Russia: Talks On Ukraine Crisis 'Constructive'

Family Of IS Hostage Hopeful She Is Still Alive

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 07 Februari 2015 | 16.15

The family of US hostage Kayla Jean Mueller say they are hopeful she is still alive despite Islamic State claims that she was killed in a Jordanian airstrike.

In a statement released by a family representative, Ms Mueller's parents Marsha and Carl Mueller made a personal appeal to IS.

"You told us that you treated Kayla as your guest, as your guest her safety and well-being remains your responsibility," they said, addressing "those in positions of responsibility for holding Kayla".

The statement asked IS to contact the family privately.

According to the Site Intelligence Group which monitors extremists, IS said the 26-year-old aid worker died on Friday after Jordanian warplanes struck the building where she was being held.

The terrorist group said no IS fighters died in the raids in their de facto capital of Raqqa, Syria.

It released images showing a damaged building it said had been targeted in airstrikes, but no photos to back their claims Ms Mueller had been killed.

The White House, State Department and Pentagon have said they can't confirm the unsubstantiated report.

"We are obviously deeply concerned by these reports," said Bernadette Meehan, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, in a statement.

"We have not at this time seen any evidence that corroborates ISIL's claim."

Jordan has also dismissed the IS claim as "criminal propaganda", but said its jets did carry out a second consecutive day of strikes on IS sites on Friday.

It has stepped up its operations against IS since the militants burned to death a captured Jordanian pilot.

Ms Mueller, of Prescott, Arizona, disappeared in August 2013 in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo.

A media blackout on her abduction was broken by President Barack Obama on Sunday, when he confirmed IS still had at least one US hostage.

He said the US was "deploying all the assets that we can" to find Ms Mueller.

Her name had not been made public due to fears for her safety.

The group has already executed three American hostages: James Foley, Peter Kassig and Steven Sotloff.

Two British hostages, David Haines and Alan Henning, and two Japanese hostages, Kenjo Goto and Haruna Yukawa, have also been killed.

British reporter John Cantlie is still being held captive.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ukraine Desperation As Vital Supplies Run Dry

In Luhansk, one of the areas to suffer most in the conflict, there is a growing humanitarian crisis as food and medical shortages render the population powerless.

The streets of central Luhansk are punctuated by shell damage. Shop after shop has closed down.

There has been periodic fighting nearby, but people have been living like this for eight months now.

Beyond the immediate conflict, is a growing humanitarian crisis.

Pensions here haven't been paid since September, so many people are now dependent on public canteens.

In one centre we visited staff were giving out a daily meal of soup, fruit juice, and two pieces of bread, but increasingly they find they are having to turn people away.

Social worker Igor Chaika said: "There are really a lot of people coming here, but we can only make 100 litres, which is 300 portions.

"We can't make more, some people are obviously upset by that - there is not enough for everyone."

Some of those left homeless by the conflict are living in university dorms.

We met a mother who had fled the shelling with her six-year-old son last summer. She said he still wakes up in fear at night.

Anna Kuznetsova told us: "He wakes up crying, and dresses himself up. He got used to doing that.

"A psychologist comes into the kindergarten, but he is afraid - as soon as it's loud he is afraid."

The water is off for most of the day, when it comes back on there's a long queue to fill up containers, and the water pressure is weak.

On the floor above, 77-year-old Nina Nikolayevna showed us where she is living.

She had her own flat this time last year, but now she's sharing a room with two other elderly ladies.

She said Doctors Without Borders had given them blankets and sheets, but they had seen no other humanitarian aid.

"We go to the social canteen, it starts at 11 and they feed us once, but you know what kind of food it is there," Ms Nikolayevna explained.

"They don't give us anything on Sunday, there's nothing."

One of her roommates, 64-year-old Nina Shershen, added: "No one helps us, we are people as well.

"It's not we who created this war, it is them who came here and destroyed everything - how can we live like this?"

At the city's cancer hospital, the head doctor, Dr Alexander Torba, showed us where their buildings had been shelled.

As a result, one of their nurses was killed last year.

Staff are now working without salaries and they have no running water, but their biggest concern is chemotherapy drugs.

Dr Torba says they have around one week's supply left: "The big problem is with the anti-tumour medicines. There is not enough in the pharmacies and it's expensive. People don't have money to buy it."

Irina Timachuk, 54, has stage one ovarian cancer and needs to start her next chemotherapy cycle in 20 days.

She said: "We need treatment and we want to live. We are not old yet; my life is not over yet. I want to live, that's it. If I don't receive treatment it's over."

Valentina Gukosen, 51, who has stage three ovarian cancer, added: "I want to ask for help. I want to live. I'm not that old, but what shall I do?"

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Russia: Talks On Ukraine Crisis 'Constructive'

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Work is under way on a proposal to end the crisis in Ukraine following "constructive" talks with the leaders of Germany and France, Russia has said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held late-night talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande in Moscow on Friday in what was widely seen as a last-ditch attempt to thrash out a deal to end fighting which has claimed the lives of more than 5,300 people.

Clashes between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces in the east of the country have escalated in recent weeks, despite a peace deal agreed in Minsk last September.

The West accuses Russia of sending troops and weapons across the border although Moscow has consistently denied backing the rebels.

Despite no major breakthrough in negotiations, a Kremlin spokesman said Friday's talks were "substantial and constructive".

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Gallery: Civilians Flee Besieged Ukrainian Town

A member of the Ukrainian armed forces assists local residents onto a bus to flee fighting in Debaltseve, eastern Ukraine

Two dozen buses escorted civilians out of the town after separatist rebels and government forces agreed a brief truce to allow civilians to be evacuated. Click through for more images ...

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"At the moment joint work is under way on preparing the text of a possible joint document on implementation of the Minsk agreements - a document which would include proposals made by the president of Ukraine and proposals formulated today and added by Russian President Putin," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Mrs Merkel and Mr Hollande went to Moscow with a peace proposal discussed during a separate meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko a day earlier.

Mr Peskov said they would discuss the proposal further during a phone conversation with Mr Putin on Sunday.

He indicated Mr Poroshenko would also take part.

Asked at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday whether he thought the peace proposal could work, Mr Poroshenko replied: "Yes."

The talks came as rebels and Ukrainian troops briefly halted fighting in the embattled eastern town of Debaltseve to allow the evacuation of civilians.

Both sides sent convoys of buses into the town to rescue residents who have been trapped without power, heat or running water for two weeks.

Rebel forces have encircled the town and are engaged in a violent battle for control with government troops.

Debaltseve is a key railway hub between the two main rebel-controlled cities of Donetsk and Luhansk which are facing a major humanitarian crisis.

Fears that the conflict is spiralling out of control have prompted the US to consider supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine, an option opposed by European nations.

Speaking in Brussels US Vice President Joe Biden said Ukraine was fighting for survival in the face of growing Russian military involvement.

"We, the US and Europe as a whole, have to stand with Ukraine at this moment," Mr Biden said.

"Russia cannot be allowed to redraw the map of Europe."

British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon warned, however, that providing additional weapons could escalate the conflict.

His comments, at the start of a security conference in Munich, were echoed by Germany's defence minister Ursula von der Leyen.

"Are we sure that we would be improving the situation for the people in Ukraine by delivering weapons?" Mrs Von der Leyen asked the conference.

"Are we really sure that Ukraine can win against the Russian military machine?" she added.

US Secretary of State John Kerry is set to meet Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the conference this weekend.

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Written By Unknown on Jumat, 06 Februari 2015 | 16.15

By Nick Martin, Sky News Correspondent

Hundreds of children were born with HIV unnecessarily in Ukraine last year because of a shortage of vital drugs, a Sky News investigation has discovered.

A year of conflict has led to claims the country's AIDS programme is "breaking down" and not enough is being done to fight the epidemic, which has plagued the former Soviet state for more than 25 years.

War in the east of the country and political turmoil in Kiev has choked off the supply of antiretroviral drugs used to prevent the spread of the virus.

International organisations like Unicef are worried that one of the key indicators - the transferral of the virus from pregnant women to unborn children - is beginning to rise for the first time since 2002.

"There is potential for a real disaster," said Giovanna Barberis, Unicef's representative in Ukraine.

"Because of the crisis in Ukraine the system is breaking down and there is a shortage of antiretroviral drugs.

"They cost money, they are expensive and whilst the international community is there to support, it is probably not enough."

Many pregnant women who should have received antiretroviral therapy did not get access to the drug and have gone on to give birth to HIV-positive babies, Ms Barberis said.

Months of turmoil have left Ukraine's finances shattered and the government forced to sign a $17bn (£11bn) bailout with the International Monetary Fund.

Despite the warnings, Ukraine's new health minister Alexander Kvitashvili told Sky News the country has "a grip" on the epidemic.

"We're very well prepared to face the challenges and we are ready to send that message to our international donors," he said.

"Given the situation in the country, given the full-blown Russian aggression that we're facing, given the financial crisis, I think we have a grip on the situation."

But doctors on the frontline of the fight against HIV do not agree.

The National Treatment Centre in Kiev is home to 20 children, all of whom have HIV.

Many of them have been abandoned by their mothers and left to live in state-run orphanages.

Dr Vera Checheneva, an HIV specialist and paediatrician, is one of the few doctors who agrees to treat children with HIV - such is the level of fear among the medical profession.

"At the moment I feel I am not in Ukraine, that I am in Africa or somewhere," she said.

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Gallery: Mothers And Children Shunned In War-Torn Ukraine

These are antiretrovirals which can help alleviate the symptoms of HIV or AIDS. They are expensive and Ukraine needs constant help from international donors in order to keep up supply

Dr Vera Checheneva is an HIV specialist and Paediatrician at the Okhmadut clinic in Kiev. She is one of the few doctors in Ukraine willing to treat children with HIV and AIDS

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16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ukraine: Duo Jet In For Putin Truce Talks

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande are due in Moscow for talks aimed at ending the 10-month conflict in Ukraine.

The pair will try to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to sign up to a peace plan as part of their biggest push yet to halt the crisis.

It follows a meeting in Kiev with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who said discussions had raised "hope for a ceasefire".

The West sees Mr Putin as the orchestrator of rebels who have taken territory in eastern Ukraine - something the Kremlin denies.

Mrs Merkel and Mr Hollande say their new initiative is "based on the territorial integrity of Ukraine" - though few details have been made public.

Several previous peace deals have collapsed.

1/15

Gallery: Latest Pictures From Ukraine

A serviceman from the battalion 'Aydar' throws a tyre on a fire during a protest against disbanding of the battalion in front of Ukraine's Defence Ministry in Kiev

Pro-Russian separatists vowed to mobilise up to 100,000 fighters for their latest east Ukraine offensive as the US mulled sending weapons to Kiev's out-gunned forces after the latest truce bid collapsed

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Russia's Foreign Ministry said Mr Putin was ready to hold constructive talks with European leaders and Russia would "do everything it can" to help resolve the crisis.

But the spokesman added that Ukraine was using weapons that had effects similar to those of weapons of mass destruction.

The conflict, which has claimed 5,350 lives, has led to a deterioration of relations between Russian and the West.

US Secretary of State John Kerry also visited Kiev and revealed that President Barack Obama was considering arming Ukraine.

"The president is reviewing all of his options, among those options is the possibility of providing defensive systems to Ukraine," Mr Kerry said.

"The president will make his decision soon but not before he has had a chance to hear back from myself and others."

He added that Washington would prefer a diplomatic solution and that the US backed a "helpful" peace plan Mrs Merkel and Mr Hollande will present in Moscow.

However, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has warned that, in staging talks with European leaders, Mr Putin could be trying to "split the unity between the EU and the US".

Some 220 people have died in the last three weeks following an escalation of the violence.

Separatists allying themselves with Moscow have been fighting with Ukrainian troops as they attempt to set up independent states in the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.

Meanwhile, hundreds of children were born with HIV unnecessarily in Ukraine last year because of a shortage of vital drugs, a Sky News investigation has discovered.

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Written By Unknown on Kamis, 05 Februari 2015 | 16.15

The father of the Jordanian pilot who was burned alive by Islamic State has told Sky News his son's killers are "wild beasts".

His condemnation came as Jordan's King Abdullah pledged a "relentless war" against the extremists as he flew home early from Washington for crisis talks over the response to the murder of Mu'ath Al Kassasbeh.

His country's response was swift, taking revenge by executing two prisoners after a horrific video of Mr Al Kassasbeh's killing was published online.

One of them was the Iraqi would-be suicide bomber Sajida al Rishawi, who the extremists had wanted freed.

Safi, the dead pilot's father, said: "My feeling is that of every father - I am mourning my own son.

"The whole world, the Arab world, the Jordanian society is mourning with me.

"What they did is more than criminal - it's never been seen before in history.

"Even animals couldn't do this - they are wild beasts, they have no connection to Islam.

"They are not human beings let alone Muslims.

"I think the reaction of Jordan will be very strong."

There has been widespread condemnation of the fighter pilot's death, with Saudi Arabia's new King Salman describing his murder as "inhuman and contrary to Islam".

Mr Al Kassasbeh was captured by the militants in December when his F-16 crashed near Raqqa, Syria, the de facto capital of the Islamic State group's self-styled caliphate.

The 26-year-old's murder appeared to be aimed at pressuring the government of Jordan - a close US ally - to leave the coalition that has carried out months of airstrikes on IS positions in Syria and Iraq.

But experts say the brutality shown by the extremists against a fellow Muslim could backfire and serve to galvanise opposition against the militants.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Recording Of Crash Pilot's Last Words Released

An audio recording of the last communication between air traffic control and stricken TransAsia flight GE235 has been released as a rescue operation continues in Taiwan.

The audio reveals the pilot said "mayday, mayday, engine flameout" before the plane crashed in the Keelung River, killing at least 31 people.

Authorities say 12 people remain missing after the crash, which occurred shortly after the plane took off from Taipei's Songshan Airport.

Recovery teams worked through the night to lift the fuselage from the water and rescue workers retrieved the bodies of those who died.

There were 58 people on board the ATR 72-600 plane when it hit a road bridge and crashed into the river. Fifteen people survived.

Video taken by a passing driver's dashcam shows the aircraft's wing clipping a taxi after managing to avoid nearby buildings.

It then disappears from view, coming down on its side in the Keelung River about 25 metres (30 yards) from the bank.

The plane was heading for the Kinmen islands. As many as 31 passengers were Chinese, three of them children.

Kinmen's airport is a common link between Taipei and China's Fujian province.

The other 22 passengers, including one child, and five crew members were from Taiwan.

The plane, which went into service last year, was one of eight French-built ATR 72-600s ordered by TransAsia in 2012.

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Gallery: Rescue Operation Following Plane Crash

Workers hoist the wreckage of a TransAsia passenger jet that crashed into a river shortly after takeoff in Taipei, Taiwan

At least 19 people were killed and many trapped in the wreckage

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16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ukrainians Queue For Water As Shelling Nears

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By Katie Stallard, Moscow Correspondent, in Luhansk

A humanitarian crisis is deepening in villages on the frontline of the conflict in Ukraine, with US Secretary of State John Kerry due to hold talks with the country's president.

Sky News has travelled to some of the areas worst-hit by the ongoing fighting, with a significant number now suffering without any running water.

They include the small village of Irmina, where people are being forced to queue for water from a local well and many are struggling to survive without power.

The shelling has been getting closer, food supplies are running low and people are running out of money.

But there is no major rescue effort in the village, located in Lukansk region. Help is not getting through and people say they have seen no humanitarian aid convoys.

"We have no jobs, we have nothing, how can we live?" one man asked.

"Shells were coming down - we were all sitting in the basements."

Sky News visited the village as Mr Kerry headed to Kiev for talks with Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko.

We met Svetlana Zorina, who works as a nurse at the maternity unit in the next town, queuing for water with her son. She told us she has not been paid since September.

"We have no water, sometimes no light. And they say that the water won't be back for a long time, because a shell hit the pipe," she said.

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Gallery: Several Dead After Hospital Shelled

The shell hit around midday

Reports say four people were killed and several injured

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The hospital was badly damaged

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More than 5,300 people have already been killed in the war

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Another round of peace talks collapsed earlier this week

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"They are shelling all the time. Today in the maternity hospital the windows were shaking, during the day and all night."

In the village market, stall after stall has closed down, and where there is food for sale there are few with money to buy it.

The Ukrainian government has cut off pensions to those living in rebel-controlled areas and the social care system is breaking down.

The self-proclaimed separatist "people's republics" have yet to fund an alternative.

"They're coming but they have no money, even to buy bread," stallholder Nina Andreeyevna said.

"We are helping some of them, but we can't help everyone - me, myself, I am one of them, I have no pension."

We heard rocket and artillery fire close to the village - parents are afraid to let their children play outside here now.

At a children's residential school we saw shrapnel damage to the walls, and the hollow of a mortar strike in the playground, reportedly one of several in the summer.

Teachers said the children were sleeping in the basement at night for safety, as fighting has intensified in the area over the last two weeks.

Those who could be sent home have gone back to their families, but staff are still caring for several children with special needs and a little girl who was orphaned three weeks ago.

"We always have winter clothes in our common room, because it's cold down there in the basement," teacher Lyudmila Anatoleyevna said.

"If we have electricity we use the heaters, if not we work with what we have.

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Gallery: Ukrainian Army's New Conscripts

Conscripts attend a ceremony marking their enrolment in the Ukrainian army in Kiev

Relatives react as they attend the ceremony. Ukraine's parliament voted to refresh its front-line forces and resume partial conscription after a top security official warned Russian forces backing rebels had sharply increased military activity in the country's east. Continue through for more images

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"It's dangerous to go to school because the classroom is located in a different building, so they are spending their free time here in this building."

The teachers are not being paid and are dependent on local donations of food and medicine for the children.

The frontline in this region extends across a vast, rural area, leaving many small towns and villages increasingly isolated.

The recent upsurge in violence has prompted expressions of concern from the international community, but the fighting here has been going on for many months and conditions for people living here are deteriorating.

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Written By Unknown on Rabu, 04 Februari 2015 | 16.15

Iraqi Militant Executed After IS Murders Pilot

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Jordan has executed two prisoners after Islamic State murdered one of their pilots, a government spokesman has said.

One of those executed was Iraqi would-be suicide bomber Sajida al Rishawi, who was on death row for her role in a hotel attack that killed 60 people.

The other was Ziad al Karbouli, who had been an aide to the late former leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, and who was sentenced to death in 2008 for plotting terror attacks on Jordanians in Iraq.

Jordan had promised a swift and lethal response after IS released a video showing captured pilot Mu'ath Al Kassasbeh being burned alive in a cage.

IS had demanded the release of Rishawi in exchange for Mr Al Kassasbeh and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, who the militant group killed in a video posted online three days ago.

Jordan had agreed to the swap, but called off the deal after saying it had received no proof that the pilot was still alive.

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Gallery: Everything We Know About Sajida Al Rishawi

Sajida Al Rishawi, believed to be in her 40s, was known as the 'would-be bomber'

She and her husband were involved in the 2005 Amman bombings, a plot to attack a string of Jordanian hotels

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Sixty people were killed and 115 injured after other suicide bombers targeted three hotels. Al-Rishawi's device, which was packed with ball bearings, failed to detonate

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Her and her husband targeted a wedding party at the Radisson SAS hotel - the fathers of the bride and the groom were both killed

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In 2005 Al-Rishawi released a televised confession while in Jordanian custody. She was sentenced to death and lost an appeal against the conviction in 2007

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Some Arab commentators had suggested jihadist Al Karbouli could also have formed part of a prisoner swap.

The two jihadists were hanged in Swaqa prison, a large facility 70km (45 miles) south of the capital, Amman, just before dawn, a security source told Reuters.

"They were both calm and showed no emotions and just prayed," the source added.

The killing of the pilot outraged Jordanians and drew worldwide condemnation, including from President Barack Obama and the UN Security Council.

Mr Al Kassasbeh was captured by the militants in December when his F-16 crashed near Raqqa, Syria, the de facto capital of the Islamic State group's self-styled caliphate.

But observers say the extremists' brutality against a fellow Muslim could backfire and galvanise other Sunni Muslims in the region against them.

King Abdullah II, Jordan's leader, has portrayed the campaign against the extremists as a battle over values.

In a speech on Jordanian state television, he urged his countrymen to unite.

"It's the duty of all of us to stand united and show the real values of Jordanians in the face of these hardships," the monarch said from Washington.

In a statement before a meeting King Abdullah, US President Barack Obama vowed the pilot's death would "redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of our global coalition to make sure they are degraded and ultimately defeated".

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