Election Workers Killed In Afghan Bomb Attack

At least 11 people, including four election workers, have been killed in a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan, officials say.

The governor of the northern province of Samangan said the attack, which happened on Saturday evening in the capital Aybak, blew up a bus.

It came after polls closed in the second round of the country's presidential election, between former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani.

Around 60% of eligible voters cast ballots despite the violence

"Three local IEC (Independent Election Commission) workers and two observers from Dr Abdullah's team were among them," Khairullah Anosh told the Reuters news agency.

His spokesman, Sediq Azizi, told AP the blast killed six women, four men and one child.

The deaths took the civilian death toll on election day to 31, according to Reuters.

Abdullah Abdullah casts his ballot

A further 11 people had their ink-stained fingers chopped off by the Taliban as a punishment for voting in western Herat province.

Eleven policemen and 15 soldiers have also been killed in clashes.

The Taliban have denounced the election as a US ploy and vowed to derail it.

Ashraf Ghani finished second in the first round of voting

According to the electoral commission, more than seven million people cast ballots, a turnout of around 60%.

This is similar to the first round of voting, when neither candidate gained the required 50% to avoid a run-off.

Mr Abdullah and Mr Ghani are vying to replace Hamid Karzai, who has been in power since the US-led invasion toppled the Taliban in 2001.

Both have promised to improve ties with the West and sign a much-delayed security pact which will allow nearly 10,000 US troops to stay in the country for another two years.

Preliminary results are set to be announced on July 2, with final results published on July 22.

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Israel: Arrests In Hunt For Missing Teens

Israeli forces have detained approximately 80 Palestinian suspects in the search for three missing teenagers who may have been kidnapped by Palestinian militants.

The Israel Defence Forces confirmed the arrests on its Twitter account.

From left to right: Gilad Shaar, Naftali Frenkel and Eyal Yifrach

The trio, one of whom is understood to be a US citizen, are students at a Yeshiva, or religious school, in Gush Etzion, a Jewish settlement bloc in the West Bank, deemed illegal under international law.

They are 16-year-olds Naftali Frankel, from Nof Ayalon, and Gilad Shaar, from Telman, and 19-year-old Eyal Yifrach, from Elad.

Local media reports suggest they left the school on Thursday and were last seen hitch-hiking outside the settlement, which is just south of the Palestinian city of Bethlehem.

An Israeli soldier stands guard in the West Bank city of Hebron

The country's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Saturday: "Our teenagers were kidnapped by a terror organisation with all certainty; there is no doubt about it."

Diplomatic sources have told Sky News they have received solid assurances that the security and intelligence forces of the Palestinian Authority are working closely with their Israeli counterparts to establish the whereabouts of the missing teenagers.

Troops, helicopters and drones have been deployed across the West Bank in an effort to find them.

Palestinians argue with Israeli soldiers in Hebron

Checkpoints have been set up on roads throughout the southern West Bank, in particular around the city of Hebron and the surrounding area.

Israeli soldiers are believed to have carried out raids in the nearby villages of Dura, al-Samu, Tarqumia, and Beit Kahil.

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Blair Denies Iraq Violence Result Of 2003 War

Tony Blair has said critics who believe the violence in Iraq today is a result of the 2003 invasion are "profoundly mistaken".

Speaking to Sky News' Dermot Murnaghan, he said the West's inability to get tough with Syria's Bashar al Assad and failure in Libya had allowed terrorism and chaos to spread across the Middle East.

Mr Blair says the 2003 invasion is not to blame

The former Prime Minister said that had the UK not acted to get rid of Saddam Hussein 11 years ago the country would have been in a worst state than Syria now.

He said Britain had to "get involved" to end the crisis in the Middle East but he was not suggesting a "full-scale intervention" with troops on the ground like in 2003.

Mr Blair, who is now Middle East peace envoy, argued there was no way Britain could stay out of Syria because "ultimately, extremist groups also intend to target us".

He said security services in the UK, Germany and France now all say the greatest risk to those countries is jihadist fighters returning from Syria.

Mr Blair also took responsibility for the decision to go into Iraq in 2003 and said the situation in the country would have been the same had Saddam Hussein not been removed because the whole region had been hit by uprisings.

He said: "Some people will say 'well if we hadn't removed Saddam in 2003 we wouldn't have the problem today in Iraq and the reason I think that is profoundly mistaken is this: since 2011 there have been these Arab revolutions sweeping across the whole of the region - Tunisa, Libya, Yemen, Egypt, Bahrain, nextdoor to Iraq in Syria - and we can see what would have happened if we left Saddam there in 2003.

"We have left Bashar Assad in Syria. The result is that there have now in the last three years in Syria been virtually the same number of people killed in Syria as in the whole of Iraq. You have have nine million people displace from Syria, you have chaos and instability being pushed across the region."

Mr Blair said the Syrian situation had allowed Islamist militants to gain a stranglehold and the West would have to act because otherwise the terrorists would target the West.

He suggested that it was not impossible to overthrow Mr Assad in part because the opposition had fragmented into the camps of moderates and extremists. He said the way forward would be to establish an "inclusive government".

"Inaction over Syria" is also to blame, says Mr Blair

He also cautioned working with Iraq after the president Hassan Rouhani offered to "work with" the US to tackle the Iraq insurgency. 

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry said American assistance to Iraq would only work if Iraqi leaders overcame deep divisions, the State Department said on Saturday.

After Mr Kerry spoke with Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari, the State Department said in a statement: "He emphasised to the Foreign Minister that assistance from the United States would only be successful if Iraqi leaders were willing to put aside differences and implement a coordinated and effective approach to forge the national unity necessary to move the country forward."

Iran's president has said he would consider working with the US

In Iraq, the defence ministry said its forces are having some air strike successes against ISIS fighters who have made dramatic gains in the Sunni heartlands north of Baghdad after overrunning Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul.

"The last three days the Iraqi Army Air Wing has carried out effective missions on militant targets," said General Hamid al Maliki, Commander of the Iraqi Army Air Wing.

:: Tony Blair will be appearing on the Murnaghan programme on Sky News at 10am today.

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Iraq: Mosul Governor Says US Support 'Welcome'

The governor of Mosul has told Sky News he would welcome US support in ousting Islamist militants from Iraq, but does not want troops on the ground.

Speaking from Irbil in the Kurdish north after the city was taken by the militants, Atheel al Nujaifi said the insurgents' attack on several Iraqi cities came as a complete surprise to Iraqi authorities.

He said Sunni Arabs fed up with the government of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki had joined fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

A comparison of the Iraqi army and ISIS

With ISIS fighters thought to be fewer than 50 miles (80km) from the capital Baghdad, Mr Nujaifi conceded that Iraqi authorities need support.

"We need to have weapons. We need to have political support," he told Sky News.

"(But) we don't like the American army to come into Iraq and to occupy Iraq another time and turn back to the same problem that happened before."

President Barack Obama has ruled out putting American troops on the ground in Iraq, but says the White House is considering all other options for support.

He said he would make a decision "in the days ahead" on the options, amid reports the Pentagon is drafting plans for possible air strikes against the Islamist rebels.

People shout slogans supporting a call to arms in Iraq

"The United States will do our part, but ultimately it's up to the Iraqis as a sovereign nation to solve their problems," Mr Obama said.

"We can't do it for them," he added.

On Saturday morning Iran's President Hassan Rouhani offered to assist Iraq, telling a televised interview the country would "strongly defend" its territory if terrorist groups presented a danger.

Iran has already sent a Revolutionary Guard Major General to Baghdad to meet leaders. The country, which is predominately Shia, does not want to see a Sunni caliphate established on its borders.

A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter in Nineveh province

Foreign Secretary William Hague has also ruled out sending UK troops, but said Britain may offer other support, such as counter-terrorism expertise, which could see the involvement of the SAS as it did in Libya.

"Work is under way on that now and we will continue to liaise closely with our United States allies in particular on that," he said.

Mr Maliki claims that Iraqi forces have begun to clear cities of the "terrorists", after he travelled to the embattled city of Samarra on Friday for a security meeting.

Some of the areas affected by the fighting

It comes as a representative of Iraq's most senior Shi'ite cleric urged people to take up arms and defend the nation from militants.

Sheikh Abdulmehdi al Karbalai, a representative for Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, said: "People who are capable of carrying arms and fighting the terrorists in defence of their country ... should volunteer to join the security forces to achieve this sacred goal."

The ISIS militants took control of a huge swathe of predominantly Sunni Arab territory in northern and central Iraq after launching their offensive on Monday.

They have pressed as far south as the ethnically divided Diyala province.

Forces from the autonomous Kurdish region have also seized territory they have sought to rule for decades against the objections of successive governments in Baghdad.

:: Watch a special report on the conflict in Iraq on our catch up service. Sky's Foreign Affairs Correspondent Lisa Holland asks whether the current crisis means the end of Iraq.  It's free for TV customers with Sky HD+ boxes connected to broadband.

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Boy, 6, Shot In Neck By Gunman In Dublin

By David Blevins, Ireland Correspondent

A six-year-old boy has been seriously injured after being shot in the neck by a gunman in west Dublin.

It is understood the shooting took place outside the boy's home in the Ballyfermot area of the city late on Friday.

Sky sources say the child was not the gunman's intended target, but was caught in crossfire.

The boy was taken to the nearby Crumlin hospital where his condition is said to be "stable and non life-threatening".

A police officer is also thought to have been injured in a subsequent car chase following the attack.

Police have sealed off the area in Croftwood Gardens while they investigate.

A spokesman said: "The shooting occurred shortly after 10pm, a six-year-old boy received what is believed to be a gunshot wound to his neck. When gardai arrived on scene they administered first aid until the arrival of the ambulance.

The shooting adds to the deteriorating criminal picture in Dublin where there has been a significant rise in violent crime in recent months.

Most of it is related to drugs and other gangland crime - but this, to the best of my knowledge, is the first time that a child has been caught up in the violence.

It will certainly increase pressure on the Irish police force to deploy more officers to the area.

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Ukrainian Aircraft Shot Down By Separatists

Pro-Russian separatists have shot down a Ukrainian military plane in the city of Luhansk, killing 49 people, according to a Ukrainian Defence Ministry spokesman.

It is the biggest loss of life suffered by government forces in a single incident since Kiev started a military operation to try to defeat the insurgency in east Ukraine.

A statement released by the ministry accused pro-Russian "terrorists" of shooting down the Ilyushin-76 aircraft, which was about to land at Luhansk airport.

It said the rebels "cynically and treacherously" downed the plane using anti-aircraft guns and heavy calibre guns at 11pm on Friday UK time (1am local time).

Authorities have expressed their condolences to the parents and relatives of those killed, the statement added.

Luhansk is close to the Russian border

Spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying: "This is our preliminary information. Details about how many people were on board are still being checked."

He added the plane was carrying nine crew and 40 paratroopers.

The prosecutor's office said a criminal investigation had been opened under anti-terrorism laws.

The Luhansk Oblast is at the heart of the separatist rebellion launched in April, and local media is reporting that there is fighting in the region's administrative centre, also called Luhansk.

The rebels said the Ukrainian air force have fired on the industrial town of Horlivka, north of Donetsk.

A Russian tank seen at a military base near Simferopol in March

It comes after Russia was accused by the US State Department of sending tanks and heavy weaponry to Ukraine in support of separatists in the country's east.

Several tanks and rocket launchers were moved into Ukraine from an arms depot inside Russia, the department said.

"We assess that separatists in eastern Ukraine have acquired heavy weapons and military equipment from Russia, including Russian tanks and multiple rocket launchers," spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement.

The statement comes after Kiev alleged three tanks had crossed from Russia into Ukrainian territory this week.

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday that the action was "unacceptable".

Ms Harf said three T-64 tanks, several BM-21 or Grad rocket launchers and other vehicles had crossed into Ukraine's east as part of a convoy.

Amateur videos posted on the internet in recent days show the same kind of tanks moving through cities in eastern Ukraine, including Snizhnye, Torez, and Makiyivka.

"Russia will claim these tanks were taken from Ukrainian forces, but no Ukrainian tank units have been operating in that area," she said. 

"We are confident that these tanks came from Russia. This is unacceptable. A failure by Russia to deescalate the situation will lead to additional costs."

Moscow has denied the allegation.

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World Cup Kicks Off With Parties And Protests

The World Cup in Brazil has kicked off with street parties celebrating the host nation's opening win and scattered protests over the huge costs of the event.

Millions of fans took to the streets as their side beat Croatia 3-1 in the tournament opener in Sao Paulo.

Parties continued late into the night with a heavy presence of police and troops to maintain order.

Brazil fans celebrate their team's victory

Tensions spilled over in a number of host cities following construction delays and months of unrest with many Brazilians furious over the $11bn spent on hosting the tournament.

There were violent clashes in Sao Paulo before and after the game.

Police fired stun grenades and tear gas to break up the protests and a number of people were injured.

Clashes were also witnessed in Rio de Janiero, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre and Brasilia.

A protester during clashes in Sao Paolo

It is hoped the mood of the country will be improved by their side's encouraging start to the tournament, with fans' favourite Neymar scoring twice.

"This joy will be a contagion that will spread to all Brazilians," one supporter said.

Another Brazil fan added: "The victory will improve the mood a bit. I'm against opportunistic protests.

"Now is not the time to protest during an international event. The problems like bad hospitals date from before the World Cup."

Despite fears over the stadium in Sao Paulo, which was completed six months late, the game passed without any major problems.

Neymar scored twice and it's hoped the result will ease tensions

A number of floodlights failed during the first half but the problem was resolved quickly.

President Dilma Rousseff, who has defended the World Cup against criticism ahead of her bid for re-election in October, was jeered by many in the stadium and by fans watching the game on big screens across the country.

After the final whistle Brazil's coach, Luiz Felipe Scolari, described the stadium as "incredible" and "fantastic".

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England Unfazed By World Cup Pitch Woes

World Cup: 11 Players You Need To Watch

Updated: 3:39pm UK, Thursday 12 June 2014

By Nick Powell, Sports Editor

Like the Grand National, the World Cup has become a great participation event in offices, clubs and schools.

Join the sweep, pick the top scorer, guess how far England will go, perhaps even have a bet.

So to help, here's a team of men who are probably not big names in your household or workplace - but might be in a month's time.

:: Thibos Courtois, goalkeeper (Belgium/Atletico Madrid)

Actually a Chelsea employee, but doing so well on loan at Atletico that his future has become a big debating point in the last few months.

If Belgium are to do as well as the bookies predict, then he is certain to have enhanced his reputation even further.

Italy's veteran keeper Gianluigi Buffon has picked him out as a man to watch - and he should know.

:: Mauricio Isla, attacking right-back (Chile/Juventus)

Older than some of his colleagues in this fabled team at the age 25 and with almost half a century of appearances for Chile behind him, he has a great chance to win more admirers of his charging runs down the right.

Chile are in the same group as Spain and Holland but do not rule out Isla helping dump one of those giants out at the first hurdle.

:: Raphael Varane, central defender (France/Real Madrid)

He has only played five times for France, but at 21 years old he is part of a badly needed new generation for the 1998 world champions.

Big and strong - not to mention fiery - he got involved in an altercation on the pitch with opposition boss Diego Simeone at the end of the Champions League final, in which his Real team beat city rivals Atletico Madrid.

Jose Mourinho says he's the world's best young defender.

:: Mats Hummels, central defender (Germany/Borussia Dortmund)

If Germany go a long way in the World Cup, Hummels has the potential to be one of the stars of the tournament.

A dominant figure who can play as well as block, he also has a memorable name and a girlfriend, Cathy Fischer, who has been described as Germany's top WAG.

:: Yuto Nagatomo, left-back (Japan/Inter Milan)

Nagatomo has talked ambitiously about Japan winning the World Cup. One day, perhaps. Although they did reach the last 16 in 2010.

If they are to do it again, he will need to be at his best, both in defence and marauding down the left.

:: Juan Cuadrado, midfield (Colombia/Fiorentina)

Top scorer from midfield for Fiorentina in the Italian League with 11 goals last season, Cuadrado was converted from a right-back and is already interesting many of Europe's top clubs.

There is every chance there will be a long queue at his agent's door after the World Cup.

:: William Carvalho, midfield (Portugal/Sporting Lisbon)

You thought Angola was not the place to look for football talent?

This young man from Luanda has to force his way into Portugal's team but he is big and powerful (think Manchester City's Yaya Toure) with a future to match.

:: Paul Pogba, midfield (France/Juventus)

Still only 21, he has been in the headlines since Sir Alex Ferguson decided he was not good enough for Manchester United.

His poise belies his years. Zinedine Zidane, a World Cup winner in 1998, says his young countryman will become one of Europe's best central midfielders.

:: Ciro Immobile, striker (Italy/Borussia Dortmund)

This guy could be huge and may even be the World Cup's top goalscorer - worth a punt at around 50-1 if you like a bet.

No one got more than him in Italy last season and he has just signed for Dortmund.

Mario Balotelli is the big name in the Italians' attack ... so far.

:: Carlos Bacca, striker (Colombia/Sevilla)

Now carrying a nation's goalscoring hopes on his shoulders after injury ruled out his more illustrious colleague, Radamel Falcao, but he is up to the task.

He scored four goals towards the end of the season for his Spanish club, the Europa League winners.

And Bacca has every chance of helping Colombia progress from a group that also includes Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan - therefore boosting his own reputation.

:: Joel Campbell, striker (Costa Rica/Arsenal)

You're going to hear plenty about Joel Campbell because he is a big threat to England's hopes of progress from Group D.

Arsenal have loaned him out for the last three seasons, most recently to Greek club Olympiakos, for whom he scored against Manchester United in the Champions League.

His mum told him to read Psalm 27 - "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?" - before matches and apparently he does so.

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Iraq Militants Poised For March On Baghdad

Iraq has implemented a new plan to defend Baghdad as Islamist insurgents edge closer to the country's capital, according to an interior ministry spokesman.

Security forces are gathering at a base just 20 miles outside Baghdad, ready to protect the city from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) fighters who have vowed to march on the city.

Iraq's Shiite-led government says a fight-back is under way after the Sunni insurgents took control of the northern cities Mosul and Tikrit.

Thousands of refugees have fled the violence. Pic: UNHCR

The fighters have already taken control of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi.

But the militants moved into the towns of Saadiyah and Jalawla in the eastern province of Diyala after security forces abandoned their positions.

Diyala Deputy Governor Furat al Tamimi said Kurdish security forces have now moved into the areas, following on from taking control of the northern oil city of Kirkuk.

A comparison of the Iraqi army and ISIS

The Iraqi army fired artillery at the two towns from Muqdadiya, 50 miles from the Baghdad city limits, sending dozens of families fleeing towards the Iranian border, security sources said.

The Iraqi air force also launched airstrikes on militant fighters' positions around Mosul and Tikrit.

According to witnesses, the fighters are preparing a third assault on Samarra, 70 miles north of Baghdad, following two failed attempts to take the city.

Some of the areas affected by the fighting in Iraq

Sky's Middle East Correspondent Sherine Tadros, in Irbil, northern Iraq, said: "The Iraqis are attacking by air because they cannot attack by land.

"The army right now is extremely demoralised, it feels like it's lacking in leadership and it's splintering under this pressure. Meanwhile, the militants certainly seem like they have the upper hand and all the momentum."

The US has confirmed ground troops will not be sent into Iraq, but President Barack Obama says his administration is looking into "all options" to help Iraqi leaders.

An Iraqi security officer stands guard as Iraqi civilians wait to volunteer

"I don't rule out anything because we do have a stake in making sure that these jihadists are not getting a permanent foothold in either Iraq or Syria," he said.

A US defence official says American surveillance drones have been in the air over Iraq to help the fight against the Sunni insurgents.

Hundreds of Americans have also been evacuated from a military base in Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad.

The UN Security Council has demanded urgent dialogue and condemned the "terrorist" activities of the insurgents, but stopped short of considering action against them.

A girl, who fled from the violence in Mosul, carries a case of water

More than 500,000 people have fled the conflict in the Mosul region alone, with many heading into Kurdish areas in the north.

The World Food Programme has begun providing assistance to 42,000 of the most vulnerable.

Sectarian political dysfunction has been blamed for the government's failure to secure authorisation to declare a state of emergency, which was called for by Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki earlier this week.

ISIS, led by Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, wants to create a Sunni state, or caliphate, straddling the border between Iraq and Syria.

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World Cup Airport Strike Threatens Chaos In Rio

Thousands of football fans flying to Brazil for the start of the World Cup are facing a chaotic welcome, after ground staff voted to stage a 24-hour strike.

Hours before the tournament gets under way, workers at Rio de Janeiro's Galeao airport, which is expected to be one of the busiest in Brazil over the next four weeks, have declared a partial walkout in a row over pay.

Baggage handlers and check-in staff will join colleagues at the city's Santos Dumont airport - an important hub for flights to Sao Paulo, where England play Uruguay next week - in downing tools.

Rio de Janeiro's airports are busy even in a non-World Cup month

They have promised to maintain an 80% service and although fans heading to Sao Paulo will be at least be able to catch the subway after metro staff voted against taking industrial action themselves, there is potential for disruption at already-stretched terminals.

Some 2.1 million people passed through the two airports last month - an average of 68,000 people a day - with World Cup arrivals set to bolster those numbers further still.

Excitement is building in Brazil as the four-week tournament gets under way

Sky's Sports Correspondent Paul Kelso, in Rio de Janeiro, said: "This city is a hub for many supporters, including England fans heading for their team's opening game in Manaus on Saturday, and if the strike goes ahead they face disruption.

"The vote by Sao Paulo's metro workers is a significant relief for organisers, but it may not lift the considerable anxiety around the start of the tournament."

All the latest World Cup news and analysis on the Sky News catch up service

After a build-up dominated by delays to infrastructure projects, deaths at stadium construction sites and protests over spiralling costs, the World Cup kicks off in Sao Paulo later today.

The host nation face Croatia in the tournament's curtain-raiser after an opening ceremony featuring performances by the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull.

The pitch in Manaus appears dry and yellow

England's first match is on Saturday and as Roy Hodgson's players continue to acclimatise, the pitch at Manaus' Amazonia Arena where they will face Italy appears to be in poor condition.

A journalist for the AFP news agency said the playing surface was noticeably dry and particularly bare around one of the goals, "revealing large yellowing areas of turf".

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