South Sudan Evacuations Amid Deadly Violence

A second flight will be sent to evacuate Britons fleeing fighting in South Sudan, after three United Nations peacekeepers were killed amid escalating violence.

The three Indian soldiers were killed when armed youths breached a UN compound in the country's Jonglei state.

The government says it has lost control of the region's capital, Bor, and fighting continues to spread through the newly-formed East African state following a reported coup attempt in national capital Juba on Sunday.

An estimated 20,000 people have sought refuge at two UN compounds in Juba, and another 14,000 in Bor.

President Salva Kiir, above, blamed the coup on his ousted vice president

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has strongly advised all remaining British nationals to leave the country as fears grow that it may prove difficult to get out if the situation continues to deteriorate.

One group of British nationals has already left on a Foreign Office flight and a second is due to leave from the city.

An FCO spokesman said: "The UK plans to send a second flight to South Sudan to evacuate British nationals who wish to leave from Juba airport on Friday December 20, following the evacuation of some British nationals on December 19.

"We strongly advise all British nationals in South Sudan to leave the country if they can do so safely. You may have difficulty leaving in the event of a further deterioration in security."

US President Barack Obama has deployed 45 military personnel to help bolster security at the US Embassy. Non-emergency government personnel were ordered to leave earlier this week.

In a written statement, he said: "South Sudan stands at the precipice. Recent fighting threatens to plunge South Sudan back into the dark days of its past."

The United Nations has estimated that up to 500 people have been killed in fighting between rival factions following the coup attempt against the president by soldiers loyal to his former deputy, Riek Machar.

South Sudan's numerous ethnic groups have battled each other for decades.

On Sunday, violence broke out when the presidential guard splintered along ethnic lines.

Guards from the president's majority Dinka tribe tried to disarm guards from the Nuer ethnic group, triggering violence in the capital which has extended out into the country.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Woolwich Killer Adebolajo 'A Hero' In Kenya

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, in Mombasa

The young man, who we believe is an al Shabaab recruit, glared at me.

"If it wasn't for the cleric being here with us, I would cut off your head," he said.

His view is not unusual among his particular Muslim group in the Kenyan coastal town of Mombasa.

Michael Adebolajo was found guilty of murdering soldier Lee Rigby

Here, Michael Adebolajo is considered a hero, while British soldiers and even, in some quarters, British people, are considered justifiable targets because of what is perceived to be the British Government's aggressive involvement in Islamic countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.

It is the same terror network which British intelligence believes Adebolajo plugged into when he set off from south London to try to join the al Shabaab fighting brigade in Somalia in 2010.

It is the same network and the same people which the British woman Samantha Lewthwaite, also known as the White Widow, connected with and moved amongst. Lewthwaite is being hunted by Interpol in connection with a string of terror incidents in Kenya.

Influential Muslim leader Makaburi says Britain is "at war" with Islam

The cleric he is referring to tells me he isn't a cleric, although everyone else says he is.

He is undoubtedly an influential leader and he has delivered several speeches inside a number of mosques. He is known by most people in Kenya as Makaburi, meaning grave in Swahili, although his real name is Abubaker Shariff Ahmed.

He is named by the United Nations as a recruiter and facilitator of al Shabaab. His response to that accusation when I put it to him is always: "Let them prove it. There is no proof whatsoever I even know anyone from al Shabaab."

His views, and those of the young men who dote on his words, are astonishingly similar to the 'defence' put up in court by Adebolajo: that he, and others like him, are soldiers of Allah, fighting a Holy war.

Sky's Alex Crawford meets the alleged al Shabaab recruit

So the young man in front of us tells us with absolute conviction: "Britain is killing Muslims all over the world - in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Pakistan. We are just defending ourselves. Adebolajo is a hero and he will receive glory from Allah."

And in Kenya, a significant number of Muslims feel persecuted and vulnerable.

They are the ones who are bitterly opposed to Kenya's military involvement across the border in Somalia, where soldiers are trying to stop the flood of al Shabaab recruits from crossing the border.

Police chief Samuel Obara says border security is an international problem

They believe Britain's support of that action - in words as well as in deeds through their training of Kenyan troops - justifies attacks against British soldiers, British targets, British interests.

Al Shabaab's claim that it carried out the attack on the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi in September which killed nearly 70 people has made some Muslims in Kenya only feel more at risk and hunted.

It has resulted in much more intensive attention on the activities on the coast in Mombasa and further afield in Lamu County - the favoured route for radicalised youths to travel through to Somalia.

The residents of Faza island on the Lamu archipelago where Adebolajo stayed when he was trying to reach Somalia were very reluctant to talk to us. The few who did spoke in no uncertain terms about how virulently against al Shabaab they are.

The island is very much off the tourist trail. It is undeveloped and remote. A perfect cover for those who want to disappear under the authorities' radar and make their way to Somalia. It seems inconceivable that a young man from south London would be able to get around without some help and guidance.

The route from Lamu County into Somalia is favoured by radicalised youths

Senior Supt Samuel Obara, the head of Lamu East Border Police, told Sky News the border - part water and part land - is porous and difficult to monitor.

"We need international help," he said. "This is an international problem and we need other countries to help us."

He went onto say many of the border villages and towns were now 'cleansed' of al Shabaab.

"You can walk around here safely now," he said.

But he admits it is still being used as a route by extremists wanting to reach al Shabaab in Somalia, and British intelligence services believe there are several hundred Britons with links to the terror network.

Most have gone on to fight in Syria but there are concerns about those who may return to Britain, like Adebolajo, to carry out attacks on home territory.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Russia: Khodorkovsky Freed After Putin Pardon

Mikhail Khodorkovsky has been freed from a Russian prison camp after receiving a pardon from the country's president Vladimir Putin.

The Interfax news agency said the former oil tycoon was released within an hour of the Kremlin publishing a decree.

"Guided by humanitarian principles, I decree that Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky... should be pardoned and freed from any further punishment in the form of imprisonment," the document said.

"This decree comes into force from the day of its signing."

Mr Putin surprised journalists at the end of his annual end-of-year news conference on Thursday by announcing that he was planning to pardon Mr Khodorkovsky.

The 50-year-old former Yukos oil tycoon has been in prison since 2003 after being convicted in two trials on charges including fraud and embezzlement.

Human rights groups criticised both trials and have said they considered Mr Khodorkovsky a political prisoner.

The circumstances surrounding the pardon remained unclear.

Mr Khodorkovsky, once the richest man in Russia, previously said he would not request one because he would be seen to be admitting guilt.

However, the newspaper Kommersant reported that he changed his mind after a meeting with Russian security services, who raised the possibility of a third trial and warned him that his mother's health was deteriorating.

"This conversation, which was conducted without lawyers, forced Mr Khodorkovsky to turn to the president," the article said. 

Mr Khodorkovsky gained considerable political influence under President Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s as one of the so-called "oligarchs" who surrounded the ailing leader.

However, when Mr Putin became president in 2000, their influence quickly faded.

Economic and political analysts said the announcement was an attempt by Russia to improve its human rights record and international image ahead of the Winter Olympics in February.

Meanwhile, a Kremlin-backed bill is set to allow a group of Greenpeace activists and two Pussy Riot protesters to be be freed.

The amnesty laws would allow investigators to drop charges against the 30 activists, including six Britons who have not been allowed to return home, three months after their arrest.

Protesters Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, who were jailed for two years after a demonstration in a Moscow cathedral, would be released early.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

NSA Spying Sweeps 'Have Gone Too Far', Report

A panel has recommended curbing the secretive powers of the National Security Agency, warning its mass spying sweeps in the war on terror had gone too far.

The report, commissioned by President Barack Obama, said the NSA should halt the mass storage of domestic phone records, and called for new scrutiny on snooping on world leaders.

It also called for privacy safeguards for foreigners and fresh transparency over US eavesdropping.

The 300-page report unveiled 46 recommendations to reshape US surveillance policy following explosive revelations by fugitive intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.

There is no guarantee the president will accept the non-binding recommendations but he will consider his next move ahead of a public statement in January.

The panel urged reforms of a secret national security court that oversees clandestine surveillance operations.

It also called for the NSA to be stripped of its ability to store telephone records - instead handing that duty to phone companies or a third party.

The report said the intelligence and security infrastructure launched after the September 11 attacks had perhaps gone too far.

"It is now time to step back and take stock," it said.

Fugitive intelligence contractor Edward Snowden

"We conclude that some of the authorities that were expanded or created in the aftermath of September 11 unduly sacrifice fundamental interests in individual liberty, personal privacy, and democratic governance."

Review board member Richard Clarke, a former White House counterterrorism aide, called for mechanisms that were more transparent and have more independent oversight to give the public a new "sense of trust".

Throughout, the report argued that a new equilibrium needed to be found between national security, and privacy and individual Constitutional rights.

It steered away from calling for outright curbs on gathering intelligence on foreign leaders, following embarrassing revelations that US spies had snooped on German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone.

But it said US spy chiefs should be forced to justify surveillance on world leaders to the president and his aides.

The release of the report comes amid deepening political pressure on the White House for significant reforms in the massive NSA telephone and internet data mining operations across the world.

A federal judge in Washington this week ruled that NSA programmes, which have scooped up millions of details on telephone calls and Internet traffic on Americans and foreigners, were probably unconstitutional.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Paul Walker Porsche Crash Down To 'Speed Alone'

The Porsche Carrera GT that crashed killing Fast & Furious actor Paul Walker and the driver had no mechanical problems, according to investigators.

A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the car lost control due to "speed, and speed alone".

The investigation also ruled out debris in the road as causing the car in which Walker was a passenger to smash into a street light and a tree.

The actor and the driver, his friend and financial adviser Roger Rodas, were both killed in the accident on November 30.

Scene of the crash in Santa Clarita, California

Investigators have refused to set a firm speed at which they think the car was travelling until Porsche engineers come to California next month to extract information from on-board data collectors.

According to reports in the US, three black boxes have been recovered from the vehicle.

One will be able to tell the last speed recorded and whether the airbags were deployed, while the other two will give information on the throttle and engine readings.

Tributes are left at an unofficial memorial for the star

As a result of 40-year-old Walker's death, Universal Pictures has announced it is putting the filming of Fast & Furious 7 on hold indefinitely.

More than half the movie has reportedly been made and it was slated for release on July 11, 2014.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Brits Evacuated From South Sudan Amid Fighting

Britons are being evacuated from South Sudan as fighting spreads through the state after an apparent coup at the weekend.

A plane has been sent to the state to remove more than 150 British citizens who have contacted the Foreign Office wanting to leave the country.

Embassy staff were among those being evacuated although the Foreign Office emphasised that it would be keeping open its embassy in the capital, Juba.

The United Nations has estimated that up to 500 people have been killed in fighting between rival factions following a coup attempt against President Salva Kiir by soldiers loyal to his former deputy.

Some 10 senior government ministers were arrested at the beginning of the week but fighting continues amid increasing political tensions.

South Sudan won its independent from the north in 2011 but has struggled with corruption and ethnic violence since.

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that around 20,000 people have taken refuge with the UN in Juba.

The Foreign Office has advised against all travel to within 40km of South Sudan's northern border with Sudan, Jonglei State and Juba, and all but essential travel to the rest of South Sudan.

A spokeswoman said: "A UK aircraft is en route to Juba to evacuate British nationals who wish to leave from Juba airport on Thursday 19 December.

"If you are a British national and you wish to leave Juba you should contact the FCO as soon as possible."

British nationals seeking to leave South Sudan are urged to contact the Foreign Office in London for advice, by calling 0207 008 1500 or by emailing crisis@fco.gsi.gov.uk.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria: Sky News Gains Access To UK Jihadists

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

Sky News has gained the first access to a previously unknown brigade of exclusively British jihadists fighting in Syria.

Until now, the existence of this UK brigade has been kept a secret, but it reveals that British security services have hugely underestimated the scale of UK nationals involved in the bloodshed.

In a series of wide-ranging and frank interviews, the jihadists, who have asked Sky News to protect their identities for fear of a backlash against their families in the UK, reveal that hundreds of young men from Britain have joined the fight against Bashar al Assad's government and that "at least" four die each month.

They also claim that the UK remains the largest single source of private fundraising for jihadi fighters, outdoing countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

In the interviews, carried out by US journalist and Muslim convert, Bilal Abdul Kareem, exclusively for Sky News, the Islamic fighters insist they have no intention of attacking UK targets or waging jihad on British soil.

One of the men, identified as Mustafa, is asked directly if he is part of al Qaeda and why he insists on hiding his identity.

"I'm not part of al Qaeda, and I've never been a part of al Qaeda - ever,"  he says.

UK jihadists say they are no threat to Britain

"I'm not a terrorist in any way. If people could see how much goodness we have in our hearts, how much mercy we have for people and how much you know we are driven by compassion to help other people they wouldn't think that we were terrorists.

"But this is a line that they have been fed and there are people that benefit from pushing that narrative about us, so I protect my identity."

This denial follows warnings from the heads of the UK's security services that young men travelling to Syria risk being radicalised before returning home to carry out terror attacks in Britain.

Fighting on a mountain top in the northeast of the country, these men look like hardcore jihadists, but when they speak they are pure Brits.

They say they will not attack UK targets

They joke and laugh between themselves, sometimes comparing the now ubiquitous "selfies".

But they hardly speak any Arabic and are dependent on one of their number to give orders on the battlefield.

Like British soldiers, they discuss kit and the best things to buy for jihad. In one exchange a young man, advised to buy new binoculars, naively asks if eBay will deliver.

"No man," one of the more seasoned fighters laughs in reply, shaking his head, "eBay won't deliver here man."

It is pure comedy. The men insist they have a moral obligation to help in Syria because of the outside world's refusal to intervene in the near three-year-old civil war, and deny they are terrorists.

"When you see atrocities carried out like what you see from the images that you see from Syria, then really as a human being, you know morally there should be an obligation just being part of the human race to defend such people," one of the brigade's leaders told Sky News.

"But if morals can't, if that's not enough to motivate you, our religion demands for us that people that cannot defend themselves, that somebody needs to get up and respond to their call. Ethically, it's the only right thing to do," he said during a pause in the fighting.

The Britons say they were angered by the lack of international intervention

The armed opposition to President Assad in the north of the country is now being waged almost exclusively by a myriad of jihadist groups supported by a significant number of foreign fighters from the USA, Canada, Northern Europe, North Africa and the former Soviet republics of Chechnya and Dagestan.

The British contingent say their numbers are increasing daily and social networking sites are helping to organise the influx into Syria.

They know that returning to their families in the UK will be extremely difficult from now on, but in reality they probably won't get the chance - the fighting footsoldier's life expectancy in Syria is very short once serious combat begins.

This committed group buck many stereotypes used to describe the Islamist fighters in Syria.

Whether anyone agrees or disagrees with them is not in itself relevant, not yet at least, as this is the first time we have ever heard them speak.

:: A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "Syria is the number one destination for jihadists anywhere in the world. There are thousands of foreign fighters in Syria, including large numbers of Europeans, gaining combat experience and forging connections with extremists.

"Some people who travel from the UK to Syria for jihadist fighting will pose a security threat when they return. We are concerned that Al-Qaeda affiliates such as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Al Nusrah Front (ANF) are now able to operate in the large areas of ungoverned space that have been created by the conflict.

"We are aware of at least 200 UK-linked individuals of concern who have travelled to Syria, but the true number is likely to be higher."

The FCO said it is taking the following action:

:: Intelligence agencies and police are working to identify and disrupt potential threats.
:: The police have the power to examine and detain individuals at the UK border to investigate any concerns of terrorism involvement.
:: UK nationals of concern seeking to travel from the UK can have their passports removed or withdrawn. And foreign nationals resident in the UK can have their leave to remain revoked if they are deemed non-conducive to the public good.
:: Working with our international partners we have secured the designation of the al-Nusrah Front under the UN al Qaeda sanctions regime.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602 and Freeview channel 82.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

South Sudan: Hundreds Killed In Army Clashes

Hundreds of people have been killed in clashes between rival army factions in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said 800 people had been wounded in battles between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and an opposition leader.

Between 15,000 and 20,000 people have sought refuge in UN compounds around Juba since the troubles started on Sunday, according to officials.

A tank patrols a street in Juba

The death toll of up to 500 is based on reports given by hospitals in the city, but the UN has not yet confirmed the figure because of new clashes on Tuesday.

Security Council president Gerard Araud, France's UN ambassador, could not confirm the toll after the briefing by Mr Ladsous.

"There is a heavy toll, it is obvious," he said.

"There are dozens and scores of casualties, it is really not a minor incident."

President Salva Kiir (L) and Riek Machar

Mr Araud added that fighting had also been reported outside of the capital in Pibor, in Jonglei state, which has a history of clashes between rival ethnic groups.

Juba remains "extremely tense" and it appeared the clashes were being carried out on ethnic lines, he told the 15-member council.

Mr Kiir has accused troops loyal to former vice president Riek Machar of staging a coup attempt in the impoverished nation.

The government said 10 key figures including ex-ministers had been arrested, but Mr Machar was on the run.

A child is treated in a Juba hospital

Mr Kiir is an ethnic Dinka while Mr Machar is a Nuer.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon spoke with Mr Kiir on Tuesday and urged him to offer "dialogue" with the opposition. Mr Ban also spoke with the president of neighbouring Uganda, Yoweri Musseveni, about the unrest.

The Security Council meeting was called at the request of the US, which has ordered non-essential diplomatic staff out of South Sudan.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602 and Freeview channel 82.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Boogies To Bob Marley

Toronto mayor Rob Ford appeared to be putting recent controversies behind him as he was filmed dancing during a council session.

Mr Ford, who was stripped of most of his powers after he admitted smoking crack cocaine, has refused to step down and has vowed to seek re-election next year.

He said he has quit drinking and is exercising daily after having a "come to Jesus moment".

The spring in his step was clear to see as he energetically boogied to Bob Marley's One Love and a Christmas song in the council chambers.

Colleagues joined Mr Ford for the festivities, which left him pink faced and sweating.

Earlier this month the politician laughed off claims he may have offered $5,000 (£2,900) and a car to buy a video allegedly showing him using crack.

Details of the offer were included in a 450-page police document released by an Ontario Superior Court judge.

Outbursts caught on camera have added to the controversy surrounding Mr Ford, who landed his own TV show in the wake of the scandal and has claimed that efforts to curtail his authority amount to a "coup d'etat".

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mega Millions Jackpot Could Surpass Record

The US Mega Millions jackpot has soared to $586m (£360m) following a frenzy of ticket purchases.

The jump pushed the prize closer to the $656m (£402m) record set last year.

Paula Otto, executive director of the Virginia Lottery and Mega Millions' lead director, said ticket sales are ahead of projections for today's draw, increasing the likelihood that the record could fall.

If the prize goes unclaimed for a 22nd consecutive drawing, the next one would probably shatter the record set in March 2012, she said.

"I think we'll be very close to the record, and maybe even surpass it," Ms Otto said, adding that sales are difficult to predict.

That was enough for Drew Gentsch to play one ticket on Monday morning. The attorney from Des Moines, Iowa, never plays, but the jackpot was too good to pass up.

"I think it's ridiculous, but you have to dream big," he said. "The odds of winning are so low there's no real reason to play. But it's fun to do so once in a while."

Between 65% and 75% of the roughly 259 million possible number combinations will be in play when the numbers are drawn, Ms Otto estimated.

She said the jackpot may be increased one more time this morning in advance of the evening drawing.

"Lotto players are procrastinators. They tend to buy on the day of the draw," she said.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More