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Ebola Evacuation For Worker After Needle Jab

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 31 Januari 2015 | 20.18

A British military healthcare worker has been evacuated from Sierra Leone after being accidentally jabbed with a needle while treating Ebola patients.

The worker has returned to England for monitoring, according to Public Health England (PHE).

The woman was flown back to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on Friday night and then transferred to an isolation ward at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, northwest London.

The worker's next of kin has been informed, according to PHE.

It is understood the person, whose identity has not been released, has probably been exposed to the virus but has not been diagnosed with Ebola and is not displaying symptoms.

The official announcement said the worker suffered a "needle-stick injury", which involves piercing of the skin.

The injuries typically involved needle points but may also be done by other sharp objects, and are considered an occupational health hazard by medical workers.

PHE director for health protection Professor Paul Cosford said: "Our thoughts are with this person, who has been courageous in helping those affected in West Africa, and in preventing the wider spread of Ebola.

"We have strict, well-tested protocols in place for this eventuality and we are confident that all appropriate actions have been taken to support the healthcare worker concerned and to protect the health of other people."

The medical evacuation was done as a precautionary measure after the worker was pricked by a needle at the Kerry Town clinic in the West African nation.

There are currently around 600 British military personnel working in Sierra Leone, with Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Argus stationed in the area.

The clinic was built on the outskirts of the capital Freetown to help treat patients infected by the virus, which has ravaged parts of West Africa.

It includes an 80-bed treatment centre managed by Save The Children charity and a 12-bed operated by British Army medical staff designed to treat international healthcare workers and staff working in the area.

London's Royal Free Hospital also treated British nurses Pauline Cafferkey and Will Pooley - both were diagnosed with the disease after returning from treating patients in Africa.

In a statement the hospital said: "We can confirm that a UK military healthcare worker has been admitted to the Royal Free Hospital today following a needlestick injury while treating a person with Ebola in Sierra Leone.

"The individual has been admitted to the Royal Free Hospital for assessment."

The patient will be monitored throughout the 21-day incubation period of Ebola.

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Gallery: The Desperate Fight To Contain The Ebola Outbreak

A man rests outside the clinic.

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

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20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Greece Wants 'Rethink' Of Whole Bailout

Greece's newly elected anti-austerity government has said it will not co-operate with its international "troika" of creditors - the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Greece's finance minister Yanis Varoufakis said that despite warnings his country would shortly run out of money, his government preferred to do without fresh funds and instead renegotiate its entire €240bn (£180bn) bailout package.

Athens has been promised another €7.2bn (£5.4bn) in funds from the troika if it completes reforms required by its lenders by 28 February, when the bailout programme runs out.

"This government was elected on the basis of analytically questioning the very logic of the programme now being applied," Mr Varoufakis said, referring to the reforms and budget cuts demanded by the troika.

"We don't want the €7bn ... We want to sit down and rethink the whole programme."

But the stance has already drawn criticism from top EU officials, and Germany's Angela Merkel.

"There has already been voluntary debt forgiveness by private creditors, banks have already slashed billions from Greece's debt," Mrs Merkel said.

"I do not envisage fresh debt cancellation."

Her comments follow remarks made at a strained news conference between Mr Varoufakis and Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

Mr Varoufakis said Athens was willing to negotiate with its lenders but not with the troika, which he described as a "committee built on rotten foundations".

Mr Dijsselbloem said Greece and the Eurogroup had a "mutual interest in the further recovery of the Greek economy inside the eurozone" and warned against Athens acting on its own.

"Taking unilateral steps and ignoring previous arrangements is not the way forward," Mr Dijsselbloem said.

"The problems of the Greek economy have not disappeared or changed overnight with the elections."

Further concern comes from the potential of the anti-austerity political movement spreading to other nations, with a large "march for change" expected today in the Spanish capital Madrid to support new far left party Podemos.

The troika was formed in 2010 to rescue debt-riddled Greece with the bailout on the condition Athens imposed huge spending cuts and fiscal reforms.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was elected last Sunday on a platform of ending austerity and erasing most of the country's national debt.

Mr Varoufakis meets French counterpart Michel Sapin in Paris on Sunday and British Chancellor George Osborne on Monday.

Mr Tsipras will meet Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Tuesday and French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday, but has no plans to visit Germany - Europe's biggest economy and its effective paymaster.

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IS Chemical Weapons Expert Killed, Says US

A chemical weapons expert working with Islamic State (IS) in Iraq has been killed in a coalition airstrike, the US military has said.

Abu Malik was killed near Mosul during an air raid on 24 January, US Central Command announced on Friday.

Malik had worked at a chemical weapons production plant under Saddam Hussein's regime before the dictator was toppled in 2003.

He later forged an affiliation with al Qaeda in Iraq in 2005, before joining IS, according to Central Command.

Malik's training "provided the terrorist group with expertise to pursue a chemical weapons capability", the military said in a statement.

"His death is expected to temporarily degrade and disrupt the terrorist network and diminish ISIL's ability to potentially produce and use chemical weapons against innocent people."

Previously US officials had not publicly referred to Malik as a key IS figure.

There has been no evidence to suggest IS possesses a major chemical weapons arsenal, but there have been claims the jihadist organisation has employed chlorine gas, which is classified as a "choking agent".

A US defence official, speaking anonymously, said Malik had been "involved in operations to produce chemical weapons in 2005, and planned attacks in Mosul with AQI (al Qaeda in Iraq)".

"Based on his training and experience, he was judged to be capable of creating harmful and deadly chemical agents," added the official.

"We know ISIL is attempting to pursue a chemical weapons capability, but we have no definitive confirmation that ISIL currently possess chemical weapons."

The US-led coalition has carried out more than 2,000 air raids against IS in Iraq and Syria since 8 August.

Airstrikes have been pounding the Mosul area in the north over the past week, the military said.

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IS Hostages Talks In 'State Of Deadlock'

There is a "state of deadlock" in negotiations to release a journalist held by Islamic State (IS) militants, according to a top Japanese diplomat.

Japan's deputy foreign minister Yasuhide Nakayama made the comments in the Jordanian capital Amman, where he is leading Tokyo's team attempting to secure the freedom of veteran war reporter Kenji Goto.

Mr Goto, 47, has appeared in videos released by IS in which his fate has been linked to another hostage, Jordanian fighter pilot Lt Muath al Kasaesbeh.

Speaking late on Friday night, Yasuhide Nakayama said: "Staying vigilant, we will continue analysing and examining information as the government is making concerted efforts together."

Japan's chief cabinet secretary also described attempts to free Mr Goto as an "extremely tough situation."

Jordan and Japan have held indirect negotiations with the militants, who control around a third of Iraq and Syria, for release of the men in exchange for a jailed jihadist.

But Jordan has demanded evidence that the airman who crashed in Syria on 24 December is still alive before freeing the would-be suicide bomber, who is on death row.

IS had said it would kill Jordan's captured pilot by sunset on Thursday unless Iraqi jihadist Sajida al Rishawi was released.

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Gallery: Living Under Sniper Fire In Syria

Children play near a bus barricading a street, which serves as protection from snipers loyal to Syrian President Bashar al Assad, in Aleppo's rebel-controlled Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood

Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters peek through gaps at a concrete barrier as they watch their fellow fighters who where caught under sniper fire on the front line in Aleppo's Sheikh Saeed neighbourhood

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IS Sets Sunset Deadline To Save Hostage

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 29 Januari 2015 | 20.18

An audio recording purportedly from a man being held by IS militants says a fellow hostage has just hours to live unless an Iraqi prisoner is released.

The message, which is unverified, is believed to have been read out by Kenji Goto - a Japanese journalist taken by Islamic State militants last year.

In it the voice demands the release of Sajida al Rishawi, who was sentenced to death in Jordan for her involvement in a 2005 terrorist attack that killed 60 people.

The man states that a fellow hostage - Jordanian pilot Lieutenant Muath al Kasaesbeh - would be killed if the prisoner was not ready to be exchanged at the Turkish border with Syria by "sunset".

That would make the deadline around mid-afternoon UK time.

The brief message did not make it clear what the fate of either hostage would be even if the group's demands were met.

Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said: "We are still in the process of verification but with all of the information gathered we think that there is a high probability that the voice was indeed that of Mr Goto."

Although the Jordanian government is willing to hand over the would-be suicide bomber, nations around the world - including the US - believe the deal with IS should not go ahead.

Such an exchange could set a dangerous precedent, encouraging terrorists to take more people hostage.

However, if both hostages were to survive, it could provide crucial intelligence about their captors, as the whereabouts of a man dubbed "Jihadi John" remains unknown.

The family of Lt al Kaseasbeh have met Jordan's King Abdullah, where they were assured that "things were still positive".

Despite this, the country's foreign minister has not received any evidence that the pilot is alive and well.

The Japanese government is investigating the latest footage, which was originally uploaded to YouTube.

The mother of Kenji Goto has made a tearful appeal to Japan's Prime Minister to help save her son.

Junko Ishido said she had begged Shinzo Abe to "please save Kenji" and to work with the Jordanian government to secure his release.

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Killed Sydney Hostages' Final Moments Revealed

A hostage killed during a siege at a Sydney cafe was made to kneel before being shot in the back of the head with a sawn-off pump action shotgun, an inquest has heard.

Cafe manager Tori Johnson was killed by Iranian-born gunman Man Haron Monis, moments after several people managed to flee the coffee shop safely.

Jeremy Gormly, one of the lawyers assisting the coroner, said: "Mr Johnson was made by Monis to kneel on the floor of the cafe. After a short lapse of time, Monis simply shot him without further notice or warning in the back of the head.

"The end of the barrel was about 75cm from his head at the moment of discharge. Mr Johnson is believed to have died immediately."

It was the 34-year-old's death which led tactical operatives to force their way into the Lindt cafe in the early hours of 16 December.

The inquest also heard that another hostage who died, 38-year-old barrister Katrina Dawson, was struck by six fragments of a police bullet which ricocheted off the walls when officers stormed the building to end the 16-hour siege.

"One fragment struck a major blood vessel," said Mr Gormly.

"She lost consciousness quickly and died shortly afterwards."

He said three other hostages were also injured by a ricochet off a police bullet.

The inquest also heard of the gunman's movements early on in the day's events - how he first ordered and ate a piece of chocolate cake and drank tea after entering the cafe on the morning 15 December.

Around half an hour later, he asked to move tables and to speak to manager Johnson, who then asked an employee to lock the doors.

Monis then stood up, putting on a vest and bandana, and told staff: "This is an attack. I have a bomb."

Trained officers ended the siege when they threw 11 flash bangs into the building before firing 22 shots at Monis.

Mr Gormly told Glebe Coroner's Court: "At least two bullets, police bullets or bullet fragments hit Monis in the head and 11 other bullets, police bullets or fragments hit him in the body. It seems he was killed instantly."

The inquest aims to determine what happened during the siege, and investigate whether emergency services' response to the hostage situation was sufficient.

It will also examine the motivations of Man Haron Monis.

Although the gunman claimed his attack was in affiliation with Islamic State, it has emerged that he had no contact with the terror organisation before the siege.

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Gallery: Latest Images From Australia

A bomb disposal robot moves towards Sydney's Lindt Cafe after armed police moved in to end the seige in a barrage of gunfire.

A woman is carried out of the cafe after armed police stormed the building where a gunman was holding up to 20 hostages

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MH370 Loss An 'Accident' - All On Board 'Dead'

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Malaysia has officially declared the loss of flight MH370 was an accident and all on board are dead.

The announcement was in accordance with civil aviation rules, said Malaysia's aviation director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, adding that the announcement ends the search for the aircraft and would help families of those on board to apply for compensation.

"It is with the heaviest heart and deepest sorrow that we officially declare Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 an accident," said Mr Azharuddin in a broadcast on Malaysian television.

"We officially declare Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 an accident and that all 239 of the passengers and crew onboard are presumed to have lost their lives," he added.

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Gallery: MH370: Timeline Of False Hopes

March 8: At 9am, an hour after flight MH370 is reported missing, rumours spread online that it has landed safely in China

March 8: Search planes spot two oil slicks in the South China Sea but tests show the fuel is not from an aircraft

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March 9: Vietnam search plane spots mystery objects in the South China Sea but they turn out to be unrelated to MH370

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March 10: A moss-covered piece of floating sea debris is mistaken for a yellow life raft

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March 11: Two MH370 passengers travelling with stolen passports are identified as illegal immigrants from Iran and are no longer suspected of terrorist activity

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International Civil Aviation rules state the definition of the term "accident" includes "the aircraft is missing" and an aircraft is considered to be missing when the official search has been terminated and no wreckage has been found.

Mr Azharuddin said international search teams had spared no expense in their search for the plane, that every credible lead had been pursued, and all available data that tracked the plane to a corner of the southern Indian Ocean had been reviewed.

But Sarah Bajc, whose partner Philip Wood was on board the plane, rejected the announcement.

"I think they are lying," she said. "It could very well be that the plane crashed. But there is no evidence, and until there is evidence we just can't believe them," she said referring to the Malaysian government and airline.

"It is impossible to bring any closure until we have proof," she added.

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Gallery: Missing Passengers Of Flight MH370

Click through for the gallery

Stuntman Ju Kun, 35, was travelling to Beijing to see his two young children before starting work on the new Netflix and Weinstein Company series Marco Polo in Malaysia.

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A government news conference scheduled in Putrajaya today was cancelled after some of the victims' relatives arrived unannounced.

Some families have accused the Malaysian government and Malaysia Airlines of a chaotic response to the plane's initial diversion, which allowed it to disappear, and a subsequent cover-up; charges Kuala Lumpur and the airline strenuously deny.

Flight MH370 vanished on Saturday, 8 March, 2014, during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in China and no trace of the plane, passengers or crew has been found despite extensive searches.

Malaysian authorities say satellite data suggests the plane inexplicably detoured from its agreed route likely due to "deliberate" action on board.

But no firm evidence has been uncovered, despite an ongoing Australian-led search of the supposed crash region - the most expensive search and rescue operation in history.

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Written By Unknown on Rabu, 28 Januari 2015 | 20.18

Time is running out and pressure is mounting for the Jordanian and Japanese authorities.

The demand from Islamic State militants is the release, within 24 hours, of an Iraqi would-be suicide bomber in exchange for the lives of a Japanese journalist and a Jordanian fighter pilot.

Bluntly, the Jordanian authorities will now be weighing up the risks of releasing Sajida al Rishawi into the hands of a terrorist group against the reward for doing so.

:: The risks

1. Releasing a self-confessed terrorist into the hands of a terror group. Sajida al Rishawi confessed to trying to blow up the Radisson SAS hotel in Amman in 2005.

In her televised confession (which she later retracted) she said she hoped to kill as many men, women and children as possible.

Her husband's suicide belt went off. He died along with 36 other victims. Al Rishawi's belt did not go off and she was later arrested.

If she is handed over to IS militants, could she go on to carry out a successful suicide mission?

2. Bowing to terrorists' demands: No government wants to be seen to be bowing to the demands of the Islamic State.

Deals with terrorists embolden them and encourage them to take more people hostage.

The covert payment of ransoms by some governments has only added to Islamic State's wealth, which is already huge thanks to their control of oil assets in Syria and Iraq.

The Jordanian government will be under huge pressure by the Americans and others not to do any deal with Islamic State.

:: The rewards

1. The hostages survive: If Al Rishawi is released and Islamic State militants stick to the deal (there is no guarantee that they will) then clearly the lives of Kenji Goto and Lt Mu'ath al Kaseasbeh will be saved.

Emotionally, this is an overriding objective.

2. Intelligence: Agencies around the world would be extremely keen to "debrief" the two hostages and learn as much as possible about their captors.

It is thought that they were being held by a man dubbed 'Jihadi John', a Briton who was behind the beheading of a number of other hostages, including Britons David Haines and Allan Henning and Americans Steven Sotloff, James Foley and Peter Kassig.

Despite sustained efforts, he has not been located. Intelligence agencies could glean vital information from the two men.

:: Other options

There are other plausible scenarios which could secure the release of the two men.

Through backchannels in Jordan, a deal could perhaps be struck which would see the release of a number of other alleged Islamist militants who are in Jordanian jails, prisoners who are seen as less of a security risk.

If any deal is done though, the Jordanian and Japanese authorities will need a "proof of life", showing that Mr Goto and Lt al Kaseasbeh are still alive.

In Tuesday's demand, both men were seen only in photographs. Some in Jordan believe that Lt al Kaseasbeh is already dead.

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Jordan 'Ready' To Exchange Militant For Pilot

Jordan's information minister has said his country is willing to hand over an Iraqi would-be-suicide bomber if a Jordanian pilot captured by Islamic State is released.

In an announcement on state television, Mohammad al Momani said: "Jordan is ready to release prisoner Sajida al Rishawi if the Jordanian pilot Lieutenant Muath al Kasaesbeh was released and his life spared."

The pilot's father, Safi al Kaseasbeh, had earlier implored the Jordanian government "to meet the demands" of Islamic State.

"All people must know, from the head of the regime to everybody else, that the safety of Muath means the stability of Jordan, and the death of Muath means chaos in Jordan," he said.

Bassam al Manasseer, chairman of Jordan's foreign affairs committee, announced earlier that negotiations with Islamic State were taking place through religious and tribal leaders in Iraq.

The news comes as the mother of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto also being held by Islamic State made a tearful appeal to Japan's Prime Minister to help save her son.

Junko Ishido said she had begged Shinzo Abe to "Please save Kenji" and to work with the Jordanian government to secure his release.

IS warned in a video that journalist Mr Goto and Mr al Kaseasbeh would be killed within 24 hours if its demands were not met.

The video shows Mr Goto in an orange jumpsuit holding a picture of Mr al Kaseasbeh, along with an audio message of him pleading for his life.

The group said the hostages' lives would be spared if Jordan releases Sajida al Rishawi, an Iraqi woman sentenced to death for her involvement in a 2005 terrorist attack that killed 60 people.

It comes after IS apparently murdered another Japanese prisoner, Haruna Yukawa - an act condemned by Japan's government.

Mr Goto was captured in Syria in October, apparently while trying to rescue Yukawa, 42, who was taken hostage last summer.

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Gallery: The Hostages Released After Deals Were Made With Terrorists

March 2007: Italian-Swiss journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo was released by the Taliban in exchange for the release of five prisoners

April 2008: A ransom of $1.2m was allegedly paid to Somali pirates by the Spanish government to secure the release of 26 trawlermen

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Missing 43 Students 'All Kidnapped And Killed'

Officials investigating the disappearance of 43 students in Mexico have confirmed they were kidnapped, murdered and incinerated by police.

Families of the victims believe their loved ones are still alive - but for the first time, Mexico's attorney general has said he is certain that all of the students were killed and burned before their remains were thrown into a river.

Jesus Murillo Karam also rejected claims that the army had any participation in the mass slaying.

He added: "To close the investigation is perhaps not the appropriate word, until I have all of those responsible under arrest I can't close it, so that is not the right word.

"But if you ask me if the elements of the investigation are enough to conclude that they were killed there and incinerated, I would say 'yes', and even more than in many other cases."

The case has caused considerable controversy in Mexico, with some fire experts claiming the government's rendition of events is implausible.

However, forensic evidence suggests that the fuel and temperature of a fire at a garbage dump thought to have been used to dispose of the bodies was capable of turning 43 bodies into ashes.

Mexican authorities have only been able to identify the DNA of one student, and Austrian scientists working on the case have claimed it is impossible to identify the other victims.

Relatives of the missing students have said they no longer believe a word the government says, as the theory of what happened to their loved ones has continually changed since they were last seen in September.

The brother-in-law of one victim, Valentin Cornelio Gonzalez, said: "On a personal level, it makes me mad because this is what they've always done.

"There's no chance that the parents are going to believe the government saying they're dead... they are going to look for them alive."

The conclusion that all 43 students have been killed is based on the testimony of a prime suspect arrested a fortnight ago.

Felipe Rodriguez Salgado is one of 99 people who have been detained in connection with the crime.

There have also been 39 reported confessions, nearly 400 declarations, almost 500 forensic tests, 16 raids and two reconstructions.

All 43 students were men training to be teachers. Their bus is thought to have been attacked in the city of Iguala by police who then handed them over to gangs.

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Helmet Cam Video Of Race To Save Kids From Fire

By Sky News US Team

Dramatic footage has been released showing firefighters rescuing three young children from a house fire in California.

Helmet camera video shows rescuers battling through smoke and flames to save the youngsters from their burning home in Fresno.

The one-year-old boy and two girls, aged three and four, were found unconscious and are being treated for smoke inhalation.

They are in a critical condition at Valley Children's Hospital.

The children had been left alone in the house, and their mother is being questioned by police.

"The firefighters would say it's just their job. But to get a rescue of this magnitude is something we really don't come across every day," said a spokesman for Fresno Fire Department.

The rescue came as a surprise to firefighters as they were originally called to reports of smoke in a building, he added.

Investigators believe the blaze was caused by an electrical fire, possibly from a television in the home.

The mother had left the children in the house while she went shopping and was on her way back when the fire broke out, residents told the Fresno Bee news website.

Neighbour Crystal Rodriguez said she heard an explosion that sounded like a homemade firework - and then a woman screaming.

"We were standing here pretty much watching the apartment burn from the inside," she told the Fresno Bee.

"Nobody thought there would be three little babies inside."

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Harrowing Stories From Rape Capital Of World

Written By Unknown on Senin, 26 Januari 2015 | 20.18

By Alex Crawford in Minova, Democratic Republic of Congo

The room is crowded with women, all of whom have been raped. If that's not horrifying enough, many of the women have been raped multiple times and are pregnant as a result.

Their terrifying stores of torture and terror are not even unusual. If the Democratic Republic of Congo is the rape capital of the world, then Minova is its nerve centre - and the raping is still going on.

The town is most notorious for the mass rape of hundreds of women by Congolese soldiers in November 2012.

An investigation by the United Nations found the soldiers raped at least 97 women and 33 girls (some as young as six).

The locals insist the true figure is far higher - and more alarmingly, that the rapes are still continuing.

The assaults are not confined to Congolese soldiers but also the rebel militias as well as the vigilante groups set up to 'protect' the population.

The Sky camera crew is at a shelter set up for rape victims by a woman called Rebecca Masika (known as Ma Masika).

She has two children as a result of rape and knows the trauma and isolation of being a victim.

"If you look at my face, you can see the scar, it's a mark of rape and I have them all over my body," she says. "I had to help these women because I've been raped too.

"They made me watch them cut my husband's body into pieces, then they raped me on his dead body."

One of the young girls in the room looks heavily pregnant and has a visible weeping sore on her right ankle.

Anuarite is 16 years old - barely out of childhood herself. The rebel militia who raped her did so several times during the four months she was held captive.

She has terrible internal injuries too - and cries as she recounts her horrific story to us. Her birth won't be easy.

She says: "They took us into the bush and those who refused to sleep with them, they forced, by stabbing us with knives. They killed many girls.

"Some of them were shot with bullets in the vagina."

All these stories are uncomfortable hearing. We hear how the rapists - again in uniform - have even attacked the very house where Ma Masika has built the refuge.

All these women have been left homeless after being cast out by their families and their communities.

And the refuge is crowded out with children - all the result of rape.

It is heartbreakingly tragic. There's a whole generation of rape babies - and little interest from the outside world coupled with mass inertia as to how to make it all stop.

Congo's civil war may be two decades old but the violence is creating fresh victims every day.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Greece Lightning: Could Syriza Success Spread?

By Robert Nisbet, Europe Correspondent

As car horns blared in the capital's streets, few doubted this had been a seismic night in European politics.

Five years of swingeing cuts have shrunk Greece's economic output by a third and delivered a primary budget surplus, but the price has been too high for many of the electorate.

A third of people in Greece live below the poverty line, a quarter are out of work and pensioners have seen their income dwindle.

That generalised anger finally found its expression at the ballot box.

While previously Syriza's core supporters had been students and a loose coalition of Marxists, Maoists, Trotskyites and environmental campaigners, it acted as a lightning rod across society.

Many of the squeezed middle class wanted to punish the political parties they felt had sold Greece's future prosperity to protect the banking system.

Alexis Tsipras now has something of a dilemma though: he wants to keep Greece in the single currency but the European Union, the European Central Bank and the IMF won't want the country to renege on its promises.

There were strings attached to the €240bn which have kept the country afloat and the likes of Germany are unlikely to agree to allow Greece to restructure more of its debt.

But if Mr Tsipras softens on his vow to "finish the troika" in order to prevent a default and a so-called Grexit, he may anger his core support base.

The wider repercussions could be felt outside the country's borders.

There are a host of other anti-austerity parties in Europe waiting to challenge the consensus, most prominently Podemos in Spain where an election must be held this year.

If this election grows into a pan-European movement, the plumbing of the global economy could face some determined opposition.

Syriza's progress might well embolden those willing to take on established political parties, which could have far reaching consequences.

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Alexis Tsipras: A Profile Of Syriza's Leader

Alexis Tsipras could become the youngest prime minister of Greece since 1865 but just who is he and what does he represent?

:: Teen revolutionary

Mr Tsipras joined the Young Communists Society in the 1980s and by 1991 at the age of 17 organised the occupation of his high school in protest at education reforms.

Pupils ate and slept at the school and he told an interviewer at the time: "We want the right to judge for ourselves whether to skip class."

He went on to university to study to become a civil engineer, where he continued his political rise.

:: Youngest ever political leader

In 2008 at the age of 34 he became the leader of the Syriza party, which was formed in 2004 as a coalition of left-wing groups ranging from the Maoists to the Greens.

Hailed for his no fear, firebrand approach and commitment to an anti-austerity agenda, he led the party to take a 27% vote share in the 2012 general election. It made Syriza the second biggest party in the Greek parliament.

:: Tie-hater

He doesn't like ties. Simple as that. Doesn't wear them, won't wear them.

When asked about it recently, he said: "If you haven't seen me wearing a tie until now, I doubt that you will as prime minister."

Ahead of the 2012 election his predilection for motorbikes, rather than the limos favoured by other party leaders, was much-documented. However, it has been noted that he is more likely seen in the family car these days.

:: Che Guevara fanatic

Although he has toned down his approach ahead of this election he still has a passion for the revolutionary Che Guevara.

His youngest son (he has two with his partner Peristera Batziana) has the middle name Ernesto by way of tribute.

:: Austerity opponent

Firmly anti-austerity, he wants to renegotiate the terms of the EU-IMF bailout, and wants Europe to agree to erase most of Greece's debt.

However, the head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, has said the country has "no wiggle room".

Greece has suffered five years of recession, tax hikes and record unemployment (one in four people don't have a job).

:: Good thing or bad thing?

Critics have described Mr Tsipras as "power-hungry", suggesting he would sacrifice Greece for his own political ambitions.

But he is popular with the people. He has promised to raise salaries and pensions, halt layoffs and freeze the privatisation of state assets.

He has sought to boost his international standing meeting Pope Francis and the European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi, as well as writing columns in international newspapers, including the Financial Times.

But he continues to refer to the austerity measures placed on Greece as terms of the EU-IMF £188bn bailout as "fiscal waterboarding".

However, ultimately he says that Greece's future in Europe is not a future of austerity and that has triggered fears of a Grexit.

:: Panathinaikos fan

Born in 1974, the year that marked the end of the junta which persecuted Communists, Mr Tsipras grew up in the shadow of the Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium. He has remained a fan.

20.18 | 0 komentar | Read More

Greece's Syriza Forms Anti-Bailout Coalition

Greece's left-wing Syriza party has formed an anti-austerity coalition government, just hours after sweeping to victory in Sunday's national election.

Party leader Alexis Tsipras struck a coalition deal with the right-wing Nationalist Independent Greeks party which, like Syriza, opposes Greece's tough international bailout deal.

"From this moment there is a government in the country," Nationalist Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos said after talks with Mr Tsipras at Syriza's headquarters in Athens.

"The Independent Greeks give a vote of confidence in Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. There is an agreement in principle."

Syriza won 149 seats in the 300-seat parliament, just two seats short of an overall majority.

It had a 8.5-point lead over the ruling conservative New Democracy party of outgoing Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

Mr Tsipras will be sworn in later this afternoon.

The unusual pairing of parties from opposite ends of the political spectrum, but with a shared drive to reverse painful austerity measures, raises the prospect of a stand-off with European creditors and economic powerhouse, Germany.

In his victory speech Mr Tsipras vowed Greece would abandon the "catastrophic austerity" measures imposed under the EU-IMF deal.

He has also promised to renegotiate the repayment terms of Greece's €240bn (£176bn) international bailout.

"Greece leaves behinds catastrophic austerity, it leaves behind fear and authoritarianism, it leaves behind five years of humiliation and anguish," Mr Tsipras told thousands of supporters in Athens.

But a spokesman for the German Chancellor said Angela Merkel still expects Greece to stand by its commitments to international creditors, while Chancellor George Osborne said Syriza's promises were going to "be very difficult to deliver".

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Gallery: Tsipras' Surprising First Post-Election Tweet

Syriza party leader Alexis Tsipras' first tweet after sweeping to victory in Greece's general election was somewhat unexpected

His first victory tweet was to British actor and comedian Hugh Laurie for this message of congratulations

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The head of the Eurogroup, made up of eurozone's 19 finance ministers, Jereon Dijsselbloem, also fired a warning shot at the new government, saying Greece's eurozone membership depended on it complying with its agreements.

Greece was forced to undertake deep budget cuts and fiscal reforms as a condition for the 2010 bailout from the so-called "Troika" - the group of creditors made up of the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank.

Many in Greece feel slashed public spending has hit the most vulnerable hardest, while leaving the tax evasion and corruption of the apparent elites untouched.

Financial markets have reacted nervously to the result, fearing fresh trouble in Greece and a contagion of anti-austerity sentiment in other struggling eurozone countries that could put strain the currency bloc.

The euro fell to a fresh 11-year low against the dollar shortly after the result became clear but later strengthened against the dollar and while stocks initially fell across Europe, the major markets later recovered.

The AthEx market - which tracks the prices of the top 25 firms in the Athens Stock Exchange - opened 0.6% lower before losing more than 5% of its value in a volatile first hour.

Mr Tsipras vowed to cooperate with fellow eurozone leaders for "a fair and mutually beneficial solution", but said the Greek people come first.

"Our priority from the very first day will be to deal with the big wounds left by the crisis," he told supporters on Sunday evening.

"Our foremost priority is that our country and our people regain their lost dignity."

Mr Samaras had insisted voters would be making a huge mistake to elect Syriza at a time when painful fiscal reforms may be about to pay off.

After conceding defeat, he told supporters: "My conscience is clear because I told the truth to the Greek people until the very end.

"I received a country that was almost destroyed and I was asked to hold a hot potato and I did that."

Mr Tsipras, meanwhile, used his first post-election tweet to respond to a message of congratulations from British actor and comedian Hugh Laurie.

"Thank you Dr", he wrote, in apparent reference to Laurie's role in the US television series House.

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