A&E 'Burdened By Millions Of GP Patients'

Hospital A&E Patient Numbers On The Rise

Updated: 1:08pm UK, Friday 10 January 2014

By Thomas Moore, Health And Science Correspondent

Hospital emergency departments saw 2,674 more admissions than they did in the same week last year.

The surge in admissions is thought to be one of the factors that has led to A&E departments nationwide missing their target for seeing patients within four hours.

In the last week, accident and emergency departments have seen 94.3% of patients within fours hours. The target is 95%.

Dame Barbara Hakin, chief operating officer of NHS England, said that although the weekly target had been missed, the quarterly target had been achieved.

She said: "The first few weeks of the calendar year are generally the toughest for the NHS, but this week's figures, the first week in quarter four, are over a percentage point better than the same week last year. This is hugely encouraging."

At Good Hope Hospital in the West Midlands, A&E staff have been dealing with a surge of patients since the New Year.

A new rapid assessment team of senior doctors and nurses checks fresh arrivals within 30 minutes of them coming in, redirecting those who could be seen by a GP or a minor injuries unit.

But a delay in discharging patients from the wards is causing a bottleneck.

By early afternoon, 13 patients are waiting in cubicles to be admitted. Until they are found a bed, patients are having to wait on trolleys for their A&E treatment to start.

A&E matron Anna Howell said the backlog adds to pressure on staff.

"It means we are doing two jobs rather than one," she said.

"There is the A&E workload and then there is the workload of patients who are stable and safe and need to be admitted for specialist treatment. They need different nursing."

Alice Mills, who turns 100 later this month, is one of those needing a bed.

She has breathing problems and doctors suspect she has an infection.

Her daughter Lesley Partridge said that although staff were busy, they were still caring.

"She was scared about coming into hospital," she said.

"But everybody has reassured her, joked with her and calmed her. It's exactly what she needed."

The problem with bed-blocking at Good Hope is common around the NHS.

Figures released earlier this week by NHS England showed that almost 2,700 beds are occupied by patients who are better. That is up on this time last year.

Abimbola Otesile, an A&E doctor at Good Hope, said the work rarely stops.

"As soon as you finish one patient you see the next one almost immediately, so you get very tired by the end of the day," he said.

Katherine Henderson, a lead A&E clinician at St Thomas's Hospital, London, said: "We have transformed our ability to get patients out of the EDU by early on flagging a patient's bed - we are going to need a bed on this unit.

"(We are) working very hard with the medical teams for patients coming into the hospital, but also working hard with the community teams, so we have a hospital-at-home system so we can actually got a rapid response community service to see any elderly patients who just needs a little bit more."

:: All this week Sky News has been providing live coverage examining the crisis in the NHS. Watch 'A Matter Of Life And Death' on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

England Fans Could Face Euro 2004 Riot Charge

By Martin Brunt, Crime Correspondent

A Portuguese court wants to put three England football fans on trial for hooliganism 10 years after they were deported.

The three are named in court papers revealed to Sky News ahead of a hearing in the resort of Albufeira on Tuesday.

The prosecution case involves an accusation that fans attacked police and one police officer needed stitches in a foot injury.

Richard Freeman (L) and Lewis Andrews deny being involved in the clashes

Builder Richard Freeman, from Berkshire, knew nothing of the case until we told him. He said he was wrongly arrested at the time.

He said: "It's a farce. It's the first I heard of it. I'm certainly not going back to Portugal because they might arrest me. What chance would I have of a fair trial?"

Mr Freeman was one of three dozen England fans arrested on the Algarve coast during several nights of a violent clashes during the Euro 2004 championships.

Garry Mann was extradited to Portugal and imprisoned

Most were held for a couple of nights and then deported and banned from returning for a year.

Many were met at Heathrow airport by Metropolitan police, questioned and told they would face no further action.

A second suspect, Lewis Andrews from Oxfordshire, said police had told his parents six weeks ago they had a letter from Portugal for him, but he had heard nothing directly.

Mr Andrews said: "Why are they suddenly bringing this up again after all this time? What do they hope to achieve?

"I was just walking home when I was jumped on by the police and beaten with batons. They were just rounding up anybody in an England shirt."

Several dozen England fans were arrested during the tournament

Bruno Min, from Fair Trials International, said: "Our advice to these men is consult a Portuguese lawyer and try to find out why there has been such a delay. It is a surprise, but a hearing could be held in their absence and the authorities could possibly ask for extradition."

The third suspect named by the court is Wayne Finney, from Nottinghamshire. His girlfriend said he knew nothing about the new court hearing.

All three men apparently received a court summons in 2008, but did not respond.

That same year the Portuguese authorities began a bid to extradite Kent firefighter Garry Mann who was arrested during the 2004 clashes, convicted and jailed for two years, but then suddenly deported.

In 2010 he was finally extradited to Portugal and jailed, before being allowed back to finish his sentence in the UK.

Court papers suggest another 21 of those deported in 2004 were considered for belated prosecution but too much time has elapsed in their cases.

The documents indicate the Portuguese prosecutors have until December to put the other three on trial.

The Home Office said it knew nothing about the latest development.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Policy Chief Hits Out At Miliband's Leadership

Ed Miliband's leadership could be in trouble ahead of the next general election, according to a senior figure in the Labour party.

The head of Labour's policy review has admitted the party's recent statements on welfare are "cynical" and designed for "focus groups".

The critical comments by Jon Cruddas were made at a meeting of a left-wing think tank. A recording of the comments has been obtained by Sky News.

In the recordings, Mr Cruddas says: "My job is to look at Labour's policy agenda ... and I can assure you that these interesting ideas and remedies are not going to emerge through Labour's policy review right - irrespective of whether we want them to or not.

"And we have to learn how, why they aren't. And this example, this week is a really interesting one where we set up independent reviews to rethink social policy, economic policy, democracy, local government - they come up with ideas and they're just parked, parked.

"And instead ... cynical nuggets of policy to chime with our focus groups and our press strategies and our desire for a topline in terms of the 24-hour media cycle dominate."

Mr Cruddas warned that the "clock is ticking" for Labour and raised fears about interesting ideas being "parked".

Mr Miliband's leadership has been called into question

The comments come as Labour prepares to set out its vision for rebuilding Britain through major reforms of the state and big business in a series of events over the next week.

Responding to the comments, a Labour spokesperson said: "Ed Miliband and Jon Cruddas helped the IPPR [Institute for Public Policy Research] unveil its independent Condition of Britain report because they back the key principles behind it: strengthening institutions, rewarding hard work and handing power back to the people.

"We support some of its key recommendations to ensure young people sign up for training not sign on for benefits or raising JSA [Jobseeker's Allowance] for people who have paid in all their life.

"These go alongside the most radical plans for generations; from getting 200,000 homes built a year, raising the minimum wage, reforming the energy market, to devolving economic power to our great cities once again, these plans will help build a Britain that once again works for working people."

Sky's Political Correspondent Sophy Ridge said: "This story is significant because of who is giving the comments.

"Jon Cruddas is the head of Labour's policy review. That's a senior position - it means he's effectively in charge of the way Labour formulates its proposals ahead of the next election.

"What he is specifically saying is that he is concerned the way Labour is making policies is not really working for the party."

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Radical Islamic Preacher Seeks Asylum In UK

The family of Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammad are applying for his asylum in the UK after claiming he had been tortured in Lebanon.

They say the radical preacher has suffered systematic torture while in custody at a maximum security prison.

The family say he should be allowed back into Britain on "humanitarian grounds" as his health has deteriorated and he is no longer able to walk.

Mohammad left the UK in 2005 and was barred from returning

The cleric caused outrage in the wake of the 2005 London bombings after saying he would not inform police if he knew Muslims were planning attacks.

He left the UK in 2005 and was told he would not be allowed to return.

But the cleric's son, Mohammad Bakri, told Sky News: "I'm here on the humanitarian basis. At the end of the day, many people find what he says distasteful, and he quotes things from the Islamic perspective.

"But I think unless you know the character, himself, like my father - I grew up with him - so therefore I understand the tactics that he uses to attract the media in order to pass the message of Islam.

"You may find that distasteful, but at the end of the day he has not committed any crimes in the UK."

Sky's Home Affairs Correspondent Mark White said the family's claims have not been independently verified.

"The families of Omar Bakri Mohammad say that he has been transferred to a maximum security prison ... in Lebanon," he said.

"They also say that he has been systematically tortured during his time in that maximum security prison.

"We have no independent verification of this, but the family insists that he is in very poor health.

"They claim that he is actually close to death and they're seeking an urgent appeal now to the UK authorities to have him returned to the UK under asylum."

The preacher speaks in London alongside Abu Hamza in 1999

Mohammad holds Syrian and Lebanese citizenship and lived in Britain for 20 years, where he headed the now-disbanded radical Islamist group al Muhajiroun.

He was among 54 people sentenced in Lebanon in November 2010 in trials of militants who fought deadly clashes with the Lebanese army in 2007.

He was convicted of belonging to an armed group that aimed to carry out terrorist acts and plots to kill Lebanese soldiers.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "An individual must be physically present in the UK in order to make a claim for asylum.

"Omar Bakri Mohammad was permanently excluded from the UK in 2005 on the grounds that his presence is not conducive to the public good.

"As Omar Bakri Mohammad is excluded from the UK, he will be unable to make a claim for asylum."

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

PM Fails To Block Juncker From Top EU Job

The nomination of arch-federalist Jean-Claude Juncker as the new president of the Brussels Commission is a "bad day for Europe", David Cameron has said.

The Prime Minister - who was defeated in his attempt to block Mr Juncker's candidacy - said his fellow EU leaders had made a "serious mistake" in allowing the European Parliament to choose the presidency.

"This is a bad day for Europe. It risks undermining the position of national governments, it risks undermining the power of national parliaments and it hands new power to the European Parliament," he said.

Mr Cameron had campaigned against the appointment of Mr Juncker, arguing he would block reform of the EU.

He also warned it could fuel Euroscepticism in the UK and make it more likely that Britons will vote to quit the EU in the referendum he is planning for 2017.

In forcing a vote on the nomination, Mr Cameron broke with tradition that the Commission chief is approved by consensus of the EU's national heads of government.

In the end, only Hungary joined Britain in voting against Mr Juncker's appointment, which was approved by a margin of 26-2.

The PM argued Mr Juncker was not the "right person" for the post

His nomination, which must be confirmed by a vote in the European Parliament, was announced by European Council president Herman van Rompuy on Twitter.

He wrote: "Decision made. The European Council proposes Jean-Claude Juncker as the next President of the European Commission."

A delighted Mr Juncker tweeted: "I am proud and honoured to have received the support of the European Council." 

At the end of the Brussels summit, Mr Cameron said that he had insisted on a vote as a matter of principle.

"If the European Council, the elected heads of government, are going to allow the European Parliament to choose the next president of the European Commission in this way I wanted it on the record that Britain opposed that," he said.

The Prime Minister said that while Europe had taken "one big step backwards" Britain had "made some small steps forward".

The Council had "broken new ground" in two areas during their discussions, he said.

This included an agreement that ever-closer union allows for different paths of integration and respects the wishes of countries such as Britain that do not want a closer relationship.

Former Luxembourg premier Mr Juncker was backed by Germany's Angela Merkel

The leaders had also "agreed explicitly that they need to address Britain's concerns about the EU", he told a news conference.

"While Europe has taken one big step backwards today with their choice of Commission president, I have made some small steps forward, securing a new relationship for Britain in the EU," he said.

Labour leader Ed Miliband commented: "On Europe, David Cameron has now become a toxic Prime Minister. He cannot stand up for Britain's national interest because when he supports something, he drives our allies away."

UKIP leader Nigel Farage said: "I think what's clear is that any cards that Mr Cameron may have had to play have been spent, and have been lost over a futile battle that he was bound to lose from the beginning.

"(Any) renegotiation now doesn't look very likely. He has been humiliated today but worse than that, he actually looks very isolated."

But Eurosceptic Conservative backbencher John Redwood did not view Mr Cameron's isolation in Brussels as a problem.

Writing on his blog, the former Cabinet minister said: "The battle over Mr Juncker was but the first skirmish in a long negotiation of a new relationship for the UK with the rest of the EU."

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Missing Elvis Impersonator: Man Arrested

Police hunting an Elvis impersonator wanted in connection with a firearms alert that closed a Cornish school have arrested a man.

Police detained a 60-year-old man on land in Widegates, Looe, and recovered two firearms.

The man was arrested on suspicion of firearms offences and was being taken into custody at Launceston police station.

Police tweeted a version of this photo of Derrel Weaver

He was first taken to a local hospital for a medical assessment as a precaution. Police are not seeking anyone else in connection with the investigation.

Armed officers were called after a domestic-related alert at 60-year-old Derrel Weaver's home in Widegates at 9.30pm on Thursday.

The nearby Trenode Church of England Primary School was closed. Devon and Cornwall Police tweeted a photo of Mr Weaver of Higher Widlake Farm.

Police maintained a "high presence" at the scene near Looe

The caption read: "Have you seen this man, Derrel Weaver, 60, #widegates Looe, if you see him please ring 999 and do not approach."

Another tweet added: "Police are doing everything possible to maintain public safety, but we ask local people to be patient during this time."

Mr Weaver's Google+ page says he owns a tree surgery business and is also a "rock n roll singer".

Local resident Ann Chudleigha said Mr Weaver was a well-known member of the community.

The decision to close the school was made by its headteacher in consultation with police.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Father Of Mass Murderer Tells Of 'Nightmare'

The father of the young man who last month killed six people in California before taking his own life has given his first interview since the tragedy.

Filmmaker Peter Rodger told ABC News' Barbara Walters that no one in his family had any indication that his son, Elliot, had violent intentions.

Mr Rodger said: "Every night I go to sleep, I wake up and I think of those young men and young women that have died and who are injured and were terrorised and my son did that.

"My son caused so much pain and suffering for so many families."

Elliot Rodger turned the gun on himself after killing six people

Asked how he felt when he woke up in the morning he replied: "It's like a reverse nightmare situation.

"When you go to sleep normally, you have a nightmare and you wake up and everything is ok.

"Now I go to sleep, I might have a nice dream and then I wake up and slowly the truth of what happened dawns on me and, you know, that is that my son was a mass murderer."

Mr Rodger, who was assistant director on the Hollywood blockbuster Hunger Games, said he had no idea his son was violent.

"There's no way I thought that this boy could hurt a flea. I mean, this is the most unbelievable thing, Barbara, what I don't get is we didn't see this coming at all."

Rodger, 22, killed six people on May 23 and injured 13 more before turning the gun on himself  in Isla Vista, California, near two universities.

The killing spree began with Rodger stabbing three people at his apartment.

He then drove around the city firing on people outside a sorority house and inside a delicatessen, before taking his own life.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

PM Warns Juncker Vote Is 'Bad For All Of Europe'

The Reason Dave Does Not Want Jean-Claude

Updated: 4:03pm UK, Thursday 26 June 2014

By Anushka Asthana, Political Correspondent

Why is David Cameron preparing to make an almighty fuss in Brussels tomorrow? Arguably it is all about this man:

Nigel Farage, the UKIP leader, whose "political earthquake" in May left the Prime Minister and those around him with jangled nerves. Downing Street sources say the European election tells the story of an electorate that wants to loosen the binds of the EU.

Mr Cameron wants to lead that effort. In fact, he has staked his political credibility on a promise to reform Britain's relationship with the EU and then put the country's membership to a public vote in 2017.

The Prime Minister wants to campaign for the UK to stay a part of the European project - but he can only do that he if he achieves a substantive renegotiation.

And that is why he is so desperate to stand in the way of Jean-Claude Juncker from becoming the most powerful EU politician. He fears that the elevation of the former Luxembourg Prime Minister to the presidency of the European Commission could hinder his plans because he considers him an arch-federalist who represents a Europe of the past.

Sources say Mr Cameron was buoyed in his opposition of Mr Juncker by the belief (a belief that may have come from a conversation) - that he had the support of the German Chancellor.

Observers say Angela Merkel is no fan of Mr Juncker's. But it's felt the Prime Minister overplayed his hand by so publicly and viscerally opposing the candidate.

That forced Ms Merkel into a corner. After all her government is part of the EPP centre-right grouping in Europe - which had publicly stated that Mr Juncker was its candidate before the May elections.

Proponents argue that EPP parties dominated in May after naming their European Commission. Democracy, they therefore add, means not interpreting those elections as the British have but in fact placing Mr Juncker in the top job.

Ms Merkel has been under pressure from her country's equivalent of the Sun- the Bild Zeitung which ran an editorial warning "Juncker must become president".

Under pressure at home Mrs Merkel chose a boat trip on a Swedish lake to tell Mr Cameron to back off.

By then it looked like support was fading away although he was still hopeful that other countries such as France, Italy or Sweden could come behind him. It wasn't to be.

Next a group of nine centre-left governments swung behind Mr Juncker, arguing that the EPP result in the elections was enough to mean he ought to succeed. Francoise Hollande delivered the conclusion in a public statement that was humiliating for Mr Cameron. With Italy gone too, next Sweden appeared to back off. 

Isolated, Mr Cameron decided he wouldn't concede. No 10 sources indicated that he was angry, pointing out that the world leaders of the European council had always agreed on a consensual candidate.

They pointed out that in 2004 the UK backed down on pushing the candidacy of Chris Patten because France wasn't keen. To make a point the Prime Minister is preparing to force an unprecedented vote of the Council. It is a vote he is widely expected to lose. So why do it?

Sources say it is to lay out the fact that this is no consensus and to force leaders to justify their own support for Mr Juncker. Commentators ask if it is really a play designed to please his own domestic audience – UKIP supporters who might think it makes him more likely to back the Tories.

Some criticise Mr Cameron's decision – promised before the last election to pull his own party out of the EPP grouping. He argued it was too federalist on EU running contrary to the Conservatives own view. But if he had been part of it – perhaps he might have influenced the choice of candidate that he now so vehemently opposes.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ex-Defence Chief Warns Over Jihadist Threat

By Lisa Holland, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

Britain faces an increasing threat from home grown jihadists as the conflict in Iraq risks spreading into Afghanistan once UK troops withdraw, the former head of the Armed Forces has warned.

In an exclusive interview with Sky News, Lord Richards of Herstmonceux said the current fighting in the Middle East should serve as a "wake up call" to the West.

Lord Richards – who stepped down as Chief of the Defence Staff last year – described the Allied invasion of Iraq in 2003 as a "strategic error", the full consequences of which are only being experienced today.

And he warned increasing numbers of British Muslims could be radicalised if conflicts like Syria and Iraq are not brought to a halt.

"We're not communicating very well," he said. "A lot of young people feel alienated. I think you have to take positive action to assist them to stay on the path most want to.

"But the real key is to make sure things going on in other parts of the world don't become flag bearers for just a few people to start causing trouble here.

"If we don't deal with it then there's a threat here which could grow and it is growing."

Lord Richards was head of Britain's armed forces

The Government estimates around 400 British-born fighters are currently in Syria and Iraq.

Three men – two from Cardiff and one from Aberdeen – featured in a recent promotional video made for ISIS insurgents released last week.

The threat posed by jihadists returning from such conflicts to Britain may increase, Lord Richards said.

"It could get bigger. So you need to snuff out a problem like this at the source, not just put up the barriers as they come back into this country."

In the interview, Lord Richards said in hindsight the invasion of Iraq was a mistake.

"No doubt Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator but it liberated a whole load of other forces and we're seeing that play through today."

British troops are due to withdraw from Afghanistan at the end of this year and Lord Richards said he feared a similar situation could arise.

"It's a wake up call. I fear what we are seeing in Iraq could happen in Afghanistan next year and the thing we should be focusing on now is containing this."

British jihadists are among those fighting in Syria

He suggested the influence of social media meant a small minority of insurgents could start a major conflict.

"You only need a few hotheads and suddenly the law of unintended consequence can start taking control.

"It's not going to be an old fashioned war this - this is a generational struggle.

"With modern means of communication only half a dozen people can start to corrode a country from within. Then states over-react and that fires up more people. So it's a very clever and difficult form of warfare."

Lord Richards said the Afghan armed forces needed better equipment and better training.

Without international support, Lord Richards said he feared "we will see what is happening in Iraq happen there in nine months time and that will be a tragic waste".

He added that as a result of the rise of jihadists, the Coalition needed to re-examine defence cuts otherwise "we could be caught out".

"I'm worried the armed forces will not be in a position to do everything that might be asked of them if we don't address that question now."

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fifa Opens Suarez Bite Claim Disciplinary Action

Fifa has opened disciplinary proceedings against Luis Suarez after he was accused of biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini.

The striker and the Uruguayan FA have until 9pm UK time to "provide their position and any documentary evidence they deem relevant".

Suarez has already commented on the incident, declaring: "These things happen on the pitch."

The striker clashed with Chiellini in the 79th minute of his country's Group D match, a game they won 1-0 to advance to the last 16.

Television replays showed Suarez moving his head towards Chiellini, who responded by swinging his arm.

It appears that Suarez then sank his teeth into the defender's shoulder.

The Uruguay striker has previous after biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic

Defending the alleged attack he said: "We were both just inside the area, he struck me in the chest with his shoulder and he hit me in the eye as well.

"These are things that happen on the pitch and you shouldn't attach so much importance to them.

"I'm very happy to have qualified. We are taking each game as it comes, we know that we're in a difficult situation, we're at our limits now."

Fifa can hit players with retrospective bans of up to two years if its disciplinary commission decides there is a case to answer.

Speaking to Rai TV after the game, Chiellini said: "It was ridiculous not to send Suarez off.

"It is clear, clear-cut and then there was the obvious dive afterwards because he knew very well that he did something that he shouldn't have done."

Suarez handball at South Africa 2010

Suarez served a 10-match ban last year for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.

Before his move to Liverpool in 2011, Suarez was suspended for seven matches by the Netherlands football federation after biting PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal when he played for Ajax.

In the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Suarez was sent off for a deliberate handball that helped Uruguay into the semi-final.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Militant Leader Vows To Stop PM 'Burning Iraq'

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent, in Irbil

A senior Iraqi Sunni leader has told Sky News that his men will continue to fight Iraqi government forces until the current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki steps down.

"If Maliki stays in power Iraq will end," Sheikh Ali Al-Salman told us.

"We will never allow that to happen, whatever it costs us. He is using the same policies as Saddam. He is burning Iraq to stay in power."

Sheikh Al-Salman heads a militant group of fighters which now number in the thousands. His army is growing daily.

"I think Iraq is facing two choices: either a white civil war or a divided Iraq," he predicts.

"The international community is to blame. The US administration should not leave Iraq like this. They should not walk away from Iraq."

Sheikh Al-Salman (L) wants Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to stand down

His Military Council for the Revolutionary Tribes' is based in Ramadi but controls large parts of Anbar Province to the west of Baghdad, the scene of recent insurgent fighting.

Al-Salman's men are currently fighting alongside ISIS against the Iraqi military.

But whilst they have a mutual cause, he warns that ISIS has no future in Iraq.

"ISIS came after our revolution and they tried to benefit from it. ISIS has tried to open Iraq up to international interference. Will we fight ISIS? Yes, but not for the time being."

Before ISIS captured headlines in Europe and America, Sheikh Al-Salman was the first person to take arms against Nouri Al-Maliki's government six months ago. They laid the ground for ISIS to join the fight.

Sheikh Al-Salman has been contacted by the US government but he hasn't held direct meetings with them although he told us he is willing to work with them to find a solution.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Journalists' Sentences 'A Slap In The Face'

The parents of jailed Australian journalist Peter Greste have described his seven-year sentence in an Egyptian prison as "a slap in the face and a kick in the groin".

Lois and Juris Greste held an emotional press conference in Brisbane after their son was jailed along with two al Jazeera colleagues.

Juris Greste said the family is in a state of shock and struggling to think straight in the wake of the sentencing.

"We're not usually a family of superlatives, but I have to say ... my vocabulary fails to convey just how shattered we are," he said.

"You can never prepare yourself for something as painful as this."

Peter Greste had been in Egypt for only two weeks

Mr Greste, Canadian-Egyptian national Mohammed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed were convicted of spreading false news and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.

Mr Mohamed received an additional three years on a separate charge involving possession of weapons.

Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott said: "We're obviously shocked, dismayed, really bewildered by the decision of the court in Egypt."

The case has provoked outrage from freedom of speech activists, who say it was politicised, while David Cameron was said by Downing Street to be "completely appalled" by the verdict.

Mohammed Fahmy gives evidence in court in May

The White House called for pardons or sentence commutations for the journalists and for clemency in all politically motivated sentences.

Relatives of the men - who had denied all the allegations against them in Cairo - collapsed in tears as the sentences were read out.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she was "shocked and deeply dismayed" by the outcome and would ask the Egyptian government to intervene.

Her UK counterpart, William Hague, said he would also ask Cairo to review the case "as a matter of urgency".

Sky News and the BBC were among the media organisations to call for the trio's release prior to the verdict.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Jihadist's Mother Pleads For Him To Return Home

Faith Lost In Iraq PM Amid Political Limbo

Updated: 5:46pm UK, Friday 20 June 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor, in Baghdad

The US President, Shia politicians, Sunni chieftans and none other than the Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani has joined the clamour for Iraq's Prime Minister to move fast and form a government.

The nation has languished since elections on April 30 in a political limbo that arguably undermined faith in the central government, even among the Shia-dominated armed forces.

That might, partly, explain their rapid collapse in the face of far fewer forces from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) plus their allies.

But now that Iraq's supreme court has ratified the results of the elections what possible reason could Nouri al Maliki have for delay?

One explanation may simply be political.

His stewardship over previous years has entrenched sectarian divisions and seen an explosion in corruption.

His party bloc won 92 of the 328 seats in Iraq's parliament and he'll need 165 to form a coalition administration.

He, therefore, has to get involved in some serious horse trading with other Shia parties to build his coalition.

But they are now losing faith in him. Particularly in his apparent refusal to reach out to Sunni parties and offer them stakes in the central government - such as a security portfolio and a ministry which would give them access to patronage systems such as an education or public works - so that they feel both secure and that they have an investment in the future political structures.

A more conspiratorial thesis, fuelled by the conspiratorial utterances of lame duck ministers left over from the previous administration, is that Iraq's latest travails are the fault of external forces.

Jordan, Saudi Arabia (both Sunni countries), the US and others are being blamed for manipulating the Middle East and somehow creating ISIS.

There is evidence of Saudi individual, and possible state funding, for extremist militant groups in Syria, which may include ISIS.

And Jordan has played a significant role in trying to boost the fortunes of the non-extremist Free Syrian Army.

But Mr al Maliki may have calculated that he can either weather the latest storm - or let ISIS form an impoverished caliphate in the desert north of his country which would leave the Shia with Baghdad and the south.

It's the south, after all, that holds the lion's share of the world's second largest oil reserves.

It can ship its oil out through the Gulf, via Kuwait, or via Iran.

A Shia state or semi-state would not only be self-sufficient - it would be spared the burden of sharing Iraq's spoils with other sectarian groups like the Sunni and the Kurds (who already have their own autonomy and oil industry).

Such a move, or allowing events to drift to this reality, would place the south of Iraq firmly inside Iran's imperial embrace.

That is not something that Saudi Arabia would be able to tolerate in the long term as it vies with Iran for influence in the Middle East.

Nor is it anything that a rump Sunni 'caliphate' would be able to live with - the extremists within it would forever plot how to steal it back by force.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Spread Of Terror' Fears As ISIS Tightens Grip

Faith Lost In Iraq PM Amid Political Limbo

Updated: 5:46pm UK, Friday 20 June 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor, in Baghdad

The US President, Shia politicians, Sunni chieftans and none other than the Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani has joined the clamour for Iraq's Prime Minister to move fast and form a government.

The nation has languished since elections on April 30 in a political limbo that arguably undermined faith in the central government, even among the Shia-dominated armed forces.

That might, partly, explain their rapid collapse in the face of far fewer forces from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) plus their allies.

But now that Iraq's supreme court has ratified the results of the elections what possible reason could Nouri al Maliki have for delay?

One explanation may simply be political.

His stewardship over previous years has entrenched sectarian divisions and seen an explosion in corruption.

His party bloc won 92 of the 328 seats in Iraq's parliament and he'll need 165 to form a coalition administration.

He, therefore, has to get involved in some serious horse trading with other Shia parties to build his coalition.

But they are now losing faith in him. Particularly in his apparent refusal to reach out to Sunni parties and offer them stakes in the central government - such as a security portfolio and a ministry which would give them access to patronage systems such as an education or public works - so that they feel both secure and that they have an investment in the future political structures.

A more conspiratorial thesis, fuelled by the conspiratorial utterances of lame duck ministers left over from the previous administration, is that Iraq's latest travails are the fault of external forces.

Jordan, Saudi Arabia (both Sunni countries), the US and others are being blamed for manipulating the Middle East and somehow creating ISIS.

There is evidence of Saudi individual, and possible state funding, for extremist militant groups in Syria, which may include ISIS.

And Jordan has played a significant role in trying to boost the fortunes of the non-extremist Free Syrian Army.

But Mr al Maliki may have calculated that he can either weather the latest storm - or let ISIS form an impoverished caliphate in the desert north of his country which would leave the Shia with Baghdad and the south.

It's the south, after all, that holds the lion's share of the world's second largest oil reserves.

It can ship its oil out through the Gulf, via Kuwait, or via Iran.

A Shia state or semi-state would not only be self-sufficient - it would be spared the burden of sharing Iraq's spoils with other sectarian groups like the Sunni and the Kurds (who already have their own autonomy and oil industry).

Such a move, or allowing events to drift to this reality, would place the south of Iraq firmly inside Iran's imperial embrace.

That is not something that Saudi Arabia would be able to tolerate in the long term as it vies with Iran for influence in the Middle East.

Nor is it anything that a rump Sunni 'caliphate' would be able to live with - the extremists within it would forever plot how to steal it back by force.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Brit Jihadi Film Leaves Family 'Heartbroken'

Faith Lost In Iraq PM Amid Political Limbo

Updated: 5:46pm UK, Friday 20 June 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor, in Baghdad

The US President, Shia politicians, Sunni chieftans and none other than the Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani has joined the clamour for Iraq's Prime Minister to move fast and form a government.

The nation has languished since elections on April 30 in a political limbo that arguably undermined faith in the central government, even among the Shia-dominated armed forces.

That might, partly, explain their rapid collapse in the face of far fewer forces from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) plus their allies.

But now that Iraq's supreme court has ratified the results of the elections what possible reason could Nouri al Maliki have for delay?

One explanation may simply be political.

His stewardship over previous years has entrenched sectarian divisions and seen an explosion in corruption.

His party bloc won 92 of the 328 seats in Iraq's parliament and he'll need 165 to form a coalition administration.

He, therefore, has to get involved in some serious horse trading with other Shia parties to build his coalition.

But they are now losing faith in him. Particularly in his apparent refusal to reach out to Sunni parties and offer them stakes in the central government - such as a security portfolio and a ministry which would give them access to patronage systems such as an education or public works - so that they feel both secure and that they have an investment in the future political structures.

A more conspiratorial thesis, fuelled by the conspiratorial utterances of lame duck ministers left over from the previous administration, is that Iraq's latest travails are the fault of external forces.

Jordan, Saudi Arabia (both Sunni countries), the US and others are being blamed for manipulating the Middle East and somehow creating ISIS.

There is evidence of Saudi individual, and possible state funding, for extremist militant groups in Syria, which may include ISIS.

And Jordan has played a significant role in trying to boost the fortunes of the non-extremist Free Syrian Army.

But Mr al Maliki may have calculated that he can either weather the latest storm - or let ISIS form an impoverished caliphate in the desert north of his country which would leave the Shia with Baghdad and the south.

It's the south, after all, that holds the lion's share of the world's second largest oil reserves.

It can ship its oil out through the Gulf, via Kuwait, or via Iran.

A Shia state or semi-state would not only be self-sufficient - it would be spared the burden of sharing Iraq's spoils with other sectarian groups like the Sunni and the Kurds (who already have their own autonomy and oil industry).

Such a move, or allowing events to drift to this reality, would place the south of Iraq firmly inside Iran's imperial embrace.

That is not something that Saudi Arabia would be able to tolerate in the long term as it vies with Iran for influence in the Middle East.

Nor is it anything that a rump Sunni 'caliphate' would be able to live with - the extremists within it would forever plot how to steal it back by force.

12.28 | 0 komentar | Read More

Colchester Student Murder: Suspect Released

Detectives investigating the murder of a Saudi Arabian student in Colchester have released a 19-year-old man being questioned.

Nahid Almanea was stabbed 16 times while walking along a path in Colchester, Essex, on Tuesday morning.

The 31-year-old had been taking an English language course at the University of Essex since January as part of her studies for a life sciences PhD.

Police said the 19-year-old man was arrested on Friday in connection with a separate assault.

It followed a report from a female jogger that a man had approached her and tried to grab her near Peache Road, Colchester at around 10pm, on June 19.

Officers said the man has now been released from police custody and no further action against him is planned.

He has been eliminated from both inquiries, they added.

Police have been patrolling a large area in Colchester

Earlier, investigators promised to "unrelentingly" pursue all lines of inquiry in the hunt for the foreign student's killer.

Police were investigating whether Ms Almanea's clothing - an abaya robe and hijab headscarf - was a factor in the stabbing, but stressed they did not know for sure.

They said there were other possible motives and called for calm as they confirmed they were investigating threats of revenge attacks made on social media.

Officers warned local people not to go out alone and to be vigilant.

They said the fact that she was stabbed multiple times bore "obvious similarities" to the murder of James Attfield, a vulnerable man with brain damage.

He was stabbed more than 100 times in a park in Colchester in March, but Essex Police have stressed the cases remain separate investigations.

More follows...

12.28 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraq: Obama To Send 300 Military Advisers

President Barack Obama has said he is sending up to 300 military advisers to help the Iraqi government in its fight against Islamic extremists as a battle over Iraq's biggest refinery continues to rage.

Speaking at the White House last night, Mr Obama said he was prepared to take "targeted" military action but stressed that US troops would not return to combat in Iraq.

He said additional equipment and up to 300 additional military advisers would be provided to help battle the Islamic extremist group ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), which has seized large swathes of the country.

The contingent will be made up of special forces and will staff joint operations centres for intelligence sharing and planning, officials said.

"American forces will not be returning to combat in Iraq but we will help Iraqis as they take the fight to terrorists who threaten the Iraqi people, the region and American interests as well," Mr Obama said.

US military advisers will be sent into Iraq to help Iraqi forces

The president also said he was sending Secretary of State John Kerry to the Middle East and Europe at the weekend for talks with US allies and partners on ways to stabilise the region.

A US official added Mr Kerry was "expected to go Iraq soon" to meet Iraqi officials, but did not specify a date.

Mr Obama stressed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki needed to take urgent steps to heal Iraq's sectarian rift, but stopped short of calling for him to go, saying: "It's not our job to choose Iraq's leaders."

He added: "Above all, Iraqi leaders must rise above their differences and come together around a political plan for Iraq's future."

Leading US lawmakers have joined calls for Mr al Maliki to quit as a condition of US help in driving back the Islamic extremists.

The call for Nouri al Maliki to quit as a condition of US help is growing

Sunni tribal chief Sheik Ali Hatem al Suleiman, the emir of the Sunni Dulaim tribe from Anbar province, said Mr Obama could no longer rely on Mr al Maliki to solve the rising insurgency.

He said: "I think that most of President Obama's speech, but not all of it, was shallow and didn't address the heart of the matter.

"It talked about participation, it talked about a national government, but you can't come to Iraq with a speech that doesn't address the truth of the problem.

"And the real problem in Iraq is al Maliki himself.? I don't think Obama's speech addressed the reality of today's Iraq.

"You can't rely on him. The man has become paralysed."

Mr al Suleiman also criticised Mr Obama's decision to send 300 military advisers to Iraq.

"Three hundred advisors just when you withdraw these 300 advisors, Iraq will lose its balance for one reason?"

The Baiji oil refinery has been the scene of fierce fighting

As Mr Obama announced his most significant response to the Iraqi crisis, the sprawling Baiji refinery, 130 miles (200km) north of the capital near Tikrit, was transformed into a battlefield.

Troops loyal to the Shia-led government held off the ISIS insurgents and their allies who had stormed the perimeter a day earlier, threatening national energy supplies.

A government spokesman said at one point on Thursday that Iraqi forces were in "complete control", but a witness in Baiji said fighting was continuing. 

Two Iraqi helicopters tried to land in the refinery but were unable to because of insurgent gunfire, and most of the refinery remained under rebel control, witnesses said.

ISIS has seized a chemical weapons facility built by Saddam Hussein, which contains a stockpile of old weapons, according to the Wall Street Journal.

But US officials are reportedly confident that any weapons stored at the Al Muthanna complex - which has not been in active use for years - are not usable.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

England Look To Italy To Avoid World Cup Exit

England fans face another nail-biting day after a 2-1 defeat to Uruguay left any chance of their team reaching the knockout stage of the World Cup in Italy's hands.

Should their Group D rivals fail to beat Costa Rica, Roy Hodgson's side will be eliminated in the first round for the first time since 1958.

However, the manager admitted that even if the result goes their way, their hopes of making the last 16 are now "unbelievably slim".

Luis Suarez consoles his Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard

Striker Daniel Sturridge said he felt "sick" and "heartbroken" after England's second defeat in two matches.

But Luis Suarez, who scored both goals on his return for Uruguay in Sao Paulo, revelled in his team's success.

"I dreamt this," he said. "I'm enjoying this moment because of everything I suffered."

England must hope Mario Balotelli and Italy can beat Costa Rica

Meanwhile, the importance of results elsewhere in England's group was not lost on Italian striker Mario Balotelli, who joked: "If we beat Costa Rica I want a kiss, obviously on the cheek, from the Queen."

Uruguay took the lead in the 38th minute as Suarez scored from a header.

England's goal came 15 minutes from the final whistle when Glen Johnson sent the ball across goal for Wayne Rooney to score.

Luis Suarez heads the ball past England goalkeeper Joe Hart

But Uruguay struck back quickly with another Suarez goal in the 84th minute.

Speaking from Sao Paulo, Sky's Paul Kelso said the defeat is likely to spell the end of England's World Cup campaign.

Italy must beat Costa Rica and Uruguay while England need to secure all three points in their final group game to stand any chance of progressing in the tournament.

England fans in the stands at Itaquerao Stadium in Sao Paulo

Even that may not be enough, with goal difference then coming into play.

"The bottom line, having watched both those performances, is that ultimately England just haven't been good enough," Kelso said.

"They've played with a good amount of spirit and attacking purpose but faced with teams of the quality of Italy and Uruguay they simply haven't had the players to match them."

Roy Hodgson says he wants to continue managing England

Hodgson said he would not resign after England's back-to-back defeats, insisting his young squad have a bright future.

"We're more than disappointed, we're devastated," he said.

"In both games we've shown elements of playing some good football and we've shown we're a team making progress.

"But results decide everything and both results have been negative."

Roy Hodgson expressed his confidence in the team ahead of the match

The defeat to Uruguay came after 10 England fans were attacked in Sao Paulo ahead of the game.

Some 14 people were arrested after a group wearing hoods and dark clothing threw fireworks and glass bottles at the supporters.

Elsewhere in the city, a march by about 1,000 demonstrators demanding free public transport passed off peacefully.

However, violence erupted when masked youths, believed to be from the anarchist Black Block movement, broke into a car dealership and began vandalising luxury vehicles.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boko Haram Threat Spreads Into Cameroon

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, in Cameroon

The Nigerian-born Islamic militant group Boko Haram is terrorising communities inside neighbouring Cameroon and snatching young boys from across the border and forcing them to join the sect.

We saw abandoned villages and burned out schools inside Cameroon, despite the presence of hundreds of troops including some of the country's top soldiers from the elite rapid response unit, Battalion D'Intervention Rapide (BIR).

The huge 1,243 mile (2,000km) border with Nigeria is mostly unmanned and un-policed allowing Boko Haram to cross over and mount attacks inside Cameroon with horrifying regularity.

Soldiers from the BIR are desperately trying to stop the spread of Boko Haram in their country.

But the sect, which appears to be trying to create an Islamic fundamentalist belt across West Africa, continues to wreak terror and destruction all along the border.

Nigeria has accused Cameroon of not doing enough and has said Boko Haram fighters and leaders are using the country as a safe haven.

Boko Haram militants have hit border communities in Cameroon

But the country's military leaders insist that is not the case.

Cameroon Defence Ministry spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Badjeck, told us: "They are not in Cameroon. Why would we allow that? This is bad for Cameroon.

"We are suffering too at the hands of Boko Haram."

He said the country may have reacted slowly to the Boko Haram threat but had reacted as soon as they realised it was growing and encroaching into Cameroon.

There are now hundreds of troops including those from the elite BIR unit, up to the north.

The border lines are often difficult to decipher with no markings or obvious difference between the two countries.

Alex Crawford is with the elite Cameroon unit BIR as it fights extremists

In the town of Amchide, the border cuts right through the town with roughly two-thirds of the town under Nigerian control and the remaining third in Cameroon territory.

We were with the elite unit as soldiers patrolled through the town and up to a rope across the road which signalled the end of Cameroon land.

About 100 metres away, some Nigerian soldiers cheerily greeted their counterparts.

There appears to be much more cordial relations on the ground amongst the foot soldiers than there is between their respective political masters.

In other communities, the villagers told us how Boko Haram militants stormed in during the day, trying to snatch young boys to add to their recruits.

One young lad told us how he was approached by the militants as he worked in the fields.

They at first tried to persuade him to join them. When he refused, the situation turned ugly but somehow he managed to run away.

The eyes of the world are on Syria and Iraq at the moment as the Islamic militants there shock with their brutal attempts to wrestle control of swathes of both countries.

But according to the Cameroon military, the Islamic militants of Boko Haram are fighting a similar terror campaign in West Africa.

The sect is spreading across the northeast of its own country but also spilling over into its neighbours.

Cameroon, with its long, unchecked border, is possibly most vulnerable.

And so far, despite the attempts of even some of its top soldiers, the Boko Haram fighters, far from being defeated, appear to be growing in strength and numbers.

12.28 | 0 komentar | Read More

ISIS Militants 'Will Be Used To Target UK'

Timeline: How The Iraq Crisis Unfolded

Updated: 2:12pm UK, Tuesday 17 June 2014

A look back at the main events in the Iraq crisis, which has seen Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group move to within 50 miles of the capital Baghdad.

December 2011: US troops complete their withdrawal after the 2003 invasion which led to the removal of Saddam Hussein.

August 2013: More than 70 people are killed in attacks at the end of Ramadan. ISIS claim responsibility.

January 2-4, 2014: ISIS declares itself in control of the western city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi following clashes sparked by the clearing of a Sunni-Arab protest camp.

February: al Qaeda formally disowns ISIS, which was at one time an affiliate, because of its extreme methods.

April: Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki wins the most seats in a general election.

June 10: ISIS seizes all of Nineveh province in the north, including the capital Mosul - Iraq's second city. Mr Maliki asks parliament to declare a state of emergency.

June 11: The militants launch a wave of attacks further south, taking Tikrit and freeing hundreds of prisoners in Baiji. An assault on Samarra, 70 miles (110km) north of Baghdad, is repelled by security forces.

June 12: Iraq's air force strikes fighters' positions near Mosul and Tikrit.

US President Barack Obama says he is looking at "all the options" to help the government, which fails to secure authorisation for a state of emergency.

The army abandons its bases in Kirkuk, leaving Kurdish Peshmerga troops to take control.

June 13: A top Shia cleric issues a call to arms, telling the population to take up arms and defend their country.

Mr Maliki claims government forces have started to clear cities of "terrorists" and implements an emergency plan to protect Baghdad.

President Obama rules out sending back troops to fight ISIS.

The rebels move into the towns of Saadiyah and Jalawla in eastern province of Diyala.

June 14: Iran offers to work with the US to tackle the crisis, as Britain pledges an initial £3m in emergency aid to help refugees fleeing the violence.

The Iraqi army's fightback continues, with forces retaking the towns of Ishaqi, al-Mutasim and Duluiyah in Salaheddin province.

Troops also regain much of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's home town.

US aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush is ordered to the Persian Gulf.

June 15: Photos emerge appearing to show an ISIS massacre of 1,700 captured government soldiers. Baghdad says number is exaggerated.

Reports say militants have overrun Tal Afar, the largest town in Nineveh province.

A bombing in central Baghdad leaves 15 people dead and dozens injured.

Former PM Tony Blair tells Sky News that critics who believe the violence is the result of the 2003 invasion are "profoundly mistaken".

June 16: Video footage purporting to show an ISIS fighter questioning and killing unarmed Iraqi soldiers draws condemnation.

ISIS takes control of Tal Afar and the al Adhim area of Diyala province.

US Secretary of State John Kerry says Washington is "open to discussions with Iran".

12.28 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kurdish Peshmerga Lead Fightback Against ISIS

The Kurdish peshmerga have had enough of ISIS on their land and are determined to drive them out.

From the cover of mud trenches they fire at Isis positions 100 metres or so away. This is the ISIS perimeter defence of Jalula town.

It is old-style fighting. Man replacing man on the barricade as they run out of ammunition. There is a constant barrage from both sides.

Taking cover, commanders bark orders; repositioning their men as ISIS try to out manoeuvre and outflank them.

The first proper offensive on ISIS in Iraq is under way.

Rockets, artillery and heavy machine guns pound Isis positions from strategic ridge lines.

The Kurds are softening them up but these are hardcore ISIS fighters and include Chechens, Saudis and Qataris, according to the Kurds.

As rockets blast out and the air zings with incoming fire the head of the region's anti-terror brigade tells me that the peshmerga have no choice but to attack.

It has been described as the first major offensive against ISIS

Lahoor Talibani said: "We gave the tribe who allowed them in a chance to push them out but they did not take it.

"ISIS are well organised and we cannot allow them here."

A short distance from the front line the brigade commander stalked into the midst of hundreds of his peshmerga soldiers saying he had been lied to and that the offensive inside the heart of Jalula must begin.

Dozens of vehicles gunned their engines and soldiers mounted their trucks and lorries to drive into town along roads under fire from ISIS snipers on both sides.

This is the next phase of the fight. Urban warfare is the most dangerous but in a thousand-year-old town like Jalula with narrow streets and ancient passage ways, it is a nightmare.

There is fighting everywhere; sometimes just metres away. The whole town echoes as rocket propelled grenades, small arms, heavy machine guns and mortars smash into buildings.

In towns you can rarely see who is where. It is very frightening.

The Kurds cheer as a truck passes loaded with the dead bodies of ISIS fighters.

Down an alleyway a man holds his hands up as he walks towards the Kurds. But he has come from enemy positions.

He is led away at gunpoint as another soldier fires warning shots to deter ISIS sniper fire.

Now every crossroad, every uncovered passageway is dangerous. You run between the barricaded areas.

Families trying to escape on foot hold hands as they cross the constantly changing battle lines.

As the battle intensifies the Kurds up the ante and deploy tanks around the ISIS positions firing deafening volleys to the cheers of the peshmerga.

They are determined to win here and clear other towns taken by ISIS. There is a lot more fighting to come.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

PM Crisis Talks On Threat From ISIS Militants

Timeline: How The Iraq Crisis Unfolded

Updated: 2:12pm UK, Tuesday 17 June 2014

A look back at the main events in the Iraq crisis, which has seen Sunni insurgents from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group move to within 50 miles of the capital Baghdad.

December 2011: US troops complete their withdrawal after the 2003 invasion which led to the removal of Saddam Hussein.

August 2013: More than 70 people are killed in attacks at the end of Ramadan. ISIS claim responsibility.

January 2-4, 2014: ISIS declares itself in control of the western city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi following clashes sparked by the clearing of a Sunni-Arab protest camp.

February: al Qaeda formally disowns ISIS, which was at one time an affiliate, because of its extreme methods.

April: Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki wins the most seats in a general election.

June 10: ISIS seizes all of Nineveh province in the north, including the capital Mosul - Iraq's second city. Mr Maliki asks parliament to declare a state of emergency.

June 11: The militants launch a wave of attacks further south, taking Tikrit and freeing hundreds of prisoners in Baiji. An assault on Samarra, 70 miles (110km) north of Baghdad, is repelled by security forces.

June 12: Iraq's air force strikes fighters' positions near Mosul and Tikrit.

US President Barack Obama says he is looking at "all the options" to help the government, which fails to secure authorisation for a state of emergency.

The army abandons its bases in Kirkuk, leaving Kurdish Peshmerga troops to take control.

June 13: A top Shia cleric issues a call to arms, telling the population to take up arms and defend their country.

Mr Maliki claims government forces have started to clear cities of "terrorists" and implements an emergency plan to protect Baghdad.

President Obama rules out sending back troops to fight ISIS.

The rebels move into the towns of Saadiyah and Jalawla in eastern province of Diyala.

June 14: Iran offers to work with the US to tackle the crisis, as Britain pledges an initial £3m in emergency aid to help refugees fleeing the violence.

The Iraqi army's fightback continues, with forces retaking the towns of Ishaqi, al-Mutasim and Duluiyah in Salaheddin province.

Troops also regain much of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's home town.

US aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush is ordered to the Persian Gulf.

June 15: Photos emerge appearing to show an ISIS massacre of 1,700 captured government soldiers. Baghdad says number is exaggerated.

Reports say militants have overrun Tal Afar, the largest town in Nineveh province.

A bombing in central Baghdad leaves 15 people dead and dozens injured.

Former PM Tony Blair tells Sky News that critics who believe the violence is the result of the 2003 invasion are "profoundly mistaken".

June 16: Video footage purporting to show an ISIS fighter questioning and killing unarmed Iraqi soldiers draws condemnation.

ISIS takes control of Tal Afar and the al Adhim area of Diyala province.

US Secretary of State John Kerry says Washington is "open to discussions with Iran".

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fleeing ISIS: Iraqis Tell Of Loss And Tragedy

By Sherine Tadros, Middle East Correspondent

Dozens of Iraqi families who escaped the fighting in Mosul have made their way to a newly-built refugee camp in the northern area of Dohuk.

They are homeless and have nowhere to go.

"Ahmed" was an officer in the Iraqi police force. We've had to change his name because he's afraid he will be targeted again by ISIS militants.

He had just got to the camp with his family when we met him.

He showed us pictures he says he took of his home after ISIS bombed it.

What was once a seven bedroom villa is now a pile of rubble.

Ahmed took his nine-month pregnant wife and children and came to the Dohuk camp.

It took them 12 hours and now they say they are afraid and on the run.

"People were so scared in Mosul when I left", Ahmed described.

"There was no electricity, no food and we heard explosions. The Islamist fighters were everywhere in the town.

"They wore black masks and were armed. You couldn't speak or reason with them or they'd just kill you."

These are considered the lucky ones as they have a roof over their heads

Many more people are pouring into the camp, bringing with them stories of loss and tragedy.

Hundreds of thousands have recently fled the areas now under the control of ISIS and their allies.

Some are in camps but even more went further into towns close to the border.

The town of Al Qosh near the Syrian border with Iraq has taken in hundreds in the past week.

This ancient Christian community is now opening its doors to Iraqis of different religions. It is providing a safe haven for those seeking protection.

We came across a school that has been turned into a shelter for 30 families who came from Mosul.

Mattresses line the floors, there are flies everywhere.

Umm Younis says she came here with her children because she heard it was safe. It's been a week now and it's been tough.

"Life is unbearable. There's no water, no medicine, no clean place. It's crowded and cramped. If anyone catches a disease then everyone gets it" she told us.

One of the hardest things for these people is that they don't know when or even if they'll be able to go back home.

All the women in the school share one bathroom and the water only comes on every other day.

One of the biggest problem is food, there are only two cookers here to service over 140 people.

And these are considered the lucky ones because they have a roof over their heads and a garden for the children to play.

But in another few weeks this school will re-open and the little they have will be taken away.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraq: US Troops Deployed To Protect Embassy

ISIS Murder Photos 'Designed To Enrage'

Updated: 5:49pm UK, Sunday 15 June 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor, in Baghdad

They are as troubling as they are atrocious. More than a dozen photographs, apparently taken by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants of their own gunmen murdering scores of hog-tied unarmed men.

In the vicious calculus of the conflict in Iraq and Syria, what can the murderers possibly gain?

Rage.

By posting the images on Twitter and elsewhere with captions that say "These are Persian sheep ready for slaughter" and "This is what happens to Maliki's (Shia) militia" the intent is clear.

The killers want to enrage Iraq's Shia majority.

They want a sectarian civil war.

Al Qaeda in Iraq was bent on fomenting a sectarian war eight years ago.

It blew up the golden dome of the revered al Askariya Mosque in Samarrah in 2006 in an attempt to force a counter attack from Shia militia - and drive moderate Sunnis into their extremist camp for self-defence.

Iraq's al Qaeda networks were largely destroyed, though, when Sunni militia turned against them and worked with the government in what was called The Awakening movement in the late 2000s.

Reborn as ISIS, this deliberate public massacre of Iraqi soldiers and other young Shia is intended to provoke an equally violent response from the Shia against Sunnis - many of whom consider ISIS to be an insane and criminal movement.

But many Sunnis may fight under the ISIS black flag - if only to topple the government of Nuri al Maliki - whom many believe has woefully failed to incorporate Sunnis into his government or protect their interests.

Before the photographs had even been published thousands of Shia, from Basra to Baghdad, had been signing up with the Iraqi army to fight as volunteers.

Iran, a Shia theocracy, has promised military support too. The implication there is that Tehran might intervene. There are some reports that it might already have sent troops, to defend its client government in Baghdad - which is Shia dominated.

There has been a carnival of conflict as Shia men have rallied to the cause and held demonstrations from Basra to Baghdad pledging to "show the Sunnis what the Shia can do".

The best hope of beating the ISIS back and avoiding a descent into religious mayhem most likely lies with remobilising the Sunni militia of The Awakening.

But that will take money, a lot of it - which Iraq has in the form of petro-dollars. And a commitment to bring the Sunni much closer into the government - which Maliki may not have.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boris Tells Blair: Put A Sock In It Over Iraq

Boris Johnson has launched a stinging attack on Tony Blair by claiming he has "finally gone mad" after insisting the current crisis in Iraq was caused by a failure to deal with the Syria conflict - not the 2003 US-led invasion.

Writing in his Daily Telegraph column, the Mayor of London said Mr Blair and then-US president George W Bush had shown "unbelievable arrogance" to believe toppling Saddam Hussein would not result in instability.

He went as far as accusing the ex-Labour leader of having sent British forces into the bloody conflict in part to gain personal "grandeur".

He suggested there were "specific and targeted" actions that could be taken by the US and its allies to deal with latest threat - as President Barack Obama considers a range of military options short of ground troops.

But he said that by refusing to accept that the 2003 war was "a tragic mistake", Mr Blair was "now undermining the very cause he advocates: the possibility of serious and effective intervention".

Mr Blair said the West's 'inaction' over Syria is to blame for Iraq

"Somebody needs to get on to Tony Blair and tell him to put a sock in it, or at least to accept the reality of the disaster he helped to engender. Then he might be worth hearing," Mr Johnson said.

"I have come to the conclusion that Tony Blair has finally gone mad. In discussing the disaster of modern Iraq he made assertions that are so jaw-droppingly and breathtakingly at variance with reality that he surely needs professional psychiatric help."

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

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

Clare Short says Mr Blair was 'wrong, wrong, wrong'

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

Clare Short, who quit Mr Blair's cabinet in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion, added her voice to the critical chorus saying he had been "absolutely, consistently wrong, wrong, wrong" on the issue.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage dismissed Mr Blair as an "embarrassment" who should hold his tongue - and demanded "an end to the era of military intervention abroad".

And Sir Christopher Meyer, Britain's ambassador to the US from 1997 to 2003, said the handling of the campaign against Saddam was "perhaps the most significant reason" for today's violence.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

US Condemns Online Iraq 'Massacre' Pictures

The US has condemned the massacre of hundreds of Iraqi soldiers by Islamic militants after graphic pictures of their deaths were posted online.

Tweets associated with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed the insurgents had killed 1,700 Shia soldiers.

The images showed the Sunni insurgents loading captives on to flatbed trucks, forcing them to lie face-down in a ditch with their arms tied behind their backs before they were shot dead.

Jen Psaki, spokeswoman for the US State Department, said: "The claim by ISIS that it has massacred 1,700 Iraqi Shia air force recruits in Tikrit is horrifying and a true depiction of the bloodlust that these terrorists represent.

"While we cannot confirm these reports, one of the primary goals of ISIL is to set fear into the hearts of all Iraqis and drive sectarian division among its people."

Militants have posted images purportedly showing the massacre of soldiers

She added that the US will evacuate some of its staff and boost security at its embassy - located in Baghdad's Green Zone - due to "ongoing instability".

Chief Iraqi military spokesman, Lieutenant General Qassim al Moussawi, confirmed the authenticity of the pictures and said he was aware of cases of mass murder of captured soldiers in areas held by ISIS.

Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has vowed to recapture territory seized by the insurgents last week.

He said: "We will march and liberate every inch they defaced, from the country's northernmost point to the southernmost point."

Peshmerga soldiers on patrol in northern Iraq

Security in Baghdad has been tightened after the militants said they would march south to the capital.

But three explosions have left at least 15 people dead and dozens injured.

Iraqi security forces also claimed to have killed 279 "terrorists" in the last 24 hours.

The US is reportedly preparing to stage direct talks with Iran, set to begin next week, over the situation in Iraq, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The White House, while declining to comment on the report, did not deny it.

Aircraft carrier the USS George Bush has arrived in the Persian Gulf as President Barack Obama considers possible military action against ISIS.

ISIS insurgents have been attacking the city of Tal Afar in northern Iraq, using rockets seized from military arms depots.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Blair Denies Iraq Violence Result Of 2003 War

Tony Blair has blamed the insurgency in Iraq on the "predictable and malign effect" of the West's failure to intervene in Syria - not of the 2003 invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.

In a renewed call for military action, the former prime minister rejected arguments that Iraq would be more stable today if the controversial 2003 war had not happened.

And he said that unless the international community was prepared to overcome public reluctance and confront the extremists "hard, with force", the consequences would be more serious still.

Mr Blair says the 2003 invasion is not to blame

Mr Blair, who led Britain into the US-led war to remove Saddam and is now a Middle East peace envoy, said Iraq was "in mortal danger" from radical Sunni fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) who have taken over several key cities.

But he placed the blame on the sectarianism of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki's government and the spread of Syria's three-year civil war.

In an eight-page essay on his website, he wrote: "By all means argue about the wisdom of earlier decisions. But it is the decisions now that will matter.

"The choices are all pretty ugly, it is true. But for three years we have watched Syria descend into the abyss and as it is going down, it is slowly but surely wrapping its cords around us pulling us down with it.

"We have to put aside the differences of the past and act now to save the future. Where the extremists are fighting, they have to be countered hard, with force."

But he said it did not mean another invasion, adding: "There are masses of responses we can make short of that. But they need to know that wherever they're engaged in terror, we will be hitting them."

Mr Blair said there was a need to "learn properly" the lessons of the last 10 years and urged people to accept that the violent extremism in the region was not a result of Western intervention.

If Saddam had been left in place, he suggested, Syria's example showed the dictator would probably have gone on to develop weapons of mass destruction.

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

And there was little doubt that he would have faced an uprising as part of the Arab Spring - risking a "full-blown sectarian war across the region".

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

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

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

In Iran, President Hassan Rouhani said he would consider working with the US, its traditional enemy, to combat the Islamist militants in Iraq, adding: "We all should practically and verbally confront terrorist groups."

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

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

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

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

PM Urges UK To Stand Up For 'British Values'

David Cameron has said a "worrying" failure to support British values has led to increasing division and extremism in the UK.

He said Britain should become "more muscular" in promoting national values and urged people to stop being "squeamish" about doing so.

His comments come as the head of Ofsted has agreed to meet a group of parents caught up in the so-called "Trojan Horse" inquiry into Muslim schools in Birmingham.  

In the wake of the controversy over Islamist influence on some schools, teachers were told by Education Secretary Michael Gove that they must in future "actively promote British values".

Writing in the Mail on Sunday he said they were "as British as the Union Flag, as football, as fish and chips" and it was "not an option" for anyone living in this country not to live by them.

Twenty-one schools are being investigated by the education watchdog

He also suggested that any move away from the "Western model" of democracy and free enterprise would threaten Britain's economic success.

With concerns high over more young Britons joining radical jihadists fighting in Syria and Iraq, he accepted that too much latitude had been allowed to opponents of democracy, equality and tolerance.

"In recent years we have been in danger of sending out a worrying message: that if you don't want to believe in democracy, that's fine; that if equality isn't your bag, don't worry about it; that if you're completely intolerant of others, we will still tolerate you.

"This has not just led to division, it has also allowed extremism - of both the violent and non-violent kind - to flourish," he said in the article.

"We need to be far more muscular in promoting British values and the institutions that uphold them.

"A genuinely liberal country believes in certain values, actively promotes them and says to its citizens: this is what defines us as a society."

Mr Cameron wants school pupils to learn about the Magna Carta

Celebrations are planned next year to mark 800 years since King John signed the Magna Carta at Runnymede which established for the first time that the king was subject to the law.

Mr Cameron said schools will now include lessons for all pupils.

A poll by Opinium for the Observer showed that 58% of voters believe faith schools should not receive taxpayer funding, or be closed altogether.

It found three quarters are concerned there is a serious risk pupils could be encouraged to adopt extremist views in predominantly Muslim schools.

Most, 56%, also thought all faith schools should not be allowed to teach only their own religion.

None of those which faced inspections over the "Trojan Horse" allegations were faith schools but shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt has said he would like cross-party talks on the issue.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Boy, 6, Shot In Neck By Gunman In Dublin

By David Blevins, Ireland Correspondent

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

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

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

The boy was taken to the nearby Crumlin hospital where his condition is said to be "serious but stable".

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

The area has been saturated by police.

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

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

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

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraq: Mosul Governor Says US Support 'Welcome'

How Militants Are Making Use Of Social Media

Updated: 6:12pm UK, Friday 13 June 2014

By Tom Cheshire, Technology Correspondent

Social media has long been a weapon in militant organisations' arsenal. YouTube videos and Facebook pages have proved to be powerful propaganda tools.

ISIS is evolving the technique in Iraq.

First, they have mainly been using Twitter to post images and some video. Each region ISIS is active in has its own Twitter account, delivering daily updates.

Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, who has been following ISIS's social media tactics from Oxford University, told Sky News the Twitter strategy was "very co-ordinated".

"ISIS's social media presence is particularly apparent on Twitter," Mr Al-Tamimi said. "They all follow each other.

"Really, the Iraq accounts follow on from the Syria accounts. Whereas last year, a lot more of the visual media output of the ISIS presence was coming from Syria, now in Iraq, since the renewal of the wider insurgency, they've been keen to advertise their presence with photos - particularly on Twitter."

Why Twitter? Well, it is extremely robust. If a Twitter account is taken down, it is very easy to set up another and transfer your followers.

Twitter also makes it easy for fighters to maintain personal accounts, and that is the other new spin.

Previously, propaganda was broadcast over YouTube. Now militants are using mobile messaging platforms like Kik and question and answer sites like Ask.fm to engage others more directly.

Shariz Maher, from the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at Kings College, London, puts it like this: "When Jihadi groups tried to recruit in the past, they would release a video. It would be very well managed. They'd be saying 'come out here', they'd use ideological reasons, 'look what the West is doing, the Koran says this'. And it was packaged in this very sophisticated way.

"Out of Syria now with these guys who are just tweeting about their experiences, they're able to relate their fellow Britons on a one-to-one level.

"They're saying, 'look, I lived in East London, I'm from Tower Hamlets. Now look at me - I'm in Syria, I've got these cool tools, an RPG, a Kalashnkiov', and for a certain type of person that's very attractive."

The wider tech story of the past year has been about the rapid rise of mobile messaging apps like Kik and Whatsapp - popular because they offer a more direct, engaging experience than Facebook or YouTube.

It seems militants have been paying close attention, too.

However, it could be getting harder for them to take the advantage - there were reports on Friday that Iraq's communications ministry has ordered social media websites and apps to be shut down.

12.27 | 0 komentar | Read More

Islamist Fighters Poised For March On Baghdad

Islamist insurgents are moving closer to the Iraqi capital despite threats of military strikes made by US President Barack Obama.

The Iraqi government says a fight-back is under way after Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) insurgents took control of the northern cities Mosul and Tikrit.

Security forces are gathering at a base just 20 miles outside Baghdad, ready to protect the city from ISIS fighters who have vowed to march on the city.

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

Thousands of refugees have fled the violence. Pic: UNHCR

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

"In our consultations with the Iraqis, there will be some short-term immediate things that need to be done militarily."

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

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

Some of the areas affected by the fighting in Iraq

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

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

ISIS fighters have previously taken control of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi. Fighting has also been reported on the outskirts of Samarra, within 70 miles of the capital.

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

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

In Baiji, near Kirkuk, insurgents driving 50 vehicles were reported to have surrounded an oil refinery.

Abu Bakr al Baghdadi is the leader of the ISIS insurgents

The Iraqi army has also abandoned its bases in Kirkuk, leaving Kurdish Peshmerga forces to take control of an air base and other posts.

Sectarian political dysfunction has been blamed for the Shiite-led Baghdad government's failure to secure authorisation to declare a state of emergency.

Only 128 of 325 Iraqi MPs turned up for a special parliamentary session on Thursday, not enough to grant the extra powers sought by Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki.

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

In a statement, the group's spokesman Abu Mohammed al Adnani said: "We have a score to settle, for there is an old balance with it (Baghdad), and we must make it even."

12.28 | 0 komentar | Read More