US And Germany United In Russia Warning

Germany and the US appear to have hardened their line on potential sanctions on Russia.

This is surprising and raises the stakes for what happens in the region.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Barack Obama both set a new threshold for action over Ukraine after meeting at the White House on Friday.

More severe "sectoral sanctions" have been held in reserve until now. Both leaders previously warning they could be used to punish a Russian military invasion.

But they are now threatening their use if elections in Ukraine on May 25 are disrupted.

Putin warned of "consequences" over military action

In the run up to their meeting much had been made of differences between the two allies.

German industry has been vigorously lobbying the Chancellor not to impose more severe sanctions. Germany is closer to Russia and has more trade than America, meaning it has more to lose than the US.

There have been differences of opinion on the degree to which sanctions should be ramped up. But if the two leaders are sincere in the warning issued to Russia from the White House Rose Garden those divisions have not prevented agreement on when more stringent sanctions should next be imposed.

Until now, sanctions have targeted individuals and some companies and banks. Assets have been frozen, visa bans imposed.

The White House has talked up the impact on the Russian economy. Others have pointed out it was heading in a negative direction before all this started.

But sectoral sanctions would be far more punishing, They would target entire sectors of the Russian economy - banking, mining, financial services, for instance.

It would hurt Russia, but its trading partners too.

While sceptics will question how much Mr Obama and Ms Merkel mean what they say, it is still significant that they said it.

A variety of factors may be pushing them closer.

Ukraine has launched a major offensive against pro-Russian forces

The German chancellor is reportedly furious about the continued detention of OSCE observers, some of them German, by pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine.

The US president poured scorn on Russian actions and propaganda, ridiculing the claim what is happening in Eastern Ukraine is a local protest.

Local protestors, he said, generally do not have the capacity to shoot down helicopters. The president knows recent polls show the Ukraine situation is weakening his popularity and approval ratings.

The German-US response makes escalation more likely.

It is hard to see how the May 25 elections can avoid disruption given the takeover of towns in the east of the country and the presence of shadowy militia.

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Ukraine: Clashes After Deadly Odessa Fire

Ukraine has launched a dawn military operation against pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country as bloody clashes between the two sides show no sign of letting up.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said Ukrainian forces had seized control of a television tower in Kramatorsk, near the rebel stronghold of Slavyansk where there was heavy fighting on Friday.

"We are not stopping," Mr Avakov wrote on his Facebook page, but gave no information on casualties.

The violence came hours after 31 people died after a building in Odessa was set on fire during clashes between protesters.

A pro-Russian activist fires a gun during clashes with rivals

Police said some people inside the trade union building were overcome by smoke and others were killed jumping from windows as they tried to escape.

Pro-Russian and pro-Kiev activists fought running battles as the southern port city saw some of its worst violence since President Victor Yanukovych was ousted in February.

The fire started as the Kiev government began a major offensive against pro-Russian activists who have seized government buildings in the east of the country.

Russia said it was "outraged" by the day's events in Odessa and denounced the "criminal irresponsibility" of the pro-Western authorities in Kiev.

A protester throws a petrol bomb at the trade union building in Odessa

Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement that it called on Ukraine and its "Western backers to end the anarchy and take responsibility for the Ukranian people".

It added that Moscow viewed the "tragic events" as a sign of Kiev's "criminal irresponsibility".

At an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council, the UK accused Moscow of "breathtaking" hypocrisy over the latest clashes.

People wait for rescue on an upper-storey ledge during the fire

The UK's ambassador to the UN Sir Mark Lyall Grant said Russia had "funded, equipped and directed" some of those involved in the insurgency.

"Many" pro-Russian separatists were said to have been killed as the Ukrainian army took control of checkpoints around Slavyansk.

Two Ukrainian soldiers - from the airborne brigade - were also killed as two military helicopters were shot down, acting president Oleksandr Turchynov said.

Russia said Kiev's offensive against the insurgents had "destroyed" the two-week-old Geneva agreement on cooling Ukraine's crisis.

The Ukrainian Security Service said one of the helicopters was shot down with a surface-to-air missile, adding that the sophisticated weapon undermined Russia's claims that Slavyansk was simply under the control of armed locals.

Sky News Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay, in Donetsk, said the Ukraine government is in a "very difficult position".

"If they want to take control of these towns they are going to have to put a lot of soldiers on the ground and bring in police from other parts of the country. If that happens it will absolutely be violent – it will only escalate further.

"If that happens, Russia has made it clear that would be a reason for them to intervene to protect ethnic Russians.

"If Kiev doesn't do that, they are going to see the eastern parts of the country drift away."

Russia has tens of thousands of troops massed near Ukraine's border, and Kiev claims its neighbouring country is preparing to invade and that it is stoking the unrest in the east.

Moscow denies the allegations, but has warned Russia would respond to attacks on Russian citizens or interests in the east, where insurgents have seized government buildings in around a dozen cities in towns.

Unlike eastern Ukraine, Odessa had remained largely untroubled since Mr Yanukovych was toppled.

But clashes erupted late on Friday between pro-Russians and government supporters in the key port on the Black Sea coast, 330 miles from the turmoil in the east.

Police said the deadly fire broke out in a trade union building Friday, but did not give details on how it started. Earlier, police said at least three people had died in a clash between the two sides.

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Over 2,000 Confirmed Dead In Afghan Landslide

More than 2,000 people have been confirmed dead in a landslide in Afghanistan after part of a hill above a village collapsed.

A village in Badakshan province, which borders Tajikistan in the country's northeast, has been buried in more than 300ft of mud (100 metres).

"More than 2,100 people from 300 families are all dead," Naweed Forotan, a spokesman for the Badakshan provincial governor, told the Reuters news agency.

The US has offered to help Afghanistan deal with the disaster

Hundreds of mud brick homes were destroyed when two landslides, triggered by torrential rain, hit in Argo district.

Villagers and dozens of police officers who are equipped with only basic digging tools have been searching for survivors since daylight broke today.

The United Nations says the focus is now on the more than 4,000 people who have been displaced by the disaster. 

There are also fears another section of the mountainside could collapse.

The focus is now on helping those displaced, according to the UN

The Afghan military flew rescue teams to the search area today, because the remote mountain region is served by only narrow, poor roads that have been damaged by more than a week of heavy rain.

NATO-led coalition troops are ready to assist, but have not yet been asked for help by the Afghan government.

US President Barack Obama has also offered to send help.

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British Fighters Filmed In Syria 'War Crime'

By Tom Rayner, Middle East Reporter

Video has emerged implicating British fighters in Syria in an apparent war crime.

Footage uncovered by researchers at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) shows jihadist rebels killing a prisoner, said to be a loyalist of President Bashar al Assad.

The incident is thought to have happened in the last two weeks near Raqqa in northern Syria.

The footage was posted on the Instagram account of a man believed to be from London.

The caption accompanying the video describes the prisoner as one of "Bashar [al Assad's] dogs" and says the killing was retribution for the deaths of four fellow rebels and the rape of a woman.

The ICSR monitors the social media accounts of hundreds of foreign fighters inside Syria.

Researchers say one of the executioners is a Briton seen in other videos

They believe the man that posted the video is part of a group of British fighters, known as Rayat al Tawheed, an affiliate of the Sunni jihadi movement ISIS, which controls large swathes of northern Syria.

Shiraz Maher, a senior ICSR researcher based at King's College London, said the killing of prisoners is a war crime in international law.

"It's incredibly serious," he said.

"We believe the main characters involved with Rayat al Tawheed come from London.

"We have deduced this based on our discussions with foreign fighters, our extensive record-keeping of foreign fighter activity in Syria, and our maintenance of social network maps which allows us to plot activity and associations in a visual form."

In one video a British fighter says a bullet is "the pen of the mujahid"

Although no audible English is spoken in the video itself, analysts from the ICSR believe they have identified one of the gunmen as being a British citizen.

A man is seen in the video firing shots into the body of the prisoner in the seconds after the initial bullet was fired by the main shooter.

Analysis of the gunman's physical build, wristwatch and balaclava led the ICSR to conclude he is the same man seen speaking English with a London accent in other videos posted by the group.

"We don't know if the prisoner was alive or dead when he fired, but he did partake in the execution, he did fire shots at the individual from his weapon, and we believe he is a British citizen," said ICSR researcher Joseph Carter.

On two separate videos posted on YouTube, the man identified as the gunman by the ICSR is heard berating the British Muslim community for failing to provide sufficient financial support for the jihad or the families the fighters have left behind.

The group lobbies for donations to buy more weapons and ammunition

"You know who you are, from the capital, the Midlands, up north, wherever you may be… it's a disgrace, that brothers know where these wives are, where these families are, and yet you are buying your nephew or your child a PlayStation 4 or taking them out to Nando's," he said.

The Government's counter-terrorism programme last week launched a campaign urging the families of young men planning to travel to Syria to intervene.

It is estimated that up to 400 Britons have travelled to fight or train in Syria in the last two years. 

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "This demonstrates why we have consistently called for the situation in Syria to be referred to the International Criminal Court.

"Horrific atrocities have been committed by both the Assad regime and by extremists. The international community must ensure that all those responsible are held to account.

"Our priority is to dissuade people from travelling, but any extremists should know we are prepared to take action to protect national security, and intelligence agencies and police are working to identify potential threats."

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Ukraine 'In Military Assault On Slavyansk'

A pilot has reportedly been killed and others wounded after pro-Russian separatists used anti-aircraft weapons to fight off Ukrainian forces.

Separatists in Slavyansk said they were fighting back against a "large-scale operation" to retake the city by Ukrainian forces.

A Reuters photographer said he had seen a military helicopter open fire on the outskirts of the town and separatists said two aircraft had been shot down.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov confirmed a pilot had been killed.

Posting on Facebook, he wrote: "Against Ukraine's special forces, terrorists used heavy artillery, including grenade launchers and portable anti-aircraft missile launchers.

"One pilot is dead and there are wounded."

Mr Avakov said Ukrainian troops had fought pro-Russian forces and managed to take control of nine checkpoints on roads around Slavyansk.

The action in Slavyansk, if confirmed, would mark the first significant military response by Kiev.

Vyacheslav Ponomarev, the insurgency-appointed mayor of Slavyansk, claimed self-defence forces had shot down two helicopters and taken one pilot hostage.

A spokesman for the separatists said there had been fighting in several areas around the city, with government armoured vehicles spotted on roads around Slavyansk.

The Ukrainian government claimed it had taken control of some checkpoints

An cameraman for the AP news agency reported seeing black plumes of smoke on the edge of the city and said an emergency siren had sounded at dawn.

The apparent move to retake the city came only hours after Russia staged a huge May Day parade on Moscow's Red Square on Thursday.

It is the first since the Soviet era - with workers holding banners proclaiming support for President Vladimir Putin after the seizure of territory from neighbouring Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials have been criticised for being slow to act to stop the rebels seizing swathes of its Donbass coal and steel belt.

Latest pictures from Slavyansk this morning

They launched an "anti-terrorist" operation in early April but have resisted large-scale measures so far.

Armed groups seeking union with Russia have seized a number of government buildings in towns in eastern Ukraine.

Russia's President Putin yesterday called on Ukraine to remove its forces from the east and south of the country.

But hours later Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, ordered that military conscription of men aged 18-25 be restarted because of "threats of encroachment on the nation's territorial integrity".

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North Korean Defectors' Harrowing Stories

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

In a series of rare and harrowing interviews, defectors have told Sky News of their horrific lives inside North Korea and their extraordinary journeys to escape the country.

The men and women agreed to talk from their new homes in the South Korean capital, Seoul.

Their interviews form part of a special programme to be shown on Sky News this weekend.

Two of the defectors had spent time inside North Korea's notorious political prison camps.

Another was a tank commander in the secretive state's army before managing to escape.

One women describes, for the first time, the torture she endured at the hands of North Korean prison camp guards.

From her Seoul apartment, Cheon YoungSuk sobbed uncontrollably as she recalled the torture.

"With that plank, they hit me until it split into two or they won't stop hitting me. It must split into two. Then the beating stops. They hit me like that, they starved me, kicked me," she said.

Lee Soon Shil managed to escape from North to South Korea

"During the torture the hardest thing was they made me kneel on a chair. The guard had ridges on the bottom of his shoes. He would stand on my bare skin and start twisting (his feet).

"When bare skin and shoe soles are twisted with pressure it grinds the skin. That was the most hard. That was the time I shouted. It hurt too much.

"Because it hurt too much I shouted to him to grind faster. Twist faster to finish it more quickly.

"They wrapped my hair on their hand and start smashing my face on the corner of the desk.... [they are] crueller than beasts. How could a human do that to another human?"

On Thursday, diplomats addressed the United Nations saying that North Korea must act immediately to halt its "litany of abuses" and "crimes against humanity".

"We note with concern that... human rights violations and crimes against humanity continue to take place with impunity," British UN representative Karen Pierce told the Geneva forum.

Sky's Mark Stone speaks to a defector in Seoul

North Korea denies the existence of prison camps. It reacted angrily to a United Nations Human Rights Council Commission of Inquiry (COI), published in February.

The COI conducted scores of interviews with defectors all of whom told stories similar to those heard by Sky News.

The UN body concluded that "systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations have been and are being committed" by North Korea.

It said that "the gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a state that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world".

It described a catalogue of "unspeakable atrocities" which amounted to "crimes against humanity".

The report is currently being considered at the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York.

The detailed findings of the report were also discussed at informal meeting of the UN Security Council two weeks ago. However, two members of the council, Russia and China, both historically allied to North Korea, failed to attend.

Speaking after the informal meeting, the chairman of the Commission of Inquiry, retired Australian judge Michael Kirby, said he was disappointed that China and Russia failed to attend but still hoped that the UN would now act against North Korea.

"The time has come for effective action from the United Nations," he said.

"If ever there is to be a case for referral of a matter to the International Criminal Court, it is difficult to imagine a stronger case than has been made out in the case of North Korea.

"If this is not a case for such a referral, it is difficult to imagine what would be."

The level of abuse uncovered in North Korea, both in the UN report and the interviews conducted by Sky News has been compared to some of the abuses during the holocaust of World War Two.

Mr Kirby said that the descriptions he heard reminded him of Holocaust abuses.

He said: "I never thought that in my professional life, my life as a judge or as an officer of the United Nations, I would sit there and hear descriptions that were so similar to the descriptions of what went on in those places.

"I thought we had said as a world community, 'never again'.

"I thought that was what the charter of the United Nations was about. I thought that was why in the charter it speaks of international peace and security and the protection of universal human rights together."

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IMF: Ukraine Crisis Sparks Russia 'Recession'

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned Russia is already in recession as a result of the effects of the crisis in Ukraine.

An economist working for the organisation, Antonio Spilimbergo, made the comment while confirming a huge downgrade in the IMF's growth forecast for 2014 from 1.3% to just 0.2%.

It had predicted the higher growth figure for Russia just three weeks ago.

The move was a response to heightened concerns over the effects of a flight in capital from Russia - expected by the IMF to top $100bn in 2014 alone.

A tightening of sanctions against Russian individuals and firms close to Russian president Vladimir Putin, imposed by the West in response to his annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, was also cited as a core reason for the downgrade.

The tensions surrounding the crisis in Ukraine have pushed relations between Russia and the West to their lowest since the end of the Cold War, sparking a wider flight from risk on world markets.

As the IMF amended its forecasts, Ukraine's acting leader warned his country's forces were on full combat alert in case of a Russia invasion.

Mr Spilimbergo was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying: "If we define recession as negative growth in two quarters in a row, then Russia from that point of view is experiencing recession.

"This all has a very negative effect on the investment climate. We expect that the fall in investments that already took place in 2013 will increase further this year."

Russia's economy contracted by about 0.5% in the first three months of the year compared with the previous quarter.

Standard and Poor's ratings agency on Friday downgraded Russia's ability to repay debt to BBB-, one notch above junk status, and retained its negative outlook.

Mr Spilimbergo, who acts as the IMF's mission chief to Moscow, agreed there were "considerable downside risks" and said the decision by Russia's central bank to raise interest rates last week would reduce inflation but would not be enough.

He argued the depreciation in the rouble over the past few months would put pressure on inflation and forecast consumer prices would rise more than 6% during the course of 2014.

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Ukraine: Militia Controls A Million Weapons

At the end of a completely anonymous road on the outskirts of the eastern Ukrainian town of Artemivsk is the village of Paraskoviyevka.

It has two claims to fame: one of the few still functioning salt mines in the region, and, more importantly, the largest cache of weapons in Europe - over a million of them and they are under the control of separatists.

Outside the gates of the mine, a cluster of tents mark the pro-Russian checkpoint guarding the entrance to this enormous supply of weapons.

The militia say they started guarding the mine in March when efforts were made to move some of the weapons. They say they will not allow anyone to get their hands on them.

But military experts and government sources in Kiev have warned that such a ready supply should not be guarded by groups who wish to separate from the country.

The storage facility was created in the 1950s by the Soviet Union.

About 150 metres below ground and stretching horizontally for kilometres the weapons age back to World War Two but in the 1990s huge numbers of Kalashnikov machine guns were stored in the facility as well.

The men guarding the store say the conditions underground are dry and perfect for storage.

The weapons are held in a storage facility at a salt mine

They say that the armaments, particularly the newer ones, are in perfect working order.

"If anyone got in there they could arm everyone in Ukraine," a masked separatist told me.

He added: "There are rifles, machine guns, heavy weapons and millions and millions of rounds of ammunition. We are here to stop the forces of the west and anyone else for that matter from getting their hands on them.

"For certain the fascists from Kiev won't get them."

The real point of this is that there is absolutely nothing anyone can do to take control of the store from the pro-Russia group.

Soldiers at a nearby camp are powerless here; their authority has gone and do nothing to move the blockade outside the mine.

To a degree this is a perfect microcosm example of what is happening across the east of the country.

Government institutions and police stations in virtually all the main towns and cities have fallen to the pro-Russia militia.

Tents mark the pro-Russian checkpoint guarding the entrance

It is an extremely well-organised takeover. Armed and masked men arrive and disarm police before moving to town halls and regional buildings.

At gunpoint, they impose their authority before civilian activists move in and start building barricades.

Asked who the enemy are, the usual reply is "Fascists from Kiev".

The truth is there isn't a fascist horde wending its way out here.

It is a myth that has been propagated by self-appointed regional leaders with the help of Russian media, whose reporting of events is watched by most people here.

And it is a cross between hysterical warnings of armageddon and comic manipulation of facts and events; comic if people were not dying as a result, which they are.

This is getting increasingly nasty and once again there is nothing anyone can do about it.

A pro-Russian separatist in Ukraine

In Donestsk, where pro-Kiev supporters have staged rallies of support, people have been beaten senseless and in one instance knifed to death by pro-Russian thugs.

The police do nothing to stop the attacks happening and, worse, there is more than a suspicion that they are in cahoots with the mob.

I have seen riot police clad in full protective gear hugging men who minutes earlier were beating an old man.

The Kiev administration admits its forces in the east are not able to intervene or are failing to do their jobs.

But the police themselves say they are getting no orders or guidance from Kiev.

Even if they don't like what is going on here, and many admit they do, they have no intention of taking a beating, or worse, by stick-wielding groups and armed masked men.

From Kiev, they are warning of an imminent invasion by Russian forces and have put their troops on full alert.

But these soldiers are in truth utterly incapable of resistance to an army, or, as we have seen, even a militia.

Eastern Ukraine is drifting away and it seems there is nothing anyone can do to stop it - just like Crimea.

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Ukraine 'Detains Russian Attache For Spying'

Ukraine Mine: Militia Controls Million Weapons

Updated: 11:37pm UK, Wednesday 30 April 2014

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent, in Ukraine

At the end of a completely anonymous road on the outskirts of the eastern Ukrainian town of Artemivsk is the village of Paraskoviyevka.

It has two claims to fame: one of the few still functioning salt mines in the region, and, more importantly, the largest cache of weapons in Europe - over a million of them and they are under the control of separatists.

Outside the gates of the mine, a cluster of tents mark the pro-Russian checkpoint guarding the entrance to this enormous supply of weapons.

The militia say they started guarding the mine in March when efforts were made to move some of the weapons. They say they will not allow anyone to get their hands on them.

But military experts and government sources in Kiev have warned that such a ready supply should not be guarded by groups who wish to separate from the country.

The storage facility was created in the 1950s by the Soviet Union.

About 150 metres below ground and stretching horizontally for kilometres the weapons age back to World War Two but in the 1990s huge numbers of Kalashnikov machine guns were stored in the facility as well.

The men guarding the store say the conditions underground are dry and perfect for storage.

They say that the armaments, particularly the newer ones, are in perfect working order.

"If anyone got in there they could arm everyone in Ukraine," a masked separatist told me.

He added: "There are rifles, machine guns, heavy weapons and millions and millions of rounds of ammunition. We are here to stop the forces of the west and anyone else for that matter from getting their hands on them.

"For certain the fascists from Kiev won't get them."

The real point of this is that there is absolutely nothing anyone can do to take control of the store from the pro-Russia group.

Soldiers at a nearby camp are powerless here; their authority has gone and do nothing to move the blockade outside the mine.

To a degree this is a perfect microcosm example of what is happening across the east of the country.

Government institutions and police stations in virtually all the main towns and cities have fallen to the pro-Russia militia.

It is an extremely well-organised takeover. Armed and masked men arrive and disarm police before moving to town halls and regional buildings.

At gunpoint, they impose their authority before civilian activists move in and start building barricades.

Asked who the enemy are, the usual reply is "Fascists from Kiev".

The truth is there isn't a fascist horde wending its way out here.

It is a myth that has been propagated by self-appointed regional leaders with the help of Russian media, whose reporting of events is watched by most people here.

And it is a cross between hysterical warnings of armageddon and comic manipulation of facts and events; comic if people were not dying as a result, which they are.

This is getting increasingly nasty and once again there is nothing anyone can do about it.

In Donestsk, where pro-Kiev supporters have staged rallies of support, people have been beaten senseless and in one instance knifed to death by pro-Russian thugs.

The police do nothing to stop the attacks happening and, worse, there is more than a suspicion that they are in cahoots with the mob.

I have seen riot police clad in full protective gear hugging men who minutes earlier were beating an old man.

The Kiev administration admits its forces in the east are not able to intervene or are failing to do their jobs.

But the police themselves say they are getting no orders or guidance from Kiev.

Even if they don't like what is going on here, and many admit they do, they have no intention of taking a beating, or worse, by stick-wielding groups and armed masked men.

From Kiev, they are warning of an imminent invasion by Russian forces and have put their troops on full alert.

But these soldiers are in truth utterly incapable of resistance to an army, or, as we have seen, even a militia.

Eastern Ukraine is drifting away and it seems there is nothing anyone can do to stop it - just like Crimea.

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Ukraine: Russia Denounces New US Sanctions

Russia has denounced new sanctions imposed by the United States over Moscow's actions in Ukraine, accusing Washington of using Cold War tactics from a "bygone era".

Allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin have been subjected to visa bans and asset freezes, including his friend Igor Sechin, head of oil giant Rosneft.

Officials said the penalties, which affect seven individuals and 17 companies, were aimed at "cronies" of the Russian leader.

President Barack Obama said: "The goal is not to go after Mr Putin personally.

"The goal is to change his calculus with respect to how the current actions that he's engaging in Ukraine could have an adverse impact on the Russian economy over the long haul."

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov described the sanctions as illegitimate, uncivilised and in breach of international law.

"Washington is in effect reviving ... an old method of restricting normal cooperation, from Cold War times, essentially chasing itself into a dark, dusty closet of a bygone era," he said.

The European Union has added 15 more Russians and Ukrainians to its blacklist and will reveal the names on Tuesday.

The latest round of sanctions comes as violence continues in the east of Ukraine.

A child looks at pro-Russian militants standing guard in Konstantinovka

Doctors are battling to save the life of Gennady Kernes, the mayor of Ukraine's second city, Kharkiv, who was shot in the back while exercising.

Several people have been injured in Donetsk after dozens of men in military fatigues, carrying baseball bats and throwing firecrackers, tried to break up a pro-Ukraine demonstration.

Pro-Russian separatists in Slavyansk continue to hold seven monitors from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

The self-declared mayor, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, has given the OSCE a list of detainees his movement wants released by the government in Kiev for the observers he is holding.

Russia has been accused by the US of fomenting unrest in Ukraine, allegations Moscow rejects.

In the face of calls to pull back troops massed near Ukraine's border, Russia's Foreign Ministry said it has "deep concern" about soldiers Kiev has sent to the area, suggesting Ukrainian troops might be getting ready for "the destruction of entire cities".

In London, a two-day meeting will begin on Tuesday aimed at recovering Ukrainian assets looted under the regime of the country's deposed president, Viktor Yanukovych.

His decision to spurn a trade deal with the EU in favour of closer ties with Russia sparked the current crisis.

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Severe Storms Kill Nine People In US South

Violent storms across southern America have killed at least nine people, as tornadoes and severe weather systems continue to lash the US.

Officials say up to seven people died in Mississippi when further wild weather tore through the state.

In Alabama, a further two deaths have been confirmed after a tornado caused major damage to the city of Athens.

Emergency director Rita White said more victims may be trapped in the wreckage of damaged buildings.

Rescuers are yet to reach some areas due to downed power lines.

Volunteers begin to clear trees off cars in Tupelo, Mississippi

The severe weather comes after a series of tornadoes and violent storms lashed central and mid-western states on Sunday.

Seventeen people have so far been confirmed dead from the weekend storms, which saw more than a dozen tornadoes damage buildings, overturn trucks and bring down trees.

National Guard troops have been mobilised in the worst-hit areas and rescue crews continue to search debris for victims.

The tornadoes struck Arkansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Louisiana.

Maggie Caro, her husband and two children were among some of the last people to reach safety inside a fortified school gymnasium as a tornado ripped through Vilonia, Arkansas.

She said: "They were screaming, 'Run! Run! It's coming!'"

Severe storms have struck many US states in recent days

The half-mile-wide tornado carved an 80-mile path of destruction through the small community just north of Little Rock, killing at least 14 people and flattening homes.

Officials said they expect the overall death toll to rise as crews continue to sift through debris.

Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe said officials did not yet have a count of the missing.

Vilonia Mayor James Firestone said: "It's chaos right now."

A separate twister killed one person in Quapaw, Oklahoma, on Sunday evening, before crossing into Kansas, where it destroyed more than 100 homes and businesses and injured 25 people in the city of Baxter Springs.

President Barack Obama, who is currently in the Philippines, pledged federal assistance to the hard-hit communities.

He said: "Your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild, as long as it takes."

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North Korea Holds Live-Fire Drills Near Border

North Korea has carried out live-fire drills in two areas near the disputed Yellow Sea border with the South, which told its island residents to take cover in shelters.

The Pyongyang regime fired artillery close to the Northern Limit Line (NLL) but no rounds appear to have landed south of it.

The drills came hours after North Korea told Seoul of the areas near populated South Korean islands where it would be conducting the exercise.

A red line marks the Korean peninsula's de facto maritime border

Last month, it carried out similar drills close to the NLL, firing more than 500 artillery rounds, including over 100 that landed south of the border.

The move led to the South firing hundreds of rounds back into the North's waters.

The NLL is an extension of the land border between the two Koreas, stretching into the sea west of the Korean peninsula.

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un

It was drawn up by the US-led UN Command without Pyongyang's consent after the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with a truce rather than a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula still technically at war.

The North has refused to recognise the line as the sea border and has periodically challenged the South by violating it and demanding a new border be set further to the south.

The existing line curves northwards, effectively isolating five remote, South Korean-controlled islands from the mainland.

The furthest of those islands is closer to Pyongyang than Seoul.

The South has increased its military presence on the islands after four people died during the 2010 bombardment of Yeonpyeong island by the North, which it said was in response to its rival's artillery drills.

Seoul officials have claimed the North could be preparing for its fourth nuclear test and US President Barack Obama recently warned Pyongyang against such a measure.

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US Reassures Europe Of Nato's 'Ironclad' Support

America has reassured its East European allies of Nato's support as the worst post-Cold War stand-off between Russia and the West continues.

US Vice President Joe Biden phoned Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban and "underscored the ironclad commitment of the US" to the collective defence of Nato members.

They "agreed that Russia would face further costs for its destabilising actions in Ukraine and massing of troops along the Russian-Ukrainian border," the White House said.

The US has ruled out sending American or Nato forces into Ukraine, but has begun deploying 600 US troops to bolster defences in the nearby countries of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry is urging Russia to help free a team of international military observers in eastern Ukraine.

Eight members of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) were travelling with five Ukrainian troops when they were detained by separatists in the flashpoint town of Slavyansk.

A barricade around the state security service building in Slavyansk

Pro-Russian gunmen plan to use them as a "human shield" and are "co-ordinating activities with Russia" - according to the Ukraine Security Service.

Moscow said it would take "all possible steps" to free the military monitors as their capture was condemned by Western leaders.

However, rebels accused the observers of being "Nato spies" and vowed to continue holding them.

It comes as Britain and other G7 nations agreed new sanctions against Russia.

Speaking at a news conference in Malaysia, US President Barack Obama said it was important for the world to send Russia a message.

"We're going to be in a stronger position to deter Mr Putin when he sees that the world is unified and the United States and Europe is unified rather than this is just a US-Russian conflict," he said.

He said Russia had not "lifted a finger" to get pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine to comply with an international agreement to defuse the crisis.

"In fact, there's strong evidence that they've been encouraging the activities in eastern and southern Ukraine," he said.

Senior EU diplomats are to hold an emergency meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss sanctions against Moscow.

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South Korean PM Resigns Over Ferry Disaster

South Korea's Prime Minister has resigned over the government's handling of the ferry disaster that has left more than 300 people dead or missing.

Chung Hong-won said: "As I saw grieving families suffering with the pain of losing their loved ones and the sadness and resentment of the public, I thought I should take all responsibility as prime minister.

"There have been so many varieties of irregularities that have continued in every corner of our society and practices that have gone wrong.

"I hope these deep-rooted evils get corrected this time and this kind of accident never happens again."

A total of 115 passengers remain missing after the Sewol ferry sank on a trip from the port on Incheon to the holiday island of Jeju on April 16.

More than 100 passengers remain missing

The death toll stands at 187.

The resignation has to be accepted by President Park Geun-hye.

Executive power largely rests with the president, so Mr Chung's offer appears to be largely symbolic.

Mr Chung was booed and had a water bottle thrown at him when he visited distraught parents the day after the tragedy.

There has been anger at the slow pace of the recovery mission and the frequent changes in information provided by the government.

A relative of one of those on board cries as she waits for news

There have also been several reports in the South Korean media of bodies going to the wrong families, with the error sometimes being identified only after remains had been taken to a funeral home.

A total of 325 out of the 476 people on board were high school students. Around 250 are either confirmed or presumed dead.

The children on board were told to stay put in their cabins while they waited for further orders.

Divers are continuing to search for bodies believed to be trapped in the sunken vessel, but poor weather conditions and a powerful swell are complicating efforts.

Despite waves of up to nine feet (three metres) and near gale-force winds, 93 divers are trying to get into the ferry.

Search teams are battling harsh conditions in the hunt for bodies

A coastguard spokesman said: "The situation is very difficult due to the weather, but we are continuing search efforts, using the occasional calmer periods."

Around a quarter of the bodies recovered have been found in waters outside the vessel, and there are fears some of those who are missing might have drifted from the wreck.

On Saturday four more crew members were arrested.

All 15 members of the crew are in custody and face charges ranging from criminal negligence to abandoning passengers.

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Helicopter Crash: Five UK Service Members Die

Five military personnel killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan were UK service members, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

They died when their Lynx aircraft crashed during a routine flight in Kandahar province in the south on Saturday.

Prime Minister David Cameron said today his "heart goes out to the families and friends of those killed in this terrible tragedy".

Three of the servicemen killed were from the Army Air Corps, based at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, the MoD said.

One was a Royal Air Force serviceman also based at RAF Odiham.

One was a member of the Army Reserve from 3 Military Intelligence Battalion, based in London.

Next of kin of all five servicemen have been informed.

The aircraft went down in the Takhta Pul district of Kandahar

Mr Cameron said: "Every British fatality is a source of deep sadness. This latest incident, which has cost the lives of five UK service personnel, brings home to us all once again how our armed forces continue to put their lives on the line to help the people of Afghanistan.

"I cannot pay high enough tribute to each and every one of them for the job that they do and the sacrifices that they make."

Major General Richard Felton, Commander Joint Helicopter Command, said: "It is with great sadness that we must confirm that five UK service personnel have been killed in this incident which, at this early stage, would appear to have been a tragic accident.

"Events like this, whilst mercifully rare, remind us of the risks our personnel face in their work in Afghanistan as we approach the conclusion of the combat mission later this year."

Kandahar provincial police spokesman Zia Durrani said the helicopter went down in the Takhta Pul district of Kandahar province, around 30 miles from the Pakistan border - and that it was not attacked by militants.

Lynx helicopters are deployed for a wide variety of operations

"It was doing military exercises and crashed as a result of technical fault," he said.

The helicopter involved was a Westland Lynx, an aircraft with a range of uses including transport and resupply.

Defence analyst Paul Beaver said: "It is difficult to speculate on what has happened. It could be weather related, it could be dust or it could have been trying to avoid birds, for example, or it could be some kind of mechanical failure.

"There is a whole range of possible causes."

The deaths bring the total number of UK service personnel to have been killed in Afghanistan to 453.

It is thought to be the third deadliest incident involving British forces in the war and the worst air disaster since September 2006, when 14 service personnel were killed in a Nimrod surveillance aircraft which exploded mid-air.

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