Ice Floe Rescue: 220 Saved In Latvia

More than 220 people who were left drifting at sea after large sections of ice broke away from a shore off Latvia have been saved in a massive rescue operation.

The Latvian State Fire and Rescue Service launched boats, ships and helicopters in a three-hour operation to bring people safely back to land.

Emergency teams launch rescue boats

The ice had drifted in strong winds about two and a half miles from the shore by the end of the operation in the Gulf of Riga.

Around 180 people, mostly fishermen were rescued from a floe off the town of Vakarbulli, while another 43 people were taken off the ice near the seaside resort of Jurmala.

One of the rescued men disembarked

Viktorija Sembele, a spokeswoman for the State Fire and Rescue Service, said only one person had needed medical treatment.

She said helicopters had carried up to 20 people at a time off the ice floes.

Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics used his Facebook page to congratulate the emergency services and army for their "high level of professionalism".

Rescue operations involving people stranded on ice floes occur regularly in the Baltic states, particularly with ice fishermen who often stray far from the shore.

On Thursday authorities had begun warning of a thaw amid high winds - a combination that creates ice floes and pushes them offshore.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

North Korea Says 'We Are At War With South'

North Korea says it has entered a "state of war" with South Korea and will deal with "all matters" accordingly.

"As of now, inter-Korea relations enter a state of war and all matters between the two Koreas will be handled according to wartime protocol," the North said in a statement broadcast by the official Korean Central News Agency.

"The long-standing situation of the Korean peninsula being neither at peace nor at war is finally over."

The statement also warned that any military provocation near the North-South land or sea border would result "in a full-scale conflict and a nuclear war".

The two Koreas have always technically remained at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Earlier this month, the North said it was ripping up the armistice and other bilateral peace pacts signed with the South in protest against South Korea-US joint military exercises.

The South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman, Kim Min-seok, said: "North Korea's continuing threats against South Korea such as saying it is 'entering a state of war' are never acceptable since it is harming peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.

"Our recent military exercises such as 'Key Resolve and Foal Eagle' and the U.S. strategic bombers' deployment on the peninsula were defensive in nature against North Korea's possible provocations."

The ministry also said "no particular troop movement" had been observed along the border.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un

The US said it was taking the new threat "seriously" but said it was following a familiar pattern.

"We've seen reports of a new and unconstructive statement from North Korea. We take these threats seriously and remain in close contact with our South Korean allies," said Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the National Security Council.

Most analysts still believe this will remain a rhetorical rather than a physical battle, but the situation has now become so volatile that any slight miscalculation carries the potential for rapid escalation.

Sky's Asia Correspondent Mark Stone said: "It is more rhetoric by North Korea until they actually do something. Wars tend to begin with bangs not announcements on state news agencies, so this is Mr Kim pushing the rhetoric up another level.

"The problem is, he hasn't got any more levels to go to after this other than actual war - that is the big worry and the big unknown. Does his belligerence have a limit or not?

"The assumption, and hope, is that he will stop at the eleventh hour but what if he doesn't? That is why the Americans, the South Koreans, the Japanese and, more quietly, the Chinese too are all taking it very seriously."

Sources in Pyongyang say life continues as normal in the city.

There are signs of civil construction with thousands of workers. Many of them are conscripts, and if war was imminent, then Kim would have called them up and they would not be busy building apartment blocks and hotels.

The US has used B-2 bombers as a 'deterrence' measure in the region

Yesterday, both China and Russia asked for all sides to co-operate to prevent the situation worsening, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov voicing particular concern.

"We can simply see the situation getting out of control, it would spiral down into a vicious circle," Mr Lavrov told journalists.

His warning came after the North's leader Kim Jong-Un ordered missile units to prepare to strike US mainland and military bases, vowing to "settle accounts" after US stealth bombers flew over the South.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel stressed that Washington would not be cowed by Pyongyang's threats and stood ready to respond to "any eventuality".

The standoff has its roots in the North's successful long-range rocket launch in December and the third nuclear test it carried out in February.

Both events drew UN sanctions that incensed Pyongyang, which then switched the focus of its anger to the annual joint South Korea-US military drills.

As tensions escalated, Washington has maintained a notably assertive stance, publicising its use of nuclear-capable B-52s and B-2 stealth bombers.

The long-distance deployment of both sets of aircraft were intended as a clear signal of US commitment to defending the South against any act of aggression.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

China: Tibet Gold Miners Buried Under Rock

A landslide has crashed down a Tibet mountainside and buried 83 workers in a gold-mining area, according to Chinese state media.

A vast three kilometre long section of land, with a volume of two million cubic metres, slid down a slope and buried the workers' camp in Maizhokunggar county, east of the Tibetan capital Lhasa.

Some 1,000 police, firefighters and doctors were sent to the disaster site, at an altitude of 4,600 metres, the official Xinhua agency said.

There were also 200 vehicles and 15 dogs, and sets of life-detecting equipment.

State broadcaster CCTV quoted a member of the Chinese People's Armed Police on the scene as saying that "the situation looks serious, the collapsed area is three or four square kilometres".

The landslide brought massive rocks which smashed the workers' camp area and sliced a huge excavator in two, Xinhua said.

Rescuers have so far found no signs of the 83 trapped workers. The rescue would be very difficult due to the size of the affected area, a fire department official was quoted as saying.

Diggers have been brought in to help with the search

The workers were from a subsidiary of the China National Gold Group Corporation, a state-owned company and the nation's biggest gold miner.

Almost all of them were Han Chinese, the national ethnic majority, with only two of them ethnic Tibetans, Xinhua added. Most were migrant workers from the provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan.

China's new president Xi Jinping, who is currently visiting the Republic of Congo in Africa, and new premier Li Keqiang had ordered "top efforts" to rescue the victims, Xinhua added.

A worker at a hospital in the county reached by AFP news agency late on Friday said it had not yet received any casualties but staff were "making preparations".

Mountainous regions of Tibet are prone to landslides, which can be exacerbated by heavy mining activity.

In recent years China has discovered huge mineral resources in Tibet, including tens of millions of tonnes of copper, lead and zinc, and billions of tonnes of iron ore, according to state media reports.

Around 1,000 police, firefighters and doctors went to the disaster site

The reserves are estimated to be worth more than $100bn (£66bn), according to government statistics. It quoted a local official saying that the purpose of mining was to "benefit the local people".

But mining developments can lead to accusations of exploitation.

In 2010, at least four Tibetans may have been killed and 30 others hurt when Chinese police fired on crowds protesting the expansion of mine operations blamed for environmental damage.

The demonstrators, in a Tibetan area of Sichuan province, complained that stepped-up Chinese gold-mining operations had brought large numbers of people and heavy machinery to the area, damaging farmland and the local grassland habitat.

A separate gas explosion at a coal mine in northeast China has left 28 people dead.

China's State Administration of Work Safety said the cause of the blast at a state-owned mine outside Baishan in Jilin province is under investigation.

The Xinhua news agency said that apart from the 28 deaths, 13 people have been rescued.

Chinese mines remain among the deadliest in the world, with frequent explosions of the gases released in mining. A government campaign to close small, illegally operated mines and upgrade equipment in other has markedly improved safety in recent years.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

UN's Global Arms Trade Treaty Is Blocked

William Hague has spoken of his "deep disappointment" after a ground-breaking UN treaty that would regulate the international arms trade was blocked by Iran, Syria and North Korea.

The three nations refused to ratify the treaty at a meeting in New York.

It had required agreement by all 193 UN member states.

For more than a decade, activists and some governments have been pushing for international rules to regulate the estimated £40bn global arms trade and try to keep illicit weapons out of the hands of terrorists, insurgent fighters and organised crime.

After two weeks of intensive negotiations, many delegates had been optimistic that consensus - which doesn't require a vote - by all states was within reach.

The United Nations headquarters in New York

Both Iran and North Korea are under UN arms embargoes over their nuclear programmes, while Syria is in the third year of a conflict that has escalated to civil war.

Amnesty International said all three countries "have abysmal human rights records - having even used arms against their own citizens".

But the British Foreign Secretary said he was determined to find a resolution.

Mr Hague said: "I am deeply disappointed that the negotiations on an Arms Trade Treaty closed today without consensus.

"After seven years of intensive work, the international community had never had a better chance to agree a global, legally binding treaty that would make the world a safer place.

"The UK has played a leading role and spared no effort to secure a treaty which would be both strong and globally applied, based on consensus.

North Korea is under a UN arms embargo

"We have come very close. It is disappointing that three countries blocked the historic agreement that lay within our reach."

The Arms Trade Treaty would be the first international, legally binding treaty setting controls on the transfers of weapons, Mr Hague said, and would ban sales of weapons that would be used for genocide or war crimes.

Arms brokering would also be regulated, protecting legitimate trade.

He added: "This treaty is too important for us to let it end here. The overwhelming majority of the international community want this Treaty and we are determined to take it forward."

Other countries also refused to let the treaty die.

Mexico proposed that the UN conference go ahead and adopt the treaty without the support of the three dissenting countries, saying there was no definition of "consensus". Several countries supported the idea, but the Russian delegation objected.

Jo Adamson, the British ambassador to the UN Conference on Disarmament, struck a hopeful note. "This is not failure," she said. "Today is success deferred, and deferred by not very long."

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rainbow Warrior On Australia Reef Mission

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

Rainbow Warrior, the flagship of the environmental campaign group Greenpeace, is heading up the east coast of Australia targeting coal mining companies.

Activists on board the ship say mining in the state of Queensland is helping destroy the Great Barrier Reef.

Coal exportation in Queensland is forecast to double in size in the next 10 years thanks to huge demand from countries such as China and India.

Environmentalists are worried that expanding mines and ports are damaging the delicate reef through increased shipping traffic, dredging to build new terminals, and the wider issue of carbon emissions from coal-fired power stations.

It is the first visit to Australia by the third vessel to bear the Rainbow Warrior name.

The first Rainbow Warrior was famously blown up by French secret service agents in New Zealand in 1985.

Mining around Australia's coastline

Chief executive of Greenpeace Australia Pacific, David Ritter, said: "Wherever the Rainbow Warrior travels all over the world it is a symbol of hope and determination and having the Rainbow Warrior here in Australia to confront the out-of-control coal industry undoubtedly brings a lift to a campaign that tens of thousands of Australians are already part of, tens of thousands of Australians who say it is not OK to industrialise our Great Barrier Reef.

"It is not OK to tip our climate over the edge."

A delegation from UNESCO last year visited the reef and said it could be listed as a World Heritage site in danger due to the rapid increase in coastal developments. 

The Australian government must now report back to UNESCO outlining how the reef will be preserved.

Other factors are also seen as contributing heavily to the reef's decline including rising sea temperatures and the Crown of Thorns starfish which feeds on living coral tissue.

The Great Barrier Reef is under threat

Australia is the world's leading coal exporter and according to the Australian Coal Association in 2009-2010 the country exported almost 300 million tonnes of 'black' coal to 33 destinations.

The industry says it is doing all it can to limit damage to the environment with sophisticated real time tracking of ships to make sure they are not in danger of hitting the reef as well as investing in research for carbon capture systems to limit emissions from the use of fossil fuels. 

Michael Roche, from the Queensland Resources Council, told Sky News the industry has also brought huge financial benefits to Australia: "The mining resources industry got Australia through the global financial crisis.

"We are still at record levels of investment, bringing hundreds of thousands of jobs to Australia, directly and indirectly. So the Australian people understand how important the resources sector is, but we are with the rest of the world in wanting to protect the Great Barrier Reef, it is a truly global icon.

"The mining industry will no longer hold a social licence to operate if the Australian people and global community felt we were damaging the future of the reef. We take that very seriously."

The Rainbow Warrior will be in Australia for a number of weeks and it is believed activists are planning some direct action to publicise their concerns.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

North Korea Rockets 'Ready To Hit US Bases'

North Korea's leader has told rocket units to be on standby for an attack on US bases, according to state media.

The country's KCNA news agency said Kim Jong-Un had signed off on the order to train sights on American bases in South Korea and the Pacific after a midnight meeting with top generals.

The move was followed by reports of increased activity at North Korea's mid to long-range missile sites, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

It comes after two American stealth bombers flew over South Korea in a show of force to Pyongyang, following an escalation of rhetoric from the North's young leader.

The US uses B-2 bombers as a 'deterrence' measure in the region

The two nuclear-capable B-2 planes flew a 13,000-mile round trip from an air base in Missouri, dropping a dummy bomb on a target range in the South.

The planes were taking part in a joint South Korea-US military exercise that has inflamed tensions with Pyongyang, which earlier this month threatened to unleash an "all-out war" backed by nuclear weapons.

"This .... demonstrates the United States' ability to conduct long range, precision strikes quickly and at will," the US military said in a statement.

"The B-2 bomber is an important element of America's enduring and robust extended deterrence capability in the Asia-Pacific region."

KCNA reported that Mr Kim had "judged the time has come to settle accounts with the US imperialists in view of the prevailing situation".

The agency said: "He finally signed the plan on technical preparations of strategic rockets of the KPA, ordering them to be on standby for fire so that they may strike any time the US mainland, its military bases in the operational theatres in the Pacific, including Hawaii and Guam, and those in South Korea."

Following their leader's call to arms, thousands of North Koreans turned out for a mass rally in the main square in the capital.

Chanting "Death to the US imperialists" and "Sweep away the US aggressors," soldiers and students marched through Kim Il-Sung Square during the 90-minute rally.

The US has denied its military exercise was provocative but said it was "committed to a pathway to peace" and "prepared to deal with any eventuality" in the region.

Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel and General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the B-2 bombers were a message intended more for allies than Pyongyang.

"The North Koreans have to understand that what they're doing is very dangerous," Mr Hagel said.

"I don't think we're doing anything extraordinary or provocative or out of the ... orbit of what nations do to protect their own interests."

The US, he added, must make it clear to South Korea, Japan and other allies in the region that "these provocations by the North are taken by us very seriously, and we'll respond to that".

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Peru: Bus Crashes Down Ravine Killing Dozens

At least 24 people have been killed after a passenger bus plunged 100 metres (328ft) into a ravine off a road in southern Peru.

Rescue efforts were hampered by the steep, rocky cliff

Local media said the accident occurred in the Andean city of Arequipa on the road to Puno and that most of the passengers were mine workers.

A highway police official said another 18 people were injured but warned the death toll could rise as many were trapped under the wreckage of the vehicle.

A survivor is taken away from the scene of the crash

Rescue efforts were hampered by the steep cliff and rocky terrain.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known, police said.

Most of those aboard were mine workers headed from Orcopampa district to Arequipa, where they planned to take part in religious festivities leading up to Easter.

According to reports, the public bus was privately operated by a company called Andares.

Arequipa, also known as the White City, is around 1,000km (620 miles) south of the capital Lima and is the second most populated city in Peru.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

North Korea: US Stealth Bombers Fly Over South

North Korea Plays A Dangerous Game

Updated: 12:59pm UK, Tuesday 26 March 2013

By Lisa Holland, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

The United States and South Korea have just signed a new military plan that would provide for a joint military response in case of North Korean provocations.

The real question now is what either side judges to be a 'provocation'.

The problem may come with North Korea's interpretation of the behaviour of America and South Korea.

Any movement made by the US - be it reinforcing its missile defences or conducting joint drills with South Korea - could be interpreted as a provocation.

This could be exploited and framed by North Korea as being an aggressive move, which to some extent is true.

America would argue it's about protecting its strategic interests. But so too would North Korea.

South Korea and the United States are still holding joint military drills until the end of April, and in light of this military activity, North Korea wants to flex its muscles too.

It wants to send the world a message that it is also a military power.

The pictures released by the North Korean leadership are for a domestic and international audience.

Sending the message of a state of "readiness", North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un wants to reinforce the idea that the country is strong in light of a potential US or South Korean aggression.

His ruling regime is still quite young, and though North Korea has had a string of successes recently with its rocket launches, his military credentials are very slim and he is unproven as a military leader.

The outside world may want to dismiss North Korea as up to its usual bluster - posturing and threatening the countries it perceives as its enemies.

It's taken its rhetoric a step further by ordering its rocket and long-range artillery units to be combat ready.

For the country's young leader it's all about strength.

It's what keeps people - especially dictators - in power. But it is also a dangerous game.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nelson Mandela: Zuma Asks World To Pray

The former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, has been taken back to hospital suffering from a lung infection.

President Jacob Zuma confirmed that the 94-year-old was readmitted just before midnight on Wednesday and said: " We appeal to the people of South Africa and the world to pray for our beloved Madiba and his family and to keep them in their thoughts.

"We have full confidence in the medical team and know that they will do everything possible to ensure recovery."

Mr Mandela's spokesman Mac Maharaj told Sky News that the former president was "conscious".

He said: "At the moment doctors are saying it is a recurrence of an old lung infection. It is a matter of concern ... He was admitted around midnight last night.

The most recent picture of Mr Mandela taken on Feb 2.

"They are doing everything they can to keep him comfortable and happy."

Mr Mandela spent 18 days in hospital in December, where he was treated for a lung infection and gallstones.

He was discharged on December 27, however, doctors warned he was "not yet fully recovered" and he continued to receive medical treatment at his Johannesburg home, including being given extra oxygen.

Mr Mandela has had recurring lung problems since contracting tuberculosis during his 27 years in prison under the apartheid regime.

Mr Mandela at his Johannesburg home seen on his granddaughters' TV show

The Nobel Peace Laureate spent a night in hospital on March 9 for what was described as a scheduled medical check-up.

However, Sky's Alex Crawford said that it was now understood that the visit was required for further treatment of the lung infection and that on that occasion he is believed to have had his lungs drained.

She said that there were now significant concerns over his health and added: "The time of his hospitalisation certainly suggests they were alarmed at his deterioration."

In February, Mr Mandela's granddaughters showed the first picture of him to be seen in more than seven months as they promoted a reality television series in which they star.

He was seen with his great grandson, Zen, sitting on his lap at his Johannesburg home.

Earlier this month, George Bizos, the human rights lawyer who represented Mr Mandela at his treason trial, said that he was suffering memory lapses and sometimes forgot his fellow anti-apartheid activists were dead.

In an interview he told Eyewitness News: "Unfortunately he sometimes forgets that one or two of them had passed on and has a blank face when you tell him that Walter Sisulu and some others are no longer with us."

More follows...

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cyprus Moves To Prevent Run On Banks

Cyprus is working to agree capital controls to help prevent a run on savings when banks eventually re-open following the nation's bailout.

The closure of Cypriot banks was extended until Thursday amid a rush to restructure the two biggest lenders Bank of Cyprus (BoC) and Laiki, also known as the Popular Bank.

The boss of the BoC attempted to tender his resignation, along with four other board members, in protest at the bailout condition that it would have to absorb Laiki's debts.

However the BoC board rejected the resignation of chairman Andreas Artemis and the other directors, in the wake of the appointment of an administrator to downsize the island's biggest lender as a condition for an international bailout.

A student raises her hand during an anti-Troika protest

"The board of directors has not accepted the resignations," a statement carried by the state CNA news agency said.

"In accordance with the articles of association of the company, the resignations will only apply if not withdrawn within one week."

Meanwhile, Fitch said it had put Cyprus's credit rating on watch for a possible downgrade as the restructuring of its banking system would hurt the economy.

It currently rates Cyprus as 'B', only two notches above levels where the agency considers borrowers vulnerable to default.

The 10bn euro (£8.5bn) rescue was secured when politicians agreed to seize cash from bank depositors with more than 100,000 euros in their accounts.

It amounted to a hit of up to 40% on the money held by such people banking with BoC and Laiki, finance minister Michalis Sarris told BBC radio - cash that will be swapped for shares in the lenders.

Greek Cypriots have become increasingly angry at the bailout terms

The country's president had earlier assured his people the rescue package he struck with the EU and International Monetary Fund was in their best interests, despite the prospect of years of financial pain ahead.

Nicos Anastasiades agreed to close down Laiki as part of the demanded reforms of the Cypriot financial sector - brought to the brink of collapse by its investments in neighbouring Greece.

The capital controls being discussed, preventing people moving funds out of the country, could last for a number of weeks and may include weekly withdrawal limits.

Cash machine withdrawals remain restricted while the branch shutdown is said to be hammering businesses, which have been without access to their funds for more than a week.

European leaders said a chaotic national bankruptcy that might have forced Cyprus from the euro and upset Europe's economy had been averted by the rescue - though investors in other European banks were alarmed by the precedent of losses for depositors in Cyprus.

The raid on uninsured Laiki depositors is expected to raise 4.2bn euros of the 5.8bn the EU and IMF had told Cyprus to raise as a contribution to the bailout, according to Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

The politician, who heads the so-called Eurogroup of finance ministers, has faced a backlash after he spoke of the need for lenders to banks to accept the potential risks of their failure in future.

Unemployment and poverty levels are expected to soar in Cyprus

The comment - interpreted as support for the terms of the Cypriot bailout to become a template for any future eurozone bailouts - was widely criticised after it had a knock-on effect on world markets.

Greek finance minister Yannis Stournaras later insisted that a bailout deal agreed for Cyprus only applied to the island country, after markets started to speculate.

"This solution concerns Cyprus only and no other country, because Cyprus has a particular banking system," Mr Stournaras said, following a meeting with Greek President Carolos Papoulias.

Meanwhile Russia was angered that its depositors in Cypriot banks would suffer huge losses, President Vladimir Putin has ordered officials to restructure a loan Moscow granted to Cyprus in 2011.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Picasso's 'Le Reve' Sold For Record $155m

A Pablo Picasso painting has been bought by a hedge fund manager for a record $155m (£102m) - making it the most expensive of the Spanish artist's works.

Steve A Cohen, who runs $15bn (£10bn) hedge fund firm SAC Capital Advisors, bought the oil painting of Picasso's mistress Marie-Therese Walter, titled Le Reve, from casino mogul Steve Wynn, The New York Post reported.

Mr Cohen and Mr Wynn, who are both billionaires and well-known art collectors, have a history with this particular Picasso painting.

Picasso's Nude, Green Leaves and Bust sold for $106.5m in 2010

In 2006, Mr Wynn put his elbow through the canvas while showing it to several friends, reportedly a day after agreeing to sell it to Mr Cohen for $139m (£92m).

The portrait is said to have been completed in one afternoon in 1932 when Picasso was 50-years-old.

The price tag is thought to make it the most expensive Picasso ever, according to reports.

It is the third of the artist's works to sell for more than $100m. Nude, Green Leaves and Bust sold for $106.5m in 2010 and Garcon a la Pipe for $104.2m in 2004.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Amanda Knox Told To Stay Away From Retrial

By Greg Milam, in Seattle

An American judge who campaigned for the release of Amanda Knox has told Sky News she "may" return to Italy to face renewed proceedings - but that he would recommend she stay away.

Michael Heavey, a Superior Court judge in Knox's home state of Washington, says he is disappointed but not surprised that the Italian Supreme Court has ordered a retrial for her and former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito.

Meredith Kercher was killed in 2007

The couple were released by an appeals court 18 months ago after it found fault with their convictions for murdering the British exchange student Meredith Kercher at the home she and Knox shared in Perugia in 2007.

Judge Heavey, who attracted criticism for writing to the Italian authorities about the case while still a serving in his role in the US, says he remains convinced the couple are innocent and that the prosecution case is flawed.

When asked if Knox might return to Italy for any part of the new proceedings, he said: "She may. The intelligentsia of Italy knows she is absolutely innocent.

"But a good proportion of the population, because of what's called confirmation bias, what they've been told so many times, they can't tell you why, but they think she's guilty and that is not a healthy climate for her to be in."

He said he would not criticise the Italian judicial system - and that the US has its own examples of such mistakes being made - but added that he believed the case was set to drag on for years.

He said: "It is terribly disappointing. You just feel like you have been kicked in the stomach. My heart goes out to Amanda and Raffaele and their families for what they're going to have to go through. The nightmare continues."

A Free Amanda Knox sticker on a car outside her Seattle home

No-one in the Knox camp has commented on whether she plans to return to Italy for the retrial. If she were to be convicted and that conviction upheld, Italy could seek her extradition from the United States.

One Knox lawyer in Italy has said he does not believe she will attend the trial, which is her right under Italian law.

Since the Supreme Court announcement, Amanda Knox has been keeping a low profile in her home city of Seattle. Members of her family politely told reporters outside of their home in the Arbor Heights suburb that they would be making no comment on the developments.

The 25-year-old has returned to complete her studies at the University of Washington and it is reported she plans to go ahead with a television interview next month to promote a book about the case.

Five thousand miles away from Seattle, a woman claiming to be the new girlfriend of Sollecito told reporters at his apartment that the couple planned to move to Switzerland. She confirmed that he and Knox had spoken to each other about the Supreme Court decision.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cyprus Bailout: Public Anger At Eurozone Deal

By Tom Parmenter, in Nicosia

Cypriots have reacted with anger over the bailout deal that will almost certainly plunge their country into a deep recession.

A deal has been struck to avoid bankruptcy, but the financial fallout is terrifying ordinary people.

Simos Mantzouranos runs a small printing business and is furious at what he believes is the EU bullying Cyprus into accepting a deal.

He told Sky News: "It feels like we're a small fish that has been forced into a hole only to be eaten by a big shark.

Simos Mantzouranos believes Cyprus has been bullied into the deal

"Everything is on hold now but people will take their money out of Cyprus, the Russians certainly will, so businesses will close - it's going to be a bad few years for my country."

There are also growing calls for Cyprus to ditch the euro and revert to the Cypriot pound.

Nicholas Papadopoulos, chairman of the Cypriot parliament's finance committee, told Sky News: "We wish to stay in the eurozone - but after the decisions of the European Union I think that exiting the eurozone is something that needs to be explored."

Part of the EU deal means the second biggest bank in Cyprus will be wound up.

Maria Constantinou woke up to the news from Brussels that the bank she joined as a teenager in 1988 would be closing.

In a Nicosia cafe, the 43-year-old told Sky News: "It is scary, like a horror movie but it is real."

Her husband works in IT at the same bank, they have four children and now face financial ruin.

She added: "It is my life. I still cannot believe what happened - we have loans to repay, we have the children to help them study to the universities.

"We don't know what to do - everything has changed."

Readjusting to the new financial order will be a slow painful process. And there is an even more immediate worry: cash is king at the moment in Cyprus but ATMs are rationing people's euros.

Many people have resorted to stashing wads of cash in their homes - surviving this financial crisis is forcing people to do whatever they have to to look after their families.

It will be like that for some time.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cyprus Facing 30% Unemployment Amid Crisis

By Tom Parmenter, Sky Correspondent, In Nicosia

Cyprus is facing a recession so deep that 30% of people may find themselves unemployed.

The EU bailout means massive restructuring of the financial system, the inevitable loss of many investors and thousands of people seeing their jobs disappear.

Professor Hari Tsoukas, a business analyst, told Sky News: "Unemployment is likely to at least double from 14% to at least 25% and possibly up to 30%. Not so long ago it was just 5%.

"It is a huge challenge now facing the Cypriot people, we have been resilient before and we will need all that again," he added.

For a week now people have been rationed to how much they can withdraw from cashpoints.

Wages have not been paid, businesses have been unable to pay suppliers and the whole economy has seized up.

Banks have been closed since March 16 but Cyprus' president Nicos Anastasiades has said they will reopen on Thursday.

A woman and child beg for money in Nicosia

However, he added that the island will introduce some limits on transactions to prevent a huge outflow of money.

Politicians have been struggling to come up with a plan that would raise enough funds to qualify for an international bailout.

In a televised address to the country, the president said: "The central bank will implement capital controls on transactions. I want to assure you that this will be a very temporary measure that will gradually be relaxed."

He did not specify what limitations would be imposed on transactions.

He said he had taken "painful decisions to save the country from bankruptcy" and pledged Cyprus "would find its feet again".

It follows a bailout deal which reports suggest could see Bank of Cyprus savers with deposits above 100,000 euros (£85,000) hit with a levy of "around 30%".

In a smart fourth floor apartment Sky News met one Cypriot woman prepared to show us where she has been stashing her money.

Fearful of losing control of her cash by leaving it in the bank she now has a daily routine of hiding it in drawers or cupboards around her bedroom.

She didn't want to be identified but said: "You just want to know your money is safe, this is quite small scale but it is all I can do."

Her flat was burgled last year so she is taking no chances - every time before she leaves home for over an hour she collects together her growing stash of notes and takes it with her stuffed in her handbag.

She hates having to do it but while banks remain closed some people feel they have little option but to take control of their own money.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

North Korea Rocket Strike Threat Targets US

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

North Korea has put its military on a 'battle-ready' status with strategic rocket units ordered to prepare for possible strikes against the US mainland, Hawaii and Guam according to the country's state media.

North Korea threatens a missile attack on Guam, Hawaii and the US mainland

"The Korea People's Army top command declares that all artillery troops including strategic rocket units and long-range artillery units are to be placed under class-A combat readiness," the Korean Central News Agency said.

North Korea has previously threatened a nuclear attack on the US

The announcement came as images were released showing a new round of military exercises by the isolated state.

The still photographs show what appears to be sea-borne assault using hovercraft and an artillery drill using multiple rocket launchers.

It's not thought to have the technology to hit the US with an atomic weapon

North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, is pictured visiting troops and watching the exercise from a vantage point above the unidentified beach on the country's east coast.

The photographs, released by KCNA, are accompanied by language which matches weeks of rhetoric.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is photographed visiting troops

According to the news agency, Kim Jong Un "stressed the need to destroy and wipe away any enemy who lands on their coast through strong firepower and ordered the soldiers of the heroic Korean People's Army to display their mettle in the great war against the enemies".

"Crazy like wild wolves threatened with fire, send all of them to the bottom of the sea," Kim is quoted as saying.

Rockets and long-range artillery have been ordered to be combat ready

The exercise and the photographs of it are a clear response to a series of month long exercises taking place across the border in South Korea involving American and South Korean troops and naval forces.

It has been an uneasy few months on the Korean peninsula with rhetoric and threatening language at a level not seen for several years.

Order was issued in a statement from the North's military "supreme command"

The increased tension comes as Seoul marks the third anniversary of the sinking of a South Korean warship. On March 26, 2010, the Cheonan was torpedoed by the North Korean military with the loss of 46 sailors.

In December, North Korea launched a satellite into orbit in the tip of a rocket. Their claim then was that this was all part of Pyongyang's legitimate right to pursue a space programme.

The fresh threat marks the latest fiery rhetoric from Pyongyang

Few countries bought that claim, believing instead that it represented the latest move in North Korea's development of a ballistic missile programme.

The rocket launch was followed in February by an underground nuclear test and a sharp escalation in tension.

The warning follows joint military drills by the US and South Korean forces

Faced with unprecedented UN sanctions, backed by his historical ally China, Kim Jong Un admitted that the rocket launch and nuclear test were indeed all part of his ideological desire to destroy America and her allies.

The annulment of the armistice agreement with South Korea and repeated threats to attack the South over the past three weeks have, so far, been exposed as nothing more than bluff and bluster.

US military bases in the Pacific are in range of its medium-range missiles

However, with unattributed cyberattacks in Seoul, repositioned missile defence systems on America's west coast and the presence of US B-52 bombers in the skies above the Korean peninsula, there's no doubt minds across the region and beyond are very focused on a fragile peace and an unpredictable regime.

The South says it has seen no signs of an imminent military action

More follows...

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Russian Civilians Join Raids On Migrant Camps

By Katie Stallard, Moscow Correspondent

Russia's federal migration service has introduced civilian patrols as part of a crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Civic-minded citizens in Moscow can now sign up to take part in organised raids of migrant housing and street patrols.

The volunteers are supervised by a migration service official and not allowed to use force, unless in self-defence.

Sky News filmed a raid on a suspected migrant workers' camp in a suburb on the outskirts of Moscow.

The volunteers gathered in a supermarket car park at 6am. It was snowing heavily and the temperature was -10C, but the group seemed enthusiastic as they piled out of their 4x4s to discuss the plan.

We set off in convoy towards the camp along a rough track deep in snow. We were told the area is close to a large open-air market where many of the migrants find work.

Volunteers gather in a car park ahead of a raid

At first sight the camp was little more than a shanty town - a ramshackle collection of sheds and garages, improvised shelters against the depths of the Russian winter.

The patrol fanned out on foot, banging on doors and shouting for the people inside to come out.

Most meekly obeyed, zipping up jackets and pulling on hats as they stepped out into the snow and torchlights.

We saw one man breaking down a door with his shoulder after the occupants refused to open the door - a bewildered-looking man in his underwear was ordered to get dressed and get outside.

For the most part the volunteers were entirely civil and polite, and that was perhaps the most striking feature of what was happening - that these were not skin-headed neo-nazis or right wing extremists - to a person they seemed to be reasonable, educated Russians, who genuinely believe migrant workers have no place in their country.

Statistics suggest that view is not in the minority.

A migrant (left) is led away during a raid

According to the most recent research by the independent Levada Centre, 71% of Russians believe an increase in migration leads to an increase in crime.

Some 65% want the number of migrants in Russia - whether here legally or illegally - to be reduced, and 73% support 'strong measures' to deport those here illegally.

Members of the patrol claimed there was a clear link between migrant workers and crime.

The lead volunteer told us he believed migrants were responsible for the vast majority of local criminal activity.

"99% of crime." He explained, "Most often it is of course guests from the east and from the Caucasus."

Another man gestured to the park behind and said: "There is so much stuff going on. They are stealing, raping, right there in the parks."

But that attitude can leave migrant workers vulnerable to exploitation - leaving them feeling they have few rights and even fewer places to turn if they find themselves in trouble in Russia.

A migrant called Bakia says she had been forced to work as a sex slave

Sky News met an Uzbek woman who was freed in an anti-slavery raid in Moscow last year. She told us she was forced to work as a slave for almost 10 years; cleaning, stacking shelves and serving customers in a shop.

Bakia said she was beaten and made to sleep in a basement, but that she could not escape because her children were being kept in a flat elsewhere.

She was rescued along with her six-year-old son, who she says has health problems linked to malnutrition and damage to his legs from being tied to a radiator.

Bakia says she also had a daughter, Camilla, who was taken from her shortly after the birth but she doesn't know what has happened to her.

She has no papers so it is difficult to verify her claims, but she says she has tried repeatedly to report her daughter missing to the police, and a charity has now taken up her case, but four months after her release, she told us no-one is looking for her child.

Bakia said: "Thank God my son is with me, even though he is disabled. My daughter, my daughter, well if they don't want to do this I will go and look for her myself."

She told us she didn't want to leave Russia without finding her daughter, but that it was very clear they were not welcome here.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kercher: Court To Decide On Knox Re-Trial

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter

Murdered Meredith Kercher's sister has spoken of the ''unanswered questions'' surrounding the death ahead of today's final appeal.

Stephanie Kercher said she hoped for answers as Italian Supreme Court judges decide whether Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito should stand trial again or confirm their appeal hearing which saw them sensationally cleared of the brutal killing.

Meredith, 21, was found semi-naked and with her throat cut in her bedroom in the house she shared with fellow student Ms Knox and two other women in the town of Perugia.

Her sister said: "There are lots of questions without answers and that's why we are looking for the truth. We miss Meredith terribly and nothing will bring her back. We hope that the Supreme Court hearing will help to find some answers to what happened that night in November 2007 when our lives changed forever.

"'We still get messages of support from all over the world. Meredith will never be forgotten but it's also important not to forget what happened, a beautiful young girl, my little sister, taken away from us too early in a brutal manner, with many aspects to still clarify.''

Ms Knox, 25, and Mr Sollecito, 29, are said to be anxiously awaiting the outcome of the hearing in Rome which will take place at the imposing Supreme Court building on the banks of the River Tiber.

Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were acquitted on appeal

Judges will rule whether there are grounds for a new trial or if the case against them should uphold the appeal verdict of October 2011 which cleared them of the murder after they had initially been found guilty in 2009, with Ms Knox getting 26 years and Mr Sollecito, 25 years in jail.

The case made headlines around the world amid tales of sex games and drugs and there were traumatic scenes when they were convicted initially and when they were cleared after a fresh hearing heard how the police investigation had been bungled and was riddled with flaws.

Defence lawyers and experts acting for the pair revealed how evidence had been contaminated or poorly handled by forensic teams and that the conviction should be considered unsafe.

They were immediately freed with Ms Knox returning to her home in Seattle while Mr Sollecito went back to Bisceglie on the southern Italian coast near Bari.

Under Italian law there are three tiers of the judicial system and Monday's hearing in Rome will be behind closed doors with neither of them in attendance, with only their lawyers representing them.

A panel of judges will rule whether the Italian legal code was applied correctly and fairly in both trials and if they find grounds they can order a retrial - as prosecutors in Perugia have demanded - or they can close the case completely.

The case will decided purely on paperwork and legal documents with no new witnesses giving evidence and neither of them will be in court and a decision is expected by late this evening.

Meredith Kercher's mother, brother and sister

Luciano Ghirga, Ms Knox's lawyer, said: "She is very anxious about the hearing but she is waiting for it knowing full well that the outcome is very important.'"

Since returning to the US she has maintained a low profile in Seattle although she has written a book about her four years in an Italian jail and she is due to give an interview to American TV station ABC next month ahead of its release.

Mr Sollecito has also written a book and has already given an interview on Italian TV about the case where he said he and Ms Knox were no longer lovers but they were still in touch - he visited her earlier this year and they speak on Skype regularly.

He is now studying in Verona and they have always insisted they are innocent of Leeds University student Meredith's murder. She had only been in Italy for two months before she was killed having arrived from Coulsdon for a year long course as part of her degree.

His father, Francesco, said: "'He is working hard on his studies. He's working on a project involving the movement of surgical instruments during operations. He is calm and serene even if we are all in a state of apprehension.''

During the investigation and trial much was made of Ms Knox's character with prosecutors saying she was highly sexual and had manipulated Mr Sollecito - but her lawyers dismissed the theory.

Drifter Rudy Guede is serving 16 years for the murder having initially being sentenced to 30 but this was later reduced on appeal.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cyprus Bailout Deal Wins Eurozone Approval

Cyprus has secured a 10bn euro (£8.5bn) bailout, saving the country from a banking system collapse and bankruptcy.

In return for the rescue funds, Cyprus must restructure its banking sector under an EU-IMF plan approved by eurozone ministers earlier today.

The country's second-largest bank, Popular Bank of Cyprus, known as Laiki, will effectively be shut down and split into a "good bank" and a "bad bank".

Deposits below 100,000 euros (£85,509) in Laiki will be safeguarded and transferred to the Bank of Cyprus, the so-called "good bank".

Christine Lagarde and the German finance minister at the Eurogroup

Deposits above 100,000 euros, which under EU law are not insured, will be frozen and will be used to resolve debt. It is not yet clear how severe the losses will be for these depositors.

The move will yield 4.2bn euros (£3.6bn) overall - the bulk of the 5.8bn euros (£4.9bn) Cyprus needed to raise as part of the bailout conditions.

The deal emerged hours before a deadline to avert a collapse of the banking system, which could have forced Cyprus to exit the euro.

It followed fraught negotiations between Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and the troika of creditors - the International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank.

Banks have been closed this past week

"We've put an end to the uncertainty that has affected Cyprus and the euro area over the past week," said Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who chairs the meetings of the 17-nation eurozone's finance ministers.

"We believe that this will form a lasting, durable and fully financed solution," said Christine Lagarde, chief of the IMF.

After the eurozone's finance ministers' approval, several national parliaments, such as Germany's, must also approve the bailout deal, which might take another few weeks. EU officials said they expect the whole programme to be approved by mid-April.

Cyprus' finance minister Michalis Sarris said: "It's not that we won a battle, but we really have avoided a disastrous exit from the eurozone. A long period of uncertainty and insecurity surrounding the Cyprus economy has ended."

Cyprus' outsized banking sector was crippled by exposure to crisis-hit Greece.

In a vote on Tuesday, the country's 56-seat parliament dismissed a levy on depositors as "bank robbery".

The country's finance minister Michael Sarris then spent three fruitless days in Moscow trying to win help from Russia, whose citizens have billions of euros at stake.

Cypriots were outraged by the original proposal and have been queuing at cash machines ever since bank doors were closed last weekend on the orders of the government.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Breivik: Killer Asks To Attend Mother's Funeral

Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik has asked for permission to attend the funeral of his mother, it has emerged.

The murderer, who killed 77 teenagers and adults in a shooting spree and a bomb attack in 2011, is waiting to hear whether the authorities will approve.

His mother Wenche Behring Breivik died on Friday after suffering a long illness. She was 66.

Breivik and his mother met earlier this month at Ila Prison, where the convicted killer is being held. They said goodbye to each other then.

Tord Jordet, Breivik's lawyer, said: "He was allowed to say goodbye. They both knew it would be the final meeting. I spoke to him this morning. He was grieving. It was very sad news to him."

Breivik and Mr Jordet also discussed whether the confessed mass murderer would like to attend her funeral. "He would like to do so but it is up to the prison (board) to decide," Mr Jordet said.

The 34-year-old right-wing fanatic committed Norway's worst peacetime massacre on July 22, 2011.

He detonated a car bomb outside government offices in Oslo, killing eight people, and then drove to the island of Utoya, where he massacred 69 in a shooting spree at the summer camp of the governing Labour Party's youth wing.

Many of those he killed were teenagers.

Five years before the massacre, Breivik had moved back to live with his mother and ended all contact with others in his social circle.

His mother never attended Breivik's 10-week trial for health reasons, but in a statement read in court she said her son had fabricated information.

Breivik and his mother had been having telephone contact in recent months because she was not able to visit him in prison for health reasons, Mr Jordet said.

"He told me they had completely opposite ideological views but they had a good mother and son relationship," the lawyer said. "He regarded her as a good mother."

Last year, the Oslo District Court found Breivik guilty of terrorism and premeditated murder for the attacks. He was given a 21-year prison sentence that can be extended if he is considered a threat.

The self-styled anti-Muslim militant denied criminal guilt, saying he was a commander of a resistance movement aiming to overthrow European governments and replace them with "patriotic" regimes that will deport Muslim immigrants.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cyprus Agrees 20% Tax On Bank Deposits

Politicians in Cyprus have reportedly agreed a new one-off levy on savers in order to secure a European bailout.

The measures, yet to be confirmed by the country's President, include a 20% tax on savers with deposits over 100,000 euros at the country's largest bank, the Bank of Cyprus.

A 4% tax on deposits over 100,000 euros would be levied at other banks, a senior Cypriot official told Reuters.

Cyprus has to raise 5.8bn euros by Monday or face being kicked out of the single currency.

Eurozone finance ministers are due to meet on Sunday evening to see if the numbers Cyprus has agreed with its international lenders add up.

Bank workers shout during a protest outside the presidential palace

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades tweeted: "We are undertaking great efforts. I hope we have a solution soon."

The conservative leader, barely a month into the job and wrestling with Cyprus's worst crisis since a 1974 invasion by Turkish forces split the island in two, was due to lead a delegation to Brussels, also on Sunday, to meet heads of the "troika" - the EU, the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund - in a sign a deal might be near.

Government officials held talks throughout Saturday at the finance ministry with troika lenders. Angry demonstrators outside chanted "resign, resign!"

Its outsized banking sector crippled by exposure to crisis-hit Greece, Cyprus needs to raise the 5.8bn euros in exchange for a 10bn euro EU lifeline to keep the country's economy afloat.

But in a vote on Tuesday, Cyprus's 56-seat parliament rejected a levy on depositors, big and small, as "bank robbery", and the country's finance minister Michael Sarris spent three fruitless days in Moscow trying to win help from Russia, whose citizens have billions of euros at stake in Cypriot banks.

Rebuffed by the Kremlin, Mr Sarris said earlier on Saturday that talks with the troika were centred on a possibly levy of up to 25% on savings over and above 100,000 euros at failing Bank of Cyprus.

However, the situation remains fluid and other options, including a "voluntary haircut" in exchange for equity that would not require parliamentary approval, are said to still be on the table.

Ordinary Cypriots were outraged by the original proposal, and have been besieging cash machines ever since bank doors were closed last weekend on the orders of the government to avert a massive flight of capital.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More

Musharraf To Return To Pakistan Despite Threat

Pakistan's former military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, is expected return home after four years in exile - defying a Taliban death threat - to take part in the upcoming general elections.

The 69-year-old ex-dictator also faces criminal charges in three cases, one involving the assassination of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto, but said he does not fear arrest.

The Pakistani Taliban released a video threatening to unleash a squad of suicide bombers to assassinate the former leader if he sets foot in the country.

Mr Musharraf said he was prepared to risk any danger to stand for election on May 11, marking the first time an elected government has fulfilled its term and handed over power to another elected government.

"I don't get scared ... by such kind of threat … I am going back to save Pakistan," said Mr Musharraf, who escaped three al Qaeda assassination attempts as ruler.

Mr Musharraf is expected to arrive in Karachi on a scheduled flight from Dubai and make his way to the tomb of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the father and first president of Pakistan.

He plans to hold a public rally for his All Pakistan Muslim League party, but police said they had withdrawn permission following the Taliban threat. However, the party's information secretary said the rally would go ahead "at any cost".

Mr Musharraf has failed to follow through on previous promises to return home, but the likelihood of his return this time got a boost on Friday when a Pakistani court granted him pre-emptive bail.

This prevents his immediate arrest in three cases in which he is implicated, including Mrs Bhutto's death.                

Under the pre-emptive bail, he has 10 days to appear in court, which Mr Musharraf promised he would do.

He said he would "face these cases with bravery", adding that "elements in Pakistan and outside" were spreading rumours that he was not returning, but the granting of his bail would address some of those concerns.

The ex-president seized power in a bloodless coup as army chief of staff in 1999 and left the country after stepping down in August 2008, when Asif Ali Zardari was elected president after the murder of his wife, Mrs Bhutto.

14.59 | 0 komentar | Read More