US And Iran Leaders In Historic Conversation

The leaders of the US and Iran have spoken on the telephone - the first conversation between presidents of the two countries in more than 30 years.

The exchange between Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani could reflect a major step in resolving global concerns over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme.

Mr Obama said he had a constructive conversation, adding: "While there will surely be important obstacles to moving forward and success is by no means guaranteed, I believe we can reach a comprehensive solution."

The fact it had been so long since American and Iranian presidents had spoken to each other reflected the "deep mistrust between our countries", the US leader said.

But it also indicated the opportunity for moving forward, he went on. "I do believe there is a basis for a resolution," he said.

Both leaders will now direct their teams to work quickly to find an agreement after the first direct verbal communication between the nations' presidents since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Earlier, Mr Rouhani said he hoped talks with the US and other world powers over its nuclear programme will lead to results in "a short period of time".

He said Iran would present its plan for a resolution to the nuclear issue at discussions with the six countries scheduled for Geneva on October 15 and 16.

The six are the five permanent UN Security Council members - Britain, China, France, the United States and Russia - and Germany, known as P5+1.

Iran has insisted its nuclear programme is a peaceful attempt to generate electricity but America and its allies including Israel have long demanded a halt to Tehran's uranium enrichment, fearing it could secretly build nuclear warheads.

Mr Rouhani addressed the UN General Assembly

Uranium enriched to low levels can be used as fuel for nuclear energy but at higher levels it can be used to make a nuclear weapon.

Mr Rouhani vowed his country would not build a nuclear bomb, adding his government would be transparent and had the backing of authorities at home to handle the nuclear issue.

And earlier this week, he said he would like to see a deal with world powers in three to six months.

In his latest comments, he said: "We say explicitly that we will be transparent; we say explicitly that we will not build a bomb. Through the P5+1 we want to provide even more assurances."

He added: "I think that any result this government reaches, it will have the support of other powers (power centres) in Iran. On the nuclear issue, the government has total discretion."

It comes after the highest-level talks between Iran and the US in a generation, and Mr Rouhani said the atmosphere was "quite different from the past".

Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met US Secretary of State John Kerry along with representatives from the other P5+1 powers. That was followed by a brief bilateral meeting between Mr Zarif and Mr Kerry.

The two sides said the tone was positive but they remained cautious about resolving the long-running stand-off over Tehran's nuclear programme.

John Kerry of the US meets Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif

The Iranian president, who came to power last month, said he hoped nuclear talks "will yield, in a short period of time, tangible results".

But he also slammed "illegal" sanctions crippling his country's economy, saying they were just a means by some nations to pursue a "short-sighted" foreign policy.

Mr Rouhani and Mr Zarif, both in New York this week to attend the UN General Assembly, have said they are eager to clinch an agreement quickly that could bring relief from sanctions.

The sanctions have slashed Iran's vital oil exports by more than half, restricted its international bank transfers, devalued its currency and sent inflation surging.

On Friday in separate talks, Iran and the UN nuclear agency IAEA held "constructive" discussions and made plans to meet again on October 28, adding to momentum for a negotiated end to the nuclear standoff.

The talks would be nearly two weeks after the P5+1 discussions, as European Union foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton called it an "ambitious timetable" to address Western concerns.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Marriage Tax Breaks For Four Million Couples

David Cameron says four million couples will benefit from the Government's new £1,000 marriage tax allowance.

Ahead of the start of the Conservative Party conference, the Prime Minister said the scheme - starting in April 2015 - will be worth up to £200 a year for married couples, including 15,000 in civil partnerships.

They will receive the benefit at the end of the tax year in 2016.

It will work by letting people transfer £1,000 of their personal tax allowance to their spouse or civil partner - an increase on the £750 allowance promised in the Tory manifesto, which would have seen couples gain £150.

The new allowance, which is not available to couples which include a higher rate taxpayer, is aimed at couples where one partner has not used all of their personal allowance or does not work at all.

Labour's shadow chief secretary to the treasury, Rachel Reeves, said that the marriage tax break would not even help two-thirds of married couples and said he was out of touch if he "thinks people will get married for £3.85 a week".

She said: "And even for the minority who might benefit, it will be far outweighed by what David Cameron's Government has already taken away in higher VAT and cuts to child benefit and tax credits. In most cases, the extra payment will be paid to men, even though it is women who have disproportionately lost out so far."

The PM says 'nothing would be possible' without his wife Samantha

The announcement comes after a trade-off that allowed the Liberal Democrats to announce free school meals for all children under eight earlier this month.

The proposal, which Downing Street said shows the Government values commitment by recognising marriage and civil partnerships in the tax system, makes good on promises Mr Cameron made when he was running for leadership of the party in 2005.

In an article in today's edition of The Daily Mail, he said: "I believe in marriage. Alongside the birth of my children, my wedding was the happiest day of my life.

"Since then, Samantha and I have been a team. Nothing I've done since - becoming a Member of Parliament, leader of my party or Prime Minister - would have been possible without her."

He said that the new measures would apply "if you're gay or straight - and in a civil partnership or a marriage. This summer I was proud to make Equal Marriage the law. Love is love, commitment is commitment".

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria Chemical Weapons: UN Resolution Passed

A "historic" resolution to destroy Syria's chemical weapons has been passed unanimously by the United Nations Security Council.

All 15 members of the council voted in favour of the resolution, which was widely seen as a compromise between the US and Syria's key ally, Russia.

The vote after two weeks of intense negotiations marks a major breakthrough following two and a half years of paralysis that has gripped the council since the Syrian uprising began.

More than 100,000 Syrians have been killed during that time while millions have been displaced.

Russia's Sergei Lavrov votes in favour of the resolution

Russia and China previously vetoed three Western-backed resolutions pressuring President Bashar Assad's regime to end the violence.

Speaking immediately after the vote, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the council: "Today's historic resolution is the first hopeful news on Syria in a long time."

Foreign Secretary William Hague described the development as "ground-breaking".

"The failure of the council to tackle the crimes committed on a daily basis has resulted in a culture of impunity in which a brutal regime believed it could get away with murdering its own men, women and children," he said.

"So it is vital that the council now builds on the consensus we have reached today to make progress today towards a sustainable resolution of the crisis.

UN chemical weapons experts carried out inspections in Syria

"With renewed purpose and resolve, we need to achieve a political transition."

US Secretary of State John Kerry said the "strong, enforceable, precedent-setting" resolution showed diplomacy can be so powerful "that it can peacefully defuse the worst weapons of war."

He said the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile would begin in November and be completed by the middle of next year.

For the first time, the council endorsed the roadmap for a political transition in Syria adopted by key nations in June 2012 and called for an international conference to be convened "as soon as possible" to implement it.

Mr Ban said the target date for a new peace conference in Geneva was mid-November.

The resolution calls for consequences if Syria fails to comply, but those will depend on the council passing another resolution in the event of non-compliance.

That will give Assad ally Russia the means to stop any punishment from being imposed.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that the resolution does not automatically impose sanctions on Syria.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Global Warming '95% Certain', Say Scientists

China Is No Friend To Environment

Updated: 9:19am UK, Friday 27 September 2013

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent, in Beijing

China is not kind to the environment. It is far and away the world's biggest consumer of coal, burning three times as much of it than America in 2012.

These days, the country is responsible for a quarter of global carbon dioxide emissions annually. The projections suggest it will get considerably worse over the coming years before peaking.

The causes are multiple. In Beijing, the most obvious pollutant is the traffic.

Since the 2007 UN climate report, two million more cars have been added to Beijing's roads.

There are now five million vehicles on the streets of the Chinese capital alone. All of them are filled with poor quality fuel, the fumes from which are spewed out into the city's air.

This year, the country has seen some of the worst air pollution on record.

On a bad day, you can smell the pollution. On a really bad day, you can taste it.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends a safe Air Quality Index (AQI) is 25. In Beijing, in January, the index hit 900.

The 2013 "airmageddon", as it became known, could mark a turning point.

China's state-run media used to insist that the smog was "fog".

These days though, they're clear about its health implications.

China's people are increasingly asking questions and wondering aloud why their government isn't doing more to improve their environment.

The government appears to be taking their concerns seriously.

New measures are in place to limit car numbers in big cities and the quality of the fuel is being improved.

China's latest five-year plan to take on its pollution problem includes a cap on coal consumption.

To date though, it has failed to meet any of its previous pollution targets.

A "carbon cap-and-trade system" is now in place in the southern industrial city of Shenzhen.

Others are planned in Chongqing, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Shanghai and Beijing.

However, globally, governments have proved that implementing such measures and actually sticking to them are entirely different things.

Of course, much of the pollution may come from China, but that fact doesn't necessarily make it all China's fault.

The problem is that China is in the middle of its own industrial revolution. As long the West continues to demand its products are "Made in China" and on the cheap, we'll continue to pay the price for its pollution.

Essentially, the West has exported its own pollution to China. London's "pea-soupers" of the 1950s - a product of the UK's industrial revolution - are now being re-lived in China as it meets our demands.

And arguably, China is only adopting the same principle as the West did a century ago: the "grow first, clean up later" attitude.

But the speed at which China has industrialised has exacerbated its pollution problems.

It would be wrong though to suggest that China is doing nothing to sort out its problems and live up to its global responsibility.

It is a world leader in green technology. Chinese investment wind and solar power is second to none.

Britain, for one, recognises that. On Thursday, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey was in Beijing to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Chinese government.

The MoU, on offshore wind power, is the first of its kind that China has signed with another country.

"I am delighted that the UK and China have cemented their 'Strategic Partnership on Offshore Wind' through the signing of an MoU," Mr Davey said.

"The UK has more offshore wind installed than the rest of the world combined and we have ambitious plans for the future.

"Together with China, who plans to develop 30GW of offshore wind by 2020, we want to make offshore wind a competitive low carbon energy choice.

"Our strengthened cooperation will bring significant commercial and environmental benefits for both countries."

The broad point is this: China's impact on the global environment is so huge that a substantial shift in attitude and policy here alone could be a global game changer.

The concern is that many of China's considerable commitments to change its ways are, for now at least, on paper only; paper which, incidentally, comes from trees that China is chopping down at a frightening pace.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

'China Is No Friend To The Environment'

China is not kind to the environment. It is far and away the world's biggest consumer of coal, burning three times as much of it than America in 2012.

These days, the country is responsible for a quarter of global carbon dioxide emissions annually. The projections suggest it will get considerably worse over the coming years before peaking.

The causes are multiple. In Beijing, the most obvious pollutant is the traffic.

Since the 2007 UN climate report, two million more cars have been added to Beijing's roads.

There are now five million vehicles on the streets of the Chinese capital alone. All of them are filled with poor quality fuel, the fumes from which are spewed out into the city's air.

This year, the country has seen some of the worst air pollution on record.

On a bad day, you can smell the pollution. On a really bad day, you can taste it.

There are now five million vehicles on the streets of Beijing alone

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends a safe Air Quality Index (AQI) is 25. In Beijing, in January, the index hit 900.

The 2013 "airmageddon", as it became known, could mark a turning point.

China's state-run media used to insist that the smog was "fog".

These days though, they're clear about its health implications.

China's people are increasingly asking questions and wondering aloud why their government isn't doing more to improve their environment.

The government appears to be taking their concerns seriously.

New measures are in place to limit car numbers in big cities and the quality of the fuel is being improved.

China's latest five-year plan to take on its pollution problem includes a cap on coal consumption.

To date though, it has failed to meet any of its previous pollution targets.

A "carbon cap-and-trade system" is now in place in the southern industrial city of Shenzhen.

China has failed to meet any of its pollution targets

Others are planned in Chongqing, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Shanghai and Beijing.

However, globally, governments have proved that implementing such measures and actually sticking to them are entirely different things.

Of course, much of the pollution may come from China, but that fact doesn't necessarily make it all China's fault.

The problem is that China is in the middle of its own industrial revolution. As long the West continues to demand its products are "Made in China" and on the cheap, we'll continue to pay the price for its pollution.

Essentially, the West has exported its own pollution to China. London's "pea-soupers" of the 1950s - a product of the UK's industrial revolution - are now being re-lived in China as it meets our demands.

And arguably, China is only adopting the same principle as the West did a century ago: the "grow first, clean up later" attitude.

But the speed at which China has industrialised has exacerbated its pollution problems.

London, 1953: Masks were all the rage due to severe smog or "pea-soupers"

It would be wrong though to suggest that China is doing nothing to sort out its problems and live up to its global responsibility.

It is a world leader in green technology. Chinese investment wind and solar power is second to none.

Britain, for one, recognises that. On Thursday, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey was in Beijing to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Chinese government.

The MoU, on offshore wind power, is the first of its kind that China has signed with another country.

"I am delighted that the UK and China have cemented their 'Strategic Partnership on Offshore Wind' through the signing of an MoU," Mr Davey said.

"The UK has more offshore wind installed than the rest of the world combined and we have ambitious plans for the future.

"Together with China, who plans to develop 30GW of offshore wind by 2020, we want to make offshore wind a competitive low carbon energy choice.

"Our strengthened cooperation will bring significant commercial and environmental benefits for both countries."

The broad point is this: China's impact on the global environment is so huge that a substantial shift in attitude and policy here alone could be a global game changer.

The concern is that many of China's considerable commitments to change its ways are, for now at least, on paper only; paper which, incidentally, comes from trees that China is chopping down at a frightening pace.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria Chemical Weapons: UN Resolution Agreed

Syria: Text Of Draft UN Resolution

Updated: 9:47am UK, Friday 27 September 2013

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council have agreed a draft resolution to rid Syria of its chemical weapons arsenal. Here is the text.

The Security Council,

PP1. Recalling the Statements of its President of 3 August 2011, 21 March 2012, 5 April 2012, and its resolutions 1540 (2004), 2042 (2012) and 2043 (2012),

PP2. Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic,

PP3. Reaffirming that the proliferation of chemical weapons, as well as their means of delivery, constitutes a threat to international peace and security,

PP4. Recalling that the Syrian Arab Republic on 22 November 1968 acceded to the Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, signed at Geneva on 17 June 1925,

PP5. Noting that on 14 September 2013, Syria deposited with the Secretary-General its instrument of accession to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (Convention) and declared that it shall comply with its stipulations and observe them faithfully and sincerely, applying the Convention provisionally pending its entry into force for the Syrian Arab Republic,

PP6. Welcoming the establishment by the Secretary-General of the United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic ("the Mission") pursuant to General Assembly resolution 42/37 C (1987) of 30 November 1987, and reaffirmed by resolution 620 (1988) of 26 August 1988, and expressing appreciation for the work of the Mission,

PP7. Acknowledging the report of 16 September 2013(S/2013/553) by the Mission, underscoring the need for the Mission to fulfill its mandate, and emphasizing that future credible allegations of chemical weapons use in the Syrian Arab Republic should be investigated,

PP8. Deeply outraged by the use of chemical weapons on 21 August 2013 in Rif Damascus, as concluded in the Mission's report, condemning the killing of civilians that resulted from it, affirming that the use of chemical weapons constitutes a serious violation of international law, and stressing that those responsible for any use of chemical weapons must be held accountable,

PP9. Recalling the obligation under resolution 1540 (2004)that all States shall refrain from providing any form of support to non-State actors that attempt to develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer or use weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons, and their means of delivery,

PP10. Welcoming the Framework for Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons dated 14 September 2013, in Geneva, between the Russian Federation and the United States of America (S/2013/565), with a view to ensuring the destruction of the Syrian Arab Republic's chemical weapons program in the soonest and safest manner, and expressing its commitment to the immediate international control over chemical weapons and their components in the Syrian Arab Republic,

PP11. Welcoming the decision of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) of establishing special procedures for the expeditious destruction of the Syrian Arab Republic's chemical weapons program and stringent verification thereof, and expressing its determination to ensure the destruction of the Syrian Arab Republic's chemical weapons program according to the timetable contained in the OPCW Executive Council decision of,

PP12. Stressing that the only solution to the current crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic is through an inclusive and Syrian-led political process based on the Geneva Communiqué of 30 June 2012, and emphasising the need to convene the international conference on Syria as soon as possible,

PP13. Determining that the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic constitutes a threat to international peace and security,

PP14. Underscoring that Member States are obligated under Article 25 of the Charter of the United Nations to accept and carry out the Council's decisions,

1. Determines that the use of chemical weapons anywhere constitutes a threat to international peace and security;

2. Condemns in the strongest terms any use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic, in particular the attack on 21 August 2013, in violation of international law;

3. Endorses the decision of the OPCW Executive Council, which contains special procedures for the expeditious destruction of the Syrian Arab Republic's chemical weapons program and stringent verification thereof and calls for its full implementation in the most expedient and safest manner;

4. Decides that the Syrian Arab Republic shall not use, develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile or retain chemical weapons, or transfer, directly or indirectly, chemical weapons to other States or non-State actors;

5. Underscores that no party in Syria should use, develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, retain, or transfer chemical weapons;

6. Decides that the Syrian Arab Republic shall comply with all aspects of the decision of the OPCW Executive Council of (Annex I);

7. Decides that the Syrian Arab Republic shall cooperate fully with the OPCW and the United Nations, including by complying with their relevant recommendations, by accepting personnel designated by the OPCW or the United Nations, by providing for and ensuring the security of activities undertaken by these personnel, by providing these personnel with immediate and unfettered access to and the right to inspect, in discharging their functions, any and all sites, and by allowing immediate and unfettered access to individuals that the OPCW has grounds to believe to be of importance for the purpose of its mandate, and decides that all parties in Syria shall cooperate fully in this regard;

8. Decides to authorize an advance team of United Nations personnel to provide early assistance to OPCW activities in Syria, requests the Director-General of the OPCW and the Secretary-General to closely cooperate in the implementation of the Executive Council decision of and this resolution, including through their operational activities on the ground, and further requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with the Director-General of the OPCW and, where appropriate, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, to submit to the Council within 10 days of the adoption of this resolution recommendations regarding the role of the United Nations in eliminating the Syrian Arab Republic's chemical weapons program;

9. Notes that the Syrian Arab Republic is a party to the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, decides that OPCW-designated personnel undertaking activities provided for in this resolution or the decision of the OPCW Executive Council of shall enjoy the privileges and immunities contained in the Verification Annex, Part II(B) of the Chemical Weapons Convention, and calls on the Syrian Arab Republic to conclude modalities agreements with the United Nations and the OPCW;

10. Encourages Member States to provide support, including personnel, technical expertise, information, equipment, and financial and other resources and assistance, in coordination with the Director-General of the OPCW and the Secretary-General, to enable the OPCW and the United Nations to implement the elimination of the Syrian Arab Republic's chemical weapons program, and decides to authorize Member States to acquire, control, transport, transfer and destroy chemical weapons identified by the Director-General of the OPCW, consistent with the objective of the Chemical Weapons Convention, to ensure the elimination of the Syrian Arab Republic's chemical weapons program in the soonest and safest manner;

11. Urges all Syrian parties and interested Member States with relevant capabilities to work closely together and with the OPCW and the United Nations to arrange for the security of the monitoring and destruction mission, recognizing the primary responsibility of the Syrian government in this regard;

12. Decides to review on a regular basis the implementation in the Syrian Arab Republic of the decision of the OPCW Executive Council and this resolution, and requests the Director-General of the OPCW to report to the Security Council, through the Secretary-General, who shall include relevant information on United Nations activities related to the implementation of this resolution, within 30 days and every month thereafter, and requests further the Director-General of the OPCW and the Secretary-General to report in a coordinated manner, as needed, to the Security Council, non-compliance with this resolution or the OPCW Executive Council decision of;

13. Reaffirms its readiness to consider promptly any reports of the OPCW under Article VIII of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which provides for the referral of cases of non-compliance to the United Nations Security Council;

14. Decides that Member States shall inform immediately the Security Council of any violation of resolution 1540 (2004), including acquisition by non-State actors of chemical weapons, their means of delivery and related materials in order to take necessary measures therefore;

Accountability

15. Expresses its strong conviction that those individuals responsible for the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic should be held accountable;

Political transition

16. Endorses fully the Geneva Communiqué of 30 June 2012 (Annex II), which sets out a number of key steps beginning with the establishment of a transitional governing body exercising full executive powers, which could include members of the present Government and the opposition and other groups and shall be formed on the basis of mutual consent;

17. Calls for the convening, as soon as possible, of an international conference on Syria to implement the Geneva Communiqué, and calls upon all Syrian parties to engage seriously and constructively at the Geneva Conference on Syria, and underscores that they should be fully representative of the Syrian people and committed to the implementation of the Geneva Communiqué and to the achievement of stability and reconciliation;

Non-Proliferation

18. Reaffirms that all Member States shall refrain from providing any form of support to non-State actors that attempt to develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer or use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of delivery, and calls upon all Member States, in particular Member States neighbouring the Syrian Arab Republic, to report any violations of this paragraph to the Security Council immediately;

19. Demands that non-State actors not develop, acquire, manufacture, possess, transport, transfer, or use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of delivery, and calls upon all Member States, in particular Member States neighbouring the Syrian Arab Republic, to report any actions inconsistent with this paragraph to the Security Council immediately;

20. Decides that all Member States shall prohibit the procurement of chemical weapons, related equipment, goods and technology or assistance from the Syrian Arab Republic by their nationals, or using their flagged vessels or aircraft, whether or not originating in the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic;

Compliance

21. Decides, in the event of non-compliance with this resolution, including unauthorized transfer of chemical weapons, or any use of chemical weapons by anyone in the Syrian Arab Republic, to impose measures under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter;

22. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

April Jones Funeral: Machynlleth To Mourn

By Mike McCarthy, Sky Correspondent in Machynlleth

The funeral of April Jones is due to take place in the murdered schoolgirl's home town later.

A horse-drawn cortege will take mourners including the five-year-old's parents from her Machynlleth home to the church shortly before midday.

It is almost a year to the day since the five-year-old went missing - with her murderer, Mark Bridger, jailed for his entire life in May - but reminders of the youngster are visible throughout the town.

A memorial garden has been built on the estate of Bryn y Gog, close to the home where she lived throughout her brief life.

April's favourite colour pink has been used extensively. A bench bearing her name has been placed among the trees and next to a pink playhouse.

April's body has never been found

Up in the Welsh hills overlooking her hometown, a tree has been intricately wrapped in knitted pink patches and below in the valley pink ribbons still adorn many of the shop fronts and houses.

But the town is different now according to Councillor Mike Williams, a friend and neighbour of April's family.

He explained: "It's the magnitude of an event in which a five-year-old girl was ripped from her family, ripped from the community, in such a vile and vicious way.

"But the town has stayed together and together we will be. We will be as one and we will be always with the family in support."

People in Machynlleth joined the search for the missing girl

April Jones' funeral reflects the wishes of her grieving parents Paul and Coral, who had wondered for months whether it would even be possible as their daughter's body was never found apart from fragments of bone.

Two poems by a local writer - one called April and the other called An Autumn Night - are being read during the service in the parish church of St Peter's, and the words of well-known hymns have been changed to suit the family.

Vicar Kathleen Rogers told Sky News: "This is a huge thing for Paul and Coral.

"They need to be able to say goodbye to their daughter and this service will hopefully enable them to do that.

"Hopefully it will be a closing of this particular chapter. Another chapter will now open as they now start to grieve privately.

"Hopefully this service will help them a little bit on this horrendous journey that they're on."

The small town of Machynlleth lies in the Dyfi valley surrounded by hills and mountains. It is the kind of tranquil place where many people took for granted the inherent sense of safety.

But that has changed.

Everyone seems to agree that as a result of April's death parents, for example, are more cautious about their children's whereabouts.

It will take at least a generation perhaps for the lost innocence to return ... if it ever does.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

OFT: Children Pressured To Buy Online Games

Warning Over Smartphone Kids' Apps

Updated: 5:56am UK, Thursday 26 September 2013

By Niall Paterson, Media Correspondent

I've always tended to view video-gaming as something of a solitary pursuit, or at the very least one enjoyed with friends in my bedroom, out of sight of Mum and Dad.

This wasn't always necessarily to do with the violent or graphic content of the titles my parents unwittingly purchased - although if they'd seen the brutality of Speedball 2, the adult content of Leisure Suit Larry, or even the hundreds of mammals sacrificed as I attempted (in vain) to complete Lemmings, I imagine I'd have been shoved outside and back on the Space Hopper quicker than I could say "carpal tunnel syndrome". 

But at least the financial costs of my sweaty-palmed play were limited to the cost of the game itself (and, perhaps, the occasional copy of Computer & Video Games magazine).

Not so nowadays.

The Office of Fair Trading's investigation into in-game purchases of bolt-ons and bonus items makes for distressing reading if you've ever handed your iPad to an ankle-biter.

In essence, it concludes children are being encouraged or even made to feel pressurised into paying over and above the cost of the app, even in games which are specifically targeted at kids.

It also finds a blurring of the distinction between real-world and in-game currency; and unfair and aggressive commercial practices "to which children may be particularly susceptible".

There's also prima facie evidence consumer protection laws may already have been broken.

The industry will now mull over the OFT's eight key recommendations. But I imagine some will choose to resist.

After all, given the profusion of free apps and games, many people are increasingly unwilling to pay even a quid for what might, ultimately, only prove to be a couple hours of entertainment.

So, understandably, developers are seeking other revenue streams - and some will argue that encouraging kids to ask their parents for an in-game item is no different to the advertising campaigns that turn kids into pester-factories every Christmas.

And what of the parents in all of this? Isn't this just more evidence that mum and dad need to be a little more aware of what their kids are up to online?

There's a degree of validity in that argument, as there is when the case is made that parents need to educate their kids a lot better about when and where not to click.

But I know as well as any 1980s gamer that they can't always know what we're up to; nor are most sufficiently tech-savvy to educate their kids about the dangers, fiscal or otherwise, of life online.

But let's be clear - those behind these titles are savvy enough for all of us.

And, although not literally coin-operated, clearly many developers are so cash-motivated that they've chosen to turn a blind eye to the dangers of in-game purchasing.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kenya Survivor 'Smeared Herself In Blood'

A survivor of the Nairobi mall attacks has described how she smeared herself with a victim's blood to play dead and fool the terrorists.

Radio presenter Sneha Kothari Mashru said a teenage boy lying next to her died of his wounds as they hid from the gunmen at the Westgate shopping centre in the Kenyan capital.

"I realised he was shot, because he was bleeding," she said.

"So I pulled out (his) phone slowly and I tried to switch it off, it was all full of blood, and I tried to switch off the phone so that it could stop ringing (in case it alerted the attackers).

"So I took a lot of his blood, (as) much (as) I could and I tried to put it on myself. I put it on my arm, a lot of the teenager's blood, and while I was trying to put it on my hand I just realised that he had stopped breathing at that time.

"So I put it on my arm, as much as I could, and I covered my face with my hair, because my hair was let loose even then, just to pretend that I'm dead or probably badly injured.

"I would still love to know who he is and everything, because his blood probably protected me from getting probably more injured or attacked."

Niall Saville and his wife Moon Hee Kang who died in the attack

Meanwhile, the family of a British man Niall Saville who was injured in the attack have paid tribute to his South Korean wife, Moon Hee Kang, who was killed.

"The Saville and Kang families are devastated and heartbroken by the sudden loss of Moon Hee.

"She was very close to the Saville family and brought so much joy to all of their lives. She and Niall had lived in numerous locations around the world together, but they always had time for both families," the statement said.

"Moon Hee was a bright, loving, kind and genuine person who will be greatly missed."

Terror group al Shabaab has claimed its militants carried out a "meticulous vetting process" to separate Muslims from non-Muslims before killing dozens of men, women and children in the mall.

Witnesses had described how the gunmen rounded up those inside centre before asking them questions about Islam.

In an email exchange with the Associated Press, the al Qaeda-affiliated terror group confirmed its fighters specifically targeted foreigners during the attack.

Security officials enter the mall to search for more evidence

"The Mujahideen carried out a meticulous vetting process at the mall and have taken every possible precaution to separate the Muslims from the Kuffar (disbelievers) before carrying out their attack," the group said.

It added: "Our targets have always been disbelievers, invaders and the apostate governments officials/troops who are allied with them."

The number killed in the attack is expected to rise from the current figure of 67, with speculation there could be additions to the six British dead.

Five terrorists were also killed in the four-day siege at the shopping centre, while 10 suspects remain in custody in relation to the incident.

Former prime minister Tony Blair told Sky News that terrorists are a "cancer" who will only be defeated by better education.

Speaking outside the United Nations headquarters in New York, the current envoy to the Middle East said Islamist ideology had created an enemy that was "insidious and venomous, but also difficult to beat".

"Unless we are educating people to a tolerant and respectful and open-minded approach to the world, then this cancer of these terrorist groups will continue," he said.

Miraculous tales of survival have emerged since the attack

Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud has warned that such attacks may become more frequent as al Shabaab tries to reassert its dwindling power base.

"Some people sometimes mix the issues that Shabaab want an Islamic state in Somalia - that's not true. Shabaab want a unified state all over the world," he told Channel 4 News.

"They do not believe in borders, they do not believe in sovereignty, so their theme is global, it's not even regional. They may do this act again and again."

On Wednesday the group threatened that if Kenyan troops remain in Somalia, they must "be prepared for an abundance of blood".

Experts from countries including the UK, the US and Israel are helping Kenyan authorities with the forensic investigation at the mall. Explosives experts and sniffer dogs are searching for booby traps in the wreckage.

Newly-released pictures show a gaping hole in the mall's roof and mounds of rubble.

The devastation was caused after soldiers fired rocket-propelled grenades and knocked out a support column.

A Kenyan government official said the soldiers fired to distract a sniper so that hostages could be evacuated.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kenya: Days Of Mourning For Terror Victims

Kenya has begun three days of mourning for the victims of Nairobi's shopping centre attack, as authorities prepare to retrieve the bodies of victims still trapped inside.

At least 67 people have been confirmed dead in the attack, including 61 civilians and six security officials.

Kenyan authorities say the number of dead may rise further, as bodies are feared to be trapped beneath rubble in the mall after three levels collapsed.

Six Britons - including an eight-year-old girl - are among the dead, and Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has warned there may be further British victims.

A Western embassy official said the number of additional dead could reach as high as 100. Morgue workers are preparing to receive further victims.

Smoke rises from the Westgate mall in Nairobi

"They're just seeing dead bodies. They've found no survivors, no live hostages," a Nairobi resident, who did not wish to be named, told The Associated Press.

About 175 people were also wounded when al Shabaab militants stormed the Nairobi mall on Saturday afternoon.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta announced in a televised address that troops had "shamed and defeated" the militants following a four-day siege.

"Kenya has stared down evil and triumphed. These cowards will meet justice as will their accomplices and patrons, wherever they are," Mr Kenyatta said.

Some 11 suspects have been arrested in connection with the attack, and a further five died during the siege at the complex.

Kenyan troops stormed the shopping complex

Police have confirmed that the attackers are either dead or in custody.

The Foreign Office has confirmed the arrest of a Briton, and say they are making contact to offer standard consular assistance.

"Now it is for the forensic and criminal experts," said police spokesman Masoud Mwinyi.

Explosives experts are searching for booby traps in the wreckage.

"They are checking for any potential explosive devices left behind," a security source told the AFP news agency, adding that specialist remote-controlled demining robots were on hand.

Teams of sniffer dogs have been taken into the building to check for explosives and to find bodies.

Workers wore face masks and some soldiers wrapped scarves around their mouths to cover what they said was an overpowering stench inside the centre.

Sky's chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay said that police have come across a large number of booby traps, and a large explosion was heard at the centre on Wednesday morning.

"Any suspicious objects they'll blow up," he said. "There's a security fear here still that maybe some of the gunmen are still alive."

The attackers marched into the four-storey, part Israeli-owned mall at midday on Saturday, shooting dead shoppers with machine guns and tossing grenades.

Al Shabaab has claimed it carried out the attack in retaliation for Kenya's military intervention in Somalia.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Peru Drugs Pair Plead Guilty To Trafficking

Two women accused of trying to smuggle £1.5m worth of cocaine out of Peru have pleaded guilty.

Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum, both 20, were stopped with 11kg (24lb) of cocaine hidden in food packets in their luggage while trying to board a flight to Spain on August 6.

Reid, from Glasgow, and McCollum, from Dungannon, Co Tyrone, originally claimed they were forced to carry the drugs by an armed gang which threatened them and their family members.

Their U-turn means they will not have to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.

Instead, it is likely they will be sentenced to six years and eight months in jail at a hearing which could take place as early as next week.

The two women admitted their guilt at a private hearing in a makeshift courtroom at a men's jail in Lima.

They were heard separately for half an hour each from 11am local time - 5pm in the UK - and asked their names and ages before being given the opportunity to speak.

The pair were arrested at Lima's airport on August 6

The women's lawyer, Meyer Fishman, declined to comment, but a Callao court spokesman in charge of the investigation confirmed the guilty pleas.

"Both women have pleaded guilty to drugs trafficking," said the spokesman.

"It means they automatically benefit from a sixth off the minimum jail sentence of eight years and will be sentenced to six years and eight months in prison.

"Sentencing has not taken place yet and a new hearing where the women will be sentenced has now got to be arranged.

"But it's likely that will take place in around a week's time."

The cocaine was found hidden in food packets in the women's luggage

Reid and McCollum, who had both been working in Ibiza, were facing up to 15 years in prison if they had been found guilty in a trial.

Reid's parents insisted last week they still believed their daughter had been forced to carry the drugs, but a guilty plea was the best course of action to get her back to the UK.

Prosecutors previously indicated that the women could return home to serve their sentences if they pleaded guilty.

Reid was the first to consider changing her plea, maintaining she carried the drugs under duress and telling the Daily Mail: "Pleading guilty is going to enable me to get back to my family in Scotland sooner rather than later.

Melissa Reid said she did not want to be in jail until the age of 35

"I do not want to be in jail until 35 - I can't get back those years."

McCollum confirmed at the weekend that she too had changed her mind about continuing to protest her innocence.

"I understand that the judicial process will be simpler if we both plead guilty," said the 20-year-old.

"We are hoping we will not have to wait too long before we are sentenced and pleading guilty will speed things up."

The pair are currently being held at the notorious Virgen de Fatima prison in the Peruvian capital Lima.

Peruvian police and prosecutors said from the start they did not believe the women had been forced to smuggle the drugs.

Chief prosecutor Juan Mendoza Abarca claimed their stories were "incredible" and that they had been coached in what to say.

He added: "They staged this whole thing from the beginning because they knew it was possible they would get caught and if they did get caught they had the excuses really well planned.

"It's very obvious they were trained in what to say if they were caught. They were prepared in every sense."

A total of 248 "drug mules" were arrested at Lima's Jorge Chavez international airport in 2012, with nearly 1,600kg of illegal drugs confiscated.

The UN says Peru has overtaken Colombia as the world's largest grower of coca, the raw material of cocaine.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Miliband Warns Energy Firms After Backlash

Ed Miliband has rejected warnings his plans for an energy price freeze if Labour regains power will spark blackouts.

The Labour leader told Sky News he was serious about ending the "blatant overcharging of millions" as he brushed off criticism about the pledge.

In a surprise move, Mr Miliband vowed on Tuesday to freeze gas and electricity prices for 20 months if he becomes prime minister in 2015.

He has also now written to the "Big Six" energy companies warning that they will be "part of the problem" unless they support the move.

Ed Miliband insists it is time to "reset the market"

Firms claim it could lead to energy shortages and power cuts as the industry is starved of the investment it needs and business chiefs have also been critical.

But Mr Miliband insists it is time to "reset the market" and told the industry he would not help guarantee funding for its development if it does not fall in line.

His plans would see a price freeze from 2015 until 2017 while the sector is reformed, with watchdog Ofgem axed, firms split into generation and retail arms and competition increased.

In his letter, the Labour leader wrote: "I appreciate that you will not welcome all aspects of this package but it is my firm view that without resetting the market we are not going to see the public consent that is required to underpin the scale of taxpayer backed guarantees for which you have argued.

"I am prepared to make the case for sharing the risks of such investment, but that must be against the backdrop of a market that customers believe works for them.

"You and I know that the public have lost faith in this market. There is a crisis of confidence. We face a stark choice.

Energy firms argue they need money to overhaul UK power stations

"We can work together on the basis of this price freeze to make the market work in the future. Or you can reinforce in the public mind that you are part of the problem not the solution."

Mr Miliband announced the 20-month price freeze in his conference speech as he sought to show only his party could tackle a "cost-of-living crisis".

Pitching the next election as a battle between Tories representing the "privileged few" as ordinary families and small businesses suffer, he repeatedly declared: "Britain can do better than this."

"I will lead a government that fights for you," he vowed as he insisted he would relish a contest with David Cameron based on leadership and character.

Labour claims the freeze, to last from May 2015 until January 2017, would save the typical household £120 and an average business £1,800.

The party leader will be quizzed about the policy today as he tours television studios and later answers activists' questions before the conference closes.

Consumer group Which? has said it will "give hope to the millions worrying about how they can afford to heat their homes" but the CBI warns it will damage Labour's "pro-enterprise credentials".

The energy sector's umbrella group, Energy UK, accused Mr Miliband of "posturing to no purpose" and warned the freeze could have drastic consequences.

Chief executive Angela Knight said: "Freezing the bill, may be superficially attractive, but it will also freeze the money to build and renew power stations, freeze the jobs and livelihoods of the 600,000 plus people dependent on the energy industry and make the prospect of energy shortages a reality, pushing up the prices for everyone."

Energy giant Centrica blamed price rises on higher commodity costs, increases in regulated transport and distribution charges and environmental cost and taxes.

A spokesman said: "If prices were to be controlled against a background of rising costs it would simply not be economically viable for Centrica, or indeed any other energy supplier, to continue to operate and far less to meet the sizeable investment challenge that the industry is facing.

"The impact of such a policy would be damaging for the country's long term prosperity and for our customers."

SSE claimed price freezes would lead to "unsustainable loss-making retail businesses" and suggested the Government's energy policy costs be put into general taxation instead of on bills.

"This would wipe £110 off the average person's bill and shift the cost away from those who can't afford to pay and on to those who can," a spokesman said.

Simon Walker, director general of the Institute of Directors, said: "We should think very, very carefully before piling more distortion on an already grossly distorted energy market. Price controls only add greater uncertainty to companies who we need to take the financial risks of energy investment.

Matthew Sinclair, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "When the government fixes prices, it always ends in a disaster for consumers.

"Ed Miliband is sticking by the green taxes and expensive subsidies that drive up the price of energy, so at best this new policy would just store up massive price hikes for another day. At worst it could create a crisis and force the government to bail out the sector."

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kenya Siege: British Woman 'Among Attackers'

A British woman and "two or three Americans" are among the militants who took part in an attack on a shopping centre in Nairobi.

Kenyan Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed confirmed al Shabaab fighters were responsible for the attack.

In an interview with the PBS Newshour programme, Ms Mohamed said: "Both the victims and the perpetrators ... came from Kenya, the United Kingdom and the United States.

"From the information that we have, (there are) two or three Americans, and I think so far I have heard of one Brit."

Asked about the British woman, Ms Mohamed added: "A woman, woman, and I think she has done this many times before."

Samantha Lewthwaite is known to be in East Africa

The announcement will fuel speculation that British terror suspect Samantha Lewthwaite, who was married to the July 7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay, was involved in the Kenya attack.

Ms Lewthwaite, dubbed the "White Widow", is known to be in East Africa and is wanted by Kenyan police over alleged links to a terrorist cell that planned to bomb the country's coast.

In March last year officials said she had fled to Somalia and that officers were hunting a woman who used several identities, including hers.

On Monday night, Ms Lewthwaite's grandmother, Elizabeth Allen, 86, of County Down in Northern Ireland, was said by a friend to be "deeply distressed" by suggestions her granddaughter had been involved in the attack.

Kenya's Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed spoke to the PBS Newshour programme

Ms Lewthwaite has gained "semi-mythical status" since travelling to East Africa, according to terrorism expert, Raffaello Pantucci, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.

Mr Pantucci said: "There has been a lot of speculation about it. Samantha Lewthwaite, since she appeared in East Africa, has been elevated in some ways to a semi-mythical status.

"I don't think we've had any concrete evidence of her being involved in this incident, but the fact of her being mentioned in this context is not surprising because of her connections, and it is known that she is somewhere in East Africa."

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: "Aware of the Foreign Minister's comment, we continue to liaise very closely with the Kenyan authorities and to support their investigation into this attack.

"The UK will do everything it can to support the Kenyans bringing everyone responsible for this vicious attack to justice."

Ms Mohamed said the Americans involved in the shopping centre attack are aged about 18 or 19 years.

"The Americans, from the information that we have, are young men. About between 18 and 19, of Somali origin or Arab origin, but ... lived in the US in Minnesota and one other place," she said.

"I think that just goes to underline the global nature of the war that we're fighting."

FBI sources are investigating claims that the terrorists involved in the attack were recruited in the Midwest in a Somali community known as "Little Mogadishu" in Minneapolis, according to The Times.

Somalia's al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which began on Saturday.

Kenyan security forces claim they have taken control of the shopping centre after a final assault on the militants, however, heavy gunfire can still be heard coming from the complex.

Some security sources say some of the terrorists could still be hiding.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kenya Siege: Heavy Gunfire Heard Inside Mall

Heavy bursts of gunfire have been heard from inside a Nairobi shopping centre where gunmen have killed at least 62 people.

It comes only hours after Kenya's interior ministry said security forces were "in control" of the Westgate mall following a three-day siege.

All hostages trapped by the attackers have been evacuated from the Nairobi complex, according to government spokesman Manoah Esipisu.

But he cautioned that some of the insurgents could still be hiding after up to 15 of them stormed the building on Saturday in a grenade and gun attack targeting shoppers.

Troops have been combing the building overnight, going from floor to floor looking for "anyone left behind", said the interior ministry.

Kenya's Citizen TV was suggesting that troops had killed six of the remaining attackers.

Victims: Ross Langdon, Eliv Yavus and eight-year-old Jenah Bawa

According to Sky News sources the British military is now giving assistance to Kenyan forces at the mall and has offered further assistance.

On Monday, the Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, said: "As the Prime Minister made clear, we have said we will provide them with any assistance which they request. We haven't yet been asked to provide any assistance beyond broad background advice."

The gunmen were believed to be members of al Qaeda-linked Somali militant group al Shabaab which said the assault was in retaliation for Kenya's military helping the government in Mogadishu.

Kenya's Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed said a British woman and "two or three Americans" were among the militants.

Six British nationals are believed to have been killed in the terror attack. Among the dead were eight-year-old Jenah Bawa and 33-year-old Ross Langdon.

Smoke is seen rising from the shopping centre

Almost 200 people were hurt in the attack, and 63 others had been recorded missing by the Red Cross - a figure thought to include hostages as well as those possibly killed.

Mr Esipisu said: "Our special forces are inside the building checking the rooms. Obviously it's a very, very big building.

"We think that everyone, the hostages, have been evacuated but we don't want to take any chances. The special forces are doing their job and yes, I think we are near the end."

He also told AFP: "The special forces call this sanitising. It's a very complex and very delicate operation.

"At the moment they have not met any resistance, but of course we are not ruling out the possibility that there are a couple of them hiding in a remote room or corner."

Earlier, Islamist militants were reported to be "running and hiding" in stores as security forces closed in.

Kenyan police said three terrorists had been killed and others were hurt after the military launched a major assault.

Police and volunteers react after hearing gunshots

Eleven soldiers from the Kenyan Defence Force were wounded in the fighting, and more than 10 people have been arrested over Saturday's attack.

Interior minister Joseph Ole Lenku said there was "no way out" for the militants and "no room for escape".

Around lunchtime on Monday, four huge explosions were heard followed by a barrage of gunfire at the shopping complex in the Kenyan capital.

Black smoke poured from the top of the building as troops lay siege to the mall while military and police helicopters circled above.

Security officials at the scene said the explosions had been caused by Kenyan forces who set off blasts to get in through the roof.

However, Mr Lenku said the smoke had been down to the al Shabaab fighters setting fire to mattresses as a decoy.

US President Barack Obama, whose father was born in Kenya, said the United States stood with Kenyans against "this terrible outrage."

"We will provide them with whatever law enforcement support that is necessary. And we are confident that Kenya will continue to be a pillar of stability in eastern Africa."

The atrocity is the worst in Nairobi since an al Qaeda bomb attack on the US embassy in 1998 that killed more than 200 people.

The Kenyan Red Cross has set up a webpage for anyone worried about friends or relatives who might be caught up in the siege.

:: A helpline has been set up for people in the UK who are concerned about relatives in Kenya: 020 7008 000.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kenya Mall Siege: 'Six Britons Killed'

Six Britons, including a young girl, are among the 62 people killed in the attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi.

British businessman Louis Bawa confirmed his daughter Jenah, eight, and wife Zahira were among the dead.

"The people who did this, they are vigilantes, they are animals," Mr Bawa told The Daily Telegraph.

"They are using religion as an excuse to kill people. Zahira and Jenah were Muslims, but these animals just shot them the same as all of the others."

Smoke seen billowing from the shopping complex

He said he had spoken to his daughter last week and had told her if she did well in her exams he would "buy her any present in the world."

She had replied that she wanted a pony and Mr Bawa said that she told him to "start saving up because she was going to work very hard."

Mrs Bawa was born in Kenya and moved to the UK several years ago. A relative, Shakuntna Bawa, told Sky News: "It's very hard, we can't believe it."

Another family member, Tania Bawa, described the mother and daughter as "wonderful people".

Two of the other victims, British-Australian architect Ross Langdon and his Dutch wife Elif Yavuz, were expecting their first baby in two weeks.

Mr Langdon at a conference in 2012

Mr Langdon, 33, who was born and grew up in Tasmania, designed an Aids hospital in Kenya for free and helped create eco-lodges and socially sustainable tourism.

His wife, Ms Yavuz, also 33, was a malaria specialist with a PhD in public health policy from Harvard University.

She had completed her dissertation research on malaria in eastern Africa and was working with the Gates Foundation in Kenya and the Clinton Health Access Initiative in Tanzania.

She recently met former US president Bill Clinton and posted a photograph of the meeting on her Facebook page last month.

"Elif was brilliant, dedicated, and deeply admired by her colleagues, who will miss her terribly," Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton said in a statement.

A friend of the couple, Tasmanian sculptor Peter Adams, said the pair dedicated their lives to working for a peaceful world.

Ms Yavuz meeting Bill Clinton

"Besides a personal loss for myself, this is a major global loss," Mr Adams wrote on his blog.

Mr Langdon founded his own firm, Regional Associates, in 2008. The firm said on its website: "Profoundly talented and full of life, Ross enriched the lives of all those around him."

A businessman from Leicester, Samir Bharma, said four of his young relatives, who had been taking part in the recording of a TV programme called Junior Super Chef, had been killed in the attack.

Also killed was a Peruvian public health consultant, Dr Juan Jesus Ortiz-Iruri, 63, who was due to take up a post at Liverpool School of Tropical Medical next week.

Most of those killed among the attack were Kenyans but other victims came from China, Ghana, France, the Netherlands and Canada.

Among the dead were Ghanaian poet Kofi Awoonor, 78; a Canadian diplomat, Annemarie Desloges; Mbugua Mwangi, the nephew of President Kenyatta of Kenya and his fiancee Wahito; and Radio Africa news presenter Ruhila Adatia Sood.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond warned that the number of Britons killed in the attack may rise further.

"Our current best estimate is we now have six British nationals who have died in this incident," he said, after leaving a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee in the Cabinet Office.

"Of the additional two, one is confirmed and another one we believe to be a British national and we are awaiting final confirmation but we are pretty certain we now have six British nationals who have died."

:: A helpline has been set up for people in the UK who are concerned about relatives in Kenya: 020 7008 000. 

The gunmen killed at least 62 shoppers and staff during the attack

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kenya: 'White Widow' Briton Linked To Attack

The Foreign Office is investigating claims that a female British terror suspect known as the White Widow could be linked to the shopping centre massacre in Kenya.

A white woman wearing a veil was reportedly spotted shouting orders to gunmen in Arabic during the attack on the Westgate complex in Nairobi.

Some reports have suggested that it is Samantha Lewthwaite, the English widow of 7/7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay.

She is wanted by Kenyan police over links to a suspected terrorist cell.

In March 2012 it was reported that Lewthwaite, 29, who is originally from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, had fled across the border from Kenya to Somalia.

Soldiers are moving in on the terrorists at the shopping centre

Sky News' Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay said: "I saw a picture of a white woman wearing a balaclava and carrying a weapon.

"We know that she'd been in the area. She has been linked to a number of attacks in east Africa and they have been trying to capture her.

"It is difficult to know whether or not it is her."

However a commander of the group believed to be behind the attack has reportedly denied that any of militants are from the UK or US.

Some 68 people were killed in the attack, including three Britons.

The Foreign Office has said it expects the number of British fatalities to rise.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kenya Stand-Off: Explosions In Renewed Assault

Kenyan troops are carrying out a major assault in an attempt to end the stand-off with al Shabaab gunmen inside the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi.

At least three loud explosions and heavy gunfire have been heard coming from the complex where 69 people, including three Britons, have died since the siege began on Saturday.

There have also been reports of ambulances being driven at high speed from the scene.

One of the Britons killed in the attack, which was launched on Saturday, has been named in reports as Ross Langdon, who had dual nationality with Australia.

An architect, he apparently died alongside his girlfriend who was heavily pregnant, according to Australian media.

Ross Langdon is feared to be among those killed

The Kenyan Defence Force said on its Twitter feed it was making every effort to bring the situation "to a speedy conclusion".

It said it has secured most of the shopping centre, and many of the hostages have been rescued.

Officials say up to 15 al Shabaab militants may still be inside the centre. They have threatened to kill the remaining hostages.

Sky's Stuart Ramsay, at the scene, said the operation to end the stand-off was complicated and could take some time.

"We have been told that some of the hostage-takers are in a section of the building with bullet-proof glass … so it's obviously very difficult (for the Kenyan forces)," he said.

Ramsay said he had seen soldiers moving along the perimeter of the centre and heard the sound of guns being fired inside.

Kenyan soldiers enter the main gate of the shopping centre

"A few minutes later an ambulance came out and the driver gave us a thumbs- up. There's obviously a battle of sorts taking place inside."

Kenyan military spokesman Colonel Cyrus Oguna told Sky News: "We do not negotiate with terrorists and that position has not changed. Everyone who has been rescued is being checked to make sure none of the terrorists escaped during the dragnet."

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta said there have been "numerous offers of assistance from friendly countries" to help end the stand-off, but that for now it remains a Kenyan operation.

However, a Kenyan security source has confirmed that Israeli agents "are rescuing the hostages and the injured". The Westgate shopping complex is part Israeli-owned.

Britain's SAS is also reportedly helping out in an advisory role.

A Kenyan army soldier takes cover behind a wall near the centre

The Kenyan Red Cross says 69 people have been killed, at least 63 remain missing and around 200 have been injured. Five of these are said to be from the US.

Police have conceded the number of dead could be "much, much higher", after reports emerged that there are multiple fatalities still inside the shopping centre.

The Foreign Office confirmed three Britons were among those killed and warned that number was likely to rise.

Prime Minister David Cameron is cutting short a visit to Balmoral to chair a meeting of the emergency response committee Cobra in London later today. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond will chair a meeting of Cobra this morning.

Mr Cameron has described the attack on the shopping complex as "despicable" and an act of "appalling brutality".

Onlookers watch as the stand-off continues at the Westgate complex

Also killed were two Canadians, two French citizens, two Indian citizens, a South Korean, a South African, a Dutch woman and the former UN envoy Kofi Awoonor.

The Foreign Office is investigating claims that a female British terror suspect nicknamed the "White Widow" could be linked to the plot.

Samantha Lewthwaite, who was married to July 7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay, is wanted by Kenyan police over links to a suspected terrorist cell

In March 2012 it was reported that Lewthwaite, 29, who is originally from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, had fled across the border from Kenya to Somalia.

Ramsay said: "We know that she'd been in the area. She has been linked to a number of attack in east Africa and they have been trying to capture her.

Briton Samantha Lewthwaite: Is she involved?

"Interestingly she has been used in the past with planning and propaganda, not actual assaults, although there is some evidence she has been linked to at least one.

"It is difficult to know whether or not it is her. The government have said there have been reports of more than one woman involved.

"Al Shabaab is thought to consist of foreign nationals as well as people from Somalia. I've heard reports of one Briton being involved and someone from Canada as well."

Security forces have taken control of the upper and lower levels of the shopping complex, and an army spokesman told Sky News they were trying to secure the second floor where the terrorists may be hiding.

Other reports suggested the attackers were holed up in a toilet block next to a supermarket on the ground floor of the complex.

The Somalia-based al Shabaab militant group has claimed responsibility and warned of further attacks.

Mr Kenyatta said one of his nephews and his nephew's fiancee were among the people confirmed killed.

"They shall not get away with their despicable and beastly acts," the president said in an emotional speech to the nation. "We will punish the masterminds swiftly and indeed very painfully."

The attack is the worst in Nairobi since an al Qaeda bombing at the US embassy killed more than 200 people in 1998.

Judges at the International Criminal Court have adjourned the trial of Kenyan vice president William Ruto for a week to allow him to return home and help deal with the hostage crisis.

Ruto and Mr Kenyatta face charges of crimes against humanity in relation to their role in coordinating a wave of violence that swept Kenya in the aftermath of the country's contested 2007 elections.

The Kenyan Red Cross has set up a webpage for anyone worried about friends or relatives who might be caught up in the siege.

:: A helpline has been set up for people in the UK who are concerned about relatives in Kenya: 020 7008 000.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rolf Harris In Court On Child Sex Charges

Rolf Harris has arrived in court to face nine counts of indecent assault and four counts of making indecent images of a child.

The 83-year-old entertainer arrived at Westminster Magistrates' Court with his wife Alwen at his side.

Wearing a dark suit, striped shirt and patterned tie, he said nothing to reporters as he walked into the building flanked by security guards.

Harris is accused of assaulting two alleged victims, who were aged 14 and 15 at the time, between 1980 and 1986.

Harris, 83, said nothing as he walked into court

The charges of making indecent images of a child date back to last year.

Harris was questioned under caution in November last year by officers working on Operation Yewtree, the investigation into abuse claims against Jimmy Savile.

The Australian-born artist, musician and TV presenter was arrested in March and charged in August.

The allegations against him have no connection to Savile.

Harris, who has lived in Bray, Berkshire, for more than 50 years, has been in the public eye for decades.

He fronted the popular TV programme Animal Hospital and had several musical hits, many of which featured his famous wobble board. 

He painted a portrait of the Queen in 2005 and performed at her Diamond Jubilee concert last year.

More follows...

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kenya: 'If You Were Muslim They Let You Go'

A witness to the attack by al Shabaab militants on a shopping centre in Nairobi has told Sky News the gunmen killed anyone who was not Muslim.

Saadia Ahmed, a radio presenter from Nairobi, said: "We heard three explosions outside the building then all of a sudden we heard gunshots and people ducked down.

"A lot of people were shot while they were trying to escape. I saw one of the gunmen with an AK-47 and later two of them were talking and it sounded like Somali or Arabic."

Ms Ahmed said the attackers released people who were able to prove they could speak Arabic.

Armed police search customers taking cover in a washroom

"I witnessed a few people get up and say something in Arabic and the gunmen let them go. A colleague of mine said he was Muslim and recited something in Arabic and they let him go as well.

"I saw a lot of children and elderly people being shot dead. I don't understand why you would shoot a five-year-old child. They were firing at random at anyone who tried to escape."

Hannah Chisholm, a Briton visiting Nairobi, said she and 60 others barricaded themselves into a large storeroom.

"We kept running to different places but the shots were getting louder so we barricaded ourselves along with about 60 others into a large storeroom," she said.

"There were children hiding with us as well as someone who had been shot. The gunfire was loud and we were scared but at that point we thought the gunmen were thieves so we assumed they wouldn't try to reach the storeroom."

Satpal Singh, who was in a cafe when the attackers struck, said he ran downstairs before he was shot near the exit.

"A Somali guy shot at me," he said. "He was carrying a rifle, an AK-47."

A witness, who gave only his first name, Jay, said: "They were not speaking Swahili. They spoke something that seemed like Arabic or Somali."

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kenya Attack: Hostages Held In Terror Strike

Gunmen are holding hostages inside a Nairobi shopping centre where dozens of people have been killed and hundreds wounded in a terrorist attack.

Several children were among those massacred by al Qaeda-linked terrorists armed with guns and grenades at the Westgate shopping centre in Kenya's capital.

At least 59 people were killed, a government minister was quoted as telling the Reuters news agency.

Earlier, the Kenyan Red Cross said more than 200 people were injured.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said British nationals were caught up in the "callous and cowardly and brutal" attack.

Hundreds of shoppers were caught up in the attack

The Kenya National Disaster Operation Centre said the number of hostages still being held by al Shabaab gunmen inside the complex remains unknown.

The lower and upper floors of the centre have been secured but witnesses reported hearing fierce gunfire and explosions on Sunday morning, more than 20 hours after the siege began.

A Kenyan security officer at the scene said: "We will free all those inside and stop this.

"We cannot give details of the operations except to say that everything that can be done is being done."

Security staff rescued those unable to walk

Gunmen wearing bullet-proof vests opened fire and detonated grenades inside the shopping centre, which is popular with expatriates and wealthy Kenyans.

Some of those killed were executed after failing to recite a Muslim prayer at gunpoint. Others were shot at the entrance to the mall as they tried to escape.

Two Canadians have been confirmed dead in the attack, while two French citizens are understood to be among those killed.

The US State Department said American citizens have reportedly been injured but not killed.

The Westgate shopping centre is located in the centre of Nairobi

The Somalia-based al Shabaab terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack and warned of more attacks.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta has spoken to the nation in a televised address, saying Kenya had "overcome terrorist attacks before, and we will defeat them again".

"Our security forces are in the process of neutralising the attackers and securing the mall," he added.

"Terrorism is a philosophy of cowards. They want to cause fear and despondency in our country, but we will not be cowed.

Armed security staff went from shop to shop looking for the attackers

"I ask God to give you comfort. My government will provide the support needed in the days to come."

Saadia Ahmed, a radio presenter from Nairobi caught up in the attack, told Sky News how the attack began.

"We heard three explosions outside the building then all of a sudden we heard gunshots and people ducked down," she said.

"A lot of people were shot while they were trying to escape. I saw one of the gunmen with an AK-47 and later two of them were talking and it sounded like Somali or Arabic."

Police rescued hostages as they searched for the gunmen

Ms Ahmed said the attackers released people who were able to prove they were Muslim.

"I witnessed a few people get up and say something in Arabic and the gunmen let them go. A colleague of mine said he was Muslim and recited something in Arabic and they let him go as well.

"I saw a lot of children and elderly people being shot dead. I don't understand why you would shoot a five-year-old child. They were firing at random at anyone who tried to escape."

:: A helpline has been set up for people in the UK who are concerned about relatives in Kenya: 020 7008 000.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistan: Suicide Bombing At Peshawar Church

At least 52 people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack on a church in northwest Pakistan, officials say.

Another 100 people were wounded in the explosion as they left the church in Peshwar city, which had been offering a free meal of rice.

It was not immediately clear whether one or two suicide bombers carried out the attack.

Peshawar's commissioner Sahibzada Anees told reporters the bombers struck when the service had just ended.

"Most of the wounded are in critical condition," he said, adding that special security had been in force to protect the church.

"We are in an area which is a target of terrorism and within that area there was a special security arrangement for the church. We are in a rescue phase and once it is over we will investigate what went wrong," 

Witnesses said they heard two blasts, the second more powerful than the first. One police officer, Zahir Shah, said he believed both blasts were caused by suicide bombers.

Schoolteacher Nazir Khan, 50, said at least 400 worshippers were greeting each other when there was a huge explosion.

"A huge blast threw me on the floor and as soon as I regained my senses, a second blast took place and I saw wounded people everywhere," she said.

Sher Ali Khan, a doctor at a hospital in Peshawar where the victims were being treated, said the dead included several women and children.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion will likely fall on one of the country's many Islamic militant groups.

Islamic militants have been blamed for previous attacks on the Muslim country's Christian minority, and other Muslim groups they consider heretics.

More follows ...

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More