Written By Unknown on Selasa, 24 Februari 2015 | 16.15
Two Australian men are set to be executed for drug smuggling after their latest appeal was rejected in Indonesia.
Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were found guilty in 2005 of being the ringleaders of the so-called "Bali Nine" drug smuggling gang.
They were sentenced to death the following year.
Australia has been pursuing a campaign to save the men - but the Indonesian president has refused to grant them clemency.
President Joko Widodo said: "The first thing I need to say firmly is that there shouldn't be any intervention towards the death penalty because it is our sovereign right to exercise our law."
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Gallery: Australian Prisoners Convicted Over Drug Smuggling
The Bali Nine are a group of Australians jailed for attempting to smuggle over £2m of heroin out of Indonesia. Their sentences vary: some face life - the ringleaders face the firing squad
Named as one of the ringleaders of the heroin smuggling operation, Andrew Chan was 21 years old when he was arrested
A FIFA task force has recommended playing the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in November/December.
The task force has also recommended the tournament be shortened to compensate for moving it to the winter to avoid the fierce summer heat.
Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, president of the Asian Football Confederation and head of the task force, said: "I think the recommendation is towards November/December but there are other options."
These include playing in January and February, he added.
FIFA's executive committee will make a final decision on the dates in March.
Islamic State militants have kidnapped dozens of people from Christian villages in Syria, a human rights watchdog has said.
According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the militants stormed villages inhabited by the ancient Assyrian Christian minority shortly after dawn, taking at least 90 civilians captive.
Nuri Kino, the head of the activist group A Demand For Action, quoted villagers who fled the attacks as saying between 70 and 100 people are being held.
The raids took place outside the northeastern town of Tel Hmar in the province of Hassakeh, which is mainly held by the Kurdish forces.
They come after Syrian Kurds launched a fresh push against IS in the region.
Written By Unknown on Senin, 23 Februari 2015 | 16.15
A national security hotline received 18 calls about the self-styled cleric Man Haron Monis just days before he took 18 people hostage at a cafe in Sydney, a report into the siege has revealed.
The calls between December 9 and December 12 last year all concerned offensive material on his Facebook page.
Three days later he was shot dead by police, ending the 17-hour siege which left two hostages dead.
It was later revealed the Iranian-born attacker, who had long been known to security services, was out on bail at the time of the attack for a string of charges.
Releasing the government's report - the first since the siege - Prime Minister Tony Abbott admitted "the system" had let the public down.
Video:Dec: Harrowing Siege Deaths Account
"Plainly, this monster should not have been in our community," Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney.
"He shouldn't have been allowed into the country. He shouldn't have been out on bail. He shouldn't have been with a gun. And he shouldn't have become radicalised."
The report said all 18 calls were investigated by intelligence and police authorities, but none indicated a specific intention to carry out an attack, meaning the risk assessment for Monis was not changed.
"On the basis of the information available at the time, he fell well outside the threshold to be included in the 400 highest priority counter-terrorism investigations," the review said.
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Gallery: Dec: Funerals Held For Sydney Siege Victims
A photo tribute for Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson is seen amongst flowers at a wreath laying ceremony after they were killed in a siege in the Lindt Cafe in Sydney on 16 December
Funeral services were held for the pair on 23 December. Mr Johnson's father Ken Johnson arrives for the service at St Stephen's Uniting Church
Ukrainian forces have begun the process of withdrawing heavy weapons from the frontline in agreement with separatist rebels, a military spokesman has confirmed.
However, convoys of armoured vehicles have been tracked entering Ukraine from Russia, and attacks from pro-Russia rebels have been continuing near the village of Shyrokyne, close to Mariupol.
Meanwhile, at least two people have been killed and 15 others wounded after an "unknown explosive device" was thrown from a car in the government-controlled city of Kharkiv.
The incident, which is being treated as a terrorist act by the Interior Ministry, happened during a peace march to mark one year since former president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from power. Several suspects have been detained by the Ukrainian authorities.
Speaking to Sky News, Air Chief Marshal Lord Stirrup said the UK should consider providing weapons to Ukraine, and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of running a "gangster regime".
Ukrainian prisoners wait to be exchanged for rebel troops
Earlier on Sunday, Ukrainian government troops and rebel prisoners were exchanged across the frontline at a village in the country's war-torn east.
Some 139 Ukrainian soldiers and 52 rebels were swapped, according to a separatist official.
Video:Kerry Warns Russia Over Ukraine
The exchange took place in no-man's land near the village of Zholobok, about 12 miles from Luhansk.
The Ukrainians, some on crutches, were made to walk about two miles to a rendezvous point ahead of the exchange.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko wrote on his Twitter page that he had been informed about the exchanges.
It came after Britain and the US discussed further sanctions against Russia in the wake of the breakdown of a ceasefire in Ukraine.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said Moscow was being "extraordinarily craven" in its support for Ukrainian separatists in fighting that has raged in recent days.
Pro-Moscow rebels said most of the Ukrainian soldiers released were captured during fighting for the town of Debaltseve.
Some of the soldiers exchanged appeared to be injured and both sides accused the other of mistreating prisoners.
Video:Kerry Warns Russia Over Ukraine
The peace agreement signed last week in Minsk looked forward to an exchange of all prisoners as well as a cessation of hostilities.
Under the agreement, fighting was supposed to have stopped last Sunday with the pulling back of heavy weapons taking place on Tuesday.
On Saturday, Ukraine's military and the separatists accused each other of continuing to mount attacks a week after the ceasefire was called.
Ukrainian security spokesman Colonel Andriy Lysenko said one serviceman had been killed and 40 wounded in attacks over the past day.
He added that rebels were continuing to move equipment toward the port city of Mariupol.
Ukraine is concerned that rebels will try to seize the city with a view to establishing a land corridor between mainland Russia and Crimea.
By Tom Rayner, Middle East Reporter, on the Turkey-Syria border
A senior Turkish official has called on the international community to share more intelligence information to stem the flow of foreigners to Islamic State.
As the search continues for three London schoolgirls believed to be travelling to Syria, Cemalettin Hasimi told Sky News that Turkey cannot be expected to intercept people unless efforts are made to boost the country's travel blacklist.
"It's a global problem that requires a global response," said Mr Hasimi, who advises Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on security and foreign policy.
Turkish official Cemalettin Hasimi has called for a 'global response'
"The only way to prevent their entrance is to know their name, to have a list, so that we can take necessary measures.
"It is a proven fact (that) the best way to prevent the mobility of these groups or individuals is in the source countries."
Video:Efforts To Secure Turkey's Borders
Turkey currently has a list consisting of around 10,000 individuals who will be detained and deported should they try to enter the country.
The list, compiled as a result of information shared by intelligence agencies around the world, has grown significantly in recent months.
It has grown from 5,000 names in the summer of 2014, to 7,000 names by the end of that year.
But as the case of the three missing London teenagers has shown, the task of identifying those who intend to travel to Syria remains difficult.
Although the Metropolitan Police spoke to the girls two months ago in connection with another student who travelled to Syria, that information was not passed to Turkish authorities.
Video:Turkish Airport Security Challenges
Turkey attracts an average of 35 million visitors each year.
The country has established a network of Risk Analysis Centres at entry points, staffed by intelligence officials and expert profilers who assess travellers as they make their way into the country.
More than 500 people who were not on the travel blacklist have been detained and deported as a result of the checks over the past year.
They include a man from Norway carrying parts of an assault rifle in his luggage, and a Swedish citizen with bags of military-style camouflage and other equipment, who had travelled from Denmark.
Turkey is also stepping up its efforts along the Syria border, digging a trench nearly 60 miles long and three metres deep in the Kilis region.
Video:2014: Passports Reveal Turkey Link
It is also installing concrete walls to prevent vehicles, weapons and people being smuggled along the 600 miles of border it shares with Syria.
The governor of Kilis, Suleyman Tapsis, told Sky News authorities in the region have apprehended 184 foreigners from 34 different countries in the past year.
"We are catching them with military overalls, camouflage, binoculars and other such equipment," he said.
"They have computers and the photos we find on their USB sticks make clear they are in a troubled state of mind."
During a visit to Turkey in December, Prime Minister David Cameron insisted the UK was prepared to offer "the highest level of intelligence co-operation we can possibly achieve" with Turkey.
Written By Unknown on Minggu, 22 Februari 2015 | 16.15
Alexis Tsipras has said Greece "won a battle, not the war" by cutting a financial deal with Europe after days of tense negotiations.
The Greek prime minister said his country was now leaving its period of austerity and had dispensed with the "troika" of European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank inspectors who are hated by many Greeks.
In a televised statement, he told Greeks: "Yesterday we took a decisive step, leaving austerity, the bailouts and the troika behind.
"We won a battle, not the war.
"The difficulties, the real difficulties...are ahead of us."
Without a deal in Brussels, Greece faced panic when banks opened on Tuesday after the long weekend but the country has now secured a four-month extension to its EU funding.
This means it avoids bankruptcy and an exit from the euro but it has to come up with promises of economic reforms by Monday and some, such as the Irish finance minister Michael Noonan, say the deal is only a temporary reprieve.
Mr Noonan, himself from a country which endured years of austerity under its own bailout programme, says the eurozone had given nothing to the Greeks, despite the tough talk from Mr Tsipras.
He said: "Their political problem is that this a reversal of their election position.
Video:New Greek PM Sworn In
"They're now compromising and compromising quite significantly.
"The biggest threat to Greece was that their banking system would go belly up next Wednesday."
Mr Noonan said Greece now faces another bailout on top of the two totalling €240bn that it has had since 2010, adding: "Once you get them into the safe space for the next four months, there'll be another set of discussions which will effectively involve the negotiation of a third programme for Greece."
Mr Tsipras and his Syriza party won power in Greece on the back of promises to end the country's EU and IMF bailout programme and cooperation with the "troika" that monitored their compliance with the bailout deal's conditions.
Video:Greek People Ready To 'Turn A Page'
While winning support at home from Greeks who see his actions as getting tough instead of begging to Brussels and taking orders from Berlin, Mr Tsipras is still under pressure to move fast.
About a billion euros flooded out of Greek bank accounts on Friday, due to savers' fears that the talks would fail and Athens might put measures in place to stop withdrawals in preparation to bring in its own currency.
This came after about €20bn withdrawn by Greeks since December, when the prospect of a Syriza electoral victory became clear.
By Tom Rayner, Middle East Reporter, on the Turkey-Syria border
A senior Turkish official has called on the international community to share more intelligence information to stem the flow of foreigners to Islamic State.
As the search continues for three London schoolgirls believed to be travelling to Syria, Cemalettin Hasimi told Sky News that Turkey cannot be expected to intercept people unless efforts are made to boost the country's travel blacklist.
"It's a global problem that requires a global response," said Mr Hasimi, who advises Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on security and foreign policy.
Turkish official Cemalettin Hasimi has called for a 'global response'
"The only way to prevent their entrance is to know their name, to have a list, so that we can take necessary measures.
"It is a proven fact (that) the best way to prevent the mobility of these groups or individuals is in the source countries."
Video:Efforts To Secure Turkey's Borders
Turkey currently has a list consisting of around 10,000 individuals who will be detained and deported should they try to enter the country.
The list, compiled as a result of information shared by intelligence agencies around the world, has grown significantly in recent months.
It has grown from 5,000 names in the summer of 2014, to 7,000 names by the end of that year.
But as the case of the three missing London teenagers has shown, the task of identifying those who intend to travel to Syria remains difficult.
Although the Metropolitan Police spoke to the girls two months ago in connection with another student who travelled to Syria, that information was not passed to Turkish authorities.
Video:Turkish Airport Security Challenges
Turkey attracts an average of 35 million visitors each year.
The country has established a network of Risk Analysis Centres at entry points, staffed by intelligence officials and expert profilers who assess travellers as they make their way into the country.
More than 500 people who were not on the travel blacklist have been detained and deported as a result of the checks over the past year.
They include a man from Norway carrying parts of an assault rifle in his luggage, and a Swedish citizen with bags of military-style camouflage and other equipment, who had travelled from Denmark.
Turkey is also stepping up its efforts along the Syria border, digging a trench nearly 60 miles long and three metres deep in the Kilis region.
Video:2014: Passports Reveal Turkey Link
It is also installing concrete walls to prevent vehicles, weapons and people being smuggled along the 600 miles of border it shares with Syria.
The governor of Kilis, Suleyman Tapsis, told Sky News authorities in the region have apprehended 184 foreigners from 34 different countries in the past year.
"We are catching them with military overalls, camouflage, binoculars and other such equipment," he said.
"They have computers and the photos we find on their USB sticks make clear they are in a troubled state of mind."
During a visit to Turkey in December, Prime Minister David Cameron insisted the UK was prepared to offer "the highest level of intelligence co-operation we can possibly achieve" with Turkey.
Ukrainian government troops and rebel prisoners have been exchanged across the frontline at a village in the country's war-torn east.
Some 139 Ukrainian soldiers and 52 rebels were swapped, according to a separatist official.
The exchange took place in no-man's land near the village of Zholobok, about 12 miles from Luhansk.
Ukrainian prisoners wait to be exchanged for rebel troops
The Ukrainians, some on crutches, were made to walk about two miles to a rendezvous point ahead of the exchange.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko wrote on his Twitter page that he had been informed about the exchanges.
Video:Kerry Warns Russia Over Ukraine
It came after Britain and the US discussed further sanctions against Russia in the wake of the breakdown of a ceasefire in Ukraine.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said Moscow was being "extraordinarily craven" in its support for Ukrainian separatists in fighting that has raged in recent days.
Pro-Moscow rebels said most of the Ukrainian soldiers released were captured during fighting for the town of Debaltseve.
Some of the soldiers exchanged appeared to be injured and both sides accused the other of mistreating prisoners.
The peace agreement signed last week in Minsk looked forward to an exchange of all prisoners as well as a cessation of hostilities.
Video:Kerry Warns Russia Over Ukraine
Under the agreement, fighting was supposed to have stopped last Sunday with the pulling back of heavy weapons taking place on Tuesday.
On Saturday, Ukraine's military and the separatists accused each other of continuing to mount attacks a week after the ceasefire was called.
Ukrainian security spokesman Colonel Andriy Lysenko said one serviceman had been killed and 40 wounded in attacks over the past day.
He added that rebels were continuing to move equipment toward the port city of Mariupol.
Ukraine is concerned that rebels will try to seize the city with a view to establishing a land corridor between mainland Russia and Crimea.
Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 21 Februari 2015 | 16.15
The World Health Organization has approved a rapid test for the Ebola virus which can deliver a diagnosis in just 15 minutes.
In what could be a breakthrough for bringing the epidemic in West Africa to an end, the test kits will be deployed to countries affected by Ebola within a matter of weeks.
Although less accurate than traditional tests, which can take anywhere between 12 and 24 hours, this kit does not require electricity - making it ideal for examining patients in remote areas.
During rigorous trials conducted by the WHO, the ReEBOV Antigen Rapid Test correctly identified 92% of those infected with Ebola, and 85% who were free of the virus.
The health agency has said this new testing kit should be followed up with a laboratory test wherever possible.
Video:Ebola: Schools Reopen In Liberia
Meanwhile, the UN's Mission for Ebola Emergency Response has praised Liberia's progress in slowing down the spread of the virus - but warned against complacency as the number of new patients continues to fall.
Ebola has killed more than 3,800 people in Liberia since December 2013 - but now, students are returning to their schools after they were closed for six months.
In Sierra Leone, an investigation is under way into how money meant to fight Ebola was used. Out of $5.75m (£3.75m) received in funding, a third was spent without invoices and receipts being saved.
Video:Ebola Nurse 'Happy To Be Alive'
Doctors, government officials and businesspeople now must answer to the Anti-Corruption Commission, which wants an explanation of where the cash went.
