Dennis Rodman: I Love Kim Jong-Un

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent in Beijing

US basketball star Dennis Rodman has told Sky News he "loves" the North Korean leader and claims that "when the time comes" he will discuss human rights with Kim Jong-Un.

Mr Rodman was speaking at Beijing airport as he departed for his latest trip to the secretive country.

He is travelling to Pyongyang with a group of 11 American basketball players to play a match marking Mr Kim's birthday on Wednesday.

He said: "The only thing we are doing right now, as you can see right now, is all the NBA players here to play a game right now. And that's the one thing we're trying to do right now."

It is almost universally accepted that North Korea has the worst human rights record in the world.

Kim Jong-Un recently had his uncle (L) executed

As many as 200,000 political prisoners are locked up in labour camps around the country. Escapees have said that torture is routine.

Asked whether he would bring up the subject of labour camps, Mr Rodman said it was not his job.

Given that he is the only American with such unprecedented access to Mr Kim, Sky News put it to him that it was his responsibility to raise the issue.

"That's not my job," he said. "The only thing I am doing right now, I am only doing one thing: this game is for his birthday. It's for his birthday.

"And I hope that if this opens doors and we can actually talk about certain things, then we can do certain things but I am not going to sit there and go in and say "hey guy, you're doing the wrong thing."

The Paddy Power promotional image for the event

"That's not the right thing to do. He's my friend first. He's my friend. I don't give a ****. I tell the world: he's my ******* friend, I love him."

Under the North Korean regime's "three generations of punishment" system, individuals found guilty of a crime are sent to the labour camps with their entire family.

The subsequent two generations of that family are then born in the camp and live their lives locked up inside.

Mr Rodman was asked if he was aware of the 200,000 or so political prisoners in North Korea.

He replied: "Are you aware that lots of people in America is locked up like that too?"

Mr Rodman's unlikely friendship with Mr Kim dates back to February last year when he accompanied the US documentary maker Vice to North Korea with the Harlem Globetrotter basketball team.

Sky News understands that Mr Rodman initially believed he was going to meet the South Korean pop star Psy. He even tweeted that he might bump into the star behind the hit song 'Gangnam Style'.

For reasons which are yet to become clear, Mr Rodman and Mr Kim became friends.

Sky News has seen unpublished photographs of the two men horse-riding last summer at the North Korean leader's ranch outside Pyongyang.

Mr Kim doesn't speak English and Mr Rodman doesn't speak Korean. Their conversations are conducted through North Korean interpreters.

This latest trip was due to be sponsored by the Irish bookmaker Paddy Power. However, on Christmas Eve, the bookmaker claimed it had pulled its participation.

"Given changed circumstances, Paddy Power has decided to withdraw its association with the Dennis Rodman basketball initiative in North Korea," the company said in a statement.

However, Sky News understands that the bookmaker is still providing private funding for the trip, which it catch-phrased "Hoops not Nukes".

North Korean analysts are split over whether engagement with North Korea by an unusual and eccentric American is an unpalatable publicity stunt or an opportunity for future dialogue.

Dr Daniel Pinkston, North East Asia Deputy Project Director, at International Crisis Group, was supportive of the relationship when the Paddy Power event was announced.

"The last few years have been difficult for North Korea watchers seeking new policy prescriptions for dealing with Pyongyang," Dr Pinkston said in a statement on Paddy Power's website in September.

"Thanks to the support of Paddy Power, Rodman's visit had opened a window of opportunity to bring change to North Korea."

In December, Shin Dong-hyuk, the only person born in a North Korean prison camp known to have escaped to the west, wrote an open letter to Mr Rodman calling on him to engage with Mr Kim.

"I am writing to you, Mr Rodman, because, more than anything else, I want Kim Jong-Un to hear the cries of his people. Maybe you could use your friendship and your time together to help him understand that he has the power to close the camps and rebuild the country's economy so everyone can afford to eat," he wrote.

As Mr Rodman left Beijing airport on this latest trip, he left that possibility open.

"When the time comes when I do that  I am going to sit down and talk to all the people around the world, when the time comes, I am going to tell you everything that happens. But right now I want these guys to go over there and put on a good show for his birthday. We will talk about political stuff and anything about refugee camps."

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Iraq: Militants Pledge To Fight Government

Al Qaeda-linked militants and tribal fighters who have taken over parts of the strategic Iraqi city of Fallujah have pledged to fight the government.

An unnamed commander of the anti-government Fallujah military council said: "The revolutionaries of Fallujah tribes are resolved to punish those, the covetous, who are linked to the sectarian government."

Al Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) has been steadily tightening its grip in the vast Anbar province in recent months to try to create a Sunni Muslim state straddling the frontier with Syria.

But last week's capture of positions in nearby Ramadi and large parts of Fallujah was the first time in years that Sunni insurgents had taken ground in the province's major cities and held their positions for days.

Militants have gained a foothold in Iraq

Iraqi government forces battling an al Qaeda offensive near the Syrian border launched an air strike on Ramadi city on Sunday, killing 25 Islamist militants, according to local officials.

In Fallujah, Isil's task has been made easier by disgruntled tribesmen who have joined its fight against the government.

Dozens of families from Fallujah and Ramadi have fled to Kerbala to take refuge from Iraqi government bombardments.

Mohammed, a resident of Ramadi, said: "We are going to Kerbala to get food and cooking gas. We are displaced people, we thank the people of Kerbala."

Kerbala resident Abu Faris said: "We are providing the people of Ramadi with foodstuffs and flour. They were affected (by the violence) and they have nothing, so we are providing them with relief aid."

US Secretary of State John Kerry made it clear that, although Washington would provide "assistance" to Iraqi security forces, it would not put American "boots on the ground".

Mr Kerry told reporters in Jerusalem: "We are not obviously contemplating returning, we are not contemplating putting boots on the ground, this is their fight.

"But we're going to help them in their fight ... we are going to do everything that is possible to help them."

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Polar Vortex: NFL Fans Brave -26C Wind Chill

Diehard football fans have braved freezing temperatures and a wind chill of -26C (-14F) to watch an NFL playoff match in Wisconsin.

San Francisco players wrapped up in thick red blankets during game breaks

The Green Bay Packers took on the San Francisco 49ers at their home field on Sunday night, in one of the coldest American football matches ever played.

A phenomenon described as a polar vortex has plunged states in the north and northwest US into a deep freeze, causing transport chaos and school closures.

Fans at the Packers' Lambeau Field swaddled themselves in multiple thick layers of clothing and covered themselves with blankets for the tie, which lasted around three hours.

Some Packers fans - affectionately known as cheeseheads - wore costumes

The 49ers' stars - who are more used to balmy California temperatures - wrapped up on the touchline in signature red blankets.

Despite not being accustomed to the inclement weather, they won 23-20, putting them one step closer to February's Superbowl.

The weather phenomenon has seen super-chilled air from the Arctic sucked into North and South Dakota, the Great Lakes states and New England, sending temperatures plunging.

Thick layers were neccessary for the three-hour game

Washington DC has already seen its coldest temperatures for 20 years and several states in the Midwest have recorded their lowest mercury readings for more than a decade.

Icy weather is feared to have been a factor that led to a Delta Airways flight skidding off the runway at JFK Airport on Sunday.

None of the flight's 35 passengers was injured and the aircraft was safely towed to a gate.

Snow at JFK Airport in New York

The busy New York airport suspended operations for about two hours due to slick runways.

In Chicago, about 1,200 flights were cancelled at the city's O'Hare and Midway international airports.

Weather Bell meteorologist Ryan Maue described the current weather conditions as a once-in-a-generation event.

Scituate, Massachusetts, is among the places to have seen blizzards

"If you're under 40 (years old), you've not seen this stuff before," he said.

With much of the northeast of the country already under thick snow and well below zero, a newly emerging weather system is threatening to cause further misery.

The "polar vortex" is an anti-clockwise rotating pool of cold, dense air that forms close to the North Pole, but typically hangs over Canada.

People enjoy Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro during a heatwave in Brazil

Meteorologists say that unusually, this year, it is heading south and moving towards the north and eastern United States.

Fargo in North Dakota is expected to dip to -31C (-25F), International Falls, Minnesota will fall to -35C (-31F) and Indianapolis, Indiana and Chicago, Illinois, will reach -26C (-15F).

The frigid forecast prompted Minnesota public school officials to announce a statewide closure for Monday, marking the first such mass closing in 17 years.

The Wisconsin cities of Milwaukee and Madison have also announced school closures to start the week.

At least 16 deaths have been blamed on a snow storm that swept across the eastern half of the US at the end of last week.

Only a few thousand people have been left without power in the US despite heavy snowfalls, but in Canada, which has seen unusually heavy snow in a country used to cold winters, nearly 90,000 are without power in Newfoundland.

Meanwhile, in Brazil, soaring temperatures in Rio de Janeiro set off fire sprinklers in shopping malls as the thermometer topped 40C (102F).

Thousands headed to the beach as temperatures rose to more than 50C in the sunshine.

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Chaparrastique Volcano Spills Smoke And Ash

Authorities in El Salvador have evacuated an area near the Chaparrastique volcano after the mountain fired hot ash and gas three miles into the air.

Civil Defence Director Jorge Melendez said a yellow alert had been issued and investigators had been sent to the area to look for signs of fresh lava.

The Chaparrastique volcano rises some 7,025 feet into the sky

"We have implemented emergency measures to evacuate villages located within three kilometres of the volcano," he said.

Shelters have been set up for the evacuees but some locals have refused to leave their homes.

Assistant Health Minister Eduardo Espinoza said two people had been treated at hospitals for respiratory problems apparently linked to the eruption

There were no reports of serious injuries caused by the eruption

But he said there were no serious cases.

"We are providing assistance to people evacuating, and we are asking them to protect themselves against the gases, which can affect the respiratory tract," he said.

A spokesman for El Salvador's Red Cross, Carlos Lopez Mendoza, described the eruption as a "quite strong explosion".

The volcano, which rises some 7,025 feet into the air, last erupted in 1976. It is about 90 miles east of San Salvador.

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Michael Schumacher 'In Critical Condition'

Former motor racing world champion Michael Schumacher is in a coma following a skiing accident in France.

The 44-year-old German suffered a "serious brain trauma with coma on his arrival, which required an immediate neurosurgical operation," according to the hospital treating Schumacher in the French city of Grenoble.

Schumacher was wearing a helmet when he reportedly hit his head on a rock while skiing in the French Alps.

He was airlifted off the mountain following the accident in the resort of Meribel, in the popular Three Valleys area.

The sports star was skiing with his 14-year-old son and some friends when the accident occurred.

Schumacher's agent, Sabine Kehm, said: ''Michael fell on his head during a private ski trip in the French Alps.

The German Formula One legend skiing in Italy in 2006

"He was hospitalised and is receiving medical care. We ask for your understanding that we cannot give a running commentary on his state of health.

"He was wearing a helmet and was not alone.''

Journalist Carole Bouchard, from the French newspaper L'Equipe, told Sky News that the racing driver's condition had deteriorated during the hours following his hospitalisation.

The French Mountain Gendarmerie had earlier said Schumacher's life was not in danger.

Speaking to Sky News, Chris Chandler, a consultant neurosurgeon at King's College Hospital, said the immediate neurosurgical treatment given to Schumacher shows his injuries are severe.

The accident occurred in the resort of Meribel in France

"He could have suffered a diffuse injury to his brain which can then result in brain swelling," he said.

"He could have sustained some sort of brain haemorrhage and if there was a blood clot within his brain or on the surface of his brain underneath his skull, that might need to be removed.

"Sometimes there is nothing actually to remove but you put in an intra-cranial pressure monitor, which basically is an operation that requires drilling a hole in the skull and putting a fine probe inside."

Former Ferrari team boss Jean Todt and Professor Gerard Saillant, a brain and spine injury expert, are at the Grenoble University Hospital Centre where Schumacher is being treated.

Schumacher made a comeback to Formula One for Mercedes in 2010

Professor Saillant co-ordinated Schumacher's medical care after the driver broke his leg in the 1999 British Grand Prix.

Schumacher, a seven-time world champion, first retired from Formula One in 2006.

He has been hurt seriously once before, in a motorcycling accident in February 2009 when he suffered neck and spine injuries.

Schumacher recovered sufficiently from those injuries to make a comeback to Formula One in 2010.

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Reports: At Least 10 Dead In Russia Bus Blast

At least 10 people have been killed in an explosion on an electric bus in the Russian city of Volgograd, according to reports.

Investigators have described the blast as "an act of terror".

The National Anti-Terrorism Committee said the bus explosion was most likely caused by a bomb, but there were no further details.

It comes just a day after a female suicide bomber was blamed for killing 17 people and leaving dozens more injured at the city's main railway station.

The death toll could rise further

Police identified the bomber as a Dagestan national called Oksana Aslanova - who had been married to two Islamists killed by Russian forces.

She apparently detonated a bomb in front of a metal detector inside the main entrance of the station. Russian television is suggesting there may have been two attackers.

The explosions have put the city on edge and highlighted the terrorist threat that Russia is facing as it prepares to host the Winter Olympics in February.

Security has been stepped up after the station blast

Volgograd is about 400 miles (650km) northeast of Sochi, where the Games are to be held.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either of the attacks.

In July, Doku Umarov, leader of an ongoing insurgency in the nearby North Caucasus region, urged militants to use "maximum force" to disrupt the Winter Olympics, a project close to Russian President Vladimir Putin's heart.

Russian authorities have pledged to make the event the "safest ever".

Known in Soviet times as Stalingrad, and previously as Tsaritsyn, Volgograd is a major industrial centre with a population of more than a million people.

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall said: "It's 39 or 40 days until the Winter Olympics open, this is the opportunity for the Islamic separatists in the Caucasus region to really put themselves on the world map.

"The more this sort of thing happens, if it is indeed them, the more that cause is going to get on the front pages around the world, spoil Putin's Olympics and, more seriously, the more lives it will take."

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YouTube Videos Add To Missing Doctor Mystery

YouTube videos of a doctor who disappeared three weeks ago talking to an unidentified love interest are being examined by investigators searching for her.

Teleka Patrick, who was serving her residency in Michigan, was last seen on December 5.

After completing a shift, the 30-year-old tried unsuccessfully to rent a hotel room in Kalamazoo before being dropped off by the hotel shuttle driver in the car park of the medical centre where she worked, according to the FBI.

"The shuttle driver said she seemed nervous, even ducking down between vehicles, as if she was afraid of being seen by someone," Carl Clatterbuck, a private investigator hired by the family, said.

"I would say she was agitated, but if she was worried about something or someone, she never told anyone about it."

Later that night, Dr Patrick's car was found about 100 miles away, abandoned in a ditch in Indiana with a possible flat tyre, the FBI said.

Her belongings were in the car, including clothing, a wallet that contained her driver's licence, credit cards, and a small amount of cash.

The YouTube videos, which show Dr Patrick singing and speaking to the unidentified love interest, were uploaded in early November.

In one of them she addresses someone as "baby" and "love" while in the other she shows two plates of breakfast.

But her parents said their emergence created more confusion about the situation. 

"We are aware of the YouTube videos that have surfaced today. However, their relevance to her disappearance remains a mystery," they said.

"These videos have led to more questions than answers. To our knowledge, Teleka was not in a romantic relationship and it is unclear to whom she is making reference in the videos."

Dr Patrick has bought an airline ticket to Florida to visit her parents for Christmas and was supposed to join them on December 23.

Her disappearance is being investigated by police in two states as well as the FBI.

A Facebook page has been created in an attempt to help track her down.

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Canada Ice Storm: Thousands Without Power

Thousands of households have been left without power in Toronto after a severe ice storm blanketed much of Canada.

Power companies have been working around the clock to restore electricity, moving from house to house and clearing broken branches and wires.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said crews from outside Toronto had been called in to help clean up after the storm.

"This has been a very unusual situation," she said.

"I understand there are 250 of the Toronto Hydro and other hydro service bucket trucks out right now working with back-up crews, and as you all know there are crews from other jurisdictions.

Workers restore power to homes in suburban Toronto

"I've met people from Kingston who have come here, people from Manitoba who have come in order to help with the clean-up."

Local media has reported that some 30,000 households in Ontario and New Brunswick remain without electricity, including 18,000 homes in Toronto alone.

There are concerns that warmer temperatures and gusty winds could cause fresh power outages as melting ice and falling branches threaten to snap power lines.

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Israel Fires Shells In Response To Rockets

Israel has fired 20 artillery shells into Lebanon in response to two rockets that were launched in the opposite direction.

The Lebanese rockets landed in a field near the town of Kiryat Shmona, the Israeli military said in a statement, causing no injuries or damage.

Israel responded with artillery fire, with witnesses in southern Lebanon reporting more than 20 shells hitting two towns.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

An Israeli military spokesman said: "The Israeli artillery responded to rocket attacks from Lebanon against Israel that left no victims, targeting the area where these projectiles were fired from."

The border between the two countries has been relatively quiet since a war between Israel and Lebanon's Hizbollah militant group in 2006.

However, tensions rose this month when an Israeli soldier was shot dead by Lebanese troops while driving near the border on December 16.

Last week, Hizbollah blamed Israel for the assassination of one of its commanders in Beirut, an accusation Israel has denied.

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Man 'Used Facebook To Contact Al Qaeda'

A man who used Facebook to connect with al Qaeda operatives has pleaded guilty to a terrorism charge in a US court.

Sinh Vinh Ngo Nguyen admitted that he tried to help al Qaeda by offering to provide weapons training to the terror group.

The 24-year-old entered the guilty plea before US District Court Judge John F. Walter. Nguyen faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Nguyen was caught by an undercover FBI agent posing as a recruiter for al Qaeda. He was arrested by federal agents in October.

He said he planned to offer himself as a trainer for al Qaeda forces to ambush troops in Syria, where he had already spent five months fighting with rebels.

Assistant US Attorney Judith Heinz said Nguyen underwent 50 hours of interrogation during which he confessed to his plan.

Nguyen's admission was contained in a plea agreement filed in federal court, according to a US attorney's press release issued after the plea was entered and accepted.

"Nguyen admitted that approximately one year ago he travelled to Syria where he joined opposition forces," the statement said.

"Using a social network site during a four-month period he was in Syria, Nguyen told people that he was fighting against the Assad regime and that he had had a 'confirmed kill'."

Nguyen returned to the US, where he told associates he had offered to train al Qaeda forces in Syria but was turned down.

The judge who accepted the guilty plea had previously expressed scepticism about whether Nguyen had any special skills to offer the terror group.

Prosecutors said that between August 3 and October 11 Nguyen met with a man he thought was an al Qaeda recruiter but who actually was working for the FBI.

Nguyen is due to be sentenced on March 21.

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