Uganda Police Raid US Project Helping Gays

Police in Uganda have raided the offices of a US-funded project which provides health advice to homosexuals.

The move came after a controversial law, condemned as draconian by the West, threatened those engaging in gay sex with life imprisonment.

The bill passed through the Ugandan parliament in December after its architects agreed to drop a death penalty clause.

The Makerere University Walter Reed Project in the capital Kampala announced it had suspended its operations after one of its Ugandan staff was briefly held by police.

In a statement it said: "We are working with police to understand the circumstances under which this person was detained.

"Until we have greater clarity as to the legal basis for the police action, the operations of the programme are temporarily suspended to ensure the safety of staff and the integrity of the programme."

Anti-gay activists in Kampala march in support of the harsh new measures

Police said they had been following the suspect after receiving reports he was involved in "gay-related activities".

Spokesman Ibn Ssekumbi said: "For some time we have been following an individual whom we learnt has been conducting promotion and training activities related to homosexuality."

A US State Department official said the health project conducts important research into Ebola, Marburg disease and HIV. One of the project's aims is to develop vaccines for these diseases.

Ugandan gay activists say many homosexuals have been forced to flee their  homes in the weeks since the law came into force, apparently to escape angry mobs.

Some are reported to have been evicted by landlords who found out they were gay.

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni says homosexuality is "criminal"

In response, the US, one of the country's biggest sources of aid and other Western donors have halted or redirected around $118m (£71m) in aid .

Despite the criticism and calls for the law to be scrapped, it is popular among many Ugandans.

President Yoweri Museveni has accused the West of seeking to impose "social imperialism" on Africa and told a rally that Uganda could live without humanitarian aid.

He said gay people deserved to be severely punished as homosexuality was "criminal" and "cruel".

Uganda now has some of the toughest anti-gay laws on a continent where 37 states ban homosexuality.

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Mafia Boss 'The Professor' Arrested Again In UK

An alleged Italian mafia boss has been arrested on a fresh international warrant a week after he was told he was free to remain in the UK.

Domenico Rancadore had been told by a judge he could return to his home in Uxbridge, west London, after prosecutors withdrew their appeal against a ruling that blocked his extradition to Italy.

But he was arrested in Uxbridge on Friday night on a European Arrest Warrant by officers from Scotland Yard's extradition unit.

The 65-year-old was taken into police custody and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London later this morning.

Scotland Yard said in a statement: "(The warrant) alleges that he has an outstanding sentence of seven years' imprisonment to serve for participation in Mafia association between December 17, 1987 and April 13, 1995 in Palermo, Italy."

The warrant was issued in Italy and certified by the UK's National Crime Agency.

The house in Uxbridge where Rancadore was arrested

Rancadore - known as "The Professor" - was arrested in Britain last August after 20 years on the run.

He had won his legal fight against extradition on March 17 on the basis that returning to Italy's overcrowded prisons would breach his human rights.

At a hearing last week, the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed they had lodged an appeal, but said it was not served within the statutory time limit and was therefore being withdrawn.

Rancadore fled to England in 1994 with his wife and two children, and lived under the false name of Marc Skinner.

Italian authorities claim he was a leading figure in the Cosa Nostra, a Sicilian mafia group controlling Trabia near Palermo.

He is one of Italy's most wanted criminals and was sentenced to seven years in prison in his absence.

Italian police claim he was involved in extortion, racketeering and drug trafficking.

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Afghanistan Goes To The Polls In Historic Vote

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

An historic day for Afghanistan - an election to decide a new president and for the first time in the country's history there is to be a democratic transition of power.

Just how long the process will take is the key.

As polling stations opened, across the country 12 million people are eligible to vote, although in some of the most insecure areas, like Helmand, where threats from the Taliban are highest the turnout will likely be small.

One vote over 50% would put a new man in office in the first round, although many suspect it will likely go to a second round of two candidates in May.

Despite threats from the Taliban to attack anyone taking part, there have been huge numbers at rallies for the next would be leader.

Ashraf Ghani, ex-finance minister and recognised honest broker, was greeted with near hysteria as he closed his campaign in the capital.

The election takes place amid tight security in face of Taliban threats

He is part of the past for sure but he has worked hard on the youth and women vote and also, controversially, joined up with the former warlord, Abdul Rashid Dostum, to bring in crucial votes from Afghanistan's northern regions.

"This hand is clean of blood and this hand is clean of corruption," he said, symbolically raising his arms.

He added: "I do have a youth agenda as chancellor of the Kabul university, I'm the only one who has engaged with the youth, and as you've seen I've thanked them for accepting me in their ranks."

Abdullah Abdullah, former foreign minister then de-facto leader of the opposition to President Karzai, who beat him to the top job last time round, says he is confident of winning.

But as he finished his campaign in a low-key late-night press conference at his heavily guarded Kabul home, he warned of the potential for fraud and interference from the departing president.

Twelve million people are eligible to vote

He said: "There is no doubt there are those concerns and that's why I'm emphasising a lot on the institutions and on the government of Afghanistan, and also on the public to be aware of this and the importance of this.

"That will be a recipe for disaster not only for the international community but first and foremost for the people of Afghanistan."

He added that he expects to win in the first round if there is no ballot stuffing like there was in 2009.

The whole election takes place in the midst of huge security concerns.

Hundreds of thousands of police and army are on duty across the country, while tens of thousands of election monitors and party workers are watching for violence and fraud.

A big day for Afghanistan as the world watches on.

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Afghan Voters Vow To Defy Taliban Threat

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

Mirrored wrap around visors, head-to-toe body armour and machine guns held prone for fighting. Gloved hands directing cars and trucks into security search areas. No talking, no discussion. This is the street outside my hotel. This is security in Kabul.

It doesn't matter where you go in this city, you will be confronted by security at a level never seen here before.

It doesn't mean it is safe of course, the Taliban have infiltrated Kabul, by-passing the so-called "Ring of Steel", carrying out a number of deadly attacks in recent days.

But the checks and body searches go on and they are getting more intense as polling day nears.

The Taliban threats against the public wanting to take part in the presidential election are real, but joining just a few of the campaign rallies it is clear that people are not being put off.

The 'ring of steel' around Kabul

They have turned out in their thousands to listen to the would-be leaders, ignoring bomb warnings and actual attacks across much of the country.

The Afghan population wants change and voting is being seen as the way forward.

The election is hugely significant on a variety of levels but that it will be the first democratic transition of power in the country's entire history is in itself both remarkable and a sign of progress - well, sort of.

The fact that all the front runners have been involved in politics and government in one form or other for decades hardly indicates a radical change any time soon.

Election workers with a donkey carrying ballot boxes in Balkh Province

And given the terrible security threat from the Taliban and the grinding poverty that depicts normal life for the vast majority of the population, whoever wins can hardly promise a new life overnight or probably over years.

Hunched over a gas flame, Ghandi Gul heats water to make tea for her five children in the one room where they live.

Her husband died in a rocket attack so she makes a living washing clothes for her neighbours while her children sell street rubbish as scrap.

In good times the six of them live on £17 a week. They want more money for sure, but above all they want more security.

"The only thing we can expect from the election from whoever wins is security," she told me.

"We know that poverty will not change. The only thing we are concerned with is security."

It will be the first democratic transition of power in Afghanistan history

That is an overriding sentiment here. Basically if there is better security then prosperity will rise as there will be more work.

As one man told me as he stopped to ask why we were filming: "You can't look for work if you get blown up waiting at the factory gate."

President Hamid Karzai's days are over, but will the years ahead see major changes, better security, more prosperity?

In truth nobody knows and many doubt it. But they have an opportunity to vote in a new government.

For Afghanistan that is a new luxury and there aren't many luxuries here.

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Missing Plane: Race To Find MH370 Black Box

Australian authorities have said they are launching the underwater hunt for the black box from missing flight MH370.

Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston told a news conference: "The Australian Navy and the Royal Navy have today commenced a sub-surface search for emissions from the black box pinger from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

"Using the towed pinger from the US Navy on Australian defence vessel Ocean Shield and a similar capability on HMS Echo, the two ships will search a single 240km (149 miles) track converging on each other."

A pinger locator can detect signals from the flight recorder

As the extensive search wears on, Malaysia's opposition leader has accused the government of deliberately concealing information about the missing plane.

Anwar Ibrahim, who personally knew the pilot of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, called for an international committee to take over the Malaysian-led operation, saying "the integrity of the whole nation is at stake".

The hunt for wreckage in the southern Indian Ocean is relying on the plane's black box recorders emitting pings that can be detected by equipment on board the ships.

A pinger locator being towed by Australia's Ocean Shield vessel

But the battery-powered recorders stop transmitting about 30 days after a crash.

With the clock ticking down since MH370 went missing on March 8,  Mr Houston acknowledged time is running out for search crews.

Mr Houston said: "The locater beacon will last about a month before it ceases its transmissions - so we're now getting pretty close to the time when it might expire."  

Locating the data recorders and wreckage after the devices stop working is possible, but incredibly difficult.

The area the ships are searching was chosen based on hourly satellite pings the aircraft gave off after it vanished from radar on its route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

That information, combined with data on the estimated speed and performance of the aircraft, had led them to that specific part of the ocean, Mr Houston said.

Because the US Navy's pinger locator can pick up black box signals up to a depth of 6,100m (20,000ft), it should be able to hear the devices even if they are lying in the deepest part of the search zone - about 5,800m (19,000 ft) below the surface - if it gets within range of the black boxes.

But the task for search teams is hampered by the size of the search area and the fact the pinger locator must be dragged slowly through the water at just one to five knots, or one to six miles per hour.

Finding floating wreckage is key to narrowing the search area, as officials can then use data on ocean currents to try and backtrack to the spot where the Boeing 777 entered the water - and where the data recorders may be.

Ships with helicopters on board have been helping with the search

Despite weeks of fruitless searching, Mr Houston said he hadn't given up hope something would be found.

"I think there's still a great possibility of finding something on the surface," he said. "There's lots of things in aircraft that float."

The search area has shifted each day, as the investigative team continues to analyse available radar and satellite data while factoring in where any debris may have drifted due to ocean currents and weather.

Mr Houston said: "I think we've probably got to the end of the process of analysis. And my expectation is that we're into a situation where the data we've got is the data we've got and we'll proceed on the basis of that."

He said it was unlikely that any additional pinger locators would join the search any time soon as they are in limited supply.

For relatives of passengers on flight MH370, the agonising wait goes on

Although Australia is coordinating the ocean search, the investigation into the plane's disappearance ultimately remains Malaysia's responsibility.

Australia, the US, Britain and China have all agreed to be "accredited representatives" of the investigation.

Four Australian investigators are in Kuala Lumpur to help with the investigation and ensure that information on the aircraft's likely flight path is fed back to search crews. 

The two countries are still working out who will be in charge of the analysis of any wreckage and flight recorders that may be found, Mr Houston said.

On Thursday, the HMS Echo reported one alert as it searched for sonic transmissions from the missing plane's flight data recorder, but it was quickly discounted as a false alarm, the search coordination centre said.

False alerts can come from animals such as whales, or interference from shipping noise.

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Missing Plane: Malaysia 'Concealing Information'

Malaysia Plane Mystery 'May Never Be Solved'

Updated: 2:01pm UK, Wednesday 02 April 2014

A Royal Navy submarine has joined the search for flight MH370 in the Indian Ocean - as Malaysia's police chief said the investigation was focusing on the pilots and cabin crew.

Khalid Abu Bakar said criminal investigations were continuing to focus on four possibilities: hijacking, sabotage and personal or psychological problems of those on board.

He said all 227 passengers had been "cleared" of any possible involvement.

Though authorities had not ruled out the possibility the jet may have suffered mechanical problems, the evidence suggested the aircraft was deliberately diverted from its planned flight path, he said.

Mr Bakar also warned the cause of the tragedy may never come to light.

"We have to clear every little thing," he said.

"At the end of the investigations, we may not even know the real cause. We may not even know the reason for this incident."

The cargo and the food served on the plane are also being looked at to eliminate possible sabotage, he added.

As the clock counts down on the battery life of the black box's locator beacon, the search has been bolstered by British submarine HMS Tireless, which has now arrived in the Indian Ocean.

The Trafalgar Class submarine is expected to try to detect the all-important device, which could hold the key to unravelling the mystery.

Royal Navy survey ship HMS Echo is also due to join the international search operation later. Nine planes and nine other ships are also still involved in the hunt 930 miles west of Perth, Western Australia.

A defence source said: "A Royal Navy Trafalgar Class submarine has recently arrived in the area and is conducting search operations for the flight recorders.

"HMS Tireless holds advanced search capabilities, but the task in hand remains a tall order and the search area is immense."

Flight MH370 went missing on March 8 with 239 people on board. The aircraft took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, bound for Beijing.

The three-week search operation has repeatedly shifted its focus as experts analyse radar and satellite data on the plane's movements.

Relatives of the passengers were meeting airline and Malaysian government representatives at a closed-doors meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.

Family members have repeatedly accused the authorities of lying to them and holding back information.

Multiple sightings of possible debris have so far failed to turn up any sign of the aircraft, which investigators say - beyond reasonable doubt - went down in the Indian Ocean.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott called the disappearance "one of the great mysteries of our time" and again promised to continue the hunt for as long as needed.

The Australian premier is also set to meet Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in Perth later.

"We owe it to the world, we owe it to those families to do whatever we reasonably can get to the bottom of this," Mr Abbot said.

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Ebola: Guinea Facing 'Unprecedented Epidemic'

Doctors Without Borders has said a deadly Ebola outbreak in Guinea has become an "unprecedented epidemic", as neighbouring Liberia confirms its first cases.

In a statement, the charity, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said the geographic scale of the epidemic was unmatched.

MSF coordinator Mariano Lugli said: "We are facing an epidemic of a magnitude never before seen in terms of the distribution of cases in the country."

Mr Lugli said previous outbreaks handled by MSF were "much more geographically contained and involved more remote locations."

He added: "This geographical spread is worrisome because it will greatly complicate the tasks of the organisations working to control the epidemic."

Medics must wear sealed biohazard suits when caring for the victims

Guinea's health ministry has reported 122 suspected cases, with at least 78 deaths linked to the virus. Of those there are 22 laboratory confirmed cases.

Some of the cases are in Guinea's capital Conakry. Liberia also confirmed its first cases overnight on Sunday.

One of two women who tested positive for the virus has died, while the other, her sister, has been isolated in a medical centre outside the capital Monrovia.

Sierra Leone is investigating five suspected cases, although none have yet been confirmed.

Macenta was one of the first towns in Guinea to report the virus

It is not only the geographic scale which makes this outbreak more severe.

There are five recognised strains of Ebola - four of which are deadly to humans.

The Guinean government says the strain it is currently observing is the 'Zaire' strain - the most aggressive of the five. It kills roughly 90% of its victims.

There is no known treatment or vaccine.

Ben Neuman, a virologist with the University of Reading, told Sky News: "The real worry is that this virus has been found in Conakry.

"This is a city where the population density is getting close to 10,000 per square kilometre and setting one of these at least mildly contagious viruses loose in that kind of population centre really has the makings of a humanitarian disaster."

Aid workers are transporting tons of medical equipment to affected areas

The outbreak has also spread panic among other countries in the region. 

Senegal has closed its border with Guinea and suspended weekly markets near the border to prevent the virus travelling further.

Sierra Leone has introduced a screening process on its border with Guinea, while regional airline Gambia Bird has delayed the launch of services to Guinea's capital. 

MSF has sent dozens of aid workers into Guinea in an attempt to prevent a further spread.

It said a total of 60 people, experienced in working on haemorrhagic fever, will be in the country by the end of the week.

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Royal Navy Submarine Joins MH370 Search

Full Transcript Of Last Contact With MH370

Updated: 12:36pm UK, Tuesday 01 April 2014

A transcript of the final conversations between the control tower and Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been released.

MAS 370 (Kuala Lumpur to Beijing)

PILOT-ATC RADIOTELEPHONY TRANSCRIPT

Departure from KLIA: 8 March 2014

ATC DELIVERY

12:25:53 MAS 370 Delivery MAS 370 Good Morning

12:26:02 ATC MAS 370 Standby and Malaysia Six is cleared to Frankfurt via AGOSA Alpha Departure six thousand feet squawk two one zero six

12:26:19 ATC ... MAS 370 request level

12:26:21 MAS 370 MAS 370 we are ready requesting flight level three five zero to Beijing

12:26:39 ATC MAS 370 is cleared to Beijing via PIBOS A Departure Six Thousand Feet squawk two one five seven

12:26:45 MAS 370 Beijing PIBOS A Six Thousand Squawk two one five seven, MAS 370 Thank You

12:26:53 ATC MAS 370 Welcome over to ground

12:26:55 MAS 370 Good Day

LUMPUR GROUND

12:27:27 MAS 370 Ground MAS370 Good morning Charlie One Requesting push and start

12:27:34 ATC MAS370 Lumpur Ground Morning Push back and start approved Runway 32 Right Exit via Sierra 4.

12:27:40 MAS 370 Push back and start approved 32 Right Exit via Sierra 4 POB 239 Mike Romeo Oscar

12:27:45 ATC Copied

12:32:13 MAS 370 MAS377 request taxi.

12:32:26 ATC MAS37..... (garbled) ... standard route. Hold short Bravo

12:32:30 MAS 370 Ground, MAS370. You are unreadable. Say again.

12:32:38 ATC MAS370 taxi to holding point Alfa 11 Runway 32 Right via standard route. Hold short of Bravo.

12:32:42 MAS 370 Alfa 11 Standard route Hold short Bravo MAS370.

12:35:53 ATC MAS 370 Tower

12:36:19 ATC (garbled) ... Tower ... (garbled)

MAS 370 1188 MAS370 Thank you

LUMPUR TOWER

12:36:30 MAS 370 Tower MAS370 Morning

12:36:38 ATC MAS370 good morning. Lumpur Tower. Holding point..[garbled]..10 32 Right

12:36:50 MAS 370 Alfa 10 MAS370

12:38:43 ATC 370 line up 32 Right Alfa 10. MAS 370 Line up 32 Right Alfa 10 MAS370.

12:40:38 ATC 370 32 Right Cleared for take-off. Good night.

MAS 370 32 Right Cleared for take-off MAS370. Thank you Bye.

LUMPUR APPROACH

12:42:05 MAS 370 Departure Malaysian Three Seven Zero

12:42:10 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero selamat pagi identified. Climb flight level one eight zero cancel SID turn right direct to IGARI

12:42:48 MAS 370 Okay level one eight zero direct IGARI Malaysian one err Three Seven Zero

12:42:52 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero contact Lumpur Radar One Three Two Six good night MAS 370 Night One Three Two Six Malaysian Three Seven Zero

LUMPUR RADAR (AREA)

12:46:51 MAS 370 Lumpur Control Malaysian Three Seven Zero

12:46:51 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero Lumpur radar Good Morning climb flight level two five zero

12:46:54 MAS370 Morning level two five zero Malaysian Three Seven Zero

12:50:06 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero climb flight level three five zero

12:50:09 MAS370 Flight level three five zero Malaysian Three Seven Zero

01:01:14 MAS370 Malaysian Three Seven Zero maintaining level three five zero

01:01:19 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero

01:07:55 MAS370 Malaysian...Three Seven Zero maintaining level three five zero

01:08:00 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero

01:19:24 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero contact Ho Chi Minh 120 decimal 9 Good Night

01:19:29 MAS370 Good Night Malaysian Three Seven Zero

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Chile Earthquake Triggers Tsunami: Five Dead

A tsunami has been triggered after a powerful 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Chile, with five people reported dead.

The Chilean navy says some areas in the north of the country were hit by waves 45 minutes after the quake was felt at 6.46pm (10.46pm BST) on Tuesday.

Waves measuring up to seven feet have been reported and a mass evacuation is under way as Chile's president Michelle Bachelet declared a state of emergency and northern parts of the country disaster zones.

Fires have broken out in Iquique

The tsunami alert will remain in place for Chile and Peru until at least 9.30am BST, officials have said.

Chile's Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo said four men and one woman had died either from heart attacks or being crushed. Several others have been seriously injured.

Politicians in Chile have ordered the "preventative evacuation" of hundreds of thousands of people from coastal areas, but this is being hampered by landslides which have blocked roads.

Terrified residents have flooded the streets desperate to reach higher ground.

The quake occured 62 miles (99km) northwest of Iquique

Chilean journalist Jorge Garreton told Sky News: "Northern Chile has been expecting an earthquake. There were a number of exercises in the recent past. People know where they have to go to the safety zones.

"The northern cities are low-lying so they have to go up to the mountains. They have been advised not to take vehicles but to walk."

The huge tremor occurred 62 miles (99km) northwest of the mining town of Iquique, near the Peruvian border.

Several fires have broken out in Iquique, while 300 inmates escaped from a women's prison amid the chaos, dozens of whom have been recaptured.

Chilean TV shows geological data from the magnitude-8.2 tremor

Thousands of homes have lost power and the government is sending in troops to prevent looting.

Mr Penailillo added: "We have taken action to ensure public order in the case of Iquique, where we've had a massive escape of more than 300 female prisoners from the Iquique jail, so that the armed forces and police can coordinate and provide tranquillity and security to the residents."

The tsunami warning initially placed the entire Pacific Coast of Latin America on alert but has now been downgraded to just Chile and Peru.

"An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicentre within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours," the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) said.

Residents of Chile's northern coastline evacuating

The quake happened just 12.5 miles (20.1 km) below the seabed - making it feel even more powerful.

The tremor shook buildings in parts of the nearby nations of Bolivia and Peru.

At least eight strong aftershocks followed in the first few hours, including a 6.2 tremor.

More aftershocks and even a larger quake cannot be ruled out, according to seismologist Mario Pardo at the University of Chile.

The area has been rocked by several quakes in the last two weeks. A 6.7 magnitude quake on March 16 prompted more than 100,000 people to briefly evacuate low-lying areas.

Residents prepare to evacuate to higher ground

US officials say there is no imminent threat of a tsunami along the coasts of Hawaii, Alaska, California, Oregon or Washington.

An 8.8 magnitude quake caused a tsunami that killed more than 500 people in Chile in February 2010.

Sky News's Greg Milam said: "They learnt a lot of lessons from the quake in 2010 about the need not only of getting the warnings out but also about giving people somewhere to go.

"They won't have supplies sitting in the shelters day by day but they will have capabilities to get those supplies there.

"There was an evacuation a couple of weeks ago. There was no tsunami on that occasion but that would have been a wake-up call, as the earthquakes here over the past few weeks have been a wake-up call about the need to be prepared."

More follows...

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Ukraine: Putin Orders 'Partial Withdrawal'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a "partial withdrawal" of troops from Ukraine's eastern border in an attempt to de-escalate tensions in the region.

Mr Putin told German Chancellor Angela Merkel about his move in a phone call on Monday afternoon.

The pair also discussed "further possible steps to stabilise the situation in Ukraine and Transdniestria (a breakaway Russian-speaking region of Moldova)," said Mrs Merkel's spokesman.

Russia's annexation of Crimea in southern Ukraine has sparked the biggest crisis in relations between the East and West since the end of the Cold War.

Ukrainian National Guard forces take part in military exercises near Kiev

Moscow has what Western leaders estimate are tens of thousands of troops massed near Ukraine's eastern border.

The Russian defence ministry said it was pulling back a battalion from the 15th motorised infantry brigade, but it was not clear if this was linked to a wider troop withdrawal.

There are fears Russia may try to seize more ex-Soviet states, and that Transdniestria may become the next Crimea.

On Sunday, the US announced it was giving Moldova $10m (£6.1m) to strengthen security on its border with Ukraine and Transdniestria.

US Assistant Secretary of State meets Moldova's President Nicolae Timofti

Moscow claims Moldova's capital Chisinau and Ukraine's new government have blockaded Transdniestria.

A Kremlin spokesman said: "The Russian leader spoke of the need to take effective measures aimed at removing the de facto external blockade of this region and at searching for a fair and comprehensive solution to the Transdniestria issue."

Meanwhile, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has announced plans to turn Crimea into a special economic zone, during a visit to the region where he chaired a government meeting.

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Guinea Facing 'Unprecedented Ebola Epidemic'

Doctors Without Borders has said an Ebola outbreak in Guinea has become an "unprecedented epidemic", as neighbouring Liberia confirms its first cases.

In a statement, the charity, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said the geographic scale of the epidemic was unmatched.

MSF coordinator Mariano Lugli said: "We are facing an epidemic of a magnitude never before seen in terms of the distribution of cases in the country."

Mr Lugli said previous outbreaks handled by MSF were "much more geographically contained and involved more remote locations."

Macenta was one of the first towns in Guinea to report the virus

He added: "This geographical spread is worrisome because it will greatly complicate the tasks of the organisations working to control the epidemic."

Guinea's health ministry has reported 122 suspected cases, with at least 78 deaths linked to the virus. Of those there are 22 laboratory confirmed cases.

Liberia also confirmed its first cases overnight on Sunday.

One of two women who tested positive for the virus has died, while the other, her sister, has been isolated in a medical centre outside the capital Monrovia.

Sierra Leone is investigating five suspected cases, although none have yet been confirmed.

Aid workers are transporting tons of medical equipment to affected areas

The flesh-eating virus was initially focused on Guinea's remote south-east. However, it took authorities six weeks to identify suspected cases, giving it time to spread to the country's heavily-populated capital and beyond. 

There is no known treatment or vaccine for Ebola which, depending on the strain, has a fatality rate of up to 90%.

The outbreak has spread panic among other countries in the region. 

Senegal has closed its border with Guinea and suspended weekly markets near the border to prevent the virus travelling further.

Sierra Leone has introduced a screening process on its border with Guinea, while regional airline Gambia Bird has delayed the launch of services to Guinea's capital. 

MSF has sent dozens of aid workers into Guinea in an attempt to prevent a further spread.

It said a total of 60 people, experienced in working on haemorrhagic fever, will be in the country by the end of the week.

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Drone Crashes Near Disputed Korean Border

An unmanned drone has crashed on a South Korean island close to the disputed maritime border with the communist North.

The unidentified aircraft fell on Baeknyeong island on the same day as artillery fire was exchanged in the area between forces from the North and South.

The South Korean military are reported to be examining any possible link to spying operations by Pyongyang.

An official is reported as saying the drone is up to 10 feet long, with a Japanese engine and Chinese parts, along with a small camera.

The drone is similar to another found in a border city last month.

The US and South Korea are carrying out joint military exercises

North Korea released footage last year of practice drones modified to crash into set targets, but is not thought to have unmanned craft capable of carrying out air strikes or long-range surveillance flights.

The discovery is likely to further heighten tensions in the area after Pyongyang carried out live firing drills that saw more than 100 shells fall in South Korean waters.

Seoul responded to what it branded "premeditated provocation", with its own artillery and scrambled fighter jets.

The US also condemned North Korea's actions as "dangerous and provocative".

Anxious residents sought refuge in shelters on Yeonpyeong island, where North Korean artillery killed four South Koreans in 2010.

The de facto maritime border between the two countries - the Northern Limit Line - is not recognised by Pyongyang.

The artillery exchange came a day after North Korea warned it had not ruled out a fourth test of its nuclear deterrent in retaliation for the US conducting "madcap nuclear war" exercises in South Korea this month.

Every year the US and South Korea conduct joint battle exercises involving around 12,500 US and as many as 200,000 South Korean troops.

The annual drills are regularly condemned by the North as preludes to a US invasion, though Washington insists the exercises are defensive.

China called for calm, while Russia said it was "worried" by Pyongyang's declaration it may conduct a further nuclear test.

North Korea last week tested two missiles capable of hitting Japan.

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Missing Plane: Busiest Day Yet In MH370 Search

Learning Lessons From Missing Flight MH370

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

By Ian Woods, Senior Correspondent

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

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

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

None has been implemented.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As for why the recommendations weren't acted upon? 

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

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

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

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

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

But in some places the deadline is 2020.  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

His co-pilot landed the plane safely in Texas. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Russian Cossacks Ready For Ukraine 'Rescue'

Russian Cossack leaders have plans to cross into the Ukraine to 'rescue' Russian-speaking communities in the east of the country, after providing militias which helped Vladimir Putin's Crimean land grab.

Atamans, or headmen, of two Cossack communities, said they had traditional claims on the lands on both sides of the border, adding: "One day we will take them back."

But they warned they would expect rewards for acting as the Russian president's muscle.

Romanticised by the Tsars but crushed by the communists, Russia's Cossack communities are rapidly rebuilding themselves and have become a powerful symbol of nationalist fervour.

Ukrainian soldiers are on alert for any Russian incursion from the east

To many Russians, they have betrayed their martial roots to become henchmen for the worst aspects of Mr Putin's rule.

Most recently, they have been seen on the streets of Crimea, often heavily armed and sometimes drunk, blockading Ukrainian troops in their barracks and running road blocks.

They were also filmed whipping members of the band Pussy Riot when the all-female group attempted a street performance at the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

They also admit being close to other hard-line Slav nationalists, Serbs in particular.

Pussy Riot members were whipped by Cossacks in Sochi

Earlier this month, Alexei Sushkov was responsible for hosting a group of black bearded Chetniks, Serb militia, in Sevastopol.

They serve under a death's head insignia and volunteered to help with Russia's invasion of the Crimea.

"You have to have great personal discipline. You need to be religious and of good character to be a Cossack," he confided.

Mr Sushkov is not so much a bear of a man as a man who looks like he ate a bear, and the meal was a little wanting.

Pro-Kremlin activists celebrate the incorporation of Crimea into Russia

He says that when the Cossacks invaded Crimea, they brought their own weapons or picked them up from local authorities when they arrived. They also turned up with an armoured personnel carrier - or a "mini-tank", as they called it.

He spoke with passion about how he wished he had been able to help the Serbs fight in the former Yugoslavia and of how they were bilked of the province of Kosovo, which won its independence after a civil war with Serbia and Nato bombardment of Serb forces.

"Russia was weak back then," he growled.

On the outskirts of Taganrog, a few miles from the border with Ukraine, Cossacks demonstrated how they were reviving the tradition of horsemanship which was central to the Cossack's culture.

Russian troops have been massing along the Ukrainian border

Their warlike tendencies and citizen cavalry meant their regiments became a celebrated part of Tsarist imperial life.

The Don Cossacks ruled a vast Host on both sides of the River Don for centuries and were given a degree of autonomy from central government.

When many sided with the White Russians against the Bolsheviks in the early part of the last century, though, they were crushed by the Soviet rulers who snuffed out any potential threats to the Party's hegemony.

They are gentle with their horses, ride with light hands, and are freely affectionate towards their mounts - kissing and cuddling them like beloved children.

Mounted Russian Cossacks on patrol near the Ukrainian border

Such tenderness is in sharp contrast to what they have planned, the details of which they won't share, in the neighbouring Ukrainian region of Donetsk.

"We are ready to go in whenever the time comes to protect our people," said Andrei Lovlenski, the ataman of the Taganrog Cossacks. "We are ready."

In Rostov-on-Don, a city of one million people and home to a vast helicopter factory, the Cossack revival is being driven by Timor Okkert, the local ataman.

He is a combat veteran of Russian conflicts in Georgia, Chechnya and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Cossacks check an empty building in the border city of Rostov-on-Don

Close to the Patriots' Sports Club where his Cossack disciples work out and learn martial arts, his offices house an impressive collection of swords and automatic weapons.

He led Cossacks into Crimea and is convinced he will be asked to go into other parts of Ukraine too.

"We've been used like this for many centuries," he said.

But what does he expect from Mr Putin in return?

Mr Okkert allows a brief sneer to cross his face.

"That's a rhetorical question," he said. "We're still waiting for an adequate answer from our government."

That's a warning - it means once unleashed, the Cossacks may be hard to control.

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Missing Plane: Passengers' Families Protest

Learning Lessons From Missing Flight MH370

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

By Ian Woods, Senior Correspondent

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

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

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

None has been implemented.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As for why the recommendations weren't acted upon? 

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

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

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

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

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

But in some places the deadline is 2020.  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

His co-pilot landed the plane safely in Texas. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

15.00 | 0 komentar | Read More