Netanyahu's Likud Party Wins Israeli Election

100 Throat-Slit Corpses Left By Boko Haram

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 21 Maret 2015 | 14.59

Up to 100 bodies, many with their throats slit, have been found in a mass grave on the edge of a town in northeast Nigeria after it was freed from Boko Haram militants.

Soldiers from Chad and Niger who have liberated Damasak from the Islamist group said they discovered the bodies under a bridge on one of the main roads leading out of the town.

Chad's military spokesman Colonel Azem Bermandoa Agouna said: "There are about 100 bodies spread around under the bridge just outside the town... this is the work of Boko Haram."

A Reuters witness said they had counted at least 70 bodies.

Col Agouna, who visited the scene himself close to the border with Niger, claimed the massacre probably occurred about two months ago because the bodies were partially mummified by the dry desert air.

He said several of the victims had been decapitated while others had been shot.

"There are heads here and bodies there, the mass grave has become like a termite mound," he added.

Damasak was seized by Boko Haram in November but recaptured by troops from Niger and Chad on 9 March as part of a multinational effort to wipe out the militants.

All but around 50 of the town's residents had fled by the time Damasak was recaptured. Those who remained were mostly too old or too sick to leave.

Damasak resident Mbodou Moussa said: "People were in town when they (Boko Haram) attacked, they fired at us, we ran away to the bushes but they continued to fire and chased some people to kill them."

Boko Haram has killed thousands of people in a six-year insurgency aimed at establishing an Islamic caliphate in northeast Nigeria.

The regional offensive was launched this year with Chad, Niger and Cameroon as Nigeria, Africa's most populous country and biggest economy, prepares for presidential elections on 28 March.

Nigeria's president Goodluck Jonathan has been criticised for not doing enough to tackle the insurgency.

His challenger Muhammadu Buhari has campaigned on a reputation for toughness gained when he was military ruler of Nigeria in the 1980s.

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At Least 142 Killed In Yemen Suicide Bombings

At least 142 people have been killed and hundreds more injured after four suicide bombers attacked two mosques in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

The bombers struck during Friday prayers at mosques mainly used by supporters of the Shia Muslim Houthi group which recently seized control of the government.

The attackers detonated their explosive belts inside and outside the buildings.

One witness said: "A man with a crutch and his leg covered with plaster showing the Houthi sign on the crutch entered the inside of the mosque, then we heard the explosion."

A spokesman for the country's health ministry said at least 30 of those wounded in the attacks were in a critical condition in intensive care.

In an online statement, the previously unknown Sanaa branch of Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bombings and said they were "just the tip of the iceberg".

The US condemned the attacks, but said it was too early to confirm whether IS was involved.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said there is not, as yet, a "clear operational" link between Yemeni extremists and IS fighters in Syria and Iraq.

"We express our condolences to the families of the victims, we deplore the brutality of the terrorists who perpetrated today's unprovoked attack on Yemeni citizens, who were peacefully engaged in Friday prayers," he said.

Yemen is divided by a power struggle between the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in the north and UN-recognised President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who fled to the southern city of Aden in February after escaping house arrest in the capital.

He has established a rival seat in Aden with the backing of Sunni-led Gulf Arab states but twice in the last two days unidentified aircraft have attacked his presidential palace.

A government spokesman said the President was not in the palace at the time and is unharmed.

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Shia Volunteers Lead Fightback Against IS

By Sherine Tadros, Middle East Correspondent, in Iraq

Ansar Marjaiyeh, or Soldiers Of The Religious Leadership, is a group of Shia volunteers leading the fightback against Islamic State militants near Fallujah.

IS snipers are just 200m away, and they return fire hard and fast. The volunteers are slowly pushing the militants back, but holding the territory they retake is their main challenge.

Their weapons are not impressive, but their resolve is. Dozens of these fighters have been killed so far. This is just one of several open fronts with the Islamic State group in Iraq.

More than 20,000 Shia militiamen from different groups, many backed by Iran, are involved in the fight against IS. They make up what is known as the Popular Mobilisation Force. Around 5,000 Iraqi officers and soldiers are working with them.

The men proudly show off their weapons and what they have picked up during battle.

One militia leader showed us what he said was a receipt, bearing the stamp of the Islamic State group, invoicing the Syrian government for crude oil worth thousands of dollars. The receipt said the oil was to be transferred from Mosul to Syria.

We met up with hundreds of fighters on their way to the frontline in Tikrit - the birthplace of former president Saddam Hussein, which was taken over by IS last summer.

The military operation In Tikrit is in its third week, but the militias still only control parts of the city.

Hadi al Amiri heads up the Badr Brigade, one of Iraq's most effective fighting forces.

Seen by many as Iran's man on the ground, he told Sky News that dozens of Iranian advisors are helping take back territory from IS, and that Tikrit would be retaken within days.

But he insists co-ordination with local Sunni forces has been key, and is confident his men will soon take back Anbar before recapturing the country's second city, Mosul.

He said: "We were victorious in Diyala, and we're using the same strategy here, as a result of a high degree of co-ordination between the army, the popular mobilisation forces and the police."

In Diyala, though, Sunni families returning have found their homes burned and looted. Rights groups say dozens of villages were destroyed not just by IS, but also Shia militias carrying out revenge attacks.

We spoke to people in Diyala who told us they heard about those attacks from their neighbours and friends, but did not see anything themselves.

Militia leaders insist they have strict orders not to harm locals under their control, and near Tikrit, we found Shia fighters helping hundreds of families going home.

There are also some areas where the battle was too fierce, meaning there is nothing left to come back to. Islamic State flags still litter the walls along the streets as mangled metal and charred buildings replace what used to be a vibrant neighbourhood.

For now, the momentum is with the militias and the Iraqi army.

Tikrit will be a strategic and symbolic victory before the push northwards, but that will entail Shia militias controlling Sunni and mixed villages - putting Iraq's delicate sectarian balance to the ultimate test.

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British Woman Among 23 Killed In Tunisia Attack

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 20 Maret 2015 | 14.59

A "much-loved" British mother-of-two was killed in the terror attack in Tunisia that left 23 people dead, it has emerged.

Newly retired Sally Adey, 57, was on holiday with her husband Robert, who is believed to be unharmed.

Terrorist group Islamic State has released an online audio recording in which it claims responsibility for Wednesday's shooting at the Bardo Museum in Tunis.

Witnesses say the gunmen opened fire on tourists arriving at museum, before chasing them inside. The two attackers were among the 23 people left dead.

Twenty foreign tourists were gunned down, including visitors from Japan, Italy, Colombia, Australia, France and Poland.

Most of the victims were passengers on two cruise liners.

The Adeys, both solicitors from Shropshire, had been on MSC Splendida, which docked at the port in Tunis early on Wednesday.

Julia Holden, a close friend of the Adey family and a partner at Shakespeares Solicitors in Birmingham where Mr Adey works, issued a statement on the family's behalf.

"Sally Adey was a much-loved daughter, wife and mother. The family are devastated by her loss," she said.

"They are also saddened for others who have lost people they love, and for those who have been hurt."

David Crawshaw, who was the Adeys' neighbour in Shifnal for more than a decade, said: "They were really the sort of neighbours you want, a fine, hard-working family, and Sally will be missed by us."

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Gallery: Police Secure Area After Terror In Museum

Police officers stand outside the parliament

A tourist injured after an attack by gunmen on Tunisia's national museum is wheeled on a stretcher

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Shocked Survivors Recount Tunisia Horror

A woman who was inside the museum in Tunisia when it was stormed by gunmen has recounted her ordeal from her hospital bed.

Italian Bruna Scherini was among a group of cruise ship passengers visiting the Bardo Museum in central Tunis when it came under attack on Wednesday.

Ms Scherini was shot in the leg by a gunman with an automatic rifle and is recovering in hospital.

She told how she and her daughter were looking around the museum, renowned for its collection of Roman mosaics, when the attackers started shooting.

"We entered a room where we were looking at mosaics, and suddenly my daughter started to hear gunshots so we all tried to escape and all of us tried to save ourselves as best we could," she said.

"We tried to hide behind the exhibits, and in the corners where there was a little hiding place.

"It was just a second and then we all spread a bit in different directions, there were various rooms and everyone was trying to find a place to hide somehow."

Ms Scherini said the attackers "sprayed bullets around to intimidate us".

"Next to me there were two people who didn't move and others who were injured. Everyone was injured," she said.

"A friend of mine was with me and her little girl, they are okay, they saved themselves. Thank goodness nothing happened to the girl."

Twenty tourists - many of them cruise passengers - were among the 23 people killed, making it the worst attack at a tourist site in Tunisia in more than a decade.

The two gunmen, both Tunisian, were among the dead.

Witnesses have described how the men opened fire on tourists arriving at museum before chasing them inside. The attackers later died in a firefight with police.

A Spanish couple were found alive and well on Thursday morning after cowering in fear in the museum all night.

Juan Carlos Sanchez and Cristina Rubio, who is four months pregnant, stayed hiding - hours after the attackers died and the other visitors were escorted to safety.

Speaking from the maternity ward of a Tunis hospital, Mr Sanchez told how they were waiting to have lunch with their tour guide when a man ran past, fleeing gunshots.

They then found a small room to hide in.

"That's where we stayed until the police saw us today and then we left. We spent all night there and we thought the terrorists were still outside," he said.

"But it was simply the police who were searching for people. We thought they were terrorists out there and that's why we didn't venture out."

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Gallery: Police Secure Area After Terror In Museum

Police officers stand outside the parliament

A tourist injured after an attack by gunmen on Tunisia's national museum is wheeled on a stretcher

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North Korea: Defectors Are 'Human Scum'

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

North Korean defectors are "scum" and "animals" the country's Ambassador to the UK has told Sky News.

In a rare interview, the senior official hit out at allegations made against his country days after the United Nations launched yet another investigation into North Korea's human rights record.

The diplomat was asked about allegations made to Sky News last year by North Koreans living in the South Korean capital Seoul. They claim to have been tortured and beaten in their own country.

"Those allegations are based on fabricated stories by the defectors from the North," said Hyun Hak-bong.

"Do you know the difference between human beings and animals? Human beings have a conscience and morality. If they do not have a conscience and a morality the are like nothing.

"They're animals. That is why we call the defectors animals. They are no better than animals. They're human scum."

The UN will investigate reports that up to 20,000 North Koreans have been sent to Qatar to help build the 2022 World Cup facilities under inhumane conditions.

Sky News was invited to interview the Ambassador for a second year running. Like 12 months ago, the interview coincided with annual US/South Korean military exercises.

The exercises are called Foal Eagle and Key Resolve, and last a number of weeks. They involve hundreds of thousands of troops on land, sea and in the air.

America says the manoeuvres are defensive but Pyongyang believes they are a preparation for an invasion.

The Ambassador claims America is "softening" North Korea before conducting "a pre-emptive strike".

The exercises raise tensions on the peninsula but so far have not led to war. The worry is one misunderstanding could turn the situation very serious.

The Ambassador told us North Korea has nuclear weapons and is ready to use them.

"We are prepared," he said. "That is why I say if a sparkle of a fire is made on the Korean peninsula, it will lead to a nuclear war.

"We don't say empty words. We mean what we mean. It is not the United States that has a monopoly on nuclear weapons strikes."

"So can I just be clear: you are telling me that the North Korea has the ability now to fire a nuclear missile?" I clarified.

"Anytime, anytime, yes."

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Video: Police Shoot Dead Mentally Ill Man

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 19 Maret 2015 | 14.59

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

The family of a mentally ill man who was shot dead by police on his own doorstep have released a graphic video of the incident.

Jason Harrison, 38, was shot three times during a brief confrontation with police as he stepped out of his front door in Dallas, Texas, last June.

Footage from one of the officer's body cameras was handed over to the family as part of a lawsuit claiming the police department was responsible for Mr Harrison's wrongful death.

The video, now released by the family, reveals how the incident escalated rapidly after Mr Harrison's mother, Shirley, told officers John Rogers and Andrew Hutchins that her son was "bipolar schizo". She had dialled 911 to ask for him to be admitted to hospital.

Mr Harrison was holding a screwdriver and, when officers told him to drop it, the situation became heated with the officers and his mother heard yelling before shots ring out.

Police say Mr Harrison had lunged at the two officers causing them to fear for their own safety. They say they had fired self-defence.

But Mr Harrison's family say that the officers added to his agitation by yelling and then used excessive force. Their lawsuit says he was not a violent person and posed no threat.

Mr Harrison's brother, Sean, questioned why the officers did not use a Taser or pepper spray.

He told the Dallas Morning News: "This is a perfect video for the Dallas Police Department to use in training as an example of what not to do. You don't yell at them - that only agitates them."

The shooting happened two months before the killing of the unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

That incident sparked a nationwide debate about the use of deadly force by police.

Incidents in New York, Los Angeles, Wisconsin, and Washington - along with the continuing fallout from what happened in Ferguson - have created tension between law-enforcement and the black community.

Mr Harrison's family say what happened to him is evidence the police need greater training in how to deal with people suffering from mental health problems.

The district attorney in Dallas has been formally assessing the family's lawsuit against the city's police department. It is likely to before a grand jury.

A number of cities have begun using body cameras for police officers to provide images in cases where actions are challenged.

The shooting was the first in Dallas to be captured on a body camera.

It was actually recorded on a camera that Officer Hutchins had bought himself as his city-issued one was not working.

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Tunisian Leader: We Won't Give In To Terror

Tunisia's president has vowed not to give in to terrorism after the shootings in the country which left 21 people dead.

Seventeen tourists were killed when gunmen stormed the national museum in Tunis on Wednesday.

Two Tunisians, a policeman and a cleaner, and two gunmen also died, Prime Minister Habib Essid said.

The nationality of one of the tourists is still unknown, but the others are said to be from Japan, Italy, Colombia, Spain, Australia, Poland and France.

Video shows gunmen in military uniform storm the Bardo Museum, mainly attacking foreigners who were viewing its world-renowned collection of Roman mosaics.

Eyewitnesses told how the killers, wearing military uniforms and armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, picked off visitors one by one, while others hid behind pillars or fled in terror.

Security forces surrounded the building and later took it back, killing two militants. Several others are believed to have escaped.

"These monstrous minorities do not frighten us," President Beji Caid Essebsi said on national TV. "We will resist them until the deepest end without mercy. Democracy will win and it will survive."

The Foreign Office said two Britons were "caught up in" the shootings and were receiving consular assistance.

A spokesman said: "We are working with the Tunisian authorities as well as with contacts in the tourist industry to establish if any further British nationals have been affected."

David Cameron said on Twitter he was "appalled" by the attack, adding: "My thoughts are with those affected. UK stands ready to support Tunisia."

Forty-four people were injured in the violence, including 13 Italians, seven French and four Japanese.

One of the wounded Japanese, Noriko Yuki, 35, was visiting the museum with her 68-year-old mother.

"I was crouching down with my arms over my head, but I was shot in the ear, hand and neck," she said from her hospital bed.

"My mother beside me was shot in the neck. Mother couldn't move by herself when the police came over ..."

So far no-one has claimed responsibility for the atrocity.

Tunisia has struggled with Islamist extremism since its authoritarian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was overthrown in January 2011.

Dozens of police officers and military personnel have been killed or wounded in violence blamed on militants including Islamic State.

The latest attack came a day after security officials confirmed the death in neighbouring Libya of a leading suspect in Tunisian terror attacks and the killings of two opposition figures

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Nairobi Mall Attack Mastermind Killed By Drone

An al Shabaab leader thought to be a mastermind of the Nairobi shopping mall attack was killed in a US drone strike last week, the Pentagon says.

Adnan Garaar was targeted while in a car near the town of Dinsoor, 150 miles west of the Somalian capital Mogadishu, on 12 March.

Residents said the car contained three al Shabaab members and the vehicle was completely destroyed.

Confirming Garaar's death, the US military said in a statement: "He posed a major threat to the region and the international community and was connected to the Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya.

"His death has dealt another significant blow to the al Shabaab terrorist organisation in Somalia."

Some 67 people, including six Britons, were killed in the Westgate Mall attack in September 2013.

The attack was the largest in Kenya since al Qaeda bombed the US embassy in Nairobi in 1998.

Al Shabaab has vowed to carry out attacks in Kenya and Uganda in retaliation for the countries' contribution to the African Union force supporting Somalia's government.

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Billions Of Planets In Our Galaxy 'May Hold Life'

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 18 Maret 2015 | 14.59

Billions of stars in our galaxy could have as many as three planets orbiting them that could support life.

Astronomers used data from NASA's Kepler space telescope which has already confirmed that 1,000 planets are orbiting stars in the Milky Way - with another 3,000 possibles.

The researchers made their claim after calculating the chances of planets orbiting in the "habitable zone" - the region around a star which could contain planets capable of supporting liquid water.

Danish researcher Steffen Kjaer Jacobsen, from the University of Copenhagen, said: "According to the statistics and the indications we have, a good share of the planets in the habitable zone will be solid planets where there might be liquid water and where life could exist."

Scientists believe there could be many more planets that remain undiscovered by Kepler.

To estimate the positions of the "hidden" planets, the researchers updated a 250-year-old mathematical concept called the Titius-Bode law which predicts the spacing of the planets in the Solar System.

The scientists predicted a total of 228 planets in 151 systems and concluded that each system should have an average of one to three planets in the habitable zone.

Extending this theory further, they believe there could be billions of stars in the Milky Way with habitable zone planets where surface water and life could exist.

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Syria Claims US Aircraft Shot Down

By Sky News US Team

A US reconnaissance aircraft has been shot down over Syria, according to a report by the country's state media.

Syria's air defences shot down the unmanned aerial vehicle on Tuesday in a northwestern province along the Mediterranean coast, SANA reported.

A US official said a Predator drone lost contact but that it was unclear whether it was shot down.

SANA said the aircraft was downed north of the coastal city of Latakia.

It provided no further details.

Footage broadcast on state television reportedly showed some of the wreckage, including a wheel and electronic parts.

Soldiers in camouflage were seen loading some of the debris into the back of a truck.

If confirmed, it would be the first American aircraft to go down over Syria since the US expanded its aerial campaign against the Islamic State in September.

A Jordanian jet crashed near the northern Syrian city of Raqqa in December.

The Islamic State group captured the pilot, Mu'ath al Kassasbeh, and later burned him alive.

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Netanyahu's Likud Party Wins Israeli Election

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Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party has scored a resounding a victory in Israel's election, final results show.

With nearly all the votes counted, Likud appeared to have earned 30 out of parliament's 120 seats.

Exit polls had shown a tight race with Isaac Herzog's Zionist Union, but the centre-left party ended up with just 24 seats.

Mr Herzog told reporters: "A few minutes ago I spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and congratulated him on his achievement and wished him luck."

Mr Netanyahu will now set about putting together a coalition government with right-wing and religious allies.

The win comes after he moved to the right in the final days of campaigning, including abandoning a commitment to negotiate a Palestinian state.

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Gallery: Israel Goes To The Polls In Tight Election

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu casts his vote in Jerusalem

An Israeli soldier choosing a ballot from behind a voting booth near Ofakim

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Isaac Herzog, co-leader of centre-left Zionist Union party, poses for a photograph at his party's headquarters in Tel Aviv

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Mr Herzog places a note in the Western Wall, the holiest prayer site for Jews in Jerusalem

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A supporter of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party holds a campaign poster in Bnei Brak

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In a four-day pre-election blitz, he made a series of promises designed to shore up his Likud base and draw voters from other right-wing and nationalist parties.

As well as ruling out a Palestinian state, he also pledged to continue building settlements on occupied land.

His victory is likely to mean continued tensions with the United States, which has had an increasingly fraught relationship with Mr Netanyahu.

The win was unexpected as the last opinion polls published four days before the vote showed the Zionist Union with a four-seat advantage over Likud.

In a statement, Likud said Mr Netanyahu intended to form a new government within weeks, with negotiations already underway with the pro-settler Jewish Home party led by Naftali Bennett, and with religious groups.

The critical party to get on side will be centrist Kulanu, led by former Likud member Moshe Kahlon, who won 10 seats, making him a kingmaker given his ability to side with either Mr Netanyahu or the centre-left opposition.

"Against all odds, we achieved a great victory for the Likud," Mr Netanyahu said.

"I am proud of the people of Israel, who in the moment of truth knew how to distinguish between what is important and what is peripheral, and to insist on what is important.

"Reality is not waiting for us. The citizens of Israel expect us to quickly put together a leadership that will work for them regarding security, economy and society as we committed to do - and we will do so."

If he manages to form a workable coalition, it would give Mr Netanyahu a fourth-term in office after the six years he has already spent in power.

It puts him on track to become Israel's longest-serving prime minister, a position currently held by the country's founding father, David Ben-Gurion.

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Written By Unknown on Selasa, 17 Maret 2015 | 14.59

Polls Open In Closely-Fought Israel Election

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Polls have opened in Israel's election as Benjamin Netanyahu fights to remain the country's prime minister.

More than 5.8 million people are eligible to vote up until 8pm GMT in 10,372 polling stations nationwide.

Voters will elect the 120-member parliament, casting ballots for a party list, rather than individual candidates.

After voting closes, it typically takes weeks of negotiations for a governing coalition to be formed.

Isaac Herzog's Zionist Union has been polling slightly ahead of Mr Netanyahu's Likud party - a majority of three or four seats, according to the latest polls, but neither political camp has a clear majority.

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Gallery: Israel Goes To The Polls In Tight Election

Isaac Herzog, co-leader of centre-left Zionist Union party, poses for a photograph at his party's headquarters in Tel Aviv

Mr Herzog places a note in the Western Wall, the holiest prayer site for Jews in Jerusalem

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A supporter of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party holds a campaign poster in Bnei Brak

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Moshe Kahlon is head of the new centrist party Kulanu (All of Us) and sits with supporters at a Tel Aviv shopping centre

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An Israeli soldier choosing a ballot from behind a voting booth near Ofakim

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Much will depend on which candidate the smaller, centrist parties choose to back, and the leaning of a joint list uniting Israel's four Arab parties, which is expected to come in third.

Mr Netanyahu is seeking a fourth term in office and has cast the threat to his reign as a foreign-orchestrated bid to install a leader who might agree to Palestinian statehood or nuclear diplomacy with Iran.

In a last-minute appeal to his hardline base, the 65-year-old reiterated that a Palestinian state would not be created on his watch.

He told a news website that turning over captured territory to the Palestinians would clear the way for Islamic extremists to take control and attack Israel.

"Whoever ignores that is burying his head in the sand," he said.

"The left is doing that, burying its head in the sand time after time."

His vow not to allow a Palestinian state goes back on a long-standing promise to the US, something that could strain troubled ties with Washington.

Mr Netanyahu brought the election on himself, calling the snap vote after firing centrist ministers from his fractious coalition just two years into its term.

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Written By Unknown on Senin, 16 Maret 2015 | 14.59

By Tom Rayner, Middle East Reporter

Israel's prime minister has implored right-wing voters to "stop a left-wing government from coming to power" at a rally in Tel Aviv before the country goes to the polls on Tuesday.

Crowds gathered in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on Sunday night as Mr Netanyahu urged supporters to turn out in high number to combat flagging opinion poll ratings.

"Our rivals are investing a huge effort to harm me and the Likud, to open a gap between my party, the Likud, and (our rivals)," Mr Netanyahu said.

"If we don't close this gap, there is a real danger that a left-wing government will rise to power."

The three-time Israeli prime minister has in recent days intensified his rhetoric, making accusations that foreign powers are conspiring to unseat him.

Speaking to Israel's Channel 2 News on Saturday, he said: "There is a huge international effort, with major money, partnering up with leftist organisations here and also with media figures in order to bring down the Likud government that I head."

The final opinion polls of the campaign show the Zionist Union, led by Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni, taking between 24 and 26 of parliament's 120 seats, compared with 20-22 seats for Likud.

The Zionist Union has accused Mr Netanyahu of mounting a scare campaign, in an effort to divert attention from Israel's socio-economic challenges, such as rising house prices and high living costs.

Their campaign has focused on a plan to combat rising house prices, as well as a commitment to improve relations with the US, which they say were damaged by Mr Netanyahu's recent speech to Congress on Iran that was derided by the White House, and to re-start negotiations with the Palestinians.

But the party that gets the most seats will not necessarily lead the next government.

The next prime minister will be the leader who is able to build a coalition commanding a majority of at least 61 seats.

"The two largest parties are at about 20% in the polls, they'd be declared losers in a British election, but they're going to win the election here," says Professor Reuven Hazan, head of the political science department at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

"Whatever the percentage of the national vote a party gets, that's exactly the number of seats it will get," he added.

"With only 20% of the votes, and therefore only 20% of the seats, they will have to form a majority coalition.

"So the name of the game is not so much who gets more seats, but who can actually form that majority after the elections."

The comparative strength of the right-wing bloc over the left and centre bloc has led some analysts to consider Mr Netanyahu better placed to form a governing coalition, even if his Likud party receives fewer seats than the Zionist Union.

There are likely to be at least 11 parties taking seats from across the political spectrum, including the Jewish orthodox and Arab parties.

Final polls put the newly formed Joint Arab list - an alliance of Israel's main Arab parties - in third place at around 13 seats.

Both the hard right Jewish Home and centre-right Yesh Atid look set to win between 11 and 12 seats, while the newly formed centre-right Kulanu could pick up between 8 and 10 seats.

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Shooting Of Ferguson Police: Suspect Charged

By Sky News US Team

A suspect has been charged in connection with the shooting and wounding last week of two police officers in Ferguson, Missouri.

St Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch told a news conference the accused was 20-year-old Jeffrey Williams.

He said the suspect, a local resident, was facing two counts of assault in the first degree.

Williams, who was arrested on Saturday night, is also charged with firing a handgun from a vehicle.

"He has acknowledged his participation in firing the shots," Mr McCulloch told reporters.

According to Williams' statement to police, he opened fire in a dispute with some other individuals and did not aim at the police.

Mr McCulloch said: "It's possible at this point that he was firing shots at someone other than the police, but struck the police officer."

"We're not sure we completely buy that part of it," added Mr McCulloch. "We're not 100% sure there was a dispute."

He said the suspect, who could face life in prison, has taken part in the ongoing Ferguson demonstrations against police brutality.

Williams was on probation at the time of last Wednesday's shooting for receiving stolen property, said Mr McCulloch.

The two officers were wounded by gunfire during a protest outside Ferguson police headquarters, which authorities described as an "ambush".

A 32-year-old officer was shot in his cheek, just below his right eye, with the bullet lodging behind his ear.

The other officer, 41 years old, was shot in his right shoulder, with the bullet exiting his body through his back.

St Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar told a news conference that the two officers are continuing their recovery.

US Attorney General Eric Holder called the shooting a "heinous assault" and branded the attacker a "damn punk".

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Gallery: Violence On Streets Of Ferguson, Missouri

Fury has erupted into fighting on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, where two police officers have been shot during a demonstration

The city's police chief Thomas Jackson quit his post following a report that exposed racism in his department and a profit-driven court system

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'Monster' Cyclone Pam Damaged 90% Of Buildings

Vanuatu's president has described Cyclone Pam as a "monster" storm that left 90% of the South Pacific archipelago's buildings destroyed or damaged.

Baldwin Lonsdale said the nation has been forced to start anew after the tropical cyclone killed at least eight people and injured 30 others.

Officials say the death toll is likely to rise once communications are re-established with outlying islands.

"This is a very devastating cyclone in Vanuatu. I term it as a monster, a monster," Mr Lonsdale said.

"It's a setback for the government and for the people of Vanuatu.

"After all the development that has taken place, all this development has been wiped out."

The president said even he has been unable to contact family members due to the widespread destruction caused by the 185mph winds.

The cyclone levelled homes, smashed up boats, destroyed roads and bridges, and brought down power and phone lines.

Thousands have been left homeless on the archipelago.

"We do not know if our families are safe or not. As the leader of the nation, my whole heart is for the people, the nation," he said.

Mr Lonsdale is preparing to return to Vanuatu from Sendai, in Japan, where he was attending a disaster conference when the cyclone struck.

Authorities are still struggling to determine the scale of devastation from the storm, which struck the islands early on Saturday local time.

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Gallery: Fears Dozens Killed By Powerful Cyclone Pam

People stand outside their damaged homes in the capital of Port Vila

President Baldwin Lonsdale has described the cyclone as a "monster"

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Kurds Claim Islamic State Used Chlorine Gas

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 15 Maret 2015 | 14.59

Kurdish authorities claim to have evidence which shows Islamic State used weaponised chlorine gas against Peshmerga fighters in January.

The Security Council of the Kurdish region said soil and clothing samples showed traces of chlorine after an IS car bombing attempt.

Analysis of the samples showed they "contained levels of chlorine that suggested the substance was used in weaponised form".

The allegation has not been independently verified.

Peter Sawczak, spokesman for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, said: "We have not had a request from Iraq to investigate claims of use of chemical weapons in Iraq, and the OPCW cannot immediately verify the claims."

The use of chlorine as a chemical weapon dates back to World War One.

The substance was banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997.

Chlorine has been used "systematically" in the civil war in neighbouring Syria, an OPCW fact-finding mission found last year.

The Kurdish authority said in a statement that the car bombing attempt happened on 23 January on a highway between Mosul and the Syrian border.

Peshmerga fighters fired a rocket at the car, killing the driver.

About a dozen Peshmerga fighters later experienced symptoms of nausea, vomiting, dizziness or weakness.

Video footage and photographs of the incident were sent to the Reuters news agency.

In some of the photographs, several canisters are seen lying on the ground.

The White House said in a statement it could not confirm the allegations but found them "deeply disturbing" and was monitoring the situation "very closely".

A US defence official said the use of chlorine as a weapon was a possible sign of "growing desperation due to the pressure being applied by coalition air power and Iraqi ground forces".

Iraqi Kurds were the victims of the deadliest chemical attack of modern times when Saddam Hussein's air force bombed the town of Halabja in 1988, gassing at least 5,000 people to death.

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Dozens Die After Bus Plunges 1,300ft Off Cliff

A tour bus plunged 1,300ft into a wooded ravine in southern Brazil after the driver reportedly lost control on a bend, killing at least 40 people.

About 50 passengers were supposed to be travelling on the bus, but authorities said they thought the number was higher than that.

The death toll had initially been put at about 30 but the number rose as rescuers continued to find bodies at the crash site in a mountainous area of Santa Catarina state, a government spokesman said.

Three children who had been rescued died later at a nearby hospital.

The accident occurred at a curve near a stretch of highway near the city of Campo Alegre, a popular stop for tourists.

Witnesses told local media that the driver appeared to lose control, but the cause was still under investigation.

"There are people out there, on the hill, in the bus, trapped in the wreckage. But the chances of finding someone alive are pretty slim," state police Colonel Nelson Coelho said in a statement.

Several drivers stopped on the roadside to try to help victims as they waited for emergency services to arrive.

Some 43,000 Brazilians are killed in road accidents annually, and from 2002-2012, the accident rate surged by over 24%.

With the economy growing and the population topping 200 million, an estimated 10,000 new cars are added to Brazil's roads every day.

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Cyclone Pam: State Of Emergency In Vanuatu

A state of emergency has been declared in Vanuatu after at least eight people were confirmed dead in the aftermath of tropical Cyclone Pam.

Officials say the death toll is likely to rise after the storm caused widespread destruction across the 65 inhabited Vanuatu islands.

An emergency aid team from the Australian city of Darwin is leading the international response to the Pacific island nation and will be among the first aid crews on the ground later.

The cyclone saw winds of up to 168mph strike villages across the islands, leading to power outages and the destruction of major infrastructure.

The confirmed fatalities occurred in and around Vanuatu's capital Port Vila, according to World Vision emergency communications officer Chloe Morrison.

Officials are yet to assess the full extent of the damage in many of the hard-hit outer islands, Ms Morrison added.

Isso Nihmei, Vanuatu coordinator for the environmental and crisis response group 350, said: "Most people right now, they are really homeless."

"We're still not having communications with the other provinces," he added.

"We're just running around trying to get information around Port Vila; with the other islands it's really hard to get anything."

UNICEF estimated that 54,000 children are among those affected by the cyclone.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the impact and scope of the disaster remains unclear.

"We hope the loss of life will be minimal," he said at the World Conference on Disaster Risk and Reduction in Japan.

The UK has pledged to contribute up to £2m in aid to help in the wake of the storm.

Britain's Department for International Development said "up to £1m" will be made immediately available to UN organisations and international aid agencies already working in the region.

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Gallery: Fears Dozens Killed By Powerful Cyclone Pam

There are fears dozens of people have been killed after Cyclone Pam stuck the Pacific's Vanuatu archipelago

The streets of Porta Vila are reportedly littered with debris and uprooted trees following the storm

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