Ukraine's EU Deal: 'Not A Good Day For Russia'

Beyond all the bickering over the EU presidency, a bit of history was being made at the summit in Brussels on Friday.

Three former states of the USSR - Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova - signed association agreements with the European Union, formally shifting their countries away from their Soviet past, towards a new, European future.

For Ukraine, this is the culmination of what so many fought for on the Maidan - the local name for the popular uprising in Kiev, which removed president Victor Yanukovych from power.

It was his refusal to sign this very same EU trade deal in November that brought the first of the protesters onto the streets, triggering a movement against a presidency many saw as corrupt and leading their country back to its old Kremlin masters.

The EU flag became one of the symbols of the protest - they flew it from the barricades and wrapped it around themselves - demanding what they saw as European human rights: justice, democracy, and the rule of law.

Petro Poroshenko (R) and EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy shake hands

For all of the sentiment expressed by British politicians of late, it's worth remembering what the European Union means to so many of those beyond its borders in the east of the continent.

I remember one man telling me he considered himself middle class - that he had a nice apartment, a nice car, plenty to lose.

But he wanted a future for his children and grandchildren that would be fairer - that would not be subject to the whim of local bureaucrats or the ability to grease the right palms.

He was realistic about the short-term pain that would follow, but he said it would be worth it.

He wanted a 'European' future for his children.

Of course the reality will not be utopian.

The security situation in the East is deteriorating, Kiev insists, fuelled by the Kremlin.

A ceasefire is supposedly in place in Ukraine

Despite the ceasefire supposedly in place, on Thursday night four Ukrainian servicemen were killed, five wounded, in fighting near Kramatorsk.

The United Nations' refugee agency says 110,000 people have fled across the border into Russia since the start of the year.

The national finances are in a parlous state: the currency has fallen 45% since January, the price of Russian gas is rocketing, and that's before Moscow has enacted the "grave consequences" its deputy foreign minister warned would follow.

For Russia this has not been a good day.

Mr Putin wanted Ukraine to join his own Eurasian Customs Union - watching this 'brotherly nation' instead publicly wrenching itself from the Kremlin's sphere of influence is deeply troubling.

This is not just about losing Ukraine to Europe - it's the prospect of the EU, and with it the old Cold War bogeyman of Nato, expanding East, right up to Russia's border.

Ukraine's success, or otherwise, will depend on Russia's reaction, and western politicians' resolve.

But Friday was an important day - "perhaps the most important day", said President Petro Poroshenko, in the country's post-independence history, "a symbol of faith, and unbreakable will".

He will need both in the months to come.

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US Armed Drones Take To The Skies Over Iraq

US And Iranian Drones Flying Over Iraq

Updated: 5:16am UK, Saturday 28 June 2014

By Dominic Waghorn, US Correspondent, Washington

US officials have confirmed that armed drones are now flying in the skies above Baghdad. Previously, US drones operating there were thought to be unarmed.

All unmanned aerial missions will remain tasked with surveillance but the armed drones could be called on to protect the hundreds of US troops who've been sent to act as military advisers.

President Obama has for now ruled out offensive military action in Iraq, but this will give him the ability to respond quickly with force should US assets become threatened.

It also means that US and Iranian drones are almost certainly for the first time flying in the same theatre of war, on the same side. 

US press reports claim Iran is also operating drones from an airfield in Baghdad. 

American and Iranian objectives in Iran overlap. 

Both countries are determined to reverse the fortunes of ISIS - for different reasons. 

Iran is concerned about the threat to its ally, the Shiite-dominated government of Iraq, fellow Shia Iraqis, and Shia holy places. 

The US is concerned by the success of an Islamist movement so extreme it's been condemned by al Qaeda.

American officials have been at pains to rule out coordinating military activity in Iraq with Iran. 

But they have said they are willing to explore a dialogue to explore mutual interests in the country.

Iranian commanders are reported to be operating in Baghdad. Qassem al Suleimani, commander of the elite Iranian Quds Brigade, is said to be among them.  

He is thought to have helped organise Iranian support for Iraqi militia attacks on both US and British troops over the last decade, not least with the use of roadside bombs.

He is now thought to be advising the Iraqi military on defending Baghdad and taking on ISIS after its blitzkrieg advance through the west of the country. 

At the same time and in the same city, as many as 300 US military advisers are working with other elements of the Iraqi forces with the same purpose.

The US government has said it is concerned the Iranians' involvement could increase the risk of sectarian conflict in Iraq. 

Iran is interested in protecting Shia Iraqis in what is spiralling towards civil war.

For its part, Iran has voiced concerns America is trying to stage-manage events in Iraq with only its interests in mind and orchestrate the removal of the Shia prime minister Nouri al Maliki.

But both countries are prepared to overcome such friction in the interest of defeating a common enemy and maintaining influence in Iraq. 

The Iranians are reportedly making a bigger investment to that end, operating a round-the-clock air bridge into Baghdad funnelling tons of materiel into Iraq.

America may look on with alarm at the burgeoning Iranian presence in Iraq and what Teheran may expect in return. 

But for now the rise of ISIS remains a bigger worry and Washington has little choice but to work alongside its enemies to vanquish a bigger foe.

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Russia Accuses US Over Ukraine Confrontation

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the US of encouraging Ukraine into a confrontation with Moscow.

And he claimed the chances of resolving the Cold War-style crisis would be higher if only Russia and Europe were involved.

Mr Lavrov suggested the US was an obstacle to settling the Ukraine conflict

Speaking on television, Mr Lavrov said: "Our American colleagues still prefer to push the Ukrainian leadership toward a confrontational path".

It came after EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Friday decided against  immediately imposing new sanctions on Russia for destabilising eastern Ukraine, but gave Moscow and pro-Russian separatists until Monday to take steps to improve the situation.

They also signed agreements with with Ukraine and two other former Soviet states to establish closer political and economic links with Europe.

More follows...

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Sao Paulo Drug Addicts Gripped By 'Cracklands'

By Alex Rossi, Senior Correspondent

Brazil's leading addiction expert has told Sky News a generation of young people are being lost to the country's growing crack epidemic.

Ronaldo Laranjeira said the problem with crack use has become so acute over the last decade it is like a war.

He claimed the latest research shows one-third of all users die within 12 years of getting hooked.

"We say they're like zombies because they've lost a lot of weight ... they've lost some of humanity," he said.

"That's why the crack can produce a sort of brain damage - if you use crack cocaine for years on end, the structure of your brain changes."

Former addict Desiree: 'In five seconds it goes to your mind'

Many of Brazil's cities now have places known as 'Cracolandias', or Cracklands.

They are open street markets where the highly addictive drug is bought and consumed.

Prince Harry is expected to visit one of the worst areas in the mega-city of Sao Paulo, as his tour of Brazil comes to an end.

He will tour the area with Mayor Fernando Haddad, who will explain how they have adopted a policy of providing housing, food and work for addicts in a bid to tackle the drug problem.

The Prince recently described how he was reduced to tears by the moving stories of young Brazilian children who had lost parents to drugs, violence or prison.

Ronaldo Laranjeira: 'They are like zombies. They have lost some humanity'

Sao Paulo's Cracolandia is dangerous and chaotic, with rambling users lighting-up openly under the gaze of the police who look intimidated.

Addict Bruna told Sky News there are often fights and people will commit murder for the cost of a hit of the drug.

Crack cocaine in such areas has effectively been decriminalised.

The problem is so big the best the authorities can do to contain it is to try and stop it spreading to other neighbourhoods.

Recovering addict Desiree, who has been clean for three years, said the crack epidemic is destroying parts of Brazil.

There are more than a million crack-cocaine users in Brazil

"You use it and in five seconds it goes to your mind and you need the drugs every time," she said.

"It's an epidemic in Brazil. It's terrible. When you look, it's a war."

There are more than one million users in Brazil - about 1% of the adult population - and the social cost of rising crime is enormous.

As the economy has grown, so too has the appetite for drugs.

Competition among the drug lords means prices are kept low and a user can stay high all day for just a few pounds.

Clarice Sandi Madrugo, a substance abuse researcher, said it is because of this that crack is so deadly.

"It's much easier to get crack than getting anything else and we're talking about a very addictive drug that's the cheapest in the world," he said.

"Brazil has the cheapest crack cocaine in the world."

Sao Paulo has set up a number of treatment centres to help addicts but in most cities there is little in the way of drug policy.

Experts claim it means Brazil's struggle with the crack cocaine addiction is likely to get worse before it gets better. 

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Cleric To 'Shake The Ground' Fighting Militants

A Shiite cleric has warned that his supporters will "shake the ground" fighting Sunni militants in Iraq.

In a televised address, Moqtada al Sadr also expressed opposition to US military advisors meeting Iraqi commanders to provide tactical advice over repelling a Sunni insurgency that has overrun swathes of the country and killed more than 1,000 people.

Iraq's beleaguered military were initially overcome by the ferocity of the insurgency that captured several strategic cities in the country, including Qaim, Rawa, Haditha and Ramadi.

Government forces have since recovered ground and repelled further assaults on other critical towns and infrastructure, though there are reports the offensive has since been bolstered by Islamist rebels from Syria joining forces with the Iraqi insurgency.

Mehdi Army women loyal to al Sadr parade in Baghdad

US officials have also revealed that Syria launched airstrikes into western Iraq on Tuesday in an attempt to disrupt the insurgency fighting both the Syrian and Iraqi governments.

Syrian President Bashar Assad's government is has been locked in a bloody civil war with opposition groups since 2011.

Al Sadr also called for "new faces" in a national unity government after elections in April saw prime minister Nuri al Maliki win with the most seats, though he failed to secure a majority.

But al Maliki warned he would not be sidelined by rivals seeking to use the insurgency and fragile state of the country to try to oust him.

Such a move was "an attempt by those who are against the constitution to eliminate the young democratic process and steal the votes of the voters," he said.

The US has made concerted efforts to unite Iraq's fractious political leaders in the face of the offensive led by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) jihadist group, though they have shown little sign of coming together.

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Missing Malaysia Airlines Jet 'On Autopilot'

Australian officials say they are confident missing flight MH370 was flying on autopilot when it disappeared.

The Malaysia Airlines plane vanished on March 8 carrying 239 passengers while travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

The search area in the hunt for the missing jet has shifted several hundred miles south of the most recent suspected crash site in a remote stretch of Indian Ocean, where a remote underwater drone had been scouring 330 square miles of seabed.

A huge search of an area in the Indian Ocean has failed to find the plane

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said the new search area, about 1,100 miles off Australia's west coast,  is based on fresh analysis of existing satellite data.

He said: "The new priority area is still focused on the seventh arc, where the aircraft last communicated with satellite.

"We are now shifting our attention to an area further south along the arc based on these calculations."

Martin Dolan, chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, said: "Certainly for its path across the Indian Ocean, we are confident that the aircraft was operating on autopilot until it ran out of fuel."

However, why the autopilot would have been set on a flight path so far off course, and when exactly it was switched on remains unknown.

Families of the missing have been left increasingly angry and frustrated

The new search zone of up to 60,000 square kilometres (24,000 square miles) is in the southern corridor and is based on where the aircraft last communicated with an Inmarsat satellite.

A survey will be carried out by two surface vessels to map the ocean floor of the area, which will take three months.

A comprehensive underwater search, using powerful side-scan sonar capable of probing depths of more than four miles, will start in August and take up to 12 months to complete.

Mr Truss said he was optimistic the latest search zone is the most likely crash site, but warned finding the plane remains a huge task.

He said: "The search will still be painstaking. Of course, we could be fortunate and find it in the first hour or the first day - but it could take another 12 months."

The switch in the hunt comes after it emerged acoustic pings thought to have come from the plane's two flight recorders were not from the aircraft after all, leaving search teams scouring the wrong area.

It is thought the sounds came from a search boat or the ping detector itself, ruling out the area originally thought to be where the plane had come down.

Earlier this month, the relatives of missing passengers announced they were seeking to raise $5m (£3m) to offer as a reward to any "whistleblower" who can offer information leading to the discovery of the lost plane.

Many of the families believe there has been a cover-up and are hoping the money will tempt an insider to come forward.

The Boeing 777 is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, but an extensive search has turned up no sign of wreckage so far, leaving families increasingly frustrated.

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US Troops Arrive In Baghdad On ISIS Mission

The first team of American military advisers has arrived in Iraq to help the country tackle the threat from Islamist insurgents.

About 40 of the 300 expected to be deployed to the Middle Eastern country were described by the Pentagon as having "started their mission".

Admiral John Kirby told reporters that two "initial assessment teams" have been deployed in Baghdad.

He said their role would be to assess the Iraqi army and not to engage in attacks on militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), who have seized several towns north of Baghdad.

Admiral Kirby said: "This isn't about rushing to the rescue.

"These teams will assess the cohesiveness and readiness of the Iraqi security forces ... and examine the most effective and efficient way to introduce follow-on advisers."

Pentagon spokesman Admiral John Kirby

In addition to the first 40, about 90 troops are thought to have arrived to set up a joint operations centre. Another 50 are expected to join them shortly.

It came as Iraqi air strikes killed at least 38 people in their battle to hold off the advancing ISIS forces.

Militants had launched a push to seize Iraq's largest oil refinery, located near Baiji, but the attack was repelled.

The refinery provides up to 50% of Iraq's demand for petroleum products until it stopped production as Sunni fighters launched attacks on the site.

Jihadists from ISIS have overrun several towns and cities in the north of the country.

Security forces, who turned and ran when the invasion started, are struggling to hold ground.

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Fifa Opens Suarez Bite Claim Disciplinary Action

Fifa has opened disciplinary proceedings against Luis Suarez after he was accused of biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini.

The striker and the Uruguayan FA have until 9pm UK time to "provide their position and any documentary evidence they deem relevant".

Suarez has already commented on the incident, declaring: "These things happen on the pitch."

The striker clashed with Chiellini in the 79th minute of his country's Group D match, a game they won 1-0 to advance to the last 16.

Television replays showed Suarez moving his head towards Chiellini, who responded by swinging his arm.

It appears that Suarez then sank his teeth into the defender's shoulder.

The Uruguay striker has previous after biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic

Defending the alleged attack he said: "We were both just inside the area, he struck me in the chest with his shoulder and he hit me in the eye as well.

"These are things that happen on the pitch and you shouldn't attach so much importance to them.

"I'm very happy to have qualified. We are taking each game as it comes, we know that we're in a difficult situation, we're at our limits now."

Fifa can hit players with retrospective bans of up to two years if its disciplinary commission decides there is a case to answer.

Speaking to Rai TV after the game, Chiellini said: "It was ridiculous not to send Suarez off.

"It is clear, clear-cut and then there was the obvious dive afterwards because he knew very well that he did something that he shouldn't have done."

Suarez handball at South Africa 2010

Suarez served a 10-match ban last year for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.

Before his move to Liverpool in 2011, Suarez was suspended for seven matches by the Netherlands football federation after biting PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal when he played for Ajax.

In the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Suarez was sent off for a deliberate handball that helped Uruguay into the semi-final.

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The Seven Sins Of Bad Boy Striker Luis Suarez

The Liverpool striker is no stranger to controversy - with one incident leading him to be dubbed "the cannibal of Ajax".

Here are just a few of his misdemeanours:

Suarez described the handball as 'save of the tournament'

FEBRUARY 2007: He is sent off late on in his debut for Uruguay against Colombia after picking up a second yellow card for dissent.

Suarez dubbed the 'cannibal of Ajax'

JULY 2010: Suarez stopped a certain goal by Ghana in the World Cup quarter-final. He was sent off but Asamoah Gyan's penalty was saved and the Ghana lost the penalty shootout. After the match the striker said: "I made the save of the tournament."

NOVEMBER 2010:  He was dubbed the "cannibal of Ajax" after he bit PSV Einhoven's Otman Bakkal's shoulder in a Dutch league game. He was banned for seven matches.

Suarez refused to shake Evra's hand

OCTOBER 2011:  Alleged to have racially abused Manchester United's Patrice Evra during a Premier League match. He was later found guilty, banned for eight matches and fined £40,000.

FEBRUARY 2012: The Liverpool striker stirred up tensions after refusing to shake Evra's hand before their Premier League game at Old Trafford.

Liverpool striker munches on Ivanovic's arm

OCTOBER 2012: Celebrates a goal against Everton by diving in front of then manager David Moyes, who had earlier claimed that "divers" such as Suarez were putting fans off the game.

APRIL 2013: Suarez bit Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic's arm in a Premier League clash. He was banned for 10 games.

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John Kerry In Iraq As ISIS Tightens Grip

Faith Lost In Iraq PM Amid Political Limbo

Updated: 5:46pm UK, Friday 20 June 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor, in Baghdad

The US President, Shia politicians, Sunni chieftans and none other than the Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani has joined the clamour for Iraq's Prime Minister to move fast and form a government.

The nation has languished since elections on April 30 in a political limbo that arguably undermined faith in the central government, even among the Shia-dominated armed forces.

That might, partly, explain their rapid collapse in the face of far fewer forces from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) plus their allies.

But now that Iraq's supreme court has ratified the results of the elections what possible reason could Nouri al Maliki have for delay?

One explanation may simply be political.

His stewardship over previous years has entrenched sectarian divisions and seen an explosion in corruption.

His party bloc won 92 of the 328 seats in Iraq's parliament and he'll need 165 to form a coalition administration.

He, therefore, has to get involved in some serious horse trading with other Shia parties to build his coalition.

But they are now losing faith in him. Particularly in his apparent refusal to reach out to Sunni parties and offer them stakes in the central government - such as a security portfolio and a ministry which would give them access to patronage systems such as an education or public works - so that they feel both secure and that they have an investment in the future political structures.

A more conspiratorial thesis, fuelled by the conspiratorial utterances of lame duck ministers left over from the previous administration, is that Iraq's latest travails are the fault of external forces.

Jordan, Saudi Arabia (both Sunni countries), the US and others are being blamed for manipulating the Middle East and somehow creating ISIS.

There is evidence of Saudi individual, and possible state funding, for extremist militant groups in Syria, which may include ISIS.

And Jordan has played a significant role in trying to boost the fortunes of the non-extremist Free Syrian Army.

But Mr al Maliki may have calculated that he can either weather the latest storm - or let ISIS form an impoverished caliphate in the desert north of his country which would leave the Shia with Baghdad and the south.

It's the south, after all, that holds the lion's share of the world's second largest oil reserves.

It can ship its oil out through the Gulf, via Kuwait, or via Iran.

A Shia state or semi-state would not only be self-sufficient - it would be spared the burden of sharing Iraq's spoils with other sectarian groups like the Sunni and the Kurds (who already have their own autonomy and oil industry).

Such a move, or allowing events to drift to this reality, would place the south of Iraq firmly inside Iran's imperial embrace.

That is not something that Saudi Arabia would be able to tolerate in the long term as it vies with Iran for influence in the Middle East.

Nor is it anything that a rump Sunni 'caliphate' would be able to live with - the extremists within it would forever plot how to steal it back by force.

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S Korean Soldier Captured After Shoot-Out

A South Korean soldier who killed five members of his own unit has been captured in dense forest after a failed suicide attempt.

The 22-year-old, identified only by his surname Lim, shot himself in the stomach after his father and brother pleaded with him to surrender, according to a Defence Ministry official.

Some 4,000 soldiers, backed up by helicopters, had surrounded the conscript soldier during a 24-hour stand-off, which started when he was tracked down in the forest.

Lim had been hiding there for two days after launching the grenade and gun attack, which also injured seven, on Saturday at his base in Goseong, near the border with North Korea.

Thousands of soldiers hunted Lim after he fled the base in Goseong

After the attack he fled with his standard-issue K2 assault rifle and 60 rounds of ammunition. 

When troops tried to capture him, he stood his ground and opened fire. During the exchange, a platoon leader was wounded in the arm and another soldier was injured by friendly fire.

Officials had negotiated with him via a loud speaker to persuade him to surrender and threw him a mobile phone so he could talk to his father. They also threw him bread and bottled water. 

The soldier was reportedly in tears when he asked negotiators to hand their phone to his father.

Some 500 residents evacuated from nearby homes during the initial shootout

"He talked to his parents for several minutes, and they pleaded with him to surrender," an official said.

After being captured, Lim was rushed to hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.

Lim's motives remain unclear. He had been on a scheduled list to be discharged from the army in September and was described as an introvert who had difficulty adapting to military life.

He was on a list of "those who require special attention," said an officer, who added there had been concerns about his psychological health, but he was deemed fit to be deployed to the outpost after passing a test in November.

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Al Jazeera Journalists Jailed For Seven Years

Three Al Jazeera journalists have each been jailed for seven years in Egypt after being found guilty of aiding terrorism.

Australian Peter Greste, Canadian-Egyptian national Mohammed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed were convicted of spreading false news and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.

Mr Mohamed received an additional three years on a separate charge involving possession of weapons.

They had denied all the allegations against them in Cairo.

Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste appears in court in Egypt

The case has provoked outrage from freedom of speech activists.

US Secretary of State was among those to have lobbied the Egyptian government.

Sky News and the BBC had also called for the trio's release.

Another 11 defendants were sentenced in absentia to 10 years.

More follows...

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Italy: Pope Denounces 'Evil' Crime Syndicate

Pope Francis has described an Italian crime syndicate as "the adoration of evil", adding Mafiosi "are excommunicated".

He was speaking about the 'ndrangheta group during a Mass in southern Italy.

It was the strongest attack on organised crime since the late Pope John Paul hit out at the Sicilian Mafia in 1993.

Francis made the comments after meeting the father and two grandmothers of a murdered three-year-old in the courtyard of a prison in the town of Castrovillari.

Coco' Campolongo was shot along with one of his grandfathers and the grandfather's companion in an attack blamed on drug turf wars in the nearby Cassano allo Ionio.

The father was in prison at the time of the killings in January. 

The Pope greets residents of Cassano allo Ionio

The gunmen also torched the car with the three victims inside. The Pope publicly expressed his horror at the attack and promised to visit the town.

Francis embraced the father, who asked him to pray for the boy's mother, who was said to be under house arrest.

According to a Vatican spokesman, Francis told him: "May children never again have to suffer in this way."

"The two grandmothers were weeping like fountains," the spokesman added.

Calabria is the power base of the 'ndrangheta, a global drug trafficking syndicate whose activities also include extortion and blackmail.

After greeting 200 male and female inmates at the prison, Francis met patients at a hospice and had lunch with underprivileged people and drugs addicts at a rehabilitation facility.

The 77-year-old appeared to be coping well despite the hectic schedule and scorching temperatures.

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Fifa Bosses 'Secretly Doubled Their Salaries'

Blood On Dancefloor As Sepp Faces European Critics

Updated: 4:00am UK, Wednesday 11 June 2014

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent, Rio de Janeiro

When Sepp Blatter shimmied onto stage at the Fifa Congress alongside Brazilian model Fernanda Lima he did not look much like a man under pressure.

As he jigged about like a man at his granddaughter's wedding, Blatter was in his element, playing to type at the opening ceremony of an event he has long choreographed to his own ends.

You certainly would not have guessed this was a man who started the day facing an open challenge to his leadership from inside the "football family" of which he imagines himself patriarch.

Blatter is well used to criticism from beyond the gates. This is a man, after all, who has not been able to risk a speech at a World Cup finals since he was booed at the 2002 Japan-South Korea World Cup.

But he is certainly not used to being criticised so openly and directly on his own turf as he was on Tuesday.

FA chairman Greg Dyke is new to "Fifaland" and had little to lose, and much to gain domestically, from taking Blatter on. But his message was unarguable.

The allegations against Qatar are not the result of a conspiracy, or racism. Rather they are the product of a competitive, engaged media worrying away at a questionable decision made by a demonstrably flawed organisation.

To suggest otherwise is to admit, as many within Uefa believe, that Blatter does not really believe in cleaning up Fifa or the work of US attorney Michael Garcia, commissioned to investigate the Qatar allegations.

Dyke's Dutch counterpart Michael Van Praag, meanwhile, said plainly what many have long believed; Fifa cannot be credibly reformed with Blatter at the helm because the scandals of the last decade occurred on his watch.

And yet Fifa being Fifa, there is always a political dance going on, and so it was here.

Uefa's opposition at least makes them look like they speak for the interests of players, clubs and the fans they ultimately represent.

But Dyke and Van Praag, no matter how well-intentioned, were really doing someone else's dirty work. Michel Platini, Uefa President, one-time advisor to Blatter and for a while his most credible opponent, was silent. Uefa wants change - and many support them - but their leader kept his head down.

Perhaps it is because he is compromised over Qatar having openly voted for them. Or perhaps he believes that no matter how uncomfortable Uefa made one afternoon for Blatter, their opposition is unlikely to prevent him winning another term as president.

That is the reality of Blatter's grip over Fifa. He commands a majority of the 209 member nations, and his announcement this week of increased bonuses from World Cup profits to all of them will ensure he keeps it.

Uefa has six months to change the music by finding a candidate capable of taking him on and winning. If they don't, Blatter will waltz on to a fifth term.

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MI6 Fears 300 Islamist Fighters Back In UK

Faith Lost In Iraq PM Amid Political Limbo

Updated: 5:46pm UK, Friday 20 June 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor, in Baghdad

The US President, Shia politicians, Sunni chieftans and none other than the Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani has joined the clamour for Iraq's Prime Minister to move fast and form a government.

The nation has languished since elections on April 30 in a political limbo that arguably undermined faith in the central government, even among the Shia-dominated armed forces.

That might, partly, explain their rapid collapse in the face of far fewer forces from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) plus their allies.

But now that Iraq's supreme court has ratified the results of the elections what possible reason could Nouri al Maliki have for delay?

One explanation may simply be political.

His stewardship over previous years has entrenched sectarian divisions and seen an explosion in corruption.

His party bloc won 92 of the 328 seats in Iraq's parliament and he'll need 165 to form a coalition administration.

He, therefore, has to get involved in some serious horse trading with other Shia parties to build his coalition.

But they are now losing faith in him. Particularly in his apparent refusal to reach out to Sunni parties and offer them stakes in the central government - such as a security portfolio and a ministry which would give them access to patronage systems such as an education or public works - so that they feel both secure and that they have an investment in the future political structures.

A more conspiratorial thesis, fuelled by the conspiratorial utterances of lame duck ministers left over from the previous administration, is that Iraq's latest travails are the fault of external forces.

Jordan, Saudi Arabia (both Sunni countries), the US and others are being blamed for manipulating the Middle East and somehow creating ISIS.

There is evidence of Saudi individual, and possible state funding, for extremist militant groups in Syria, which may include ISIS.

And Jordan has played a significant role in trying to boost the fortunes of the non-extremist Free Syrian Army.

But Mr al Maliki may have calculated that he can either weather the latest storm - or let ISIS form an impoverished caliphate in the desert north of his country which would leave the Shia with Baghdad and the south.

It's the south, after all, that holds the lion's share of the world's second largest oil reserves.

It can ship its oil out through the Gulf, via Kuwait, or via Iran.

A Shia state or semi-state would not only be self-sufficient - it would be spared the burden of sharing Iraq's spoils with other sectarian groups like the Sunni and the Kurds (who already have their own autonomy and oil industry).

Such a move, or allowing events to drift to this reality, would place the south of Iraq firmly inside Iran's imperial embrace.

That is not something that Saudi Arabia would be able to tolerate in the long term as it vies with Iran for influence in the Middle East.

Nor is it anything that a rump Sunni 'caliphate' would be able to live with - the extremists within it would forever plot how to steal it back by force.

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