue pilot who had a psychotic episode while flying from New York to Las Vegas.

Captain Clayton Osbon left the cockpit and screamed at passengers before being subdued by some of those on board. 

His co-pilot landed the plane safely in Texas. 

Prof Bor and others concluded there were no warning signs beforehand which could have prevented the incident.     

"Every year an airline pilot will have at least two formal medical checks which address not just their physical health but their mental health. Every time they are doing the job they are scrutinised by people."

Pilot suicide is not unheard of, and is considered the most likely explanation for the crash of an Indonesian SilkAir flight in 1997. 

The pilot was heavily in debt - 104 passengers and crew were killed.

Airlines may also be studying how Malaysia Airlines has handled the disaster from a public relations perspective. 

The families of the passengers have gone from grieving to protesting, angry at being kept waiting for news, furious about misinformation, and the final indignity - some of them were told the plane had crashed by text message. 

Crisis management expert Raine Marcus told Sky News: "The communications with the families didn't inspire trust from the beginning.

"If you don't build up trust and goodwill right from the beginning, that has a direct impact afterwards on communications with the families and also directly on your business."

In the months and years ahead, as details emerge of what happened to MH370, there will undoubtedly be calls for lessons to be learned.

And in the meantime millions of us will continue to fly, hoping that our flight will not be one of the very rare ones, which does not have a safe landing.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Missing Jet: Learning Lessons From Tragedy

The small consolation that should come with every airline crash is that the knowledge gained from the tragedy should help prevent it happening again.

But if that were true, we might already know more about what happened to flight MH370.

After the Air France accident of 2009, in which 228 people died when their flight from Brazil plunged into the Atlantic, 120 representatives of the international aviation industry got together to recommend ways to make it easier to find aircraft which crash into the sea. 

None has been implemented.

They suggested that the flight data recorders - the black boxes - should have larger batteries so they would carry on transmitting a beacon for 90 rather than 30 days. 

Some have said black boxes should be made to float to the surface

But bigger batteries mean extra weight and extra cost for the airlines to install them.

They also suggested the recorders should be designed to break away and float to the surface, rather than sink to the sea floor along with the rest of the fuselage.

And that the frequency of the transmission should be altered to boost how far away it can be heard, beyond its current 2,000 metre maximum.

A new area is being searched after analysis of MH370 data

Salvage expert David Mearns, from Blue Water Recoveries, told Sky News: "If you reduce that frequency, the lower the frequency, the greater the range. 

"You go from 37.5khz , to say, 8.8khz as recommended, I think that would increase the range to over 10,000 metres.

"So that's a five times increase in your detectable range and that would help the teams out there now looking for these black boxes."

Change takes 'years' in the airline industry, says David Mears

As for why the recommendations weren't acted upon? 

"It's a very big industry. It's an international industry," said Mr Mears.

"It takes a lot of time for these things to work themselves through the regulations; how they would operate, how the pilots would be trained to use them; they have to be implemented on the aircraft, so it takes years for these things to be done."

In an age when we can all track most passenger aircraft on our smartphones and computers, how can a plane still go missing? 

Most, but not all, areas of the world are now covered by the Acars ADS-B system, allowing them to be constantly tracked. Although smaller, older aircraft are not equipped.

There are new regulations being introduced around the world compelling airlines to fit them in all passenger aircraft. 

Planes spotted two objects in the new search area

But in some places the deadline is 2020.  

Mikael Robertsson, the founder of Flightradar24.com, told Sky: "Maybe authorities in these countries don't want to rush or I guess it costs quite a lot of money for airlines to upgrade their equipment on board."

In any case, it appears the system on MH370 was switched off. 

One current 777 pilot told Sky he could not think of a good reason why he would do such a thing. 

And with so many flights criss-crossing vast expanses of water, knowing the plane's last position is crucial to a swift recovery. 

The backgrounds of the Malaysia Airlines pilots have been scrutinised

Mr Robertsson said: "I think this is something that should be discussed: How much pilots should be able to turn off, and how easy it should be to turn some systems off?"

The backgrounds of the pilots have been scrutinised to assess the likelihood of criminal or suicidal behaviour. 

Professor Robert Bor is a clinical psychologist who has studied those who fly, and was specifically asked to review an incident involving an American Jet Blue pilot who had a psychotic episode while flying from New York to Las Vegas.

Captain Clayton Osbon left the cockpit and screamed at passengers before being subdued by some of those on board. 

His co-pilot landed the plane safely in Texas. 

Prof Bor and others concluded there were no warning signs beforehand which could have prevented the incident.     

Captain Clayton Osbon had a psychotic episode in the cockpit

"Every year an airline pilot will have at least two formal medical checks which address not just their physical health but their mental health. Every time they are doing the job they are scrutinised by people."

Pilot suicide is not unheard of, and is considered the most likely explanation for the crash of an Indonesian SilkAir flight in 1997. 

The pilot was heavily in debt - 104 passengers and crew were killed.

Airlines may also be studying how Malaysia Airlines has handled the disaster from a public relations perspective. 

The families of the passengers have gone from grieving to protesting, angry at being kept waiting for news, furious about misinformation, and the final indignity - some of them were told the plane had crashed by text message. 

Pilot suicide is the suspected cause of the 1997 SilkAir flight crash

Crisis management expert Raine Marcus told Sky News: "The communications with the families didn't inspire trust from the beginning.

"If you don't build up trust and goodwill right from the beginning, that has a direct impact afterwards on communications with the families and also directly on your business."

In the months and years ahead, as details emerge of what happened to MH370, there will undoubtedly be calls for lessons to be learned.

And in the meantime millions of us will continue to fly, hoping that our flight will not be one of the very rare ones, which does not have a safe landing.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Missing Plane Hunt: More Objects Spotted

Learning Lessons From Missing Flight MH370

Updated: 9:23am UK, Saturday 29 March 2014

By Ian Woods, Senior Correspondent

The small consolation that should come with every airline crash is that the knowledge gained from the tragedy should help prevent it happening again.

But if that were true, we might already know more about what happened to flight MH370.

After the Air France accident of 2009, in which 228 people died when their flight from Brazil plunged into the Atlantic, 120 representatives of the international aviation industry got together to recommend ways to make it easier to find aircraft which crash into the sea. 

None has been implemented.

They suggested that the flight data recorders - the black boxes - should have larger batteries so they would carry on transmitting a beacon for 90 rather than 30 days. 

But bigger batteries mean extra weight and extra cost for the airlines to install them.

They also suggested the recorders should be designed to break away and float to the surface, rather than sink to the sea floor along with the rest of the fuselage.

And that the frequency of the transmission should be altered to boost how far away it can be heard, beyond its current 2,000 metre maximum.

Salvage expert David Mearns, from Blue Water Recoveries, told Sky News: "If you reduce that frequency, the lower the frequency, the greater the range. 

"You go from 37.5khz , to say, 8.8khz as recommended, I think that would increase the range to over 10,000 metres.

"So that's a five times increase in your detectable range and that would help the teams out there now looking for these black boxes."

As for why the recommendations weren't acted upon? 

"It's a very big industry. It's an international industry," said Mr Mears.

"It takes a lot of time for these things to work themselves through the regulations; how they would operate, how the pilots would be trained to use them; they have to be implemented on the aircraft, so it takes years for these things to be done."

In an age when we can all track most passenger aircraft on our smartphones and computers, how can a plane still go missing? 

Most, but not all, areas of the world are now covered by the Acars ADS-B system, allowing them to be constantly tracked. Although smaller, older aircraft are not equipped.

There are new regulations being introduced around the world compelling airlines to fit them in all passenger aircraft. 

But in some places the deadline is 2020.  

Mikael Robertsson, the founder of Flightradar24.com, told Sky: "Maybe authorities in these countries don't want to rush or I guess it costs quite a lot of money for airlines to upgrade their equipment on board."

In any case, it appears the system on MH370 was switched off. 

One current 777 pilot told Sky he could not think of a good reason why he would do such a thing. 

And with so many flights criss-crossing vast expanses of water, knowing the plane's last position is crucial to a swift recovery. 

Mr Robertsson said: "I think this is something that should be discussed: How much pilots should be able to turn off, and how easy it should be to turn some systems off?"

The backgrounds of the pilots have been scrutinised to assess the likelihood of criminal or suicidal behaviour. 

Professor Robert Bor is a clinical psychologist who has studied those who fly, and was specifically asked to review an incident involving an American Jet Blue pilot who had a psychotic episode while flying from New York to Las Vegas.

Captain Clayton Osbon left the cockpit and screamed at passengers before being subdued by some of those on board. 

His co-pilot landed the plane safely in Texas. 

Prof Bor and others concluded there were no warning signs beforehand which could have prevented the incident.     

"Every year an airline pilot will have at least two formal medical checks which address not just their physical health but their mental health. Every time they are doing the job they are scrutinised by people."

Pilot suicide is not unheard of, and is considered the most likely explanation for the crash of an Indonesian SilkAir flight in 1997. 

The pilot was heavily in debt - 104 passengers and crew were killed.

Airlines may also be studying how Malaysia Airlines has handled the disaster from a public relations perspective. 

The families of the passengers have gone from grieving to protesting, angry at being kept waiting for news, furious about misinformation, and the final indignity - some of them were told the plane had crashed by text message. 

Crisis management expert Raine Marcus told Sky News: "The communications with the families didn't inspire trust from the beginning.

"If you don't build up trust and goodwill right from the beginning, that has a direct impact afterwards on communications with the families and also directly on your business."

In the months and years ahead, as details emerge of what happened to MH370, there will undoubtedly be calls for lessons to be learned.

And in the meantime millions of us will continue to fly, hoping that our flight will not be one of the very rare ones, which does not have a safe landing.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pistorius Murder Trial Adjourned Over Illness

The trial of Oscar Pistorius has been adjourned until April after one of the judge's assessors was taken ill.

The courtroom in Pretoria had been packed in anticipation of the athlete's first day in the witness box but proceedings will now continue on April 7.

Pistorius' brother Carl and his sister Aimee were both in the public gallery expecting to hear their brother give evidence when news of the adjournment was announced.

Judge Thokozile Masipa told the court: "We cannot proceed this morning and we're also not sitting next week.

"One of my assessors is unwell, so this court is not properly constituted. I suggest we postpone this matter until April 7."

South Africa does not have a jury system, and two assessors help the judge reach a decision.

The prosecution has wrapped up its case and both sides have agreed to an extension of the trial until mid-May.

Just 18 of 107 possible witnesses were heard during the first three weeks of the trial, which is being held in Pretoria.

During the prosecution's case, the court heard about text messages Ms Steenkamp sent to Pistorius, in which she wrote: "I am sometimes scared of you."

An emotional message from Ms Steenkamp sent on January 27 last year accused Pistorius of picking on her "incessantly".

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ukraine: Crimea Bases Under Russian Control

Russia has announced all military bases in Crimea are under its control and Ukrainian troops have left the region.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu added the country's president, Vladimir Putin, would hand over the military vessels and airplanes of Ukrainian forces that have changed sides and joined Moscow.

The region voted overwhelmingly to join Russia in a hastily-arranged referendum earlier this month.

Vladimir Putin signs a bill confirming the annexation of Crimea

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama has urged Russia to pull its forces back from Ukraine's border amid the biggest crisis in relations between the West and Russia since the end of the Cold War.

"You've seen a range of troops massing along that border under the guise of military exercises. But these are not what Russia would normally be doing," he told US television network CBS.

"You would have thought that after a couple of decades that there'd be an awareness on the part of any Russian leader that the path forward is not to revert back to the kinds of practices that you know, were so prevalent during the Cold War."

US President Barack Obama

A security official quoted by the Russian news agency Interfax said Western nations are trying to weaken Russia influence in a vitally important region and Moscow was taking "offensive counterintelligence measures" in response.

The official added the "lawful desire of peoples of Crimea and eastern Ukrainian regions to be with Russia is causing hysteria in the United States and its allies".

Russia was accused of invading Crimea in the aftermath of the removal of President Viktor Yanukovych, but Mr Putin called the soldiers who took over Ukrainian bases there "self-defence forces".

Ukraine shares a vast border with Russia

However, on Friday the Russian leader said the action in Crimea had showed the new capacities of the Russian army.

"The recent events in Crimea were a serious test," he said at a televised military ceremony.

"They demonstrated the new capacities of our armed forces in terms of quality and the high moral spirit of the personnel."

Mr Putin meets officers at the ceremony

It is the first time Mr Putin has confirmed the direct involvement of the Russian army in the seizure.

He went on to thank the "commanders and servicemen of the Black Sea Fleet and other units deployed in Crimea for their restraint and personal courage".

On Friday, Mr Yanukovych said every region of Ukraine should hold a vote to decide whether to break away like Crimea.

Graffiti depicting Vladimir Putin reaching out to the Ukrainian people

He said he would not recognise a presidential election planned for May 25 and called instead for nationwide referendums.

"As president who is with you in thought and soul, I ask every single sensible citizen of Ukraine not to let yourselves be used by the imposters.

"Demand a referendum on determining the status of every region in Ukraine," he added in a statement quoted by Russia's Itar-Tass news agency.

Mr Yanukovych faced months of mass protests over his decision to spurn a European Union trade deal in favour of closer ties with Moscow.

Related Stories

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Missing Flight: BA Sorry For Indian Ocean Ad

British Airways has said sorry for an advert urging people to escape the commute and "discover the Indian Ocean" amid the missing plane mystery.

The ill-timed advert was spotted on an escalator at a London underground station and posted on Twitter, quickly going viral.

The picture of the advert - taken by Alan Milford - has now been viewed more than one million times.

Alan Milford's initial tweet BA responded after the picture went viral

The text "Escape the commute and discover the Indian Ocean" is overlaid on a picture which appears to have been taken underwater.

After spotting the advert, Mr Milford, 29, tweeted: "Unfortunate advertising from BA up the escalators at Euston."

The advert ran on a video screen at the tube and rail station as the hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 continues.

There were 239 people on board the plane which is feared to have crashed somewhere in the vast Indian Ocean.

Map shows the search area in the Indian Ocean

The plane took off from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia early on March 8 and had been expected to make a six-hour trip to Beijing in China.

BA has tweeted an apology, explaining the advert "contained pre-scheduled content that we recognise is inappropriate at this time".

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Missing Plane: Objects Seen In New Search Area

Australian authorities have said five planes involved in the search for the missing flight MH370 have spotted objects in a new search area in the Indian Ocean.

A tweet from the Australian Marine Safety Authority (AMSA) said a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3 Orion aircraft first spotted the objects on Friday.

The sightings, which included multiple objects of "various colours", will need to be confirmed by personnel on board ships involved in the search, which expected to take place on Saturday when the Chinese Maritime Administration patrol ship Haixun 01 moves into the area.

It comes after the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane shifted due to data suggesting it was travelling faster than previously thought.

Analysis of radar information from before contact with flight MH370 was lost indicated the plane was burning up fuel more quickly and may not have travelled as far south over the Indian Ocean.

A New Zealand Orion aircraft spotted debris in the new search area

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau described the data, which came from analysis by Boeing, as the "most credible lead to where debris may be located".

Search teams have been relocated to scour an area 685 miles northeast of the zone they had been operating in.

Some 10 aircraft, including nine military planes, are involved, and six ships are being sent to the region.

Experts will also trawl through satellite images of the new search zone to identify any possible crash sites.

During a news conference on Friday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian authorities said the search in the Indian Ocean could shift to a deep sea search and salvage if no sign of the missing plane was discovered before the 30-day life of its black box battery.

The search is now nearly three weeks old and the operation has had to be called off twice due to bad weather.

Acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the new search area "could still be consistent with the potential objects identified by various satellite images" because of ocean drift.

Professor Chris Bellamy, a maritime security expert at the University of Greenwich, said it was not surprising that the search area continues to change.

He told Sky News: "In that time (since satellite images), with a current of approximately three knots the debris could have drifted that distance.

"We may be talking about a load of debris floating in the area that they have been searching just before they moved the area and an impact in the new area.

Search teams are using 10 planes in an attempt to find missing flight MH370

"It doesn't totally surprise me that it's taken them so long to refine the search and decide that the plane probably went in further north."

The development comes after images from a Thai satellite showed 300 objects ranging from two to 15 metres in size scattered in the sea about 1,700 miles southwest of Perth.

A French satellite spotted more than 120 objects floating in the ocean, while Japan is also reported to have captured aerial images of 10 items.

It is not known whether any of the objects are from the missing Boeing 777, which disappeared on March 8 as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

The plane is thought to have crashed with the loss of all 239 people on board after flying thousands of miles off course.

Prayers and messages of support left on a wall at Kuala Lumpur airport

Distraught relatives of the 150 Chinese passengers on board the plane continue to voice their anger and frustration at the speed of the investigation.

Some Chinese insurance companies have started paying compensation to the families, according to the state news agency.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, chief executive of Malaysia Airlines, has been asked about the psychological testing of pilots employed by the airline.

He said: "They do psychological tests when they take new pilots on. That is something we check yearly and six-monthly, depending on how old they are, through an interview with aviation doctors."

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Missing Plane: Scanning The Seas For MH370

By James Matthews, Sky News Correspondent

"Unfortunately, we don't have a scoop for you" - those were the parting words from Australia's Air Force 11 squadron, crew 3, as we stepped off their P3 Orion aircraft following a search for MH370.

Every crew operating out of the Pearce air base north of Perth, Western Australia, wants to be the crew that finally locates the missing Malaysian airliner.

11 Squadron are more used to hunting for submarines on behalf of the Royal Australian Air Force. 

As part of Australia's contribution to the multinational search for MH370, we accompanied them on a mission 1300 miles off the coast of Western Australia.  

The open seas are relayed onto monitors as the plane flies over

It was a four hour flight to the 'crash site', where the aircraft's crew searched for three and a half hours. 

We knew we had arrived at the scene when Captain Peter Moore switched off one of his plane's four propeller engines, a move that saved fuel and prolonged the searching time by half an hour.

The advantages of technology in the hunt for MH370 are obvious. 

Satellite imagery, in particular, has guided the search. Close-up, however, technology's limits are equally clear.

Take some of the information fed onto a bank of monitors, the so-called "tech-bar", inside the aircraft.

Infrared cameras stream footage of the sea onto screens, as does the plane's radar. 

Airforce spotters work in shifts of 20 minutes and scan side to side

Both systems are effective in the aircraft's usual role of hunting for submarines but in the circumstances surrounding the search for MH370 they are not ideal.

Radar cannot penetrate water and so is relying on chancing upon debris protruding above the surface.

Infrared cameras pick out sources of heat; the only trouble is that any piece of debris will be as cold as the sea around it.

So among all the sophisticated kit involved in this multinational search effort it comes down to the human eye as much as anything else. 

Trained spotters rotate in 20 minute shifts, the time deemed as an appropriate limit for extreme concentration. 

They are taught to scan the scene before them from side to side, according to the direction in which they read and write. 

Our trip with 11 Squadron was the fourth made by the crew on this job and they have modified their approach over time. 

The search area is four hours from Australia

They scan the sea from a height 700 metres - some aircraft have gone lower but 11 Squadron have found that 700m increases the area they can scan at any one time.

It also presents the opportunity for the spotters to get a view straight down - important, they say, for debris they believe is probably resting just beneath the ocean's surface.

Looking out of the window of the P3 Orion you gain a clear sense of the challenge facing search teams. 

When you look out of the domed portholes in the aircraft skin you see a vast expanse of ocean extending far into the horizon. 

11 Squadron did make a couple of sightings during their search of 900 square miles - but sadly not of the missing aircraft. 

The crew spotted some dolphins and a killer whale.

Pearce airforce base near Perth is the hub for the air search operation

Since the announcement that MH370 had crashed, there is - perhaps - less emotional investment in the search and recovery operation. 

No longer are search crews mindful of a miracle - the possibility that someone, somewhere, might be found alive. 

Crews are now wholly focused on a job that is about recovery and the gathering of evidence.

It is also about the bereaved families. In the words of 11 Squadron's Captain Peter Moore, for the victim's loved ones "closure matters". And that is what drives the search of strangers.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Sharp Spike' In People Put To Death Worldwide

There has been a "sharp global spike" in the number of people put to death, according to Amnesty International.

Almost 100 more people were executed in 2013 compared with the previous year - a rise of almost 15%.

There were at least 778 executions carried out in 22 countries, according to the London-based rights group.

Amnesty secretary general Salil Shetty said: "Only a small number of countries carried out the vast majority of these senseless state-sponsored killings.

"We urge all governments who still kill in the name of justice to impose a moratorium on the death penalty immediately, with a view to abolishing it."

Iran (369 executions), Iraq (169), Saudi Arabia (79), the United States (39) and Somalia (34) are top of the list.

However, the figures do not include the thousands of people who are put to death in China, where such information is a state secret.

The report follows a decision this week by a court in Egypt to sentence 529 alleged supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood to death, a decision Amnesty called "grotesque".

The global increase is partly down to more executions in Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia - which account for 80% of the total.

"Credible sources" have reported an additional 335 executions in Iran, Amnesty said.

The rights group said it could not confirm the number of executions in Syria and Egypt.

Reasons for executions included adultery in Saudi Arabia, blasphemy in Pakistan, economic crimes in China, North Korea and Vietnam, and reportedly in North Korea for pornography, escaping to China and watching banned videos from South Korea.

Methods of execution included beheading in Saudi Arabia, electrocution in the US, and lethal injection in China, Vietnam and the US.

Other countries were listed as using hanging and shooting, although there were no reported executions by stoning.

According to Amnesty, more than 23,000 people were recorded as being on death row in 2013, and at least 1,925 people were sentenced to death in 57 countries.

But amid the high numbers, the rights group pointed out that only around one in 10 countries carry out executions and 140 are against the death penalty.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ukraine Crisis: IMF Agrees $18bn Bailout Fund

The International Monetary Fund has agreed rescue funds of up to $18bn (£10.8bn) for Ukraine in return for strict economic reforms.

Under the conditions of the proposed deal, Ukraine's interim government has announced a 50% increase in the price of domestic gas from May 1.

The IMF has pushed for a cut in energy subsidies which accounted for 7.5% of Ukraine's GDP in 2012.

Ukraine has said it needs the bailout to avoid a possible debt default.

The so-called Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the IMF will not be ratified until the executive board meets next month.

If it is agreed, it could open Ukraine up to further financial support from the US, EU and Japan amounting to a total of $27bn (£16.3bn) over the next two years.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said on Thursday the price for Russian gas could reach $480 (£290) per 1,000 cubic metres from April 1. The current level is $268.5 (£162).

He added that if the reforms required by the IMF were not adopted, GDP could fall 10% in 2014 and the economy could default.

The country's finance minister had predicted Ukraine's economy will contract 3% this year after years of mismanagement and political turmoil.

Yulia Tymoshenko says she will run for president

A statement from the IMF said: "Following the intense economic and political turbulence of recent months, Ukraine has achieved some stability, but faces difficult challenges.

"The mission has reached a staff-level agreement with the authorities of Ukraine on an economic reform programme that can be supported by a two-year Stand-By Agreement (SBA) with the IMF.

"The financial support from the broader international community that the programme will unlock amounts to $27bn over the next two years.

"Of this, assistance from the IMF will range between $14-18bn, with the precise amount to be determined once all bilateral and multilateral support is accounted for."

The agreement will help Ukraine to meet debt payments after months of anti-government protests which saw President Viktor Yanukovych flee the country and Russian troops enter the Crimea region.

Meanwhile, former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko has said she will stand in presidential elecitons in May.

The 53-year-old was released from jail last month following the fall of Mr Yanukovych's government.

She had spent three years in prison after being convicted of embezzlement and abuse of power, charges her supporters say were politically motivated.

A heroine of the 2004 Orange Revolution which overthrew Mr Yanukovych during his first term, Ms Tymoshenko is a divisive figure in Ukraine, seen variously as a fearless standard-bearer of democracy and as a self-interested oligarch.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

MH370 Search: Satellite Spots '300 Objects'

Thailand says satellite images show 300 objects floating in the ocean in the hunt for wreckage from flight MH370, which has been scaled back due to bad weather.

The items, ranging from two to 15 metres (6.5 to 50 feet) in size, were scattered over an area about 1,700 miles southwest of Perth, according to the country's space agency.

The latest satellite evidence comes as search aircraft were recalled to Perth due to poor weather conditions, which are expected to last 24 hours.

But eight ships will stay in the area and attempt to continue scouring the remote southern Indian Ocean where previous satellite images showed what could be a debris field.

The operation has already been suspended once this week because of the weather.

Another weather system is moving in to the search zone. Pic: bom.gov.au

International teams set off early on Thursday morning local time to continue the search, but by early afternoon the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is coordinating the hunt, said all planes had been forced to leave the search zone due to heavy rains, strong winds, low clouds and reduced visibility.

On returning to Perth, Captain Mike MacSween, who is on attachment with the Royal Australian Air Force, said poor visibility meant he had to fly as low as 200 feet to keep the ocean surface in sight.

He told a news conference: "The conditions are definitely difficult.

"With the rain showers and reduced visibility, and the concentration required to try and pick up something visually made it difficult for the crew."

It took four hours to reach the search area and the crew had up to two-and-a-half hours search time before having to head back.

New satellite images continue to provide clues in the hunt for MH370

He added: "The crew are still motivated and hopefully we are going to be able to find something soon."

Before the weather deteriorated, crews were trying to find signs of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 in an area around 1,550 miles (2,500 km) southwest of Perth, Western Australia, after a French satellite spotted 122 objects, suspected to be debris.

Malaysian officials said the items, between one metre and 23 metres in length, were in an area measuring around 155 square miles (400 square kilometres).

There have been five separate satellite leads - from Australia, China, France, and now Thailand - showing what could be debris.

But it is not currently known if any of the objects are connected to MH370, which disappeared on March 8 on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

The plane is thought to have crashed with the loss of all 239 people aboard after flying thousands of miles off course.

Search aircraft have been grounded in Perth because of severe weather

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said crews had seen objects while they were searching on Wednesday, but the items were later lost.

"Three objects were spotted on Wednesday by two aircraft but were not able to be relocated despite several passes," it said.

"They were unrelated to the credible satellite imagery provided to AMSA."

The failure to zero in on any possible debris despite the visuals from crews and numerous satellite images highlights the logistical difficulties of the search area.

It has some of the deepest and roughest waters in the world, battered by the "roaring forties" winds that sweep across the sea.

The winds are named for the area between latitude 40 degrees and 50 degrees where there is no land mass to slow down gusts which create waves higher than six metres (19ft).

"It's a nasty part of the world simply because there's no land to break up any of this swell and waves - it's uncomfortable to be there any time," marine scientist Dr Rob Beaman told Sky News.

"You really need a strong stomach to work in that area, so I really feel for the people who are out there doing the search."

Meanwhile, Chinese insurance companies have started paying compensation to the families of passengers aboard the missing plane, according to the state news agency.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

US Mudslide: A Community Left Devastated

Dayn Brunner says he does not hold out much hope of finding his sister alive - but he can't give up the search.

"If it were me in there, she would do the same thing," he says.

Summer Raffo, 36, was driving along Route 530 in Oso on Saturday morning when the giant landslide swept through. No-one has heard from her since.

Dayn has joined rescue crews picking their way through the debris in the foothills if the Cascade Mountains.

He told Sky News: "It is important to me to get in there and get her out. Knowing this is no longer a rescue mission, it is hard."

His story is similar to dozens in this breathtakingly beautiful corner of America.

Around 30 homes were destroyed and dozens more damaged by the mudslide

While some may still hold out hope for loved ones missing or unaccounted for, the number of people thought to have been in Oso at the time of the slide means the death toll is certain to rise significantly.

I spoke to another man who had just heard from his son, searching in the wreckage of the family home. "He's found my wife and my other son. They're dead," he told me.

They had moved to their home on Steelhead Drive, the road that took the brunt of the slide, just two years ago.

"It was beautiful. My wife had never been happier," he said.

Residents attended a candlelight vigil as the death toll rose further

Everyone here knows someone who is missing.

Names and faces on Facebook pages and messages of hope are a mere indication of the pain being felt.

If talk of a 'tight-knit community' can sometimes seem clichéd, here in the wilds of the Pacific North West it is very real.

The towns either side of Oso have rallied to support those caught up in this disaster. Meals and comfort are being offered as hopes of anyone being found alive are dwindling.

Messages for victims' families have been left at a nearby Community Centre

A few miles away, the scene greeting rescue teams in Oso has been described as "unimaginable".

"It is unfathomable what kind of devastation there is. You have mounds of dirt 70ft tall by 100ft wide and 200ft long sitting in what used to be somebody's yard," said Dayn Brunner.

At the roadblock on Route 530, one can just about make out the edge of the slide between the flashing lights of rescue teams.

A sketch artist from the local newspaper stands on the banks of the River Stillaguamish and captures the scene. It is a peaceful and slightly surreal counterpoint to the devastation nearby.

People here are used to living alongside the beauty of nature. They are now living with the horror of its power.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Disgraced Secret Service Agents Sent Home

Three Secret Service agents due to protect the US president on his trip to the Netherlands have been sent home.

President Barack Obama arrived in the country on Monday but the agents were sent home on Sunday after one agent was found drunk in a hotel in Amsterdam, the Secret Service said

Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said the three agents were "benched" for "disciplinary reasons".

He said the incident had not compromised the president's security in any way.

The agents sent home from Amsterdam were put on administrative leave, according to The Washington Post, which first reported the disciplinary action.

The newspaper said all three were on the Counter Assault Team - with one being a "team leader". The team defends the president if he comes under attack.

Secret Service staff travel with the president wherever he goes

While the drunk agent was discovered by staff at the hotel, who reported it to the US Embassy, the other two agents were considered complicit because they did not intervene despite being in a position to assist the drunken agent or curb his behaviour, an anonymous source said.

The latest incident with the Secret Service represents a fresh blemish for an elite agency struggling to restore its reputation following a high-profile prostitution scandal and other allegations of misconduct.

An inspector general's report in December concluded there was no evidence of widespread misconduct, in line with the service's longstanding assertion that it has no tolerance for inappropriate behaviour.

Before the president travels anywhere abroad, a number of Secret Service and other government officials are dispatched in advance to prepare the intense security operation needed to protect the president in unfamiliar territory.

Prostitute Dania Suarez was involved in the Columbia incident

Typically, counter assault teams travel with the president in his motorcade and, if he came under fire, the team would be called upon to engage any attackers while the president was hustled to safety.

Stricter rules implemented in the wake of a prostitution scandal involving secret service agents in Colombia in 2012 bar agents from drinking alcohol within 10 hours of starting a shift.

It is unclear whether the other two agents were drinking heavily or what time any of them would have been expected to show up for a shift.

Mr Obama was in the Netherlands on the first leg of a week-long, four-country European trip to include talks on Ukraine.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Burger King Baby' Finds Mum After 27 Years

A woman abandoned as a baby in the bathroom of a Burger King restaurant has tracked down the mother who gave birth to her 27 years ago.

Katheryn Deprill said she met her biological mother for the first time on Monday in the office of a lawyer after her appeal on Facebook was successful.

Ms Deprill said she felt "pure joy" and it was like "looking in a mirror".

The 27-year-old began her quest on March 2 by posting a photo of herself with a long appeal on the social media site.

She was pictured holding a sign saying: "Looking for my birth mother ... She abandoned me in the Burger King bathroom only hours old, Allentown PA. Please help me find her by sharing my post."

Ms Deprill quickly became known as the Burger King Baby after thousands of users reposted the picture and asked others to help in the search.

The image ended up being shared tens of thousands of times.

Ms Deprill was just hours old when she was abandoned, wrapped in a red sweater, in the bathroom of the fast-food restaurant in 1986.

She was raised by adoptive parents.

Now 27, she is a married mother of three - and said at the start of the appeal she had questions for her biological mother.

"Number one is, I would really like to say, 'Thank you for not throwing me away, thank you for giving me the gift of life, and look what I've become,'" she told the AP news agency.

But she added that she wanted to know "what made her do it? Why did she feel that she shouldn't leave me at a hospital? Was she going through a horrible time?"

She says she and her birth mum plan to have more meetings to get to know each other better.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

US Mudslide Death Toll Rises As Bodies Found

Mudslide: 911 Calls Of Scared Witnesses

Updated: 10:15pm UK, Tuesday 25 March 2014

Terrified residents of a town swept away by a devastating mudslide called 911 to report falling trees, buried cars and neighbours screaming for help.

One caller reported a house being pushed on to the road by a wall of mud and rock, while another shouted: "Houses are gone!"

The calls were released as rescue efforts continued after the mudslide north of Seattle, which has killed at least 14 people.

Another 176 people remain unaccounted for, though officials hope that at least some might have been double-counted or been slow to alert family and officials about their whereabouts.

In one of the calls, a woman is heard reporting a "big emergency".

"There has been a huge landslide, and it has pushed the house all the way across the road," she said, adding she was speaking of a house next door.

The woman said power lines were being cut, and called for help to be sent.

"I can't believe this, oh my God," she said.

"Tell them to come on up, there's a lot of work."

The mudslide smashed through the small community of Oso, around 55 miles (90km) north of Seattle, on Saturday morning.

Around 30 homes were destroyed and dozens more damaged as much of the riverside village was swept away.

Workers continued the search but hopes of finding survivors were fading. Earlier, they pulled out a four-year-old boy, but his father and siblings are missing.

In the 911 calls, a man spoke on behalf of his wife.

"She said it sounded like an earthquake was happening," the man reported.

"There is a mudslide or something, hundreds of trees have fallen right  by my house."

He added he had not been able to extract more information from his wife as she was "in a panic".

An agitated woman screamed into the phone as she called 911.

"Houses are gone!" she shouted, adding people were calling for help as they were being flooded.

"Oh my gosh," she said, breaking into tears.

Summer Raffo, 36, was driving along Route 530 in Oso when the giant landslide swept through. No-one has heard from her since.

Her brother, Dayn Brunner, doesn't hold out much hope of finding his sister alive - but he can't give up the search.

"If it were me in there, she would do the same thing," he told Sky News.

Mr Brunner has joined rescue crews picking their way through the debris in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains.

"It is important to me to get in there and get her out," he said. "Knowing this is no longer a rescue mission, it is hard."

Another man, who asked not to be named, had just spoken with his son, who was searching the wreckage of the family home.

"He's found my wife and my other son. They're dead," the man told Sky News.

The family had moved to their home on Steelhead Drive, the road that took the brunt of the slide, just two years ago.

"It was beautiful. My wife had never been happier," the man added.

The towns either side of Oso have rallied to support those caught in the disaster.

The scene greeting rescue teams in Oso has been described as "unimaginable".

"It is unfathomable what kind of devastation there is. You have mounds of dirt 70ft tall by 100ft wide and 200ft long sitting in what used to be somebody's yard," said Dayn Brunner.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

World Trade Center Jump Leads To Four Arrests

New York police have arrested four men in connection with a jump stunt from One World Trade Center tower.

Those held are three extreme-skydiving enthusiasts who jumped from the uncompleted tower last autumn, and another man accused of being an accomplice.

They all face charges including burglary, reckless endangerment and misdemeanour jumping from a structure.

One of the accused jumpers, Andrew Rossig, described the September 30 experience as "very exhilarating".

"It's a fair amount of free-fall time," he said of the jump from the 1,776-ft-tall tower, America's tallest skyscraper.

One World Trade Center tower is the country's tallest building

"You really get to enjoy the view of the city and see it from a different perspective," said Rossig, an avid BASE jumper. The acronym stands for "building, antenna, span, earth".

His co-defendants are James Brady, an ironworker who formerly worked at the site in Lower Manhattan; skydiving instructor Marko Markovich; and Kyle Hartwell, accused of being their cohort on the ground.

A five-minute video of their stunt was posted online. 

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, has condemned the stunt as a "lawless and selfish act that clearly endangered the public".

The incident has raised questions over security at a site that is supposed to be one of the most tightly protected in the country.

In March, a teen slipped through a gap in a fence, eluded an inattentive security guard and spent about two hours atop the tower.

A Defence lawyer for Rossig, Timothy Parlatore, said pulling off the stunt was easy.

"One of the first things my client said to me was that how surprised he was at how there was no security whatsoever, how easy it was to just walk right up in something that the mayor has just recently described as the No 1 terrorist target in the world," he said.

One World Trade Center is expected to open later this year, and will include a $40m (£24.2m) security system.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Missing Malaysia Jet Search Area Narrowed

The search area for missing flight MH370 has been narrowed by officials, as Malaysian Airlines defended its treatment of grief-stricken relatives.

The international operation to find the Malaysia Airlines plane will now focus on the southern tip of the southern flight corridor the plane is thought to have followed.

Officials say the search - which involves some 26 countries - has been called off in the northern corridor of the Indian Ocean.

Malaysia's acting transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, gave an update today on the search in a news conference at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

He said the search operation will concentrate on 469,407 square miles inside the southern part of the southern corridor.

Protests have been taking place outside China's Malaysian embassy

It comes amid criticism from the relatives of those on board the flight and protests at the Malaysian embassy in Beijing.

China has demanded Malaysia turn over the satellite data used to conclude that the plane crashed into the ocean, killing all 239 people on board.

Dozens of angry relatives of Chinese passengers clashed with police in Beijing after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak confirmed that the plane had crashed.

The protesters shouted slogans including "the Malaysian government are murderers" and "return our relatives".

Scuffles broke out as uniformed security personnel attempted to block some of the relatives from reaching reporters, who were being kept in a designated area.

Sky's Jonathan Samuels in Beijing said there were distressing scenes as relatives accused authorities of lying to them.

"What's extraordinary about this is that these sorts of demonstrations don't usually happen in China," he said.

"The families may have made a point of sorts, but they still believe the Malaysian authorities are lying to them."

A high-level delegation will return to Beijing today to meet with frustrated relatives.

Malaysia Airlines is under mounting pressure over its handling of the search.

Chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya has said it is "not correct" to say the airline abandoned relatives.

Bad weather off the western coast of Australia is hampering the search

He also defended the airline's decision to send text messages to relatives of passengers informing them the plane had been lost.

"Our sole and only motivation last night was to ensure that in the incredibly short amount of time available to us, the families heard the tragic news before the world did," he said.

"We know that while there have been an increasing number of apparent leads, definitive identification of any piece of debris is still missing. It is impossible to predict how long this will take.

"But after 17 days, the announcement made last night and shared with the families is the reality which we must now accept."

He said he will decide later on whether he will resign over the handling of the search operation, saying it was a "personal decision" for later.

Grieving relatives have expressed their anger in Beijing

He has insisted the airline is doing its best to treat relatives with care and dignity.

"My heart breaks to think of the unimaginable pain suffered by all the families. There are no words which can ease that pain.

"Everyone in the Malaysia Airlines family is praying for the 239 souls on MH370 and for their loved ones on this dark day. We extend our prayers and sincere condolences."

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) earlier called off the hunt for wreckage from MH370 for the day due to gale force winds, rain and big waves.

"AMSA has undertaken a risk assessment and determined that the current weather conditions would make any air and sea search activities hazardous and pose a risk to crew," it said.

"Therefore, AMSA has suspended all sea and air search operations for today due to these weather conditions."

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ukraine: West Looks To Tighten Screw On Russia

The West is expected to further ramp up pressure on Russia, after leaders of the G7 united to exclude Moscow from planned G8 talks.

The Cold War-style showdown dominated international talks in The Hague for a second day, as Western leaders seek to isolate Russia over its actions in Ukraine.

During a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, British Prime Minister David Cameron warned that Russia faced further diplomatic and political isolation if it intervened in eastern Ukraine.

Speaking on the sidelines of an international nuclear security summit, Mr Cameron said: "What I think we need to do is just send the clearest possible message about the eastern Ukraine and the steps that we don't want to see (Russian President Vladimir) Putin take.

"We need to send a very clear message that would lead to significant sanctions."

Mr Cameron said the international community must respond with "vigour"

His comments came a day after the G7 - the US, UK, France, Germany, Canada, Italy and Japan -  agreed to pull out of a scheduled G8 meeting in Russia and hold its own meeting in Brussels.

The move effectively suspended two decades of cooperation with Moscow in the G8 "until Russia changes course".

In a joint statement, the G7 leaders said: "This group came together because of shared beliefs and shared responsibilities. Russia's actions in recent weeks are not consistent with them."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague described the move as a "huge blow" for the G8. 

He also indicated that the West was considering tougher sanctions against Russia.

The US and European Union have already targeted some Russian individuals, but are yet to impose broader economic sanctions.

Western leaders are working to put forward a united front on the crisis

Mr Hague acknowledged that measures targeting Russia's economy could carry a negative impact in Europe, but said "we have to be prepared to do that."

"Every country would have to do what is necessary if more far-reaching sanctions were applied, accepting that that would affect different economies in different ways," he said.

"The United Kingdom is fully prepared to play its full part."

Russian representatives, also in the Hague, largely shrugged off the G7's comments.

Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, said the G8 had been useful to discuss issues such as the nuclear tensions with Iran and the civil war in Syria, but that it was not a vital tool.

Sergei Lavrov meets with Ukraine's Andriy Deshchystsya. Pic: @mfa_russia

Mr Lavrov said: "If our Western partners believe the format has exhausted itself, we don't cling to this format.

"We don't believe it will be a big problem if it doesn't convene."

Mr Lavrov held his own meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Deshchytsia on the sidelines of the nuclear talks. 

It was the first time the pair had met since Ukrainian President and Kremlin ally Viktor Yanukovych was ousted last month following mass protests in Kiev.

Speaking ahead of the talks, Mr Deshchytsia warned that Ukraine would never give up Crimea.

He also warned Russia against making further attempts to seize Ukrainian territory, amid reports that Russian troops are assembling along its borders.

Ukrainian troops have been withdrawn from Crimea

Mr Deshchytsia told reporters: "Our military and civilians living in Eastern Ukraine, Ukrainians, Russians, other nationalities, they are ready to defend their homeland."

Earlier in the day, Ukraine announced it was pulling all its forces from Crimea, after losing another military base to Russian troops in the early hours of the morning. 

Russian forces have gradually seized control of the region, since voters in Crimea agreed to join the Russian Federation in a swiftly-arranged referendum following Mr Yanukovych's removal.

Since then, Nato's top commander in Europe, General Philip Breedlove, has warned that Russia's military force massing on Ukraine's border was "very, very sizeable and very, very ready".

He said he was worried the Russian military could make a move for Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region.

Transdniestria, a narrow strip of land to Ukraine's southwest, already has a Russian military presence and most people there favour a union with the country.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pistorius Trial Hears Messages From 'Baba'

Only four out of more than 1,700 messages exchanged between Oscar Pistorius and his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp were of them arguing, the athlete's murder trial has heard.

Texts and WhatsApp messages have been extracted from their phones and were pored over in court for a second day.

Defence lawyer Barry Roux said in spite of their arguments, the couple were exchanging "crosses, baby, things like that". In one message, he referred to her as "Baba", while she called him "Ozzy".

In another, Ms Steenkamp said to her boyfriend: "You are a very special person. You deserve to be looked after."

A picture Ms Steenkamp sent to Oscar Pistorius

Pistorius had tears running down his cheeks while the messages were read out. Ms Steenkamp's mother June also sobbed.

Emotional exchanges between the pair were read out on Monday. In one of them Ms Steenkamp texted Pistorius to say "I am sometimes scared of you". This was sent just weeks before she died.

Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford said: "Roux is working very hard at painting this picture of South Africa's Romeo and Juliet, the star-crossed lovers in a WhatsApp age."

Under questioning from chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel, police IT expert Captain Francois Moller said there were no long, loving messages. This was a contrast Mr Nel tried to make with the texts when they argued.

Texts exchanged between the pair

The court heard communications data extracted from Pistorius' phone showed he was online an hour before Ms Steenkamp was shot. In his bail application, Pistorius said the pair had gone to sleep around 10pm.

There was activity on Ms Steenkamp's phone 11 hours after she died, records show.

But the hearing was told incoming emails, updates or open websites could all give the impression of internet activity.

Phone records also show Pistorius made a flurry of calls after the shooting. The first was to estate manager Johan Stander at 3.19am, followed by the ambulance service a minute later. He then rang security.

One of the messages between the lovers shown in court on Monday

The court heard there were five calls between Pistorius and Ms Steenkamp on the afternoon before she died - February 13. All of the conversations lasted less than five minutes.

In the afternoon, forensic expert Colonel Johannes Vermeulen returned to face more questions, and stood by his claim Pistorius was on his stumps when he knocked down a locked toilet door to reach Ms Steenkamp.

Pistorius said he put his prosthetic legs on, and his lawyer Mr Roux said he will present evidence that there was a third mark on the door consistent with this.

June Steenkamp (left) at a previous hearing

The focus of proceedings also turned to crime levels where Pistorius lived.

Police officer Adriaan Maritz told the court he had no evidence Pistorius ever reported a crime.

Between January 2011 and April 2013 there were less than a dozen reported crimes on the estate.

Mr Roux said Pistorius was a victim of crime "on many occasions", to which the officer replied under cross-examination: "It is possible."

Ms Steenkamp enjoyed a successful modelling career

The trial has been adjourned until Friday so the athlete's defence team can consult with unused prosecution witnesses they might want to call.

Speaking outside afterwards, Pistorius said: "It's a tough time. We've still got a lot of stuff ahead of us."

Pistorius is accused of the premeditated murder of Ms Steenkamp, but says he shot her by mistake after mistaking her for an intruder.

He is also accused of illegally possessing ammunition and two further counts related to shooting a gun in public in two separate incidents before the killing. He denies all of the charges.

The trial is expected to last until the middle of May.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Egypt Sentences 529 Morsi Supporters To Death

More than 500 Muslim Brotherhood supporters have been sentenced to death during a mass trial at a court in southern Egypt.

The sentence was delivered after only two days of evidence, with the defendants' lawyers complaining they had no chance to present their case.

"The court has decided to sentence to death 529 defendants and 16 were acquitted," lawyer Ahmed al Sharif said.

Of those sentenced, only 153 are in detention. The rest are on the run and have been sentenced in absentia.

The harsh sentences have been criticised by human rights lawyers, who say the execution orders are likely to be overturned on appeal.

"This is way over the top and unacceptable," said attorney Mohammed Zarie, who heads a rights centre in Cairo.

Brotherhood supreme guide Mohamed Badie is among those on trial in Minya

"It turns the judiciary in Egypt from a tool for achieving justice to an instrument for taking revenge.

"This verdict could be a precedent both in the history of Egyptian courts and perhaps, tribunals elsewhere in the world."

The defendants are among more than 1,200 supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi on trial in Minya.

They are accused of attacking both police and public property after security forces broke up two Cairo protest camps set up by supporters of Mr Morsi in August.

They were also accused of committing acts of violence that led to the deaths of two policemen in Minya, judicial sources said.

The accused include several leaders of Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, including its supreme guide Mohamed Badie.

The former president is also on trial in three separate cases, including one for inciting the killing of protesters outside a presidential palace during his time in office.

Mr Morsi's supporters have faced a violent crackdown since he was forced from power in July.

Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands arrested since the Muslim Brotherhood was banned.

The government has declared the Muslim Brotherhood to be a "terrorist" organisation, a claim the group denies.

More follows...

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Obama: US And Europe United Behind Ukraine

Barack Obama has said Europe and America are united in their support of the Ukrainian government and its people.

The US president spoke shortly after he arrived in Europe on a trip that will be dominated by efforts by Western leaders to forge a common response to Russia's annexation of Crimea.

"We're united in imposing a cost on Russia for its actions so far," Mr Obama said after meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Mr Obama and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at the Rijksmuseum

In an interview with Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant, he added: "The United States does not view Europe as a battleground between East and West, nor do we see the situation in Ukraine as a zero-sum game.

"That's the kind of thinking that should have ended with the Cold War."

Washington has imposed sanctions on 31 people in a campaign carefully crafted to target Russian officials with links to President Vladimir Putin without creating a backlash against US businesses.

Defying Western sanctions, Vladimir Putin signs the annexation of Crimea

It has threatened to take further action if Russia does not de-escalate the crisis.

During his meetings in Europe, Mr Obama will seek to isolate Russia while gauging how far the still economically shaky European Union is willing to go in punishing Russia, one of its largest trading partners.

Russia has defied Western sanctions, consolidating its grip of Crimea as Ukrainian forces in the peninsula were ordered to pull out.

Russian troops massing along the Ukrainian border

Russia's troop movements have raised fears of further incursions into Ukraine.

The week-long trip will take Mr Obama to four countries.

In the Netherlands, he will join world leaders at the Nuclear Security Summit and head a hastily arranged meeting of the G7 - the US, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.

Mr Obama's focus on Ukraine will continue in Brussels, the headquarters for the EU and NATO.

The nuclear summit in The Hague is held under tight security

A Rome stop will feature a highly anticipated meeting with Pope Francis.

Then the president will travel to Saudi Arabia for a fence-mending visit with the important Gulf ally.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More