PM Vows To 'Keep Fighting' After Juncker Defeat

David Cameron admitted EU reform would be a "long, tough fight" after arch-federalist Jean-Claude Juncker was chosen as president of the European Commission - but insisted he would not give up the cause.

The Prime Minister - who along with Hungary was defeated in his attempt to block Mr Juncker's candidacy - said his fellow EU leaders had made a "serious mistake".

"This is a bad day for Europe. It risks undermining the position of national governments, it risks undermining the power of national parliaments and it hands new power to the European Parliament," he said.

Mr Cameron had argued Mr Juncker would block reform of the EU, but the vote has not dented the Prime Minister's commitment to that cause.

The PM argued Mr Juncker was not the "right person" for the post

"This is going to be a long, tough fight and frankly sometimes you have to be prepared to lose a battle in order to win a war," he added. "It has only stiffened my resolve to fight for reform in the EU, because it is crying out for it."

The Tories have promised a referendum on EU membership  should they win the next election - and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt believes "cowardice" from Europe's leaders can only make a vote to quit more likely.

"As a result of cowardice yesterday from other European leaders who weren't prepared to say in public what they said in private, they're going to have to try very hard to persuade the British people that Europe has a reform agenda," he said.

Mr Hunt claimed the British people would be "proud" of the Prime Minister - and that his position would ultimately help the UK renegotiate its relationship with Europe.

"You're getting European leaders queuing up to say how much they want Britain to stay in the EU, how they'll make compromises.

"We want to be a country in control of our own destiny, we want to stop abuses of the welfare system and NHS.

"We're not going to take part in some grubby face-saving deal where we pretend we've got a deal - a feature of the last government. We want substantive reform in Europe."

Former Luxembourg premier Mr Juncker was backed by Germany's Angela Merkel

Mr Cameron claimed Britain had "made some small steps forward" during the vote discussions.

This included an agreement that ever-closer union allows for different paths of integration and respects the wishes of countries such as Britain that do not want a closer relationship.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was an advocate of Mr Juncker, but amid the vote she urged EU colleagues to "compromise" with Britain.

"I think we can find compromises here and make a step towards Great Britain," she said.

Labour leader Ed Miliband commented: "On Europe, David Cameron has now become a toxic Prime Minister. He cannot stand up for Britain's national interest because when he supports something, he drives our allies away."

UKIP leader Nigel Farage said: "I think what's clear is that any cards that Mr Cameron may have had to play have been spent, and have been lost over a futile battle that he was bound to lose from the beginning.

"(Any) renegotiation now doesn't look very likely. He has been humiliated today but worse than that, he actually looks very isolated."

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Ukraine's EU Deal: 'Not A Good Day For Russia'

Beyond all the bickering over the EU presidency, a bit of history was being made at the summit in Brussels on Friday.

Three former states of the USSR - Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova - signed association agreements with the European Union, formally shifting their countries away from their Soviet past, towards a new, European future.

For Ukraine, this is the culmination of what so many fought for on the Maidan - the local name for the popular uprising in Kiev, which removed president Victor Yanukovych from power.

It was his refusal to sign this very same EU trade deal in November that brought the first of the protesters onto the streets, triggering a movement against a presidency many saw as corrupt and leading their country back to its old Kremlin masters.

The EU flag became one of the symbols of the protest - they flew it from the barricades and wrapped it around themselves - demanding what they saw as European human rights: justice, democracy, and the rule of law.

Petro Poroshenko (R) and EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy shake hands

For all of the sentiment expressed by British politicians of late, it's worth remembering what the European Union means to so many of those beyond its borders in the east of the continent.

I remember one man telling me he considered himself middle class - that he had a nice apartment, a nice car, plenty to lose.

But he wanted a future for his children and grandchildren that would be fairer - that would not be subject to the whim of local bureaucrats or the ability to grease the right palms.

He was realistic about the short-term pain that would follow, but he said it would be worth it.

He wanted a 'European' future for his children.

Of course the reality will not be utopian.

The security situation in the East is deteriorating, Kiev insists, fuelled by the Kremlin.

A ceasefire is supposedly in place in Ukraine

Despite the ceasefire supposedly in place, on Thursday night four Ukrainian servicemen were killed, five wounded, in fighting near Kramatorsk.

The United Nations' refugee agency says 110,000 people have fled across the border into Russia since the start of the year.

The national finances are in a parlous state: the currency has fallen 45% since January, the price of Russian gas is rocketing, and that's before Moscow has enacted the "grave consequences" its deputy foreign minister warned would follow.

For Russia this has not been a good day.

Mr Putin wanted Ukraine to join his own Eurasian Customs Union - watching this 'brotherly nation' instead publicly wrenching itself from the Kremlin's sphere of influence is deeply troubling.

This is not just about losing Ukraine to Europe - it's the prospect of the EU, and with it the old Cold War bogeyman of Nato, expanding East, right up to Russia's border.

Ukraine's success, or otherwise, will depend on Russia's reaction, and western politicians' resolve.

But Friday was an important day - "perhaps the most important day", said President Petro Poroshenko, in the country's post-independence history, "a symbol of faith, and unbreakable will".

He will need both in the months to come.

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Russia Accuses US Over Ukraine Confrontation

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the US of encouraging Ukraine into a confrontation with Moscow.

And he claimed the chances of resolving the Cold War-style crisis would be better if only Russia and Europe were involved.

Mr Lavrov suggested the US was an obstacle to settling the Ukraine conflict

Speaking on television, Mr Lavrov said: "Our American colleagues still prefer to push the Ukrainian leadership toward a confrontational path."

It came after EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Friday decided against  immediately imposing new sanctions on Russia for destabilising eastern Ukraine, but gave Moscow and pro-Russian separatists until Monday to take steps to improve the situation.

Ukraine has also extended a ceasefire by its forces for 72 hours.

They also signed agreements with with Ukraine and two other former Soviet states to establish closer political and economic links with Europe.

Kiev celebrated the historic agreement between Ukraine and the EU

It was the decision of the former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych to ditch a deal with Europe in favour of a pact with Russia, which triggered protests culminating in his overthrow earlier this year.

Moscow responded by annexing the mainly Russian-speaking Crimea in March, that led to pro-Moscow separatists rise up in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine's newly-elected president, Petro Poroshenko, travelled to Brussels to finalise a historic deal with the EU, with agreements also signed by the republics of Moldova and Georgia.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "The UK is firmly committed to the prosperity of these sovereign and independent countries, which are signalling their determination to forge closer political and economic links with Europe.

"I look forward to ever closer relationships that will better the lives of their people and contribute to prosperity across the region."

Ukraine is seeking to increase its gas production after Russia cut exports

The Foreign Office predicted that the completion of the agreements could result in GDP growth in Georgia of €292m (£234m) a year and €1.2bn (£960m) in Ukraine, while boosting Moldova's national income by 5.4% annually.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is seeking to increase its own gas production after Russia's state-controlled gas company, Gazprom, cut exports to the country, after talks to settle a debt and agree a lower price brokedown.

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US Armed Drones Take To The Skies Over Iraq

US And Iranian Drones Flying Over Iraq

Updated: 5:16am UK, Saturday 28 June 2014

By Dominic Waghorn, US Correspondent, Washington

US officials have confirmed that armed drones are now flying in the skies above Baghdad. Previously, US drones operating there were thought to be unarmed.

All unmanned aerial missions will remain tasked with surveillance but the armed drones could be called on to protect the hundreds of US troops who've been sent to act as military advisers.

President Obama has for now ruled out offensive military action in Iraq, but this will give him the ability to respond quickly with force should US assets become threatened.

It also means that US and Iranian drones are almost certainly for the first time flying in the same theatre of war, on the same side. 

US press reports claim Iran is also operating drones from an airfield in Baghdad. 

American and Iranian objectives in Iran overlap. 

Both countries are determined to reverse the fortunes of ISIS - for different reasons. 

Iran is concerned about the threat to its ally, the Shiite-dominated government of Iraq, fellow Shia Iraqis, and Shia holy places. 

The US is concerned by the success of an Islamist movement so extreme it's been condemned by al Qaeda.

American officials have been at pains to rule out coordinating military activity in Iraq with Iran. 

But they have said they are willing to explore a dialogue to explore mutual interests in the country.

Iranian commanders are reported to be operating in Baghdad. Qassem al Suleimani, commander of the elite Iranian Quds Brigade, is said to be among them.  

He is thought to have helped organise Iranian support for Iraqi militia attacks on both US and British troops over the last decade, not least with the use of roadside bombs.

He is now thought to be advising the Iraqi military on defending Baghdad and taking on ISIS after its blitzkrieg advance through the west of the country. 

At the same time and in the same city, as many as 300 US military advisers are working with other elements of the Iraqi forces with the same purpose.

The US government has said it is concerned the Iranians' involvement could increase the risk of sectarian conflict in Iraq. 

Iran is interested in protecting Shia Iraqis in what is spiralling towards civil war.

For its part, Iran has voiced concerns America is trying to stage-manage events in Iraq with only its interests in mind and orchestrate the removal of the Shia prime minister Nouri al Maliki.

But both countries are prepared to overcome such friction in the interest of defeating a common enemy and maintaining influence in Iraq. 

The Iranians are reportedly making a bigger investment to that end, operating a round-the-clock air bridge into Baghdad funnelling tons of materiel into Iraq.

America may look on with alarm at the burgeoning Iranian presence in Iraq and what Teheran may expect in return. 

But for now the rise of ISIS remains a bigger worry and Washington has little choice but to work alongside its enemies to vanquish a bigger foe.

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ISIS Massacre: Tikrit Satellite Images Emerge

Timeline: How The Iraq Crisis Unfolded

Updated: 9:29am UK, Tuesday 24 June 2014

A look back at the main events in the Iraq crisis, which has seen Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group move to within 50 miles of the capital Baghdad.

December 2011: US troops complete their withdrawal after the 2003 invasion which led to the removal of Saddam Hussein.

August 2013: More than 70 people are killed in attacks at the end of Ramadan. ISIS claim responsibility.

January 2-4, 2014: ISIS declares itself in control of the western city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi following clashes sparked by the clearing of a Sunni-Arab protest camp.

February: al Qaeda formally disowns ISIS, which was at one time an affiliate, because of its extreme methods.

April: Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki wins the most seats in a general election.

June 10: ISIS seizes all of Nineveh province in the north, including the capital Mosul - Iraq's second city. Mr Maliki asks parliament to declare a state of emergency.

June 11: The militants launch a wave of attacks further south, taking Tikrit and freeing hundreds of prisoners in Baiji. An assault on Samarra, 70 miles (110km) north of Baghdad, is repelled by security forces.

June 12: Iraq's air force strikes fighters' positions near Mosul and Tikrit.

US President Barack Obama says he is looking at "all the options" to help the government, which fails to secure authorisation for a state of emergency.

The army abandons its bases in Kirkuk, leaving Kurdish Peshmerga troops to take control.

June 13: A top Shia cleric issues a call to arms, telling the population to take up arms and defend their country.

Mr Maliki claims government forces have started to clear cities of "terrorists" and implements an emergency plan to protect Baghdad.

President Obama rules out sending back troops to fight ISIS.

The rebels move into the towns of Saadiyah and Jalawla in eastern province of Diyala.

June 14: Iran offers to work with the US to tackle the crisis, as Britain pledges an initial £3m in emergency aid to help refugees fleeing the violence.

The Iraqi army's fightback continues, with forces retaking the towns of Ishaqi, al-Mutasim and Duluiyah in Salaheddin province.

Troops also regain much of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's home town.

US aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush is ordered to the Persian Gulf.

June 15: Photos emerge appearing to show an ISIS massacre of 1,700 captured government soldiers. Baghdad says number is exaggerated.

Reports say militants have overrun Tal Afar, the largest town in Nineveh province.

A bombing in central Baghdad leaves 15 people dead and dozens injured.

Former PM Tony Blair tells Sky News that critics who believe the violence is the result of the 2003 invasion are "profoundly mistaken".

June 16: Video footage purporting to show an ISIS fighter questioning and killing unarmed Iraqi soldiers draws condemnation.

ISIS takes control of Tal Afar and the al Adhim area of Diyala province.

US Secretary of State John Kerry says Washington is "open to discussions with Iran".

June 17: Britain announces it is reopening its Iranian embassy, with William Hague saying the "circumstances are right" as the West looks to improve relations to help tackle the crisis in Iraq.

Iraq's Shia leaders accuse Saudi Arabia of promoting "genocide" by backing Sunni militants.

June 18: Iraq's foreign minister asks the US to carry out airstrikes to help reverse the sweeping gains of Islamist militants in the country.

David Cameron warns that if Britain does not intervene in the Middle East crisis then terrorists will "hit the UK at home".

Insurgents are seen parading through the city of Baiji with captured vehicles after reports they have taken over three-quarters of Iraq's biggest oil refinery.

ISIS charts its brutality and tactics in annual reports called al-Naba - The Report, it emerges.

June 19: Iraqi authorities say government forces have retaken the Baiji oil refinery after fierce fighting.

Barck Obama says US troops will not return to combat in Iraq, but he would be prepared to take "targeted action".

The president also announces additional equipment and up to 300 additional military advisers could be provided to help fight the ISIS insurgency.

June 20: Iraq's senior Shia religious authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani calls for a new government for the country as it struggles to stop Sunni militants.

Barack Obama piles further pressure on Iraq's PM Nouri al Maliki, saying he needs to take urgent steps to heal the sectarian rift in the country, but stopping short of demanding he quit.

A video of British jihadists urging Western Muslims to join ISIS in Iraq and Syria emerges on social media.

June 21: The family of Naseer Muthana, 20, who appears in the ISIS recruitment video and younger brother Aseel, 17, who followed him to fight in the region say they are "devastated". 

The men's father Ahmed Muthana tells Sky News he believes his son Nasser was radicalised in a mosque in the United Kingdom.

In Iraq, dozens of Iraqi troops are killed as ISIS militants seize the crucial Qaim crossing into Syria.

A Shia preacher loyal to anti-US cleric Moqtada al Sadr warns that the 300 US military advisers en route to Iraq will be attacked.

June 22: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei comes out in opposition of US intervention in neighbouring Iraq.

President Barack Obama warns ISIS could grow in power, destabilise the region and pose a threat to the US.

The mother of one of two Britons filmed in a militants' video calling for Western Muslims to fight in Syria and Iraq, Reyaad Khan, pleads for him to come home in an emotional Sky News interview.

A former head of counter-terrorism at MI6 tells Sky's Murnaghan programme up to 300 Islamist fighters from Iraq and Syria may have returned to the UK and it would be "impossible" to keep track of all of them.

June 23: Barack Obama warns ISIS could pose a threat to the US, hours after the Islamist militants make dramatic gains by capturing four towns in western Iraq.

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Baghdad for talks with Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki.

June 24: John Kerry arrives in Irbil for talks with Kurdistan's regional government President Massoud Barzani.

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Ukraine Risks Russian Wrath By Signing EU Deal

Ukraine's president has signed a trade pact with the EU, seven months after his predecessor set off a crisis in the country by backing out of the same deal.

Petro Poroshenko said it may be "most important day" for Ukraine since it became independent from the Soviet Union.

But the deal has angered Russia, which, according to the Reuters news agency, warned of "grave consequences".

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would take measures to protect its economy if it is negatively affected by the pact.

It came as the UN's refugee agency reported a sharp rise in the number of people fleeing eastern Ukraine.

More than 16,000 people have fled their homes in the past week, bringing the number of displaced within the country to 54,000.

Mr Poroshenko gives a thumbs up to Angela Merkel at a meeting in Brussels

A decision by former president Viktor Yanukovych last November to turn his back on Europe in favour of closer ties with Russia prompted violent protests on the streets of Kiev.

Mr Yanukovych was eventually ousted in February, before the crisis that saw Russia annexe Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

Speaking on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a ceasefire in Ukraine to allow talks between Kiev and the rebels.

His comments came as two other former Soviet republics, Georgia and Moldova, also signed agreements with the EU in Brussels.

The deals mean businesses whose goods and practices meet EU standards will be able to trade freely in any union country without tariffs.

"Over the last months, Ukraine paid the highest possible price to make her European dreams come true," said Mr Poroshenko, who claimed to have signed the Association Agreement with the same pen his predecessor would have used.

"It's absolutely a new perspective for my country."

Alongside the deal is a long-term plan for Ukraine to adopt EU product regulations, modernise its economy and strengthen the rule of law and independent courts.

Moscow previously warned Ukraine that signing the deal could end its free trade arrangement with Russia.

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Chiellini Says Suarez Bite Ban Is 'Excessive'

Luis Suarez: A Huge Talent But Trouble

Updated: 6:06am UK, Friday 27 June 2014

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent, in Rio de Janeiro

To his countrymen, Luis Suarez is an unambiguous character.

He is the boy from an impoverished quarter of Salto who became a hero; a natural who plays with the ferocious pride and raw spirit that embodies the national self-image.

You do not have to be Uruguayan to admire his luminous talent. Watching him score the goals that eliminated England in Sao Paulo last week it was impossible not to admire the certainty of his play, the single-minded ability not just to try but to deliver.

But it is equally hard to ignore his recidivist, violent streak, and nor should we try.

Uruguay has rushed to his defence this week, but none of the conspiracies or indulgences offered by his countrymen can sweeten Suarez's offences.

Three times on a professional football field he has bitten an opponent. It is conduct we train out of pets and children, assuming that adult humans do not need to be reminded.

Who knows where it comes from. An army of experts have had their say in the last few days, offering explanations ranging from the Freudian to the footballing.

For everyone, save Suarez, the answer is largely irrelevant. What matters for his club and country is what happens next.

For Liverpool it is a pressing question. The club and its fans love Suarez but they have good reason to feel let down.

They backed him ham-fistedly through the Patrice Evra racism storm, and then with far more assurance and self-awareness following his assault on Branislav Ivanovic.

Last season they seemed to get a return on that pastoral care. Suarez was focused and fabulous, his goals fully deserving a clean sweep of player of the year awards from his fellow pros and the journalists his teammates now accuse of conspiring, and supporters groups.

Anfield fully expected to return to the barricades for Suarez this summer, but they anticipated the attack would come from Real Madrid and Barcelona, once more hunting his signature.

Instead, they will welcome back a player who will not be available until November and will attract only negative vibes in the meantime. Restoring trust on both sides will be a major challenge for manager Brendan Rogers.

There is perhaps only one group for whom Suarez's inexplicable conduct is good news.

It is not often that Fifa has been able to scale the moral high-ground in recent times but the swift, decisive judgment against Suarez offered them a chance they were not going to miss.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter resisted repeated invitations from Sky News to offer a word on Suarez's ban but the message of his silence was clear. The World Cup show has been a wow. Presented with a pantomime villain Fifa banished him to the wings.

For once, few will argue it was the right move.

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Muslim Academic 'Shackled' After Terror Attack

A Muslim academic arrested in China for alleged separatism offences has claimed he was shackled and denied food following a terrorist attack in March.

Ilham Tohti, a member of the Uighur ethnic group, was arrested in January and held in a detention centre in the city of Urumqi in the Xinjian autonomous region after he allegedly criticised the country's treatment of Uighurs.

Speaking through his lawyer, Mr Tohti said that after a terrorist attack on a train station in Kunming in March which killed 29 people, he was given just one and a half glasses of water to live on per day and refused halal food according to his religion.

The deadly attack at a train station in Kunming was blamed on the Uighurs

The Chinese government blamed extremist Uighur terrorists for the attack when eight knife-wielding men and women stabbed passengers at random at Kunming train station in Yunnan, a western province gripped by unrest.

His lawyer, Li Fangping, told Sky News his client denied the charge of "separating the country".

He said: "His goal has always been to promote friendship and harmony between Han Chinese (another Chinese ethnic group) and Uighur Muslims to achieve a better autonomy of Xinjiang."

The group are concerned their culture and freedoms are being eroded

Mr Tohti's wife and two young sons are still living in Beijing, while his oldest daughter is now studying in the US.

His lawyer denied rumours his client had received a secret trial.

Xinjiang's Uighurs believe their freedoms, culture and religion are being eroded by authorities and are fighting for autonomy from the rest of the country.

Chinese authorities accuse them of having ties to Islamist terrorists abroad but there has been little evidence provided to support the claim.

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Mouse-Like Creature Has 'Elephant's Trunk'

A mammal that looks like a mouse but has some of the characteristics of an elephant has been found scampering around an African desert.

Macroskeledies micas is a new species of elephant shrew with a long tail and small furry body but also a long, trunk-like nose.

Dr Galen Rathbun, of the California Academy of Sciences, told KPIX 5 News: "They're actually more closely related to elephants than they are to mice.

"Think about crossing a miniature antelope and an anteater."

Dr Rathbun came across the animal while walking through the desert in Namibia.

Dr Jack Dumbacher, curator of ornithology and mammalogy at the academy, said: "When we sequenced the DNA and looked at them a little more closely, we said, 'This thing is really different.'"

The creature eats termites and insects like an anteater and is unusual in that it is monogamous.

The species usually gives birth to twins or triplets, which are covered in fur and ready to run straight away.

Details of the research are due to be laid out in the Journal of Mammology.

The California Academy of Sciences scientists will return to Namibia in September to study the animal's habitat and how it survives in such harsh desert conditions.

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Suarez: 'Not Enough Evidence' For Bite Sanctions

The head of Uruguay's football association has said there is not enough evidence for Fifa to "truly sanction" Luis Suarez after he appeared to bite an Italian defender.

The Liverpool striker was charged after television footage and photographs appeared to show him chewing on Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder in Tuesday night's Group D match.

Fifa's independent disciplinary committee met late into the evening on Wednesday without coming to a verdict and will meet again on Thursday.

But Wilmar Valdez told Uruguay's Channel 10 television that video evidence shown at the hearing was "not clear".

"We understand that there is not sufficient evidence to truly sanction Luis," he said.

A Fifa official has told Sky News Suarez "must face a severe sanction" if found guilty of biting Chiellini.

"If we allow this where will it stop?" he said.

Suarez was banned for biting Branislav Ivanovic

But his country's President, Jose Mujica, has insisted: "I didn't see him bite anyone.

"We didn't choose him to be a philosopher or a mechanic or to have good manners. He's a great player.

"If we're going to take decisions in football based on what TV says, then there are loads of penalties and handballs you have to give that weren't given. So bad luck."

Suarez's  team-mates have also rallied to his defence.

Skipper Diego Lugano even suggested there was a media vendetta against the player.

"The British media has a vendetta against Suarez, and everyone knows that.

"It's obvious the vendetta sells newspapers in England, otherwise you wouldn't be here. Uruguay and Italy played yesterday (Tuesday). On Saturday Uruguay plays Colombia, I don't know why there's a British journalist asking about Suarez."

However Suarez was criticised by Uruguay football legend Alcides Ghiggia - the last survivor of the team which defeated Brazil to win the 1950 World Cup.

"Suarez plays well but he has done things that are not normal for a player nor for a soccer game," he said. "I think Fifa can sanction him."

The 27-year-old, banned twice before for biting opposing players, could be expelled from the tournament if found guilty.

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Cleric To 'Shake The Ground' Fighting Militants

Iraq's Shia cleric Moqtada al Sadr has warned his supporters will "shake the ground" fighting the Sunni insurgency sweeping through the country.

In a televised address, al Sadr also expressed opposition to US military advisors who are providing Iraqi commanders with tactical assistance to repel the Sunni militants that have overrun swathes of the country and reportedly killed more than 1,000 people.

Hundreds of Iraqi villagers have been fleeing insurgent incursions orchestrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and have crowded at a checkpoint on the edge of the country's relatively safe Kurdish-controlled territory.

Al Sadr warned the US against meeting with Iraqi commanders

Three Iraqi military helicopters have reportedly landed at rebel-controlled Tikrit University and clashed with Islamist militants, according to a security source at the scene.

Iraq's beleaguered military were initially overcome by the ferocity of the insurgency that captured several strategic cities in Iraq, including Qaim, Rawa, Haditha and Ramadi.

Government forces have since recovered ground and repelled further assaults on other towns and infrastructure, although there are reports the offensive has been bolstered by Islamist rebels from Syria joining their counterparts in Iraq.

Mehdi Army women loyal to al Sadr parade in Baghdad

Al Sadr also called for "new faces" in a national unity government after elections in April saw Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki win with the most seats, although he failed to secure a majority.

But al Maliki warned he would not be sidelined by rivals seeking to use the insurgency and fragile state of the country to try to oust him. 

Such a move was "an attempt by those who are against the constitution to eliminate the young democratic process and steal the votes of the voters," he said.

US officials claimed Syria launched airstrikes on militant positions close to the Iraq-Syrian border near Qaim on Tuesday in an attempt to disrupt the militants who are fighting both the Syrian and Iraqi governments.

William Hague said 'polital unity' was the most important challenge

Syrian President Bashar al Assad has been locked in a bloody civil war with opposition groups since 2011.

Maliki reportedly confirmed the airstrikes, adding that Iraq did not request the raid, but that it was "welcomed".

Conflicting reports suggested the attacks were directed at militant positions in Iraq, while other sources claimed they hit militant positions in Syria.

The US has made concerted efforts to unite Iraq's fractious political leaders in the face of the offensive, although they have shown little sign of coming together.

Foreign Secretary William Hague has also arrived in Baghdad to meet political and community leaders to stress the importance of political unity. 

"The Iraqi state is facing an existential threat, with huge ramifications for the future stability and freedom of this country," he said, adding: "The single most important factor that will determine whether or not Iraq overcomes this challenge is political unity."

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Sao Paulo Drug Addicts Gripped By 'Cracklands'

By Alex Rossi, Senior Correspondent

Brazil's leading addiction expert has told Sky News a generation of young people are being lost to the country's growing crack epidemic.

Ronaldo Laranjeira said the problem with crack use has become so acute over the last decade it is like a war.

He claimed the latest research shows one-third of all users die within 12 years of getting hooked.

"We say they're like zombies because they've lost a lot of weight ... they've lost some of humanity," he said.

"That's why the crack can produce a sort of brain damage - if you use crack cocaine for years on end, the structure of your brain changes."

Former addict Desiree: 'In five seconds it goes to your mind'

Many of Brazil's cities now have places known as 'Cracolandias', or Cracklands.

They are open street markets where the highly addictive drug is bought and consumed.

Prince Harry is expected to visit one of the worst areas in the mega-city of Sao Paulo, as his tour of Brazil comes to an end.

He will tour the area with Mayor Fernando Haddad, who will explain how they have adopted a policy of providing housing, food and work for addicts in a bid to tackle the drug problem.

The Prince recently described how he was reduced to tears by the moving stories of young Brazilian children who had lost parents to drugs, violence or prison.

Ronaldo Laranjeira: 'They are like zombies. They have lost some humanity'

Sao Paulo's Cracolandia is dangerous and chaotic, with rambling users lighting-up openly under the gaze of the police who look intimidated.

Addict Bruna told Sky News there are often fights and people will commit murder for the cost of a hit of the drug.

Crack cocaine in such areas has effectively been decriminalised.

The problem is so big the best the authorities can do to contain it is to try and stop it spreading to other neighbourhoods.

Recovering addict Desiree, who has been clean for three years, said the crack epidemic is destroying parts of Brazil.

There are more than a million crack-cocaine users in Brazil

"You use it and in five seconds it goes to your mind and you need the drugs every time," she said.

"It's an epidemic in Brazil. It's terrible. When you look, it's a war."

There are more than one million users in Brazil - about 1% of the adult population - and the social cost of rising crime is enormous.

As the economy has grown, so too has the appetite for drugs.

Competition among the drug lords means prices are kept low and a user can stay high all day for just a few pounds.

Clarice Sandi Madrugo, a substance abuse researcher, said it is because of this that crack is so deadly.

"It's much easier to get crack than getting anything else and we're talking about a very addictive drug that's the cheapest in the world," he said.

"Brazil has the cheapest crack cocaine in the world."

Sao Paulo has set up a number of treatment centres to help addicts but in most cities there is little in the way of drug policy.

Experts claim it means Brazil's struggle with the crack cocaine addiction is likely to get worse before it gets better. 

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Rogen And Franco's Kim Jong-Un Film Is 'War'

North Korea has said the release of a Hollywood comedy about an assassination bid on leader Kim Jong-Un is an "act of war".

Pyongyang has threatened the US with a "resolute and merciless response" unless the authorities move to ban the film, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco.

The Interview - released in the US on October 14 - sees the actors playing two tabloid TV journalists who land an interview with Mr Kim in Pyongyang but are then tasked by the CIA with killing him.

In a statement carried by North Korea's official KCNA news agency, a foreign ministry spokesman said the film was the work of "gangster moviemakers" and should never be shown.

Seth Rogen (L) and director Evan Goldberg promote The Interview

The spokesman said: "The act of making and screening such a movie that portrays an attack on our top leadership ... is a most wanton act of terror and act of war, and is absolutely intolerable."

It is not the first time Hollywood has poked fun at a North Korean leader.

In 2004 satirical action comedy Team America, a puppet version of Mr Kim's father, Kim Jong-Il, was depicted as a speech-impaired, isolated despot.

In the official trailer for The Interview, a CIA officer calls North Korea the "most dangerous country on earth", and briefs the Rogen and Franco characters on the cult of personality surrounding the Kim family dynasty.

Kim Jong-Un's regime has threatened a "merciless" response

"Kim Jong-Un's people believe everything he tells them, including that he can speak to dolphins, or that he doesn't urinate or defecate," the officer says.

Played by Korean-American actor Randall Park, Mr Kim appears in the trailer as an overweight, cigar-chomping dictator, surrounded by security guards.

The scenes set in Pyongyang were filmed in Vancouver.

In a recent interview with Yahoo Movies, Rogen, who co-wrote the script, said the idea for the film came from a discussion over how journalists with access to world leaders might have the opportunity to act as assassins.

He said: "We read as much as we could that was available on the subject ... We talked to people in the government whose job it is to associate with North Korea, or be experts on it."

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US Troops Arrive In Baghdad On ISIS Mission

The first team of American military advisers has arrived in Iraq to help the country tackle the threat from Islamist insurgents.

About 40 of the 300 expected to be deployed to the Middle Eastern country were described by the Pentagon as having "started their mission".

Admiral John Kirby told reporters that two "initial assessment teams" have been deployed in Baghdad.

He said their role would be to assess the Iraqi army and not to engage in attacks on militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), who have seized several towns north of Baghdad.

Admiral Kirby said: "This isn't about rushing to the rescue.

"These teams will assess the cohesiveness and readiness of the Iraqi security forces ... and examine the most effective and efficient way to introduce follow-on advisers."

Pentagon spokesman Admiral John Kirby

In addition to the first 40, about 90 troops are thought to have arrived to set up a joint operations centre. Another 50 are expected to join them shortly.

It came as Iraqi air strikes killed at least 38 people in their battle to hold off the advancing ISIS forces.

Militants had launched a push to seize Iraq's largest oil refinery, located near Baiji, but the attack was repelled.

The refinery provides up to 50% of Iraq's demand for petroleum products until it stopped production as Sunni fighters launched attacks on the site.

Jihadists from ISIS have overrun several towns and cities in the north of the country.

Security forces, who turned and ran when the invasion started, are struggling to hold ground.

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The Seven Sins Of Bad Boy Striker Luis Suarez

The Liverpool striker is no stranger to controversy - with one incident leading him to be dubbed "the cannibal of Ajax".

Here are just a few of his misdemeanours:

Suarez described the handball as 'save of the tournament'

FEBRUARY 2007: He is sent off late on in his debut for Uruguay against Colombia after picking up a second yellow card for dissent.

Suarez dubbed the 'cannibal of Ajax'

JULY 2010: Suarez stopped a certain goal by Ghana in the World Cup quarter-final. He was sent off but Asamoah Gyan's penalty was saved and the Ghana lost the penalty shootout. After the match the striker said: "I made the save of the tournament."

NOVEMBER 2010:  He was dubbed the "cannibal of Ajax" after he bit PSV Einhoven's Otman Bakkal's shoulder in a Dutch league game. He was banned for seven matches.

Suarez refused to shake Evra's hand

OCTOBER 2011:  Alleged to have racially abused Manchester United's Patrice Evra during a Premier League match. He was later found guilty, banned for eight matches and fined £40,000.

FEBRUARY 2012: The Liverpool striker stirred up tensions after refusing to shake Evra's hand before their Premier League game at Old Trafford.

Liverpool striker munches on Ivanovic's arm

OCTOBER 2012: Celebrates a goal against Everton by diving in front of then manager David Moyes, who had earlier claimed that "divers" such as Suarez were putting fans off the game.

APRIL 2013: Suarez bit Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic's arm in a Premier League clash. He was banned for 10 games.

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Fifa Opens Suarez Bite Claim Disciplinary Action

Fifa has opened disciplinary proceedings against Luis Suarez after he was accused of biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini.

The striker and the Uruguayan FA have until 9pm UK time to "provide their position and any documentary evidence they deem relevant".

Suarez has already commented on the incident, declaring: "These things happen on the pitch."

The striker clashed with Chiellini in the 79th minute of his country's Group D match, a game they won 1-0 to advance to the last 16.

Television replays show Suarez moving his head towards Chiellini and apparently sinking his teeth into his shoulder, with Chiellini responding by swinging his arm.

Defending the alleged attack, Suarez said: "We were both just inside the area, he struck me in the chest with his shoulder and he hit me in the eye as well.

The Uruguay striker has previous after biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic

"These are things that happen on the pitch and you shouldn't attach so much importance to them.

"I'm very happy to have qualified. We are taking each game as it comes, we know that we're in a difficult situation, we're at our limits now."

Speaking to Rai TV after the game, Chiellini said: "It was ridiculous not to send Suarez off.

"It is clear, clear-cut and then there was the obvious dive afterwards because he knew very well that he did something that he shouldn't have done."

Article 77 of Fifa's disciplinary code allows it to hit players with retrospective bans of up to two years if it decides there is a case to answer.

Daily Mirror football writer Darren Lewis told Sky News' Sunrise programme he believes Suarez faces a lengthy international ban, but is likely to escape punishment that would prevent him from playing for Liverpool.

Suarez was sent off for a notorious handball in South Africa in 2010

Betting firm 888poker - one of Suarez's sponsors - has announced it is "seriously reviewing" its relationship with the player following the alleged bite.

Suarez served a 10-match ban last year for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.

Before his move to Liverpool in 2011, Suarez was suspended for seven matches by the Netherlands football federation after biting PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal when he played for Ajax.

Professor Cary Cooper from Lancaster University told Sky News that if the forward is found guilty in this latest incident, he should get professional help.

He said: "For anyone in a job who's behaved in an anti-social way, they should be helped - you go to a clinical psychologist, a counselling psychologist and they would try to unwrap why you do that, and then channel that in a more positive way."

He said any ban should also include an order or encouragement for Suarez to get help for his behaviour.

At Anfield, Liverpool supporters suggested they would be keen for the star to return to the club, despite the latest controversy.

One told Sky News: "It looks very damaging. If he's done it, he's in for a very long ban. I just hope it's international, not club level.

"He's part of our club - we love him."

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Al Jazeera Journalists: Al Sisi 'Will Not Act'

Egypt's newly elected president has said he will not intervene over the jailing of three Al Jazeera journalists despite international condemnation.

Australian Peter Greste, Canadian-Egyptian national Mohammed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed were jailed for seven years each on Monday for spreading false news and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.

Mr Mohamed received an additional three years on a separate charge involving possession of weapons.

World leaders, including Prime Minister David Cameron and Australian PM Tony Abbott, have called on Cairo to review the case, which has been widely seen as being politically motivated.

Egypt has faced international condemnation since the trio were sentenced

But in a televised speech at a military graduation ceremony, Egypt's new leader, Abdel Fattah al Sisi, said: "We will not interfere in judicial rulings.

"We must respect judicial rulings and not criticise them even if others do not understand this."

Earlier Mr Greste's parents described his seven-year sentence as "a slap in the face and a kick in the groin".

Speaking at a press conference in Brisbane alongside his wife Lois, Juris Greste said: "We're not usually a family of superlatives, but I have to say ... my vocabulary fails to convey just how shattered we are.

"You can never prepare yourself for something as painful as this."

Sky News and the BBC were among the media organisations to call for the trio's release prior to the verdict.

A number of journalists held a silent protest over the court's decision outside New Broadcasting House in London on Tuesday at 9.41am - the time of the sentencing.

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Militant Leader Vows To Stop PM 'Burning Iraq'

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent, in Irbil

A senior Iraqi Sunni leader has told Sky News that his men will continue to fight Iraqi government forces until the current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki steps down.

"If Maliki stays in power Iraq will end," Sheikh Ali Al-Salman told us.

"We will never allow that to happen, whatever it costs us. He is using the same policies as Saddam. He is burning Iraq to stay in power."

Sheikh Al-Salman heads a militant group of fighters which now number in the thousands. His army is growing daily.

"I think Iraq is facing two choices: either a white civil war or a divided Iraq," he predicts.

"The international community is to blame. The US administration should not leave Iraq like this. They should not walk away from Iraq."

Nouri al-Maliki is accused of behaving like Saddam

His Military Council for the Revolutionary Tribes is based in Ramadi but controls large parts of Anbar Province to the west of Baghdad, the scene of recent insurgent fighting.

Al-Salman's men are currently fighting alongside ISIS against the Iraqi military.

But whilst they have a mutual cause, he warns that ISIS has no future in Iraq.

"ISIS came after our revolution and they tried to benefit from it. ISIS has tried to open Iraq up to international interference. Will we fight ISIS? Yes, but not for the time being."

Smoke rises from fighting near Taza Khormato, Iraq

Before ISIS captured headlines in Europe and America, Sheikh Al-Salman was the first person to take arms against Nouri Al-Maliki's government six months ago. They laid the ground for ISIS to join the fight.

Sheikh Al-Salman has been contacted by the US government but he hasn't held direct meetings with them although he told us he is willing to work with them to find a solution.

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Kerry: Kurdish Forces Critical In Defeating ISIS

Timeline: How The Iraq Crisis Unfolded

Updated: 9:29am UK, Tuesday 24 June 2014

A look back at the main events in the Iraq crisis, which has seen Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group move to within 50 miles of the capital Baghdad.

December 2011: US troops complete their withdrawal after the 2003 invasion which led to the removal of Saddam Hussein.

August 2013: More than 70 people are killed in attacks at the end of Ramadan. ISIS claim responsibility.

January 2-4, 2014: ISIS declares itself in control of the western city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi following clashes sparked by the clearing of a Sunni-Arab protest camp.

February: al Qaeda formally disowns ISIS, which was at one time an affiliate, because of its extreme methods.

April: Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki wins the most seats in a general election.

June 10: ISIS seizes all of Nineveh province in the north, including the capital Mosul - Iraq's second city. Mr Maliki asks parliament to declare a state of emergency.

June 11: The militants launch a wave of attacks further south, taking Tikrit and freeing hundreds of prisoners in Baiji. An assault on Samarra, 70 miles (110km) north of Baghdad, is repelled by security forces.

June 12: Iraq's air force strikes fighters' positions near Mosul and Tikrit.

US President Barack Obama says he is looking at "all the options" to help the government, which fails to secure authorisation for a state of emergency.

The army abandons its bases in Kirkuk, leaving Kurdish Peshmerga troops to take control.

June 13: A top Shia cleric issues a call to arms, telling the population to take up arms and defend their country.

Mr Maliki claims government forces have started to clear cities of "terrorists" and implements an emergency plan to protect Baghdad.

President Obama rules out sending back troops to fight ISIS.

The rebels move into the towns of Saadiyah and Jalawla in eastern province of Diyala.

June 14: Iran offers to work with the US to tackle the crisis, as Britain pledges an initial £3m in emergency aid to help refugees fleeing the violence.

The Iraqi army's fightback continues, with forces retaking the towns of Ishaqi, al-Mutasim and Duluiyah in Salaheddin province.

Troops also regain much of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's home town.

US aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush is ordered to the Persian Gulf.

June 15: Photos emerge appearing to show an ISIS massacre of 1,700 captured government soldiers. Baghdad says number is exaggerated.

Reports say militants have overrun Tal Afar, the largest town in Nineveh province.

A bombing in central Baghdad leaves 15 people dead and dozens injured.

Former PM Tony Blair tells Sky News that critics who believe the violence is the result of the 2003 invasion are "profoundly mistaken".

June 16: Video footage purporting to show an ISIS fighter questioning and killing unarmed Iraqi soldiers draws condemnation.

ISIS takes control of Tal Afar and the al Adhim area of Diyala province.

US Secretary of State John Kerry says Washington is "open to discussions with Iran".

June 17: Britain announces it is reopening its Iranian embassy, with William Hague saying the "circumstances are right" as the West looks to improve relations to help tackle the crisis in Iraq.

Iraq's Shia leaders accuse Saudi Arabia of promoting "genocide" by backing Sunni militants.

June 18: Iraq's foreign minister asks the US to carry out airstrikes to help reverse the sweeping gains of Islamist militants in the country.

David Cameron warns that if Britain does not intervene in the Middle East crisis then terrorists will "hit the UK at home".

Insurgents are seen parading through the city of Baiji with captured vehicles after reports they have taken over three-quarters of Iraq's biggest oil refinery.

ISIS charts its brutality and tactics in annual reports called al-Naba - The Report, it emerges.

June 19: Iraqi authorities say government forces have retaken the Baiji oil refinery after fierce fighting.

Barck Obama says US troops will not return to combat in Iraq, but he would be prepared to take "targeted action".

The president also announces additional equipment and up to 300 additional military advisers could be provided to help fight the ISIS insurgency.

June 20: Iraq's senior Shia religious authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani calls for a new government for the country as it struggles to stop Sunni militants.

Barack Obama piles further pressure on Iraq's PM Nouri al Maliki, saying he needs to take urgent steps to heal the sectarian rift in the country, but stopping short of demanding he quit.

A video of British jihadists urging Western Muslims to join ISIS in Iraq and Syria emerges on social media.

June 21: The family of Naseer Muthana, 20, who appears in the ISIS recruitment video and younger brother Aseel, 17, who followed him to fight in the region say they are "devastated". 

The men's father Ahmed Muthana tells Sky News he believes his son Nasser was radicalised in a mosque in the United Kingdom.

In Iraq, dozens of Iraqi troops are killed as ISIS militants seize the crucial Qaim crossing into Syria.

A Shia preacher loyal to anti-US cleric Moqtada al Sadr warns that the 300 US military advisers en route to Iraq will be attacked.

June 22: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei comes out in opposition of US intervention in neighbouring Iraq.

President Barack Obama warns ISIS could grow in power, destabilise the region and pose a threat to the US.

The mother of one of two Britons filmed in a militants' video calling for Western Muslims to fight in Syria and Iraq, Reyaad Khan, pleads for him to come home in an emotional Sky News interview.

A former head of counter-terrorism at MI6 tells Sky's Murnaghan programme up to 300 Islamist fighters from Iraq and Syria may have returned to the UK and it would be "impossible" to keep track of all of them.

June 23: Barack Obama warns ISIS could pose a threat to the US, hours after the Islamist militants make dramatic gains by capturing four towns in western Iraq.

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Baghdad for talks with Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki.

June 24: John Kerry arrives in Irbil for talks with Kurdistan's regional government President Massoud Barzani.

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Sudan's Meriam Ibrahim Arrested At Airport

A Sudanese woman freed from death row yesterday has reportedly been arrested with her family at Khartoum airport.

A court ordered the release of Meriam Ibrahim on Monday after she was imprisoned for converting from Islam to Christianity.

The government said the 27-year-old was released after "unprecedented" international pressure.

A security source said Ms Ibrahim, her husband and two children were detained as they tried to leave the country.

Ms Ibrahim was convicted last month of apostasy and adultery and claimed she had always been a Christian, having been raised by her Ethiopian mother while her Muslim father had left when she was young.

She married Daniel Wani in 2011 and has refused to renounce her faith.

Ms Ibrahim was forced to give birth to her second child, a daughter called Maya, in prison. Her son Martin also lived in prison with her.

Prime Minister David Cameron joined condemnation of the mother's plight, saying he was "absolutely appalled" by the case.

The official did not comment on the reasons for her re-arrest.

More follows ...

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Jihadist's Mother Pleads For Him To Return Home

Faith Lost In Iraq PM Amid Political Limbo

Updated: 5:46pm UK, Friday 20 June 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor, in Baghdad

The US President, Shia politicians, Sunni chieftans and none other than the Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani has joined the clamour for Iraq's Prime Minister to move fast and form a government.

The nation has languished since elections on April 30 in a political limbo that arguably undermined faith in the central government, even among the Shia-dominated armed forces.

That might, partly, explain their rapid collapse in the face of far fewer forces from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) plus their allies.

But now that Iraq's supreme court has ratified the results of the elections what possible reason could Nouri al Maliki have for delay?

One explanation may simply be political.

His stewardship over previous years has entrenched sectarian divisions and seen an explosion in corruption.

His party bloc won 92 of the 328 seats in Iraq's parliament and he'll need 165 to form a coalition administration.

He, therefore, has to get involved in some serious horse trading with other Shia parties to build his coalition.

But they are now losing faith in him. Particularly in his apparent refusal to reach out to Sunni parties and offer them stakes in the central government - such as a security portfolio and a ministry which would give them access to patronage systems such as an education or public works - so that they feel both secure and that they have an investment in the future political structures.

A more conspiratorial thesis, fuelled by the conspiratorial utterances of lame duck ministers left over from the previous administration, is that Iraq's latest travails are the fault of external forces.

Jordan, Saudi Arabia (both Sunni countries), the US and others are being blamed for manipulating the Middle East and somehow creating ISIS.

There is evidence of Saudi individual, and possible state funding, for extremist militant groups in Syria, which may include ISIS.

And Jordan has played a significant role in trying to boost the fortunes of the non-extremist Free Syrian Army.

But Mr al Maliki may have calculated that he can either weather the latest storm - or let ISIS form an impoverished caliphate in the desert north of his country which would leave the Shia with Baghdad and the south.

It's the south, after all, that holds the lion's share of the world's second largest oil reserves.

It can ship its oil out through the Gulf, via Kuwait, or via Iran.

A Shia state or semi-state would not only be self-sufficient - it would be spared the burden of sharing Iraq's spoils with other sectarian groups like the Sunni and the Kurds (who already have their own autonomy and oil industry).

Such a move, or allowing events to drift to this reality, would place the south of Iraq firmly inside Iran's imperial embrace.

That is not something that Saudi Arabia would be able to tolerate in the long term as it vies with Iran for influence in the Middle East.

Nor is it anything that a rump Sunni 'caliphate' would be able to live with - the extremists within it would forever plot how to steal it back by force.

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Al Jazeera Journalists Jailed For Seven Years

Three Al Jazeera journalists have each been jailed for seven years in Egypt after being found guilty of aiding terrorism.

Australian Peter Greste, Canadian-Egyptian national Mohammed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed watched from cages as they were convicted of spreading false news and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.

Mr Mohamed received an additional three years on a separate charge involving possession of weapons.

The case has provoked outrage from freedom of speech activists, who say it was politicised, while David Cameron was said by Downing Street to be "completely appalled" by the verdict.

Peter Greste was one of 14 defendants sentenced

The families of the men - who had denied all the allegations against them in Cairo - collapsed in tears as the sentences were read out.

Greste, a former BBC correspondent, had been in Egypt on a relief posting for just two weeks when the group was detained in December.

His brother Andrew, who will visit him tomorrow, told Australia's ABC 730 show he was "gutted" but that "we're not going to give up the fight".

Fahmy's brother Adel said: "This is not a system. This is not a country. They've ruined our lives. It shows everything that's wrong with the system: it's corrupt. This country is corrupt through and through."

Mohammed Fahmy gives evidence in court in May

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she was "shocked and deeply dismayed" by the outcome and would ask the Egyptian government to intervene. 

Her UK counterpart, William Hague, said he would also ask Cairo to review the case "as a matter of urgency".

Sky News and the BBC were among the media organisations to call for the trio's release prior to the verdict.

Sky's Middle East Correspondent, Sherine Tadros, who was in court, said: "Anyone who watched this trial has seen a complete farce. There was no evidence presented linking these journalists to a 'terrorist organisation' or the Muslim Brotherhood.

A protest in Lebanon against the detention of journalists in Egypt

"What we've seen time and time again these past few months is a judiciary that is less interested in justice than in exacting revenge."

Another 11 defendants were sentenced in absentia to 10 years, including Al Jazeera's British journalist Sue Turton.

"We really believed the judge would recognise these were politically motivated charges," she said.

"We don't understand what it is they're accusing us of. They're trying to stop anyone having an opinion that doesn't tally with the government's narrative.

Peter Greste had been in Egypt for just two weeks

"I don't want to think about, now they're back in their prison cells, how they're coping with what happened today."

Fellow Brit Dominic Kane was also among those to receive a 10-year sentence in absentia.

The Muslim Brotherhood has been protesting against the government since the army toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July. The Egyptians labelled it a "terrorist organisation" in December.

The Gulf state of Qatar, which funds Al Jazeera, backs the Muslim Brotherhood.

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Kerry Meets Iraq PM As ISIS Tightens Grip

Timeline: How The Iraq Crisis Unfolded

Updated: 10:23am UK, Monday 23 June 2014

A look back at the main events in the Iraq crisis, which has seen Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group move to within 50 miles of the capital Baghdad.

December 2011: US troops complete their withdrawal after the 2003 invasion which led to the removal of Saddam Hussein.

August 2013: More than 70 people are killed in attacks at the end of Ramadan. ISIS claim responsibility.

January 2-4, 2014: ISIS declares itself in control of the western city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi following clashes sparked by the clearing of a Sunni-Arab protest camp.

February: al Qaeda formally disowns ISIS, which was at one time an affiliate, because of its extreme methods.

April: Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki wins the most seats in a general election.

June 10: ISIS seizes all of Nineveh province in the north, including the capital Mosul - Iraq's second city. Mr Maliki asks parliament to declare a state of emergency.

June 11: The militants launch a wave of attacks further south, taking Tikrit and freeing hundreds of prisoners in Baiji. An assault on Samarra, 70 miles (110km) north of Baghdad, is repelled by security forces.

June 12: Iraq's air force strikes fighters' positions near Mosul and Tikrit.

US President Barack Obama says he is looking at "all the options" to help the government, which fails to secure authorisation for a state of emergency.

The army abandons its bases in Kirkuk, leaving Kurdish Peshmerga troops to take control.

June 13: A top Shia cleric issues a call to arms, telling the population to take up arms and defend their country.

Mr Maliki claims government forces have started to clear cities of "terrorists" and implements an emergency plan to protect Baghdad.

President Obama rules out sending back troops to fight ISIS.

The rebels move into the towns of Saadiyah and Jalawla in eastern province of Diyala.

June 14: Iran offers to work with the US to tackle the crisis, as Britain pledges an initial £3m in emergency aid to help refugees fleeing the violence.

The Iraqi army's fightback continues, with forces retaking the towns of Ishaqi, al-Mutasim and Duluiyah in Salaheddin province.

Troops also regain much of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's home town.

US aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush is ordered to the Persian Gulf.

June 15: Photos emerge appearing to show an ISIS massacre of 1,700 captured government soldiers. Baghdad says number is exaggerated.

Reports say militants have overrun Tal Afar, the largest town in Nineveh province.

A bombing in central Baghdad leaves 15 people dead and dozens injured.

Former PM Tony Blair tells Sky News that critics who believe the violence is the result of the 2003 invasion are "profoundly mistaken".

June 16: Video footage purporting to show an ISIS fighter questioning and killing unarmed Iraqi soldiers draws condemnation.

ISIS takes control of Tal Afar and the al Adhim area of Diyala province.

US Secretary of State John Kerry says Washington is "open to discussions with Iran".

June 17: Britain announces it is reopening its Iranian embassy, with William Hague saying the "circumstances are right" as the West looks to improve relations to help tackle the crisis in Iraq.

Iraq's Shia leaders accuse Saudi Arabia of promoting "genocide" by backing Sunni militants.

June 18: Iraq's foreign minister asks the US to carry out airstrikes to help reverse the sweeping gains of Islamist militants in the country.

David Cameron warns that if Britain does not intervene in the Middle East crisis then terrorists will "hit the UK at home".

Insurgents are seen parading through the city of Baiji with captured vehicles after reports they have taken over three-quarters of Iraq's biggest oil refinery.

ISIS charts its brutality and tactics in annual reports called al-Naba - The Report, it emerges.

June 19: Iraqi authorities say government forces have retaken the Baiji oil refinery after fierce fighting.

Barck Obama says US troops will not return to combat in Iraq, but he would be prepared to take "targeted action".

The president also announces additional equipment and up to 300 additional military advisers could be provided to help fight the ISIS insurgency.

June 20: Iraq's senior Shia religious authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani calls for a new government for the country as it struggles to stop Sunni militants.

Barack Obama piles further pressure on Iraq's PM Nouri al Maliki, saying he needs to take urgent steps to heal the sectarian rift in the country, but stopping short of demanding he quit.

A video of British jihadists urging Western Muslims to join ISIS in Iraq and Syria emerges on social media.

June 21: The family of Naseer Muthana, 20, who appears in the ISIS recruitment video and younger brother Aseel, 17, who followed him to fight in the region say they are "devastated". 

The men's father Ahmed Muthana tells Sky News he believes his son Nasser was radicalised in a mosque in the United Kingdom.

In Iraq, dozens of Iraqi troops are killed as ISIS militants seize the crucial Qaim crossing into Syria.

A Shia preacher loyal to anti-US cleric Moqtada al Sadr warns that the 300 US military advisers en route to Iraq will be attacked.

June 22: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei comes out in opposition of US intervention in neighbouring Iraq.

President Barack Obama warns ISIS could grow in power, destabilise the region and pose a threat to the US.

The mother of one of two Britons filmed in a militants' video calling for Western Muslims to fight in Syria and Iraq, Reyaad Khan, pleads for him to come home in an emotional Sky News interview.

A former head of counter-terrorism at MI6 tells Sky's Murnaghan programme up to 300 Islamist fighters from Iraq and Syria may have returned to the UK and it would be "impossible" to keep track of all of them.

June 23: Barack Obama warns ISIS could pose a threat to the US, hours after the Islamist militants make dramatic gains by capturing four towns in western Iraq.

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Baghdad for talks with Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki.

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Sudan's Meriam Ibrahim: Court Orders Release

A Sudanese court has ordered the release of a woman sentenced to death for converting from Islam to Christianity, according to state media.

The case of Meriam Ibrahim, who is married to a Christian American, triggered an international outcry. She gave birth to their baby daughter while in prison.

She was convicted last month of apostasy and adultery and claimed she was a Christian, having been raised by her Ethiopian mother while her Muslim father had left when she was young.

She married a Christian, Daniel Wani in 2011, and has refused to renounce her faith.

But a court in Khartoum insisted she was a Muslim, and in Sudan such interfaith marriage is forbidden.

Ms Ibrahim has been accused of converting from Islam to Christianity.

She was sentenced to 100 lashes for adultery and to hang for apostasy.

More follows ...

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Iraqi Troops 'Withdraw' In Face Of ISIS Offensive

Faith Lost In Iraq PM Amid Political Limbo

Updated: 5:46pm UK, Friday 20 June 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor, in Baghdad

The US President, Shia politicians, Sunni chieftans and none other than the Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani has joined the clamour for Iraq's Prime Minister to move fast and form a government.

The nation has languished since elections on April 30 in a political limbo that arguably undermined faith in the central government, even among the Shia-dominated armed forces.

That might, partly, explain their rapid collapse in the face of far fewer forces from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) plus their allies.

But now that Iraq's supreme court has ratified the results of the elections what possible reason could Nouri al Maliki have for delay?

One explanation may simply be political.

His stewardship over previous years has entrenched sectarian divisions and seen an explosion in corruption.

His party bloc won 92 of the 328 seats in Iraq's parliament and he'll need 165 to form a coalition administration.

He, therefore, has to get involved in some serious horse trading with other Shia parties to build his coalition.

But they are now losing faith in him. Particularly in his apparent refusal to reach out to Sunni parties and offer them stakes in the central government - such as a security portfolio and a ministry which would give them access to patronage systems such as an education or public works - so that they feel both secure and that they have an investment in the future political structures.

A more conspiratorial thesis, fuelled by the conspiratorial utterances of lame duck ministers left over from the previous administration, is that Iraq's latest travails are the fault of external forces.

Jordan, Saudi Arabia (both Sunni countries), the US and others are being blamed for manipulating the Middle East and somehow creating ISIS.

There is evidence of Saudi individual, and possible state funding, for extremist militant groups in Syria, which may include ISIS.

And Jordan has played a significant role in trying to boost the fortunes of the non-extremist Free Syrian Army.

But Mr al Maliki may have calculated that he can either weather the latest storm - or let ISIS form an impoverished caliphate in the desert north of his country which would leave the Shia with Baghdad and the south.

It's the south, after all, that holds the lion's share of the world's second largest oil reserves.

It can ship its oil out through the Gulf, via Kuwait, or via Iran.

A Shia state or semi-state would not only be self-sufficient - it would be spared the burden of sharing Iraq's spoils with other sectarian groups like the Sunni and the Kurds (who already have their own autonomy and oil industry).

Such a move, or allowing events to drift to this reality, would place the south of Iraq firmly inside Iran's imperial embrace.

That is not something that Saudi Arabia would be able to tolerate in the long term as it vies with Iran for influence in the Middle East.

Nor is it anything that a rump Sunni 'caliphate' would be able to live with - the extremists within it would forever plot how to steal it back by force.

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South Korean Troops In Gunfight With Soldier

South Korean troops have been involved in a gunfight with a soldier who earlier went on the run after killing five comrades.

The military has surrounded the army sergeant, identified only by his surname Yim, and was trying to get him to surrender.

His parents were also at the scene, pleading with him to give himself up.

Yim had opened fire on members of his own unit at a guard post in a base near the border with the North on Saturday, say officials.

The conscript, who also wounded seven others in the grenade and gun attack at the end of his shift, then fled with his K2 assault rifle and 60 rounds of ammunition.

He was discovered hiding near a school six miles from the base and as troops tried to capture him on Sunday, the soldier opened fire.

A platoon leader was reportedly injured in the arm.

The shooting happened at an outpost in Goseong close to the DMZ

Yim, who was scheduled to be discharged from the army in September, was described as an "introvert" and had difficulty adapting to life in the military.

And he was on a list of "those who require special attention", said an officer.

There had been concerns about his psychological health, but he was deemed fit to be deployed to the outpost after passing a test in November, according to an official.

The initial shooting happened at an outpost in Goseong, about 205 miles northeast of the capital Seoul.

It is located just outside the demilitarised zone (DMZ) - a buffer strip that runs the full length of the border with the North, and known as the world's last Cold War frontier.

Yim's victims included one staff sergeant, a sergeant, a corporal and two privates. Their identities were being withheld by the army.

The wounded soldiers were taken to nearby hospitals but their injuries were not life-threatening.

There was no indication North Korea was involved in the shooting, but tensions have been heightened recently, with Pyongyang staging a series of missile and artillery drills.

The South's ministry of national defence publicly said sorry for Saturday's attack.

"We sincerely apologise for causing trouble to the people," said spokesman Kim Min-seok.

"We pray that the soldiers who died from this unexpected accident rest in peace and offer our deep condolences to the families of those killed and injured.

"We will do all we can do to support them."

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Jihadist's Mother Pleads For Him To Return Home

Faith Lost In Iraq PM Amid Political Limbo

Updated: 5:46pm UK, Friday 20 June 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor, in Baghdad

The US President, Shia politicians, Sunni chieftans and none other than the Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani has joined the clamour for Iraq's Prime Minister to move fast and form a government.

The nation has languished since elections on April 30 in a political limbo that arguably undermined faith in the central government, even among the Shia-dominated armed forces.

That might, partly, explain their rapid collapse in the face of far fewer forces from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) plus their allies.

But now that Iraq's supreme court has ratified the results of the elections what possible reason could Nouri al Maliki have for delay?

One explanation may simply be political.

His stewardship over previous years has entrenched sectarian divisions and seen an explosion in corruption.

His party bloc won 92 of the 328 seats in Iraq's parliament and he'll need 165 to form a coalition administration.

He, therefore, has to get involved in some serious horse trading with other Shia parties to build his coalition.

But they are now losing faith in him. Particularly in his apparent refusal to reach out to Sunni parties and offer them stakes in the central government - such as a security portfolio and a ministry which would give them access to patronage systems such as an education or public works - so that they feel both secure and that they have an investment in the future political structures.

A more conspiratorial thesis, fuelled by the conspiratorial utterances of lame duck ministers left over from the previous administration, is that Iraq's latest travails are the fault of external forces.

Jordan, Saudi Arabia (both Sunni countries), the US and others are being blamed for manipulating the Middle East and somehow creating ISIS.

There is evidence of Saudi individual, and possible state funding, for extremist militant groups in Syria, which may include ISIS.

And Jordan has played a significant role in trying to boost the fortunes of the non-extremist Free Syrian Army.

But Mr al Maliki may have calculated that he can either weather the latest storm - or let ISIS form an impoverished caliphate in the desert north of his country which would leave the Shia with Baghdad and the south.

It's the south, after all, that holds the lion's share of the world's second largest oil reserves.

It can ship its oil out through the Gulf, via Kuwait, or via Iran.

A Shia state or semi-state would not only be self-sufficient - it would be spared the burden of sharing Iraq's spoils with other sectarian groups like the Sunni and the Kurds (who already have their own autonomy and oil industry).

Such a move, or allowing events to drift to this reality, would place the south of Iraq firmly inside Iran's imperial embrace.

That is not something that Saudi Arabia would be able to tolerate in the long term as it vies with Iran for influence in the Middle East.

Nor is it anything that a rump Sunni 'caliphate' would be able to live with - the extremists within it would forever plot how to steal it back by force.

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US Releases Aid To Egypt As Kerry Arrives

US Secretary of State John Kerry has paid a surprise visit to Egypt after Washington released almost $600m in aid for the country, which he said was in a "critical moment".

Mr Kerry was speaking as he met new foreign minister Sameh Shoukri before talks with president Abdel Fattah al Sisi.

"Obviously this is a critical moment of transition in Egypt, enormous challenges," Mr Kerry said.

He said the US was "very interested in working closely" with the new government "in order to make this transition as rapidly and smoothly as possible".

Mr Sisi was elected as president in May

Mr Kerry, the most senior US official to visit Egypt since Mr Sisi came to power, was to press the former army chief to introduce greater political freedoms and discuss security challenges.

Since Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was toppled by Mr Sisi in July 2013, a government crackdown on his supporters has left more than 1,400 people dead in street clashes and at least 15,000 in jail.

US officials have said Washington still has deep concerns about the government's "polarising tactics", even though there was a "recognition that Egypt has been going through a very difficult transition".

Egypt's former president Mohamed Morsi

Mr Kerry's visit came a day after an Egyptian court confirmed death sentences for 183 Islamists, including Muslim Brotherhood chief Mohamed Badie, after a mass trial that sparked an international outcry.

"The Secretary will discuss a variety of issues covering our bilateral relationship as well as regional issues, including Iraq, Syria, Libya, Israeli-Palestinian relations and the extremist and terror threats we all face," said State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki.

Mr Kerry's latest diplomatic mission, which will also see him visit Amman, Brussels and Paris, is expected to focus on uniting Iraq's fractious leaders and repelling the ISIS militants who have seized cities and towns across the country.

Mr Sisi's supporters celebrate his victory in the presidential vote

The US officials revealed the tranche of about $572m (£336m) in aid, which had been frozen since October, was released to Cairo about 10 days ago. It will mainly be used to pay existing defence contracts.

In April the US announced it was planning to resume some of the annual $1.5bn (£880m) in mostly military aid to Egypt, including 10 Apache helicopter gunships for counter-terrorism efforts in the Sinai Peninsula.

Mr Sisi won some 97% of the vote in elections held in May and installed an interim government.

Last week, a new Egyptian cabinet led by prime minister Ibrahim Mahlab was sworn in with most ministers from the interim government still in place.

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