Written By Unknown on Selasa, 31 Maret 2015 | 16.15
The relatives of the Germanwings victims may have to wait months for their loved ones to be identified, with no guarantees they will all be found, Germany's Bild newspaper has reported.
The head of the Criminal Research Institute at France's National Gendarmerie said it would take forensic teams between two and four months to complete the DNA identification process, according to Bild.
Even then, "we cannot promise that we will be able to identify all of the victims," Colonel Francois Daoust said.
Colonel Francois Daoust said they may not be able to find all the victims
The violence with which the plane crashed into the mountainside in the French Alps last week has severely hampered the identification of the remains of the 150 people on board.
Recovery teams scouring the crash site have said not a single body has been found intact.
Video:New Details Of Co-Pilot's History
Some 78 different DNA profiles have been isolated so far from around 400 body parts, although none have been directly linked to the victims.
Family members have been asked to provide forensic teams with DNA samples to help in the identification.
Investigators are currently working on the theory that the 27-year-old co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, deliberately crashed the plane.
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Gallery: The Victims Of The Germanwings Crash
American Emily Selke, a recent graduate, was on the plane with her mother Yvonne. Raymond Selke has described his wife and daughter as 'amazing people'. Pic: Facebook
Iranian sports journalist Hussein Javadi was on his way to Austria to cover a football match. A friend said he was 'a kind, loving, caring man'. Pic: Maysam Bizær/Hossein Javadi
The man who has taken a significant early lead in Nigeria's closest-ever presidential election has told Sky News he does not even know the official timetable for any run-off, such is the quiet confidence in his camp.
But the APC's Muhammadu Buhari cautioned an outright win would only happen if the count was "free and fair".
We joined Mr Buhari as the first half of results in the count showed a convincing lead for the former military ruler.
The official tally indicated the opposition leader had built up a two million vote lead on sitting President Goodluck Jonathan with the results in half the states declared.
To win, Mr Buhari needs not only the most votes but at least 25% in two-thirds of Nigerian states to avoid a run-off.
Video:Nigeria Poll: Ballots Being Counted
But this is the fourth attempt by the former general at claiming the presidential prize and he has accused the ruling PDP Party of rigging the vote in all three previous contests.
This time has been no different he said, although he told us he remained optimistic that the attempts to manipulate the ballot would be fruitless and the outcome would still be favourable for his party.
He is not alone, however, in his concerns about rigging.
The British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and his American counterpart John Kerry issued a joint statement warning that there were "disturbing indications that the collation process - where the votes are finally counted - may be subject to deliberate political interference".
If the second half of the results appear to diverge dramatically from the estimates made by independent observers, there will be mounting calls of skullduggery.
Video:Violence Disrupts Nigeria Election
The 72-year-old challenger admitted to being a little tired after an election campaign which saw him visit 35 out of the country's 36 states as well as travelling to London to talk to British opinion-makers.
He spoke passionately about his desire to restore morale amongst his countrymen and women, crackdown on Nigeria's rampant corruption and rout Boko Haram.
He has repeatedly tried to lay to rest the ghosts of his past on the campaign trail after obtaining a reputation as a hardline military ruler when he first took up the presidential reins in 1983 after the army ousted the elected leader in a coup.
He himself was deposed in another coup two years later and jailed.
Since then Mr Buhari says he has undergone a dramatic conversion from military dictator to democracy-lover.
Video:Nigeria Goes To The Polls
It was the fall of the Soviet empire - achieved without the "firing of one bullet" - which he attributes to his dramatic political change of heart.
Now though, with Nigeria's soldiers largely demoralised and complaining of poor pay, few weapons and little leadership, and a violent extremist insurgency in the north, suddenly his military background is becoming a positive asset.
Mr Buhari said: "With my background as a military man, we have to restore morale, with retraining and reorganisation.
"I am confident the military will respond favourably to me.
"Nigeria has the capacity to deal with Boko Haram.
Video:January: How Boko Haram Operates
"Nigerians are being killed in their hundreds every day and our (current) leadership sleeps soundly.
"I assure you that wouldn't happen under my leadership."
An official from Mr Buhari's camp told us on the way out: "We don't want Goodluck.
"We tell our supporters to wish us the best of luck instead."
The smiles seemed to suggest they believe they have both the luck and the votes to clinch this contest.
Urgent diplomatic talks are being held in a bid to reach a nuclear deal with Iran, with a deadline to secure an agreement fast approaching.
Significant differences reportedly remain between the two sides meeting in the Swiss town of Lausanne.
For nearly a week the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China have been trying to break the deadlock in negotiations aimed at stopping Iran from having the capacity to develop a nuclear bomb, in exchange for an easing of international sanctions that are crippling its economy.
But stumbling blocks of enrichment research and the speed of lifting sanctions is threatening to scupper an agreement that could end a 12-year standoff between Iran and the West over Tehran's nuclear ambitions and reduce the risk of another Middle East war.
All sides say an agreement is possible but uncertain
Meetings are being held in an attempt to try and bridge the remaining gaps by the deadline of midnight local time on Tuesday (11pm UK time).
The aim is to reach an understanding that could serve as the basis for a final accord to be reached by the end of June.
All sides say an agreement is possible but uncertain.
It is unclear what missing the 11pm deadline would mean for the talks which have lasted nearly two years and been extended twice since an interim agreement was reached in November 2013.
Most of the parties have indicated they do not want another extension, although they have also said the interim agreement will remain in place until 1 July, suggesting talks could continue.
Meetings are being held in an attempt to try and bridge the remaining gaps
As talks resumed on Tuesday, the spokeswoman for the US State Department tweeted: "Long day ahead."
On Monday night, Secretary of State John Kerry admitted: "There are still some tricky issues.
"We are working very hard to work those through. We are working into the night."
The six powers want more than a 10-year suspension of Iran's most sensitive nuclear work.
Tehran, which denies it is trying to develop a nuclear weapons capability, is demanding a swift end to sanctions in exchange for temporary limits on its atomic activities.
Iran says it wants nuclear enrichment only for energy, science, industry and medicine.
The world's nuclear nations
But many countries fear Iran could use the technology to make weapons-grade uranium.
There is a sense of added urgency with the US Congress warning it will consider imposing new sanctions on Iran if no agreement is reached this week.
In turn, US President Barack Obama has threatened to veto any sanctions moves by the Republican-dominated Congress.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposes the negotiations, said the agreement being put together in Lausanne sends the message "that Iran stands to gain by its aggression".
Iran said the key issue was lifting sanctions quickly.
The country's nuclear negiotiator Majid Takhteravanchi said: "There will be no agreement if the sanctions issue cannot be resolved.
Written By Unknown on Senin, 30 Maret 2015 | 16.15
Saudi-led airstrikes have destroyed every fighter jet in Yemen and forced Houthi rebels out of government air bases, a Saudi military leader has claimed.
A coalition of 10 countries began bombing Yemen on Thursday, targeting the Shia rebels and allied troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Saudi Brigadier General Ahmed bin Hasan Asiri said the aerial campaign had also "devastated" all known Scud missile launching pads in the Arab state.
The international airport in the rebel-controlled capital Sanaa was disabled and 15 pro-rebel troops killed.
A military helicopter pictured at Sanaa International Airport
The Houthis began their offensive in September, seizing Sanaa, and holding President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi under house arrest.
The rebels later took control of the government and forced Mr Hadi to flee the country.
Video:Yemen President On Houthi 'Puppets'
Mr Hadi accused Iran of being behind the Houthi offensive as leaders at an Arab summit in Egypt agreed to create a military reaction force in the Middle East.
Arab League chief Nabil al Arabi said the Saudi-led offensive would continue until the rebels "withdraw and surrender their weapons".
Egyptian officials said the planned reaction force would be made up of 40,000 elite troops, backed by jets, warships and tanks.
It raises the prospect of a regional conflict pitting Sunni Arab nations against Shia powerhouse Iran.
1/15
Gallery: Yemenis Flee As Rebels Bombed
Houthi fighters on the tarmac at the airport in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa
Inside the airport, people get ready to board flights out of the country
Technology offers the hope that the Germanwings plane disaster will never happen again, experts have told Sky News.
Systems are already in place to fly unmanned planes from the ground, but they are currently only used in the military sphere.
French prosecutors have said that the captain of the Germanwings plane was locked out of the cockpit as Andreas Lupitz sent the Airbus A320 into a mountain in the French Alps.
In 2009, Honeywell was awarded a patent for a fly-by-wire system that could take control of a plane's cockpit controls and remotely pilot a commercial plane to prevent "unauthorised-flight" and maintain "stable flight".
It has been suggested that the system or others like it could have helped prevent not only the Germanwings disaster but also the disappearance of MH370 if there had been a way to alert ground staff to an on-board emergency.
Video:Pilot Said He Would 'Do Something'
Mischa Dohler, Head of King's College London's Centre for Telecommunications Research, told Sky News: "We have all the technology in place so the aircraft can talk to the ground directly or via the satellite link, so that is all possible. It's just a question of cost.
"At the end of the day, you just need to pay for the infrastructure or a data plan, in the same way as you might pay for your mobile phones.
"The airlines have to decide whether they are willing to invest that money to add that extra real-time safety to airplanes."
Video:Plane Crash: Special Report
David Cummins, Head of Flight Operations at UMS Aerogroup and an expert on unmanned aircraft, said: "We not at the stage where we are talking about autonomous systems that will operate and look after the aircraft.
"We are talking about automated systems where ultimately man, an operator, will always be in the loop."
He told Sky News there are systems in existence that could keep a plane safer without requiring one to be controlled from the ground.
Video:Airbus Video On Anti-Terror Doors
"We need a number of years (before) we will ever see the first unmanned commercial aircraft but there are checks and balances that can be put into play.
"You can look at collision avoidance - the Germanwings is an example - there is technology that exists and is in place that could help.
"There's also sense-and-avoid systems on aircraft that will also be the pilot's eyes on an aircraft. So there are a number of steps we can take.
Video:Was Crash Planned Or Impulsive?
"We are years away from doing it, but the technology exists and its about putting the time and effort and ultimately the finance.
"What the aviation industry is very good at is not knee-jerk reaction. You've got to remember that this is still an incredibly safe method of travel."
More details of the final moments of Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 have emerged as investigators find the DNA of more than half the victims of the crash.
A summary of the transcript of recordings from the voice recorder on board the aircraft reveals co-pilot Andreas Lubitz began the descent after the captain left to cockpit.
In the transcript, published by German newspaper Bild, the captain apologises to passengers for a delay on leaving Barcelona.
He then tells Lubitz he has not had time to go to the toilet before departure, to which the co-pilot replies he can go "at any time".
After completing mid-flight checks for landing, Lubitz then tells the captain, named in reports as Patrick Sondheimer, that: "You can go now."
Video:Co-Pilot's Motives 'Not Relevant'
Minutes later the captain leaves the cockpit, saying: "You can take over."
The click of the cockpit door closing can then be heard.
But shortly afterwards there is a loud bang, believed to be the sound of someone trying to enter the cockpit, followed by the captain shouting "For God's sake, open the door!"
There are then repeated blows to the cockpit door, thought to have been made by an axe or crow bar.
An automated warning triggers in the cockpit as the plane continues to descend, saying: "Terrain. Pull up."
Video:Plane Crash: Special Report
The pilot can then be heard shouting: "Open the damn door."
The right wing of the aircraft then clips a mountain and the final sounds are those of passengers screaming, Bild reports.
French officials say the plane's black box voice recorder indicates Lubitz locked the captain out of the cockpit of the Airbus jet and deliberately crashed the plane.
Investigators have so far been unable to find the aircraft's second black box which would provide technical flight data on its final moments.
All 150 people on board the Germanwings plane, which was flying from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, were killed in the crash in southern France on Tuesday.
Video:Airbus Video On Anti-Terror Doors
French prosecutors said the DNA of 78 people of those on board have been identified.
But investigators have described the difficulty of the search for victims and the second black box as "unprecedented" because of both the mountainous terrain and the violence of the impact.
"We haven't found a single body intact," said Patrick Touron, deputy director of the French police's criminal research institute.
"We have slopes of 40 to 60 degrees, falling rocks, and ground that tends to crumble.
"Some things have to be done by abseiling. Since safety is key, the recovery process is a bit slow, which is a great regret," he added.
Video:Is Pilot Testing Rigorous Enough?
Mr Touron added: "In catastrophes, normally around 90% of identifications are done through dental records", but in the case of Flight 4U 9525, DNA would most likely to play a greater role than normal.
Lubitz had been given a sick note on the day of the crash, but the note was never submitted to Germanwings.
Dusseldorf University Hospital said he had been evaluated at its clinic in February and on 10 March, but did not comment on why he was being treated because of patient privacy laws.
Police found medicines for the treatment of psychological conditions during searches of the 27-year-old's home in Dusseldorf and officials told the New York Times he had sought treatment for vision problems.
Written By Unknown on Minggu, 29 Maret 2015 | 16.15
Single candles placed discreetly in neat gardens indicate expressions of sympathy in the pretty German town of Montabaur.
Had it not been for the droves of camera crews however - you would hardly notice that this was the home town of co-pilot Andreas Lubitz.
In the shops and cafes you can hear people speaking quietly about the media presence in this little, part-medieval place but there's not much conversation about him.
"Do you think the outside world will associate us with him?" asks one shop assistant who prefers not to be named and studiously avoids mention of THAT name.
The town's mayor too chooses not to utter the word "Lubitz".
Video:Co-Pilot's Hometown In Shock
In a brief statement, Edmund Schaaf said: "Our hearts and minds go to all victims and their relatives. We ask the media to respect the privacy of the family. There will be no further statements."
Montabaur is dominated by a striking castle painted yellow. It overlooks the attractive hillside town which feels as though it can't wait to shake off winter.
These are the streets that Lubitz walked. These are the shops and bars where he spent his time and money. He grew up here and they know him but they're deeply reluctant to discuss him.
Video:Is Pilot Testing Rigorous Enough?
Cafe waitress Simona Nardelli offers the slightest glimpse of the man she served regularly.
"He was just a normal guy. He drank his cappuccino. Nothing else."
She's more keen to talk about the media presence.
Video:Plane Crash: Special Report
"Its sad there is so much journalistic interest in the family now," she said.
Technology offers the hope that the Germanwings plane disaster will never happen again, experts have told Sky News.
Systems are already in place to fly unmanned planes from the ground, but they are currently only used in the military sphere.
French prosecutors have said that the captain of the Germanwings plane was locked out of the cockpit as Andreas Lupitz sent the Airbus A320 into a mountain in the French Alps.
In 2009, Honeywell was awarded a patent for a fly-by-wire system that could take control of a plane's cockpit controls and remotely pilot a commercial plane to prevent "unauthorised-flight" and maintain "stable flight".
It has been suggested that the system or others like it could have helped prevent not only the Germanwings disaster but also the disappearance of MH370 if there had been a way to alert ground staff to an on-board emergency.
Video:Pilot Said He Would 'Do Something'
Mischa Dohler, Head of King's College London's Centre for Telecommunications Research, told Sky News: "We have all the technology in place so the aircraft can talk to the ground directly or via the satellite link, so that is all possible. It's just a question of cost.
"At the end of the day, you just need to pay for the infrastructure or a data plan, in the same way as you might pay for your mobile phones.
"The airlines have to decide whether they are willing to invest that money to add that extra real-time safety to airplanes."
Video:Plane Crash: Special Report
David Cummins, Head of Flight Operations at UMS Aerogroup and an expert on unmanned aircraft, said: "We not at the stage where we are talking about autonomous systems that will operate and look after the aircraft.
"We are talking about automated systems where ultimately man, an operator, will always be in the loop."
He told Sky News there are systems in existence that could keep a plane safer without requiring one to be controlled from the ground.
Video:Airbus Video On Anti-Terror Doors
"We need a number of years (before) we will ever see the first unmanned commercial aircraft but there are checks and balances that can be put into play.
"You can look at collision avoidance - the Germanwings is an example - there is technology that exists and is in place that could help.
"There's also sense-and-avoid systems on aircraft that will also be the pilot's eyes on an aircraft. So there are a number of steps we can take.
Video:Was Crash Planned Or Impulsive?
"We are years away from doing it, but the technology exists and its about putting the time and effort and ultimately the finance.
"What the aviation industry is very good at is not knee-jerk reaction. You've got to remember that this is still an incredibly safe method of travel."
The co-pilot accused of deliberately flying a Germanwings plane into the French Alps apparently sought treatment for vision problems before the crash, according to reports.
Andreas Lubitz, 27, hid a sick note which declared him unfit to work on the day of the disaster before boarding the Barcelona to Dusseldorf flight and flying it into a mountain on Tuesday.
Officials told the New York Times he was suffering from problems with his eyes which could have jeopardised his ability to continue flying aircraft.
The Dusseldorf University Hospital said in a statement on Friday that Lubitz had been evaluated at its clinic in February and on 10 March. The hospital has an eye clinic, but it did not comment on why he was being treated citing patient privacy laws.
German police have found medicines for treating psychological conditions during searches at Lubitz's home in Dusseldorf, according to German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
Video:Co-Pilot's Motives 'Not Relevant'
"The 27-year-old has been treated by several neurologists and psychiatrists," the newspaper said.
Earlier, a former girlfriend told how he suffered nightmares and once woke up screaming: "We're going down!"
Identified only as Mary W, the woman told Bild newspaper that he had told her last year: "One day I will do something that will change the whole system, and then all will know my name and remember it.
"I never knew what he meant, but now it makes sense.
Video:Plane Crash: Special Report
"At night, he woke up and screamed 'we're going down!', because he had nightmares. He knew how to hide from other people what was really going on inside."
French prosecutors said on Saturday that Lubitz's mental health was a "serious lead" in the inquiry, but not the only one.
Police chief Jean-Pierre Michel, speaking to AFP news agency in Dusseldorf, said: "We have a certain number of elements which allow us to make progress on this lead, which is a serious lead but which can't be the only one."
He added that the investigation has not revealed a "particular element" in Lubitz's life which could explain his alleged actions.
1/16
Gallery: The Victims Of The Germanwings Crash
American Emily Selke, a recent graduate, was on the plane with her mother Yvonne. Raymond Selke has described his wife and daughter as 'amazing people'. Pic: Facebook
Iranian sports journalist Hussein Javadi was on his way to Austria to cover a football match. A friend said he was 'a kind, loving, caring man'. Pic: Maysam Bizær/Hossein Javadi
Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 28 Maret 2015 | 16.15
No amount of personality tests could necessarily have prevented co-pilot Andreas Lubitz from crashing a passenger plane in the French Alps, an expert has told Sky News.
Such "incredibly rare" events could not always be predicted, said aviation psychologist Professor Robert Bor.
He suggested in the Lubitz case, the 27-year-old's problems had gone "below the radar" and he was able to conceal his mental illness.
And this appears to be borne out following the revelation by German prosecutors that Lubitz had a sick note for the day of the crash, in which 150 died.
This was found torn-up along with medical documents during searches of Lubitz's flat in Dusseldorf and the home he shared with his parents in the town of Montabaur.
Video:How Airlines Deal With Pilot Stress
:: Click here for live updates of the Alps plane crash investigation
While it was not routine for pilots to undertake regular psychometric testing, Prof Bor said: "When we are looking at incredibly rare events such as this no amount of that kind of scrutiny will necessarily pick up every single person who is at risk or susceptible."
He also cautioned that tighter rules and tougher tests likely to be introduced in the wake of the disaster, will not necessarily improve safety.
"It will probably improve our sense of safety," he said.
Video:Crash Site - Latest Search Video
"With very rare events we can't always predict them with 100% accuracy."
Prof Bor told Sky News: "It's incredibly rare and in fact the number of cases in the last 25 years involving commercial jets is probably no more than half a dozen."
The fact he took time off with depression while in pilot training back in 2009 did not necessarily indicate his future behaviour, he added.
"Many people in the general population, pilots as well, occasionally are going to have periods of low moods and anxiety and this may be temporary it may not be something that is lasting," Prof Bor said.
Video:Co-Pilot's Hometown In Shock
"On the other hand all of us can change.
"Within a matter of days, weeks, there could be a bad trigger event in our life."
A relationship break-up or a dispute at work may "have just tipped him over and turned somebody who might have a depressive illness into somebody who was very despairing and very angry".
"Because that's usually what can lead to or trigger a suicidal act in an individual," he said.
Video:Medical Documents Found In Flat
Prof Bor said: "Pilots as an occupational group are very closely scrutinised really from the time they enter flight school to really the last flight that they are on.
"At any moment they are being closely observed, their actions, their behaviour, their communication patterns and so on are being monitored in some kind of way.
"On top of that they undergo rigorous medical tests at least once a year, sometimes twice a year depending on the kind of aircraft they are flying.
"And of course each time they are flying they are being watched by their co-pilots, by the dispatcher when they leave the stand.
Video:How The Co-Pilot Took Control
"And they are also subject to random drug and alcohol testing as well.
"So the chances of these sort of things happening are very rare.
"And one can only think in this particular case his problem went literally below the radar. He was able to conceal it in some kind of way.
"Unless it was, as we might come to discover, apparent to the airline that he was having some kind of difficulties but for whatever reason they were not implementing the standard cut-offs which are when pilots have significant psychological stress they definitely shouldn't be flying."
