Ukraine: Duo Jet In For Putin Truce Talks

Kayla Mueller: What We Know About IS Hostage

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 07 Februari 2015 | 16.08

Islamic State claims US hostage Kayla Mueller has been killed in an airstrike by Jordanian jets, but what do we know about her?

The 26-year-old is an aid worker from Prescott in Arizona, a small town 100 miles north of Phoenix and from a young age had a single-minded determination to help others.

She was taken prisoner in Aleppo, Syria on 4 August 2013 after leaving a Spanish Doctors Without Borders hospital.

Ms Mueller is thought to be Islamic State's last remaining American hostage.

Other aid workers kidnapped at the same time are thought to have been released, but according to a CBS report last year, IS was demanding a $6.6m (£4.3m) ransom to set her free.

Ms Mueller had been helping Syrian refugees on the Turkish border since December 2012, working with aid agencies including Support to Life and the Danish Refugee Council.

In 2013, she described the desperate situation in a refugee camp, including how she helped reunite a six-year-old with his relative after the camp was bombed.

"For as long as I live, I will not let this suffering be normal," she told Prescott's Daily Courier.

"(I will not let this be) something we just accept."

"This story is not rare in Syria," she added. "This is the reality for Syrians two and a half years on.

"When Syrians hear I'm an American, they ask, 'Where is the world?' All I can do is cry with them, because I don't know."

Ms Mueller had also campaigned on behalf of genocide victims and volunteered for three years with the Save Darfur Coalition in her late teens.

A 2007 interview for the Daily Courier describes how she called and wrote to members of the US Congress, and took part in silent walks to raise awareness.

"I love cultures and language and learning about people's cultures," she told the paper as she prepared to start university in Flagstaff.

After graduating in 2009, she spent around a year living and working with humanitarian aid groups in northern India, Israel and Palestine.

Heading back to Arizona in 2011, she worked at an AIDS clinic and volunteered at a women's shelter at night.

The US government and Ms Mueller's family had kept her name secret until IS claimed she had been killed, fearing any publicity would put her in more danger.

Her parents, Carl and Marsha Mueller, said in a statement on Friday: "Kayla found this (aid) work heart-breaking but compelling; she is extremely devoted to the people of Syria.

"When asked what kept her going in her mission, she said, 'I find God in the suffering eyes reflected in mine, if this is how you are revealed to me, this is how I will forever seek you.'"

If her death is confirmed she would be the fourth American to die while being held by IS.

The others, journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and aid worker Peter Kassig were beheaded by the group.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Family Of IS Hostage Hopeful She Is Still Alive

The family of US hostage Kayla Jean Mueller say they are hopeful she is still alive despite Islamic State claims that she was killed in a Jordanian airstrike.

In a statement released by a family representative, Ms Mueller's parents Marsha and Carl Mueller made a personal appeal to IS.

"You told us that you treated Kayla as your guest, as your guest her safety and well-being remains your responsibility," they said, addressing "those in positions of responsibility for holding Kayla".

The statement asked IS to contact the family privately.

According to the Site Intelligence Group which monitors extremists, IS said the 26-year-old aid worker died on Friday after Jordanian warplanes struck the building where she was being held.

The terrorist group said no IS fighters died in the raids in their de facto capital of Raqqa, Syria.

It released images showing a damaged building it said had been targeted in airstrikes, but no photos to back their claims Ms Mueller had been killed.

The White House, State Department and Pentagon have said they can't confirm the unsubstantiated report.

"We are obviously deeply concerned by these reports," said Bernadette Meehan, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, in a statement.

"We have not at this time seen any evidence that corroborates ISIL's claim."

Jordan has also dismissed the IS claim as "criminal propaganda", but said its jets did carry out a second consecutive day of strikes on IS sites on Friday.

It has stepped up its operations against IS since the militants burned to death a captured Jordanian pilot.

Ms Mueller, of Prescott, Arizona, disappeared in August 2013 in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo.

A media blackout on her abduction was broken by President Barack Obama on Sunday, when he confirmed IS still had at least one US hostage.

He said the US was "deploying all the assets that we can" to find Ms Mueller.

Her name had not been made public due to fears for her safety.

The group has already executed three American hostages: James Foley, Peter Kassig and Steven Sotloff.

Two British hostages, David Haines and Alan Henning, and two Japanese hostages, Kenjo Goto and Haruna Yukawa, have also been killed.

British reporter John Cantlie is still being held captive.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tax Havens Face Blacklist Threat From Labour

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

Tax havens such as Bermuda, Jersey and Guernsey will have six months to open their books or face international blacklisting if Labour wins the General Election in May, Ed Miliband has vowed.

The Labour leader has accused David Cameron of failing to follow through on demands that all overseas territories and crown dependencies adopt transparency measures being introduced in the UK.

Agreement on action to expose the owners of "shell companies" used to evade tax was hailed by Mr Cameron as a key achievement of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland in 2013.

He said then: "The UK is today leading the way by committing to create a central registry of company ownership.

"Each and every one of our overseas territories and crown dependencies has agreed to sign up to the multi-lateral convention on information exchange to exchange information automatically with the UK and to produce action plans on beneficial ownership."

But so far, according to Mr Miliband, none of the countries around the world over which Britain retains sovereignty has accepted the Prime Minister's appeal to them to "move forward together in raising standards of transparency" and some have ruled out reform.

Among the 10 countries whose leaders were called to No. 10, Bermuda has rejected calls to make public the companies registered there.

So too have the Cayman Islands. Gibraltar has taken no further action. Neither has Guernsey or the Isle of Man.

In a letter to the leaders of the overseas territories and crown dependencies, Mr Miliband put them "on notice" that, if elected in May, his government would refer any that failed to produce publicly accessible central registers of beneficial ownership - who profits from a company - to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

"I am writing to put you on notice that a Labour government will not allow this situation of delay and secrecy to continue," he wrote.

"Labour will act on tax avoidance where the Tories will not," he added, ending protection from international scrutiny and requesting OECD blacklisting.

Mr Miliband, accused this week of being anti-business, told The Guardian: "There is nothing pro-business about defending tax avoidance.

"More than 18 months have passed since David Cameron promised to shine a light on the tax havens in UK overseas territories and crown dependencies - and their affairs are still shrouded in darkness.

"That may be good enough for him, but it will not satisfy me, or the incoming Labour government

"And it is costing everyone who relies on our schools, our hospitals, our roads and our railways. It is costing everyone who pays their fair share of taxes, including millions of British businesses."

But a Conservative party spokesman said: "People should judge Ed Miliband by his record, not his rhetoric.

"For 13 years - including when he was an adviser in the Treasury - Labour did absolutely nothing to tackle tax avoidance. This shows that Ed Miliband is simply too weak to deliver on what he promises.

"In contrast, we are tackling the problem head-on. David Cameron put tax dodging at the top of the global agenda at the UK's G8 summit, securing major new international rules to ensure that companies pay what they owe."

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

War-Torn Ukraine Facing AIDS Care 'Disaster'

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 06 Februari 2015 | 16.08

By Nick Martin, Sky News Correspondent

Hundreds of children were born with HIV unnecessarily in Ukraine last year because of a shortage of vital drugs, a Sky News investigation has discovered.

A year of conflict has led to claims the country's AIDS programme is "breaking down" and not enough is being done to fight the epidemic, which has plagued the former Soviet state for more than 25 years.

War in the east of the country and political turmoil in Kiev has choked off the supply of antiretroviral drugs used to prevent the spread of the virus.

International organisations like Unicef are worried that one of the key indicators - the transferral of the virus from pregnant women to unborn children - is beginning to rise for the first time since 2002.

"There is potential for a real disaster," said Giovanna Barberis, Unicef's representative in Ukraine.

"Because of the crisis in Ukraine the system is breaking down and there is a shortage of antiretroviral drugs.

"They cost money, they are expensive and whilst the international community is there to support, it is probably not enough."

Many pregnant women who should have received antiretroviral therapy did not get access to the drug and have gone on to give birth to HIV-positive babies, Ms Barberis said.

Months of turmoil have left Ukraine's finances shattered and the government forced to sign a $17bn (£11bn) bailout with the International Monetary Fund.

Despite the warnings, Ukraine's new health minister Alexander Kvitashvili told Sky News the country has "a grip" on the epidemic.

"We're very well prepared to face the challenges and we are ready to send that message to our international donors," he said.

"Given the situation in the country, given the full-blown Russian aggression that we're facing, given the financial crisis, I think we have a grip on the situation."

But doctors on the frontline of the fight against HIV do not agree.

The National Treatment Centre in Kiev is home to 20 children, all of whom have HIV.

Many of them have been abandoned by their mothers and left to live in state-run orphanages.

Dr Vera Checheneva, an HIV specialist and paediatrician, is one of the few doctors who agrees to treat children with HIV - such is the level of fear among the medical profession.

"At the moment I feel I am not in Ukraine, that I am in Africa or somewhere," she said.

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Gallery: Mothers And Children Shunned In War-Torn Ukraine

These are antiretrovirals which can help alleviate the symptoms of HIV or AIDS. They are expensive and Ukraine needs constant help from international donors in order to keep up supply

Dr Vera Checheneva is an HIV specialist and Paediatrician at the Okhmadut clinic in Kiev. She is one of the few doctors in Ukraine willing to treat children with HIV and AIDS

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Ukraine: Duo Jet In For Putin Truce Talks

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande are due in Moscow for talks aimed at ending the 10-month conflict in Ukraine.

The pair will try to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to sign up to a peace plan as part of their biggest push yet to halt the crisis.

It follows a meeting in Kiev with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who said discussions had raised "hope for a ceasefire".

The West sees Mr Putin as the orchestrator of rebels who have taken territory in eastern Ukraine - something the Kremlin denies.

Mrs Merkel and Mr Hollande say their new initiative is "based on the territorial integrity of Ukraine" - though few details have been made public.

Several previous peace deals have collapsed.

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Gallery: Latest Pictures From Ukraine

A serviceman from the battalion 'Aydar' throws a tyre on a fire during a protest against disbanding of the battalion in front of Ukraine's Defence Ministry in Kiev

Pro-Russian separatists vowed to mobilise up to 100,000 fighters for their latest east Ukraine offensive as the US mulled sending weapons to Kiev's out-gunned forces after the latest truce bid collapsed

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Russia's Foreign Ministry said Mr Putin was ready to hold constructive talks with European leaders and Russia would "do everything it can" to help resolve the crisis.

But the spokesman added that Ukraine was using weapons that had effects similar to those of weapons of mass destruction.

The conflict, which has claimed 5,350 lives, has led to a deterioration of relations between Russian and the West.

US Secretary of State John Kerry also visited Kiev and revealed that President Barack Obama was considering arming Ukraine.

"The president is reviewing all of his options, among those options is the possibility of providing defensive systems to Ukraine," Mr Kerry said.

"The president will make his decision soon but not before he has had a chance to hear back from myself and others."

He added that Washington would prefer a diplomatic solution and that the US backed a "helpful" peace plan Mrs Merkel and Mr Hollande will present in Moscow.

However, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has warned that, in staging talks with European leaders, Mr Putin could be trying to "split the unity between the EU and the US".

Some 220 people have died in the last three weeks following an escalation of the violence.

Separatists allying themselves with Moscow have been fighting with Ukrainian troops as they attempt to set up independent states in the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.

Meanwhile, hundreds of children were born with HIV unnecessarily in Ukraine last year because of a shortage of vital drugs, a Sky News investigation has discovered.

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Written By Unknown on Kamis, 05 Februari 2015 | 16.08

An audio recording of the last communication between air traffic control and stricken TransAsia flight GE235 has been released as a rescue operation continues in Taiwan.

The audio reveals the pilot said "mayday, mayday, engine flameout" before the plane crashed in the Keelung River, killing at least 31 people.

Authorities say 12 people remain missing after the crash, which occurred shortly after the plane took off from Taipei's Songshan Airport.

Recovery teams worked through the night to lift the fuselage from the water and rescue workers retrieved the bodies of those who died.

There were 58 people on board the ATR 72-600 plane when it hit a road bridge and crashed into the river. Fifteen people survived.

Video taken by a passing driver's dashcam shows the aircraft's wing clipping a taxi after managing to avoid nearby buildings.

It then disappears from view, coming down on its side in the Keelung River about 25 metres (30 yards) from the bank.

The plane was heading for the Kinmen islands. As many as 31 passengers were Chinese, three of them children.

Kinmen's airport is a common link between Taipei and China's Fujian province.

The other 22 passengers, including one child, and five crew members were from Taiwan.

The plane, which went into service last year, was one of eight French-built ATR 72-600s ordered by TransAsia in 2012.

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Gallery: Rescue Operation Following Plane Crash

Workers hoist the wreckage of a TransAsia passenger jet that crashed into a river shortly after takeoff in Taipei, Taiwan

At least 19 people were killed and many trapped in the wreckage

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UK Can And Should Do More In IS Fight, Say MPs

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

Britain can and should be doing more in the fight against Islamic State, a group of MPs has said.

A report by the Commons Defence Select Committee also found the UK is contributing less than its NATO partners and that the British military lacks a strategy for defeating IS, also known as ISIS.

The report comes after the father of a Jordanian pilot murdered by IS denounced the group as "wild beasts".

The committee's chairman, Rory Stewart, said: "The UK should be focused much more on Iraq. It should be a higher priority.

"That doesn't mean combat troops on the ground. That means, to begin with, just understanding what is going on.

"That means putting military and civilian personnel on to the ground to start mapping who is the enemy, who are these people in ISIS or Da'ash?

"Who are our allies? How do we work with the Sunni tribes? How do we work with the neighbours? What is the US campaign plan? What is the Iraqi campaign plan?

"Once we answer those questions, and we need to answer them urgently, we're not going to begin to play a constructive role fighting ISIS."

Britain only has three military personnel stationed outside northern, Kurdish Iraq.

They have not yet made any specific pledges to send more. That number compares to 3,000 Americans, 300 Spanish personnel and 280 Italians.

Britain has so far contributed 40 heavy machine guns, but Germany is offering a vast arsenal of weapons, including 16,000 assault rifles, 10,000 hand grenades and 8,000 pistols.

RAF aircraft, confined to bombing Iraq and not Syria, have only contributed to 6% of the total strikes against Islamic State positions.

General Sir Richard Shirreff, former deputy supreme commander of NATO forces, is unimpressed with the UK effort, considering it is one of the P5 - permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

He said: "What we need to see from our political leaders is leadership and a preparedness to say, 'This isn't going to be easy, this isn't going to go away, this does affect us dramatically and domestically and internationally'.

"We have a role to play, we have responsibilities as a member of the P5, we have responsibilities in the area, we have history in the area, we have an understanding of the area and we need to be prepared to put our shoulder to the wheel."

The committee emphasised it was not calling for British combat troops to be deployed but saw a need for a strategy which is currently absent.

It also said it was "shocked by the inability or unwillingness of any of the service chiefs to provide a clear and articulate statement of the UK's objectives or strategic plan in Iraq".

:: Watch the special report IS - The New Terror at 2.30pm, 4.30pm and 8.30pm on Sky News, skynews.com and our mobile apps - channels Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tesco Facing Probe Over Supplier Dealings

An official investigation is to be launched into practices at troubled supermarket giant Tesco, including delays in payments to suppliers.

The move was announced by the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), Christine Tacon, who said she had formed a "reasonable suspicion" that the retailer has breached supply guidelines.

She said she took the decision after considering information submitted to her after Tesco's profit over-statement last September.

She has discussed the practices with Tesco and will now seek more information from direct suppliers and others to determine what further action to take.

The post of Adjudicator was set up in 2013 to monitor the relationship between the 10 largest retailers and their suppliers.

The investigation, which is the GCA's first, is expected to take up to nine months and the Adjudicator has called for evidence to be submitted by 3 April.

It will cover the conduct of Tesco plc from 25 June 2013 (when the GCA was created) to 5 February this year.

A statement said: "The investigation will consider the existence and extent of practices which have resulted in delay in payments to suppliers. This will include in particular, but not be limited to, delay in payments associated with:

:: Short deliveries, including imposition of penalties

:: Consumer complaints where the amounts were not agreed

:: Invoicing discrepancies such as duplicate invoicing where two invoices were issued for the same product

:: Deductions for unknown or un-agreed items

:: Deductions for promotional fixed costs (gate fees) that were incorrect

:: Deductions in relation to historical promotions which had not been agreed.

The investigation, which follows a catastrophic period for Tesco including store closures, will also look into suppliers having to make payments for better positioning of goods on shelves not related to a promotion.

Initially the probe will be restricted to Tesco, but it could be expanded to include other supermarkets if warranted.

Ms Tacon said: "I have taken this decision after careful consideration of all the information submitted to me so far.

"I have applied the GCA published prioritisation principles to each of the practices under consideration and have evidence that they were not isolated incidents, each involving a number of suppliers and significant sums of money."

A Tesco spokesman said: "We have taken action to strengthen compliance and ... we are changing the way we work with suppliers.

"We will continue to co-operate fully with the GCA as she carries out her investigation and welcome the opportunity for our suppliers to provide direct feedback."

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "This is an historic day for the groceries code adjudicator and shows we have created a regulator that has real teeth.

"I would encourage anyone with any evidence of wrongdoing to come forward and to be confident of being able to do so confidentially as their anonymity will be protected by law."

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraqi Militant Executed After IS Murders Pilot

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 04 Februari 2015 | 16.08

Iraqi Militant Executed After IS Murders Pilot

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Jordan has executed two prisoners after Islamic State murdered one of their pilots, a government spokesman has said.

One of those executed was Iraqi would-be suicide bomber Sajida al Rishawi, who was on death row for her role in a hotel attack that killed 60 people.

The other was Ziad al Karbouli, who had been an aide to the late former leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, and who was sentenced to death in 2008 for plotting terror attacks on Jordanians in Iraq.

Jordan had promised a swift and lethal response after IS released a video showing captured pilot Mu'ath Al Kassasbeh being burned alive in a cage.

IS had demanded the release of Rishawi in exchange for Mr Al Kassasbeh and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, who the militant group killed in a video posted online three days ago.

Jordan had agreed to the swap, but called off the deal after saying it had received no proof that the pilot was still alive.

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Gallery: Everything We Know About Sajida Al Rishawi

Sajida Al Rishawi, believed to be in her 40s, was known as the 'would-be bomber'

She and her husband were involved in the 2005 Amman bombings, a plot to attack a string of Jordanian hotels

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Sixty people were killed and 115 injured after other suicide bombers targeted three hotels. Al-Rishawi's device, which was packed with ball bearings, failed to detonate

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Her and her husband targeted a wedding party at the Radisson SAS hotel - the fathers of the bride and the groom were both killed

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In 2005 Al-Rishawi released a televised confession while in Jordanian custody. She was sentenced to death and lost an appeal against the conviction in 2007

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Some Arab commentators had suggested jihadist Al Karbouli could also have formed part of a prisoner swap.

The two jihadists were hanged in Swaqa prison, a large facility 70km (45 miles) south of the capital, Amman, just before dawn, a security source told Reuters.

"They were both calm and showed no emotions and just prayed," the source added.

The killing of the pilot outraged Jordanians and drew worldwide condemnation, including from President Barack Obama and the UN Security Council.

Mr Al Kassasbeh was captured by the militants in December when his F-16 crashed near Raqqa, Syria, the de facto capital of the Islamic State group's self-styled caliphate.

The 26-year-old's murder appeared to be aimed at pressuring the government of Jordan - a close US ally - to leave the coalition that has carried out months of airstrikes on IS positions in Syria and Iraq.

But observers say the extremists' brutality against a fellow Muslim could backfire and galvanise other Sunni Muslims in the region against them.

King Abdullah II, Jordan's leader, has portrayed the campaign against the extremists as a battle over values.

In a speech on Jordanian state television, he urged his countrymen to unite.

"It's the duty of all of us to stand united and show the real values of Jordanians in the face of these hardships," the monarch said from Washington.

In a statement before a meeting King Abdullah, US President Barack Obama vowed the pilot's death would "redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of our global coalition to make sure they are degraded and ultimately defeated".

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Written By Unknown on Selasa, 03 Februari 2015 | 16.08

The big six energy companies are failing to pass on price cuts in full - costing the average household £145 a year - a new report says.

Which? said its research shows a failure to align retail prices with wholesale costs has seen consumers forced to fork out an extra £2.9bn over the last year.

It came as Ofgem, the government department charged with protecting the interests of electricity and gas consumers, was criticised for advising families to save money by making packed lunches or by jogging instead of joining a gym.

According to Which? there was "no justification" to increases in gas and electricity prices in late 2013, based on wholesale costs.

And it argued the recent cuts of up to 5.1% in standard gas tariffs by the so-called 'big six' energy suppliers should have been higher.

The report claimed that if they were aligned with wholesale energy costs, the reductions in gas and electricity prices should have been around 10%.

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "Our analysis places a massive question mark over how suppliers have been setting prices over the last two years.

"They now need to explain to their customers why bills don't fall further in response to dropping wholesale prices.

"While the competition inquiry should establish beyond doubt whether the price people are paying today is right, consumers will now look to politicians of every party to set out how they'll deliver fair and affordable energy prices in the future."

Ofgem was accused of "adding insult to injury" over its cost-cutting advice to consumers, which also included switching to a second-hand phone and not buying coffee.

Eva Jasiewicz, from Fuel Poverty Action, told Sky News that Ofgem was not protecting the interests of consumers, 68% of whom she said want energy brought back into public control.

"Ofgem are blaming the poor, they should be putting the blame on the big six," she said.

"The big six energy companies have been making massive profits (and) no one's asking the CEOs of these companies to cut down.

"They're giving themselves multimillion-pound pay packets, but they're not passing on the cuts at all in the price of fuel to consumers."

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

MPs To Decide If Babies Can Have Three Parents

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

Britain could today become the first country in the world to legalise the creation of IVF babies with DNA from three different people.

MPs will debate the controversial technique that involves changing the genetic material passed down the generations.

The new regulations MPs will debate "make provision to enable mitochondrial donation" under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act.

It would allow women to have children without passing on serious and incurable diseases of the mitochondria, tiny power generators found in almost every cell.

Opponents question the technique's safety and warn it could lead to "designer" babies.

But Prof Dame Sally Davies, England's Chief Medical Officer, says the technique would prevent great suffering.

"The 37 genes in the mitochondria are for energy making. They do not make us who we are or what we are.

"Yet children born with defective ones often don't live a year or two.

"Others get gradual deterioration of muscles, heart, kidneys, vision and brain and die in their late teens and early 20s."

Mitochondrial donation has been pioneered by scientists at Newcastle University.

They propose using standard IVF techniques to fertilise an egg from an affected woman and another from a donor.

They would then remove from the affected embryo the nucleus, which contains 99.9% of the parents' DNA, and leave behind the defective mitochondria.

At the same time they would remove the nucleus from the donated embryo.

Finally they would transplant the nucleus containing the parents' genes into the donated embryo, which would then be implanted in the mother's womb.

It's estimated that 2,500 women in the UK are affected by mitochondrial diseases and could use the technique.

But David King, of Human Genetics Alert, urged MPs not to allow the technique.

"This is not about protecting embryos but about protecting children from the severe health risks of these unnecessary techniques and protecting everyone from the eugenic designer baby future that will follow from this.

"These diseases can be prevented through conventional egg donation - a reliable method that doesn't risk the child's health. All that these dangerous experimental techniques add is that that they allow the mother to be a genetic parent, which is not a medical benefit for anyone."

The technique has already been cleared by scientific and ethics watchdogs. The public have also been consulted and broadly supported its use.

Dr Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, the UK's biggest research charity, said: "The Government is right to ask Parliament to support regulations that will allow the law to catch up with public and scientific opinion, and we urge MPs and peers to vote for them."

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

CCTV Footage Exposes Slaughterhouse Cruelty

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By Hind Hassan, Sky News Reporter

Campaigners and MPs are calling for CCTV cameras at every abattoir after footage revealed extreme animal cruelty at a halal slaughterhouse.

Secretly recorded video shows sheep being kicked, thrown and punched at Bowood Lamb abattoir in Thirsk, North Yorkshire.

The filming was carried out by animal rights group Animal Aid, who smuggled cameras into the site and filmed footage over three days in December.

In the video, one of the workers stands on the neck of one animal, while another worker hacks a sheep to death - contrary to Islamic guidelines.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) says it has suspended the operating licences of four of the slaughter men and is now conducting an investigation.

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Gallery: Halal Slaughterhouse Investigation

Four slaughtermen have had their operating licences suspended after an animal rights group used hidden cameras to film the alleged mistreatment of animals at a halal slaughterhouse

Animal Aid claims the footage shows a worker hacking and sawing at animals' throats, in direct contravention of Islamic practice

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The footage is also believed to show staff taunting and frightening animals by waving knives, smacking them on the head and shouting at them. Click through to see more images.

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Conservative MP Henry Smith will call for mandatory CCTV in slaughterhouses during a House of Commons debate.

He told Sky News it would allow for "an independent assessment and so that those carrying out that role know that the system is monitored to prevent cruelty taking place".

The MP for Crawley said: "Already many abattoirs, particularly ones that supply the big supermarkets like Tesco and Waitrose, have a system of CCTV to ensure animal welfare standards are maintained.

"So what I'm asking for is that is extended across all slaughterhouses in the UK. It's not something that is very expensive or burdensome but actually could end a lot of unnecessary suffering and abuse of livestock in the food production process."

Slaughterhouses in the UK are required to stun animals before they are killed to minimise pain, but Muslim and Jewish slaughterhouses are exempt due to religious requirements.

Halal meat must be prepared in accordance with Islamic law. Like Jewish kosher meat, it requires the animal to be slaughtered and the blood drained.

Both religions dictate that it should be done with a surgically sharp knife and in one uninterrupted sweep.

Masood Butt, from The Association of Non Stun Abattoirs (ANSA), which represents the halal meat industry, said: "Islam has absolutely clear guidelines about treating animals within a slaughterhouse or outside a slaughterhouse and that is to be kind and merciful to them and respecting their care and not to cause pain or suffering to the animal unnecessarily.

"For example, Islam says you are not allowed to slaughter an animal in front of an other animal.

"You are not allowed to deprive them from food or water. You have to provide enough space for them to lie down or walk about.

"Islam has clear guidelines not to slaughter babies in front of their mother and if they have done so they are not only not following the laws of animal welfare in the UK, but they are also not following the rules in Islam."

The Muslim Council of Britain said it is appalled at reports of animal mistreatment.

A spokesman said: "Animal cruelty is wrong and criminal wherever it may occur.

"That it is being carried out in halal slaughter makes it even more incredulous. Animal welfare should be observed by all slaughterhouses.

"The findings certainly are abhorrent in Islamic practice, and the abattoir must be subject to the full force of the law."

In a statement The FSA said: "There is no excuse for treating animals in the way shown on the video and we are therefore investigating the footage with a view to prosecution."

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Written By Unknown on Senin, 02 Februari 2015 | 16.08

Stand Up Be Counted contributors have challenged politicians to break from their usual lines when they take part in the Sky News Facebook #AskTheLeaders event.

Student James Cantwell, who will be in the audience, said: "It's fantastic they're coming to us but we can't have the 'same old same old' rhetoric. We won't stand for it."

Stand Up Be Counted (SUBC) is a Sky News initiative where 16 to 25-year-olds can speak out and share ideas.

It is working with Facebook to give younger people the chance to grill those in charge of the major parties, both in person and online.

There will be a day of live Q&A sessions with 60 young people interrogating political leaders live on Sky News.

People can join the discussion online on Monday by using the #AskTheLeaders hashtag on the Stand Up Be Counted Facebook page, the Sky News Facebook page or on Twitter.

The whole day's coverage will be streamed from 9am on the SUBC Facebook page, the Sky News Facebook page and Sky News YouTube channel.

Carissa Jamu, another Stand Up who will be in the audience, said: "I think this is a great platform. We don't normally have this opportunity to speak to leaders in person - but through social media we can get our voices heard.

"That's the most convenient way to get through to us, we're on Facebook and Twitter daily, that's the best way to interact with us."

Political issues were the most discussed topics on Facebook last year so the event aims to bring leaders to where 16 to 25-year-olds discuss what matters to them.

James, 19, said: "We are the social media generation, so it's putting it on our terms having it on a social media platform. It's putting the ball in our court. We've got the power."

Issues that Stand Ups are keen to talk about include, according to James, immigration, fracking, austerity and tuition fees.

But Carissa, 22, said: "I think as students we raise tuition fees too much. Other issues are out there we need to discuss - welfare, benefits, we're going to get older - they're going to affect us at some point."

If the leaders dodge questions on these difficult areas the contributors are confident they won't let them try the oldest trick in the book - answering the question they want to answer and being elusive.

Carissa said: "I'm going to re-word the question and hope they answer it again. I'm going to keep pestering them about it.

"Every time we ask them questions they divert it to something different. So I'm going to re-word it and hopefully we'll get there."

James added: "I don't want to get let down. My challenge to them is real talk - just tell it how it is."

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Family's Relief As Jailed Reporter Released

A journalist freed after 400 days in an Egyptian jail "won't rest" until the two colleagues he was detained with are also released, his brother has said.

Australian Peter Greste was flown to Cyprus after a presidential "approval" meant he was allowed out of prison in Cairo.

But fellow al Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed remain in jail, where the trio had been held since their arrest in December 2013.

And Mr Greste's brother, Andrew, told a news conference in Brisbane: "On a more sombre note, I know Peter wanted me to... acknowledge that Peter's two other colleagues are still there.

"Peter was arrested with Baher and Mohamed, and they also deserve to be free.

"Peter won't rest until they're released from prison and we hope that will follow in the very near future.

"Of course, we are thinking of Baher, Mohamed and their families who, thankfully, in this unusual twist of fate, we've got to know very well."

Andrew Greste said his 49-year-old brother was "safe, healthy and very, very happy to be on his way home".

He also thanked journalists "who have not let the story die", adding: "You've all been on this ride with us and have supported us and Peter faithfully."

The three reporters were jailed for offences including spreading lies to help the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, but were facing a retrial after their original convictions were overturned.

Canadian-Egyptian Mr Fahmy is expected to be freed over the coming days, when paperwork is completed that would allow authorities to deport him to Canada,

His fiancee Marwa Omara told reporters: "His deportation is in its final stages. We are hopeful."

It remains unclear what will happen to Mr Mohamed, who is Egyptian.

16.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

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