Cyprus Leaders Head To Brussels For Talks

Cyprus Bailout: Threat To Savings

Updated: 7:36am UK, Saturday 23 March 2013

By Ashish Joshi, Sky News Correspondent

Finally late into Friday night - an agreement on Plan B, meaning Cyprus has moved one giant step towards securing a Brussels bailout.

It includes a solidarity fund pooling together state assets and the granting of power to the Government to control bank capital.

The latter move is to prevent a run on the banks when their doors finally open on Tuesday.

There will also be a restructuring of the country's banks and a savings tax on Cypriot savers.

The details of the tax have still to be finalised, but the framework is in place.

It could mean savings over 100,000 euros held in Bank of Cyprus accounts being taxed up to 20%, according to one source close to the negotiations.

The same source said if that proposal is rejected there will be a plan to impose a tax of around 10% on all Cypriot bank accounts over 100,000 euros.

The threat of savers being hit hangs over the heads of people like Loizos Michael.

The 60-year-old tailor worked hard for 35 years, building up a good business.

He was looking forward to a wealthy retirement. Not anymore. Times are hard.

Speaking from his small tailor's shop in central Nicosia, Mr Michael said: "With the banks being closed, it is hard because I don't have a credit card and so cash flow is a problem.

"Even filling your car with petrol needs thinking about.

"Cypriots have always been workers by nature and nobody could have imagined that unemployment would be so high.

"This has hit us hard in the pockets."

Cyprus is weathering a storm - the likes of which this Mediterranean island has never faced in her young history.

Mr Michael said he knew things were getting bad, but expected solutions to be found to avoid ordinary people having to suffer.

"I expected something better. But now, it looks like the problem has been brewing for some time," he said.

"There used to be some people talking about the crisis, but now everyone's talking about it.

"I think things are harder now than just after the war. After the war of '74 people could still find work. Now, there is just no work so people have no money. What can we do?"

In the 1990s, Cyprus boasted a dynamic, booming economy, but it grew and unchecked.

An overbloated banking sector exposed to Greek debt has crippled the country's economy.

Now people like Loizos Michael must pay the price. He and the rest of Cyprus will soon find out exactly how much that is going to be.

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Obama Ends Mid East Tour With Petra Visit

Obama Beams On Mid East Trip

Updated: 11:49am UK, Saturday 23 March 2013

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent, Jerusalem

He beamed and Bibi-ed at every opportunity literally back slapping his way out of a sour relationship with Israel's Prime Minister.

Then Barack Obama shooed Benjamin Netanyahu into a cabin at Ben Gurion airport which was being swept with a khamsin sandstorm from the Sahara.

Inside the little room he stood over "Bibi" like the parent of a petulant child ordered to phone to apologise to an angry neighbour.

The call to Recep Erdogan, Turkey's Prime Minister, was to say sorry for the deaths of nine of his countrymen who were killed in a botched commando raid on the Mavi Marmaris in May 2010.

The raid was intended to stop the Marmaris from breaching the sea blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel.

It shattered relations with Turkey, until then an Israeli ally.

Obama told Netanyahu to fix it - and he dutifully got some diplomatic glue out and got to work.

After four days of his first tour of Israel and Palestine since he became US president, the Israel-Turkey break through was Mr Obama's only visible achievement.

The Palestinians expected nothing and got it from an administration which has, in their eyes, woefully neglected the region while illegal Jewish settlements continued to eat into Palestinian lands on the West Bank.

The Israeli public was charmed by a speech he gave to 600 university students in Jerusalem in which he quoted the Torah, dropped the occasional Hebrew phrase and celebrated the princes of modern Zionism, Theodor Herzl and David Ben-Gurion.

That speech was an effort to reach past Netanyahu and appeal directly to the Israeli people. He told them to campaign for change and peace directly and demand their politicians take risks to achieve a two-state solution.

Many in Israel believe that the "status quo" is acceptable. He told them that no wall was high enough, no anti-missile batteries too impregnable, that Israel could survive indefinitely without making peace with he Palestinians.

But he didn't demand a freeze on settlements, which he has in the past and which has been a pre-condition for the Palestinians to return to talks.

Obama was his usual captivating self when delivering a set-piece speech.

Off the cuff at press conferences he was as poor as a performer as Ronald Reagan. Not with gaffes but by appearing uncomfortable, halting and insecure when asked to provide solutions to the problems that he had eloquently identified.

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US: Boy, 10, Killed By Falling Airport Sign

A 10-year-old boy was killed and several members of his family injured after an electronic information sign fell on top of them at an airport in Alabama.

Deputy Coroner Derrick Perryman said Luke Bresette was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Two of his siblings were being treated for injuries while their mother, Heather Bresette, was in a critical condition at University Hospital.

Firefighters estimated the arrivals and departure sign at Birmingham Shuttlesworth International Airport weighed between 150 kg and 180kg.

Albert Osorio, 46, described hearing a loud boom when the sign fell, followed by the screams of the family and witnesses.

It took him and five other people to lift the sign off the family.

He said: "The whole thing flipped down on those kids. It took all of us here to stand it up."

Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Derrick Perryman said the family is from Overland Park, Kansas.

Airport spokeswoman Toni Herrera-Bast said officials were unsure how the sign fell over.

The airport continued to operate while rescue workers tended to the family.

It completed the first phase of a $201m modernisation effort and opened newly renovated concourses last week.

Mayor William Bell issued a statement saying the city offered its full support to the Airport Authority in investigating the accident.

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Apple Wants Happy Landings For Falling Phones

Apple has been examining various ways of protecting devices such as the iPhone when they are accidentally dropped or knocked off a counter or table.

Devices are getting increasingly complex, and damaged parts such as screens are proving more and more expensive to repair or replace.

It has now emerged that Apple applied to the US Patent & Trademark Office offering several potential solutions to protect hardware such as smartphones, cameras, laptops and tablets.

The key to protecting a device like an iPhone is to use a sensor or gyroscope system to detect a change in its orientation - for example when it has been dropped and is in "freefall".

The processor, having received a warning message, would work out which part of the phone is likely to hit the ground.

It would then alter the way the phone falls, for example by ejecting the battery and shifting the centre of gravity, to make sensitive areas like the screen land the right way up and avoid damage.

As Apple puts it: "The method may include detecting a freefall of the device by a sensor. Then, determining via at least one sensor an orientation of the device.

"After the orientation of the device has been determined, estimating an impact area of the device.

"Then, selectively changing the orientation of the device via a protective mechanism, depending on the estimated impact area of the device."

Another method would be to deploy an aerofoil system, rather than altering its weight, to shift the phone's centre of mass and make it land a certain way.

A separate option being examined is to use a gas canister to generate thrust to force the device to land one way or another.

However, although the patent application was filed in September 2011, there is no firm indication any of the ideas will be put into practice.

Apple, along with the other major manufacturers, has been concentrating on making its devices thinner and lighter, reducing the amount of room in the chassis for any protection system.

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Greece: Bombs and Guns Used In Jailbreak

Gunmen used "very heavy weapons" to attack a prison in Greece and free 11 inmates.

Two guards were injured as they attempted to fight off the six attackers, who turned the jail perimeter into a "battlefield".

Guns, grenades, a van and a pickup truck were used in the breakout at 8.30pm local time on Friday.

It kicked off a night-long standoff between police and the remaining prisoners at the facility near the town of Trikala, 200 miles northwest of Athens.

Two of the men who escaped were later captured after being found hiding in a church nearby.

A manhunt is underway to track down the others, who the authorities said were all Albanian.

The Ministry of Justice said the gunmen used "two vehicles and very heavy weapons" to attack the perimeter guards, as well as a prison patrol vehicle and two police cars.

"During the exchange of heavy fire that lasted over half an hour and turned the area into a battlefield, two guards were injured in the abdomen, one of them seriously," the ministry said.

At least five grenades exploded and army experts were called to the prison to dispose of two unexploded grenades.

Trikala city councillor Costas Tassios, who lives in the nearby village of Krinitsa, said: "It was like a war was going on. There was so much gunfire."

A bullet fired at the village damaged a coffee shop window, but no members of the public are thought to have been hurt.

The escaped prisoners used ropes and bed sheets tied together to climb down from a guard tower.

Police set up roadblocks near the prison and searched vacant homes and farm buildings as two helicopters scoured the surrounding countryside.

The attack was the latest dramatic incident at Greek prisons, which are suffering from serious overcrowding and staff shortages as the country struggles through a financial crisis.

Last month, guards foiled a breakout attempt by four inmates who tried to escape by helicopter from Trikala prison.

Among them was the notorious gangster Panagiotis Vlastos, who is serving life for murder and racketeering.

On March 17, a convicted contract killer, Albanian Alket Rizaj, took several prison guards hostage in an attempt to escape from another jail in central Greece.

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China: President Xi In Russia On First Trip

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

The new Chinese president is in Russia for his inaugural foreign trip.

Xi Jinping will hold meetings with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin as part of a two day visit to Moscow.

President Xi, who was made Communist Party leader in November and installed as the country's president last week, will also hold meetings with the Russian Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev.

He will attend the opening celebrations to mark 'Chinese Tourism Year' in Russia and will deliver a speech at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

Vladimir Putin with his Chinese counterpart Xi

A meeting has also been scheduled with officials from the Russian Defence Ministry.

Since November there has been plenty of speculation over which country would be chosen for the first foreign trip.

Russia and China are historically allied together in a union which has countered western global interests.

The two countries continue to share views on key global issues including Syria and Iran.

Moscow and Beijing both vetoed key UN resolutions on the Syrian crisis.

The two countries stand together, against the US-led stance on both Syria and Iran's disputed nuclear programme.

However, economics is the critical motivation for this trip.

Last year, just before his re-election to the presidency, Mr Putin said that he wanted to "catch the Chinese wind in our economic sail".

Russia is the world's largest energy producer. China is the world's largest user of energy and needs more of it.

Given the downturn in Europe, Russia needs a new customer. China wants to sign an agreement on a new natural gas pipeline with the Russians.

President Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan arrive at Moscow airport

"We will have some outcomes related to energy, investment and major projects of strategic importance. We expect some breakthrough on these pragmatic cooperation fields," Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping told a press conference in Beijing.

Geo-politically, America's so-called pivot to Asia may also have prompted the Russia trip.

According to the Chinese Xinhua state-run news agency, President Xi has said that China and Russia should "strengthen coordination in international and regional affairs to safeguard world peace, safety and stability".

Xinhua said the pivot, which will see America re-focus its attention and its military to the Asia-Pacific region, represented a "strategic mistrust" of China.

Chinese-US relations are tense with Washington accusing Beijing of industrial-level state-sponsored computer hacking.

Despite that though, the new Chinese premier Li Keqiang insisted at a press conference last weekend that both countries were committed to closer ties.

"China and the United States have their own distinctive cultures but we must learn from each other to maintain strong ties," Premier Li said.

One other issue is the source of significant anticipation. In a marked departure from the style of his predecessor Hu Jintao, President Xi's wife is expected to play an active role in the trip.

Peng Liyuan is a well-known and glamorous Chinese singer.

In a move which will position her as a Chinese "first lady", Peng is expected be photographed with her husband and attend engagements in the Russian capital.

On Sunday, President Xi will travel from Moscow to Tanzania, South Africa and Congo; a sign of the vital connection China has with the African continent.

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Burma: Sectarian Clashes Leave 25 People Dead

Buildings are on fire in the Burmese city of Meikhtila after fierce clashes between Buddhists and Muslims left several people dead and reduced communities to ashes.

Up to 25 people have been killed in three days of fighting that erupted after an argument between a Buddhist couple and the Muslim owners of a gold shop escalated into a riot involving hundreds of people.

Burma's president has declared a state of emergency in areas of the country affected by the violence.

Firemen battle to extinguish a burning building in Meikhtila

Meikhtila residents have been arming themselves with knives and sticks after rumours that violent agitators were heading for the city set its Muslim community on edge.

Hundreds of Muslims have reportedly now fled their homes to shelter in the city's sports stadium after complaints of too few police and reports of groups of Buddhists roaming the streets.

At least one mosque, an Islamic school, shops and a government office were set alight, according to a fire service official. Both Buddhist and Muslim homes were set on fire.

"I am really sad over what happened here because this is not just happening to one person. It's affecting all of us," said Maung Maung, a Buddhist ward leader in Meikhtila.

"Everyone is in shock here. We never expected this to happen," said a Muslim teacher in Mandalay.

A journalist saw the incinerated remains of two victims on a roadside, just one of several reports of bodies in the town, as flames raged from torched mosques and houses while other buildings smouldered unattended.

"The situation is getting worse," a local resident said. "People are destroying buildings. Many people have been killed. We are scared and trying to stay safe at home."

A group of reporters were stopped at knife-point by a gang of young men and monks and forced to hand over their camera memory cards, according to one of the journalists.

Muslims fearing for their safety flee to the city's sports stadium

The United Nations has warned the violence could endanger a fragile reform programme launched after Burma's quasi-civilian reformist government replaced 49 years of military dictatorship in 2011.

Political activists have since been released from prison and free elections have been held in the country's historic transition to democracy.

But the new government has faced criticism over its failure to contain simmering ethnic tensions which were suppressed and under-reported by years of military rule.

In 2012 pitched battles between Buddhists and Muslims escalated into orchestrated attacks on Muslim communities by organised gangs of ethnic Rakhine Buddhists.

Burma is a predominantly Buddhist country, but about 5% of its 60 million people are Muslims and there are large Muslim communities in Yangon and Mandalay, its two largest cities.

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China's First Lady Peng Liyuan Steals Limelight

Chinese Leader's First Foreign Trip

Updated: 1:57pm UK, Friday 22 March 2013

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

The new Chinese president is in Russia for his inaugural foreign trip.

Xi Jinping will hold meetings with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin as part of a two day visit to Moscow.

President Xi, who was made Communist Party leader in November and installed as the country's president last week, will also hold meetings with the Russian Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev.

He will attend the opening celebrations to mark 'Chinese Tourism Year' in Russia and will deliver a speech at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

A meeting has also been scheduled with officials from the Russian Defence Ministry.

Since November there has been plenty of speculation over which country would be chosen for the first foreign trip.

Russia and China are historically allied together in a union which has countered western global interests.

The two countries continue to share views on key global issues including Syria and Iran.

Moscow and Beijing both vetoed key UN resolutions on the Syrian crisis.

The two countries stand together, against the US-led stance on both Syria and Iran's disputed nuclear programme.

However, economics is the critical motivation for this trip.

Last year, just before his re-election to the presidency, Mr Putin said that he wanted to "catch the Chinese wind in our economic sail".

Russia is the world's largest energy producer. China is the world's largest user of energy and needs more of it.

Given the downturn in Europe, Russia needs a new customer. China wants to sign an agreement on a new natural gas pipeline with the Russians.

"We will have some outcomes related to energy, investment and major projects of strategic importance. We expect some breakthrough on these pragmatic cooperation fields," Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping told a press conference in Beijing.

Geo-politically, America's so-called pivot to Asia may also have prompted the Russia trip.

According to the Chinese Xinhua state-run news agency, President Xi has said that China and Russia should "strengthen coordination in international and regional affairs to safeguard world peace, safety and stability".

Xinhua said the pivot, which will see America re-focus its attention and its military to the Asia-Pacific region, represented a "strategic mistrust" of China.

Chinese-US relations are tense with Washington accusing Beijing of industrial-level state-sponsored computer hacking.

Despite that though, the new Chinese premier Li Keqiang insisted at a press conference last weekend that both countries were committed to closer ties.

"China and the United States have their own distinctive cultures but we must learn from each other to maintain strong ties," Premier Li said.

One other issue is the source of significant anticipation. In a marked departure from the style of his predecessor Hu Jintao, President Xi's wife is expected to play an active role in the trip.

Peng Liyuan is a well-known and glamorous Chinese singer.

In a move which will position her as a Chinese "first lady", Peng is expected be photographed with her husband and attend engagements in the Russian capital.

On Sunday, President Xi will travel from Moscow to Tanzania, South Africa and Congo; a sign of the vital connection China has with the African continent.

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Israel: Obama Declares Shared Vision Of Peace

Barack Obama has paid respects to victims of the Holocaust and reaffirmed Israel's right to exist at the end of a three-day visit to the country.

The US President laid wreaths at the graves of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and modern-Zionism founder Theodor Herzl, a symbolic visit that acknowledged the rationale for Israel's existence rests with its historical ties to the region.

The President was accompanied by US Secretary of State, John Kerry

Mr Obama was criticised in 2009 for a speech he made in Cairo in which he gave the Holocaust as the reason for justifying Israel's existence.

The President donned a skullcap while paying a sombre visit to the Hall of Names chamber at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.

The circular room is lined with photographs documenting some 600 victims of the Holocaust. "Nothing could be more powerful," said the President.

Accompanied by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres, Mr Obama declared the memorial illustrated the "depths to which humanity can sink".

But he also claimed the monument serves as a reminder of the "righteous among nations who refused to be bystanders."

As the President approached Herzl's resting place he bowed his head before turning briefly to ask Mr Netanyahu where to place a small stone in the Jewish custom, before laying the stone atop the grave.

The Hall of Names chamber documents some 600 victims of the Holocaust

"It is humbling and inspiring to visit and remember the visionary who began the remarkable establishment of the State of Israel," Mr Obama wrote in the Mount Herzl guestbook.

"May our two countries possess the same vision and will to secure peace and prosperity for future generations."

Mr Obama leaves a wreath at the grave of former PM Yitzhak Rabin

At Yad Vashem, Mr Obama donned a skull cap and was accompanied by Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, a survivor of the Buchenwald Concentration camp who lost both parents in the Holocaust.

At Yitzhak Rabin's grave he was greeted by members of Rabin's family. In a symbolic gesture, the stone he placed on Rabin's grave was from the grounds of the Martin Luther King memorial in Washington.

Rabin, Mr Obama told family members, was "a great man."

The President will later travel to Jordan for talks with King Abdullah II. The Syrian civil war and Jordan's struggle to cope with the influx of half-a-million Syrian refugees will be among the topics discussed.

Palestinian leaders have accused Mr Obama of letting Israel ride rough-shod over their dream of statehood and King Abdullah has voiced fears that extremists could create a regional base in Jordan.

Before leaving for Jordan the President was to tour the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

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Israel Apologises For Gaza Flotilla Raid

The Israeli Prime Minister has apologised for a raid on a Gaza flotilla which resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish activists.

Benjamin Netanyahu announced the restoration of normal diplomatic relations with Turkey and expressed regret during a phone call with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

President Barack Obama helped arrange the call shortly before leaving Israel.

In a statement released by the White House said, Mr Obama said: "The United States deeply values our close partnerships with both Turkey and Israel, and we attach great importance to the restoration of positive relations between them in order to advance regional peace and security.

Video taken on-board the ship showed the arrival of Israeli commandos

"I am hopeful that today's exchange between the two leaders will enable them to engage in deeper cooperation on this and a range of other challenges and opportunities," he added.

The flotilla incident severely harmed ties between the once-close allies. Turkey withdrew its ambassador from Israel, and diplomatic ties and military cooperation were greatly scaled back.

Netanyahu said the "tragic results" were not intentional and Israel "expressed remorse" for the loss of life. He cited "operational mistakes."

The nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed aboard the Turkish-flagged ship Mavi Marmara on May 31, 2010, after passengers resisted a takeover by Israeli naval commandos.

The flotilla was en route to Gaza in an attempt to bring international attention to Israel's blockade of the Palestinian territory.

At the time, the former legal adviser to Israel's foreign ministry, Alan Baker, said it was tragic that lives had been lost, but there was no need for an apology.

More follows...

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Two Helicopters Crash In Berlin Police Exercise

Two helicopters have crashed near Berlin's Olympic Stadium during a police exercise to thwart hooliganism, German authorities have said.

It is believed one pilot died, following the accident at 10.30am local time.

Onlookers described how one aircraft ended up on its side and how the rotors of both helicopters were destroyed.

One helicopter appeared to be a blue police Puma aircraft while the other appeared to be a military model.

Police were taking part in an exercise against football violence

Bild newspaper said four people were hurt in the snowy weather crash, with two of those listed as seriously injured.

An injured officer was seen walking with blood streaming from facial wounds.

One eyewitness told N-TV: "It was a real snowstorm, suddenly we heard a bang and someone shouted, 'Everybody down'.

Berlin has been hit by snowstorms in recent days

"Then there was blood everywhere. Next to me was a huge puddle of blood."

According to AP, some 400 federal police officers were conducting a training exercise on dealing with football violence.

It is understood around half of the officers in the exercise were pretending to be football hooligans.

Federal Police spokesman Frank Brochert confirmed there "was an incident during an exercise" and that emergency crews were on the scene.

Interior minister Hans-Peter Friedrich visited the crash site and said: "Our thoughts are with the families of the victims."

Bild said it appeared one pilot had become disorientated in the snowy Berlin conditions and crashed into the other helicopter.

The helicopters collided at low altitude, shortly after they passed over the affluent Charlottenburg residential area in the west of the city.

The crash occurred further west in an area known as Maifeld, which is adjacent to the historic sporting stadium.

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China: Tornado And Hailstorms Leave 24 Dead

At least 24 people have died and 272 more have been injured after a tornado carrying egg-sized hailstones hit southern China's Guangdong province.

Chinese media reported a ferry had capsized in Fujian province which left 11 people dead and a further four missing.

In the city of Dongguan several people were reported to have been killed after buildings collapsed.

Chinese web portal qq.com showed images of a car windscreen which had been smashed by golfball sized hailstones.

Other areas affected by storms and torrential rain were nearby Jiangxi and Hunan provinces in central China and Guizhou in the southwest.

Around 1.5 million residents have been affected by the severe weather and 215,000 people have been forced to relocate, according to the Xinhua news agency.

Southwest China is still recovering from thunder and hail storms which swept Guizhou province seven days ago. Some 24 counties and cities were hit by the storms which damaged houses and 8,700 hectares of farmland.

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Israel: Obama Meets Abbas After Rocket Blast

President Barack Obama has told Palestinians they deserve an "independent and sovereign" state during his visit to the West Bank.

Mr Obama's trip to Ramallah was bookended by stark reminders of the tensions in the region as Palestinian militants fired rockets across the border and Iran threatened to destroy two Israeli cities.

The President held talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and told a news conference that the US is "deeply committed" to a two-state solution, but the only way to achieve it is through negotiation.

Mr Obama said that Israel's ongoing settlement building was unhelpful to the pursuit of peace but urged the Palestinians not to make halting the policy a precondition for negotiations.

He said: "We do not consider continued settlement activity to be constructive, to be appropriate, to be something that can advance the cause of peace."

President Abbas said that peace with Israel should not be achieved through violence, occupation, settlements, arrests or denial or refugee rights.

There have been angry protests ahead of Mr Obama's Ramallah visit

Later, Mr Obama told an audience of students in Jerusalem that Syria's President Bashar al Assad "must go, so Syria's future can begin" and earned cheers when he described Hezbollah as a "terrorist organisation."

In Iran, the country's supreme leader was warning that it would "annihilate" the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa if it comes under attack by the Jewish state.

In a live televised speech from the holy city of Mashhad, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said: "Every now and then the leaders of the Zionist regime threaten Iran with a military attack.

"They should know that if they commit such a blunder, the Islamic Republic will annihilate Tel Aviv and Haifa."

The rockets fired from Gaza, a reminder of heightened tensions in the region, caused damage to land around a house in southern Israel, but there were no injuries.

A police expert clears the remains of a rocket from outside a Sderot house

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said: "One exploded in the back yard of a house in Sderot, causing damage, and the second landed in a field."

Military officials cited by army radio said they believed the attack was timed deliberately to coincide with Mr Obama's visit.

Israel pointed the finger for the attacks at Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, although a small Islamist group later claimed responsibility in an online statement.

The Magles Shoura al-Mujahddin said it fired the rockets to show that Israeli air defences could not stop attacks during the visit, Reuters reported.

President Obama - who visited the town where the rockets landed as a presidential candidate in 2008 - was miles away in Jerusalem at the time, preparing to visit the Israel Museum.

Mr Obama reaffirmed US support for Israel during talks in Jerusalem

There were protesters outside the Palestinian Authority headquarters in Ramallah ahead of his arrival for talks with Palestinian leaders, who have accused him of riding roughshod over their hopes of statehood.

Sky News Middle East Correspondent Sam Kiley said settlements and the controversial "right of return" for Palestinians to their former lands in Israel would be on the agenda.

He added: "The crucial thing is for President Obama to get back into the peace process."

Code Red sirens wailed in Sderot shortly after the rockets hit at 7am, forcing commuters and schoolchildren to run to bomb shelters.

Yossi Haziza, a Sderot resident in whose courtyard the first rocket exploded, was looking at the walls of his home sprayed with shrapnel and shattered windows.

He said: "I wish this was merely damage to property but my eight-year-old daughter and my wife are terrified. We just want to live in peace. We don't want to keep having to run to bomb shelters."

Mr Obama, on the first foreign trip of his second term, says he has come to the Holy Land simply "to listen" to the parties about how to resume peace talks frozen for two-and-a-half years.

He said he decided against coming with a comprehensive peace plan that might not be fit for current political conditions.

The US President's new approach was in stark contrast to early in his first term, when he declared Israeli settlement building to be illegitimate and promised to dedicate himself to peace.

Meanwhile, Palestinian activists set up a protest camp on West Bank land east of Jerusalem where Israel has announced controversial plans to build, demanding an end to Obama's "bias and support for Israel".

Israel's plan to build thousands of new settler homes in an area called E1 has sparked a major international backlash, with experts saying it could wipe out hopes for a viable Palestinian state.

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'Oldest Light' In Universe Picture Released

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

A new picture of space indicates that the universe is even older than first thought - around 60 million years to be precise.

Space scientists have released an image of "the oldest light" ever seen.

The ground-breaking picture from Europe's Planck satellite shows an image of light from when the universe was just 380,000 years old.

The experts say it shows the 'relic radiation' left over from the Big Bang - the widely accepted theory for the start of the universe.

Dr George Efstathiou of the University of Cambridge said: "It may look like a dirty rugby ball or a piece of modern art" but "to cosmologists this is a gold mine of information," he added.

The scientists also revealed that they believe the universe is older than originally thought.

Data from the Planck satellite dates the universe at 13.82 billion years old - 60 million years earlier than previously thought.

Dr Chris Castelli of the UK Space Agency said: "With its ability to make such a detailed and accurate observations, Planck is helping us to place the vital pieces of a jigsaw that could give us a full picture of the evolution of our Universe, rewriting the textbooks along the way." 

Launched in 2009, the Planck satellite is a joint European venture that is supported by various UK institutions. 

Scientists are still analysing the wealth of complex new information from this project and say the next set of cosmology data will be released in early 2014.

Joanna Dunkley from the University of Oxford said: "The size of these tiny ripples hold the key to what happened in that first trillionth of a trillionth of a second.

"Planck has given us striking new evidence that indicates they were created during this incredibly fast expansion, just after the Big Bang."

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North Korea Issues Fresh Threat To America

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

North Korea has threatened to attack American airbases on the Japanese island of Okinawa and the Pacific island of Guam.

A statement by Kim Yong Chul, the spokesman of the Supreme Command of the Korean People's Army warned of "military actions".

"The US should not forget that the Anderson Air Force Base on Guam where B-52 bombers take off and naval bases in Japan and Okinawa where nuclear-powered submarines are launched are within the striking range of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) precision strike means," the statement read.

"Now that the US started open nuclear blackmail and threat, the DPRK, too, will move to take corresponding military actions."

The words mark the latest escalation in a lengthy stand-off as North Korea defies calls from the rest of the world to halt its dual nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

North Korea has threatened an attack over B-52 drills

The American government has not yet responded to the threat.

British diplomatic sources speaking to Sky News from Seoul have said the UK Government "takes any threats seriously and there is some concern over the more harsh rhetoric coming from the DPRK".

However, the source insisted that there was no panic or alarm among diplomatic circles and that UK travel advice to South Korea remains unchanged.

The latest threat from North Korea is a direct response to a series of joint military exercises involving the US and South Korea.

On Tuesday, the US Air Force deployed its giant B-52 bombers from their base on Guam. The planes, which are capable of carrying and deploying nuclear bombs, flew sorties over the Korean peninsula as part of the military exercise.

The Pentagon in Washington confirmed the B-52 deployment. Spokesman George Little said the US wanted to underline its commitment and capacity to defend South Korea against an attack from the North.

Military guard posts of South Korea (front) and North Korea (far)

However, the flights were condemned by Pyongyang as "an unpardonable provocation".

"The US is introducing a strategic nuclear strike means to the Korean peninsula at a time when its situation is inching close to the brink of war," the North Korean statement added.

The North Korean military does have rockets capable of reaching both Okinawa and Guam.

The surprisingly successful rocket launch in December followed a trajectory similar to that which any strike against Okinawa would take.

The Pentagon has confirmed the B-52 deployment

Okinawa is 600 miles due south of the Korean peninsula. Guam is further away, to the east of the Philippines.

While Pyongyang has proved it has the range capability, it is not clear whether or not their missiles are accurate enough to hit a specific target. And the country does not yet have the ability to carry out a nuclear strike at this range.

Earlier this month, the UN imposed the toughest sanctions yet on North Korea.

Kim Jong-Un reacted with anger, threatening to attack America, South Korea and Japan. The young and unpredictable leader toured military units calling for them to prepare for 'all out war'.

Computers are seen down at the main office of broadcaster YTN in Seoul

Meanwhile, Wednesday's unusually large cyberattack in South Korea, which brought down banks and broadcasters for one hour, has been traced to China.

Experts in Seoul claim the simultaneous attacks all bore the same IP address which was traced to the Chinese mainland.

Many of North Korea's internet and computing operations are tied to China. There is no suggestion that the Chinese government had any involvement.

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David Beckham: China Tour Will Boost Game

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

David Beckham has arrived in Beijing as China's first global football ambassador.

The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder, who is as big a star here as he is anywhere else, is spending four days on a whistle-stop tour across the country.

Beckham's role will involve helping to promote the Chinese Super League (CSL) to the world, raising the profile of the game within China itself and to restore its image after recent match-fixing scandals.

The star said: "This is a significant year in Chinese football history as we usher in 20 years of developing this sport professionally and mark the 10-year milestone of the Chinese Super League - which today reaches 300 million television viewers and 4.49 million spectators annually."

A group of fans wait to welcome Beckham to Beijing (Pic:@Stone_SkyNews)

Beckham arrived to an unusual scene in the Chinese capital: thick snow and blue skies with no hint of the smog that has blanketed the city for so many days this year.

Day one of his trip included visits to two schools in the city as well as a kick-around with children. He hosted a news conference at one of the schools explaining his motivation for the visit.

Professional football in China is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba and coaches Marcello Lippi and Sergio Batista are among the high profile names to move to China. Drogba and Anelka lasted just one season.

However, the game in China has been tainted by corruption. The Chinese Football Association found 58 people guilty of involvement in match fixing.

Beckham says he's excited about promoting the game to Chinese sports fans

Beckham will spend two days in Beijing visiting the Workers Stadium, home to Beijing Guo'an Football Club. He will meet players and fans and tour the stadium.

He will then travel south to the coastal city of Qingdao, home to Qingdao Jonoon Football Club. His visit there will follow the same format as the Beijing leg: visiting schools and promoting the game at the grassroots level.

From Qingdao he will fly to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the home of Wuhan Zall Football Club.

"The guy is a huge, huge brand. To say that the trip isn't some sort of publicity stunt would be a very, very silly thing to say," Pete Davis, China Correspondent for Goal Asia, told Sky News.

A fan of the football star with a book to sign (Pic:@Stone_SkyNews)

"Having said that, Chinese football does need the boost that Beckham can provide and it can only be good, I think. Him coming over is not going to create a massive improvement in terms of grassroots football ... but Beckham can brand the league and bring the right kind of notoriety to it," he said.

Late last year, before his move to Paris, there was significant speculation that Beckham might sign with a Chinese team. Pete Davis believes there is still a chance he could move there.

"His contract with Paris Saint-Germain is only five months long - that nicely coincides with the middle of the Chinese season when Chinese teams are allowed to sign people, so it may be that we see him for a short six-month spell like we did Drogba and Anelka and in that time he may be able to work wonders. We don't know yet," he said.

Officials at all levels, including the new President Xi Jinping - said to be a big football fan - are hoping that Brand Beckham will significantly boost the game and clean up its image.

"Corruption has tarnished the image of Chinese football but what happened was 10 years ago," continued Mr Davis.

David Beckham making his debut for Paris Saint-Germain last month

"The goalkeeper of Shanghai Shenhua is a highly rated guy called Wang Dalei and he would have been 14 years old when this match fixing happened. Yes it's current news, but actually it's old news in terms of Chinese football. It's just that the punishment has only just occurred."

Beckham is being paid for the trip - it's not clear who the funding is coming from. His management company IMG said that it was not a significant amount.

"This is not about money, this is about a guy that loves football," Jeff Slack, IMG's vice president is quoted by the South China Morning Post as saying.

Victoria Beckham is not joining her husband on the trip

The newspaper claimed that he was being paid by Chinese Central Television (CCTV) which is giving significant coverage to the trip.

Victoria Beckham is not accompanying her husband. Her previous visits to the country, though, have generated significant interest.

"She came all the way through China and she developed quite a large following and had some very nice things to say about Chinese girls and their fashion sense and that is a whole different way of looking at it." said Mr Davis.

"It can be good for both of them to get involved in China. It's a huge market with a lot of money involved and if Victoria and David can benefit from it then what's the harm in a six-month stay here," he added.

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South Korea: North Suspected Of Cyber Attack

An investigation is under way into the simultaneous shutdown of computer networks at several major broadcasters and banks in South Korea, with suspicion falling on North Korea.

The shutdown came days after North Korea blamed the South and the US for cyber attacks that temporarily closed websites in Pyongyang.

While the cause was not immediately clear, there has been speculation of a possible North Korean cyber attack.

Officials at the two South Korean public broadcasters KBS and MBC said that all computers at their companies blacked out - but did not cause any damage to their daily TV broadcasts.

YTN cable news channel reported that the company's internal computer network was completely paralysed.

The servers of YTN were brought down

Local TV showed workers staring at blank computer screens, and at one coffee shop employees asked for cash, saying their credit card machine was not working.

The state-run Korea Information Security Agency confirmed that computers at at least five South Korean companies were down. The agency was investigating what caused the outage.

Shinhan Bank, a lender of South Korea's fourth-largest banking group, said the bank's system, including online banking and cash machines, had stopped working.

The company was unable to conduct any transactions with customers at bank windows, including retail banking and corporate banking.

Tensions between the neighbouring countries are high following North Korea's recent nuclear test and the UN sanctions that followed.

Accusations of cyber attacks on the Korean Peninsula are not new. Seoul believes Pyongyang was behind at least two cyber attacks on its companies in 2011 and 2012.

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Cyprus Bailout Crisis: No Deal Yet With Russia

Sacrificing Trust In The Banks

Updated: 8:16am UK, Wednesday 20 March 2013

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

I'm rather glad that the Pope managed to mention Abraham in his inaugural mass.

After all, of all the Old Testament, the tale of Abraham and Isaac is probably about the most comparable to the current imbroglio in Cyprus.

The father and guardian takes his son to the top of the mount, binds him and is on the point of sacrificing him when, at the last minute, God sends down an angel to stop him.

In an analogous way, the Cypriot government, on orders from on high (the eurogroup in this case, not God) has come to the brink of gouging an unprecedented tax out of its peoples' savings, and, at the last minute, seems to have been offered a reprieve.*

Now, if this were the Bible, the story would end there. Abraham's faith was tested, and he passed the test. Conveniently, the ancients glossed over the question of what this incident did to the father-son relationship.

However, this is not the Bible, and so we're left unpicking a relationship that has gone very wrong indeed. There is clearly a widespread sense of betrayal in Nicosia, and one can understand why.

Even if, as is the current plan, small savers with less than 20,000 euros in their accounts are let off the deposit tax, this episode will leave a lasting scar in place.

After all, the Government had spent the past few years insisting to savers that any deposits below 100,000 euros would be safe, protected by its deposit insurance scheme.

That it could subsequently play fast and loose with the bank accounts is unlikely to be forgotten.

Even if the Government were to stop short of a deposit tax, it's hard to see why savers wouldn't simply withdraw all their cash in droves when the banks reopen (whenever that is) – even if it's simply to put it underneath a mattress at home.

This episode has fatally undermined the element of trust in the banking system – something which is fundamental to the way capitalist economy functions in its current form.

Whether this triggers chaos elsewhere is difficult to predict. Markets have become more unsteady as the situation in Cyprus has deteriorated, but we haven't yet seen any kind of depositor panic elsewhere, for instance in Portugal and Spain.

However, the story in Cyprus is far from over. Anger is mounting, the parliamentary system is creaking under the weight of the demands coming over from Brussels, and the threats from Frankfurt to cut off emergency funding to the banks if the country doesn't co-operate haven't made them any more willing.

Short of a papal intervention, it's hard to imagine how to get a happy ending out of this story.

*Yes I know there are some inconsistencies. For instance, it's debatable whether the eurocrats have ditched the plan or whether it's simply being rejected by the government, the latter of which would be akin to Isaac breaking free of his bindings and escaping.

Plus, Isaac had not borrowed himself so far into penury that he was facing bankruptcy. Nor had he become a go-between for Russian tax avoiders but let's leave that aside for the time being.

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Christine Lagarde: IMF Chief's Flat Raided

French police have searched the flat of IMF chief Christine Lagarde in relation to a probe into a supporter of Nicolas Sarkozy.

Ms Lagarde's lawyer said her Paris apartment was examined as part of an investigation into her handling of a 2008 compensation payment to a businessman supporter of the French ex-president.

Police are investigating claims that Ms Lagarde, when finance minister under Mr Sarkozy, acted illegally in approving the 285m euro (£250m) arbitration payout to Bernard Tapie.

Ms Lagarde in 2007 ordered a panel of judges to arbitrate in a dispute between Mr Tapie and the bank Credit Lyonnais, which led to the disgraced tycoon being awarded the payout.

She denies any wrongdoing.

"This search will help uncover the truth, which will contribute to exonerating my client from any criminal wrongdoing," Ms Lagarde's lawyer, Yves Repiquet, told Reuters.

It was conducted a day after France's budget minister resigned after being targeted in a tax fraud inquiry.

Socialist President Francois Hollande came to power last May vowing to crack down on the cozy relationships between politicians and businessmen he said were rife under Mr Sarkozy.

Ms Lagarde was in Frankfurt and not in her Paris flat at the time of the search, a spokesman for the IMF chief said. She arrived in the city on Tuesday for the Frankfurt Finance Summit.

In the last few days, she has been involved in the discussions over the bailout for Cyprus, amid the country's impending bankruptcy.

She joined the finance ministers of the 17 Eurozone countries in weekend discussions that put together a rescue plan for the beleagured island that involved a raid on savings.

She told Time Magazine that the Cyprus crisis risked spreading to other countries.

Yesterday, the rescue plan put together by the Eurogroup and the IMF was rejected by Cypriot MPs, forcing the search for an alternative solution.

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Colorado Prisons Chief Shot Dead At Home

The head of the Colorado Department of Corrections has been shot and killed on his own doorstep.

Authorities in Monument, north of Colorado Springs, are warning that the gunman is still on the loose.

They are are looking for a dark-coloured "boxy" car seen near Tom Clements' house on Tuesday night.

He was shot at around 8.30pm when he answered his front door.

The vehicle's engine was running and a witness reported seeing one person driving away in the car.

A family member called the emergency services to report the shooting of the 58-year-old.

An aerial view of Tom Clement's home. Pic: KMGH-TV

"We have no known suspect at this time," Sheriff's Lt. Jeff Kramer told reporters.

"Whether he was specifically targeted or this was random, we don't know," he added.

"We know of his position and realise that it is a possible motive for a crime such as this."

Search dogs were brought in to search a surrounding wooded area, while police went house-to-house trying to find out what neighbours knew about the shooting.

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper appointed Mr Clements in 2011.

"I can hardly believe it, let alone write words to describe it," he said in a statement to corrections department staff early on Wednesday.

"As your Executive Director, he helped change and improve DOC in two years more than most people could do in eight years. He was unfailingly kind and thoughtful, and sought the "good" in any situation," he added.

Prior to his move to Colorado, Mr Clements served for more than three decades in the Missouri Department of Corrections.

He is survived by his wife, Lisa, their two daughters and their family.

Flags will fly at half-mast at all public buildings statewide until the day after his funeral.

The shooting came just hours before Governor Hickenlooper signed new gun laws for Colorado.

They are aimed at limiting ammunition magazines and expanding background checks, in light of the Aurora movie theatre massacre last July.

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Pope Francis To Embrace Poor As Papacy Begins

Pope Francis has vowed to embrace the world's "weakest and poorest" and called on world leaders to shun "destruction" at his inaugural mass in St Peter's Square.

Francis was interrupted by applause several times during his homily, including when he spoke of the need to serve one another with love and tenderness and not allow " hatred, envy and pride to defile our lives".

The Pope must "open his arms to protect all of God's people and embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important," Francis, the first Jesuit pope, said.

"He must be inspired by lowly, concrete and faithful service," said Francis, who as a Jesuit has taken a vow of poverty.

Francis is the world's first Jesuit pope

"I would like to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life ... Let us not allow omens of destruction and death to accompany the advance of this world.

"It means respecting each of God's creatures and respecting the environment in which we live.

"It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about."

The Fisherman's Ring

The new pontiff officially began his ministry as the 266th pope and leader of the world's 1.2bn Roman Catholics when he earlier received the ring and pallium symbolising his new papal powers at the Vatican.

The pallium is a strip of lambswool that represents the Pope's role as a shepherd and the Fisherman's Ring is named in honour of the first pope St Peter, a fisherman by trade.

The grand ceremony started at 8.30am GMT in a sun-drenched St Peter's Square before about 200,000 people, including royalty, political and religious leaders.

The biggest delegation came from Argentina, led by President Cristina Kirchner, who held a private meeting with Pope Francis on Monday.

Britain was represented by the Duke of Gloucester, Kenneth Clarke MP and Baroness Warsi. The Queen and Prime Minister David Cameron did not attend.

The Pope kissed several babies as he toured the square

Controversial Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, a practising Catholic, also made the journey to Rome in defiance of an EU travel ban, which does allow him to attend events within the Vatican state boundary. 

Before the proceedings began, Francis toured a crammed St Peter's Square, kissing babies and blessing a disabled man.

In another sign of the informality that is already a mark of his papacy, Francis abandoned the bullet-proof popemobile frequently used by his more formal predecessor Benedict, to tour the square.

After the Mass, Francis met with Mr Mugabe and other leaders

Francis wore a plain white papal cassock and black shoes in contrast to the luxurious red loafers that attracted attention under Benedict.

"Go Francis! We Will Be With You Wherever You Go!" read a sign held up by a group of Brazilian nuns in St Peter's Square.

Sister Rosa, an elderly Italian nun, said she expected the pope would be "another St Francis on Earth for love, goodness, poverty and humility".

Crowds had been pouring into the square and surrounding streets since before dawn.

The former archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was the surprise choice at a conclave of cardinals to find a successor to 85-year-old Benedict, who last month brought a sudden end to a papacy, saying he was too old to carry on.

The crowds had begun gathering from the early morning

After the Mass, Pope Francis met many of the world leaders, including Mr Mugabe, before having lunch.

Leaders of the Eastern Catholic Rite were also at the ceremony, including Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

Bartholomew I became the first patriarch from the Istanbul-based church to attend a papal investiture since the two branches of Christianity split nearly 1,000 years ago.

Also attending for the first time was the chief rabbi of Rome.

Francis abandoned the bullet-proof popemobile

Their presence underscores the hopes for ecumenical and interfaith dialogue in this new papacy given Francis' own work for improved relations and his namesake St Francis of Assisi.

In a gesture to Christians in the East, the pope prayed with Eastern rite Catholic patriarchs and archbishops before the tomb of St Peter and the Gospel was chanted in Greek rather than the traditional Latin.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Francis will hold meetings at the Vatican before he holds a face-to-face meeting with Benedict at Castel Gandolfo, just outside Rome, on Saturday.

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Iraq: Deadly Bombings On Invasion Anniversary

A wave of bombings has ripped through the Iraqi capital, killing at least 56 people on the 10th anniversary of the US-led invasion.

About a dozen blasts, mainly car bombs, exploded in a busy Baghdad market, near the heavily fortified Green Zone and in other districts across the capital.

The Green Zone houses major government offices and the embassies of several countries, including the United States and Britain.

A suicide bomber also attacked a police base in a Shiite town south of the capital, officials said.

"I was driving my taxi and suddenly I felt my car rocked. Smoke was all around. I saw two bodies on the ground," said Ali Radi, a taxi driver caught in one of the blasts in Baghdad's Sadr City, a poor Shiite neighbourhood.

"People were running and shouting everywhere."

Along with the 56 killed in the mainly Shiite areas, more than 200 people were wounded, officials said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the Baghdad blasts, but Islamic State of Iraq, a wing of al Qaeda, has vowed to regain ground lost in its war with US troops.

A minibus was bombed in Sadr City

This year the group has carried out a string of high-profile attacks intended to undermine public confidence in the Shiite-led government.

Tuesday's violence started at around 8am local time when a bomb exploded outside a popular restaurant in Baghdad's Mashtal neighbourhood, killing four people and wounding 15.

It blew out the restaurant's windows and left several cars in the street destroyed.

Minutes later, two labourers were killed and eight wounded when a roadside bomb hit the place where they meet daily in an area of New Baghdad.

A decade after Western troops swept Saddam Hussein from power, Iraq still struggles with insurgents, sectarian friction and political feuds among Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish factions.

The latest bombings came 10 years to the day that Washington announced the start of the invasion on March 19, 2003 - though by that time it was already the following morning in Iraq.

Attacks have dropped since the peak of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007, but tensions simmer and militants remain a potent threat to Iraq's security forces.

A popular market in Baghdad was targetted

In a sign of concern over security, Iraq's cabinet have postponed local elections in two provinces, Anbar and Nineveh, for up to six months because of threats to electoral workers and violence.

Syria's war next door is also whipping up Iraq's volatile mix. Iraq is exposed to a regional tussle for influence between Turkey, which backs Sunni rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad, and Shiite Iran, the Syrian leader's main ally.

The political crisis in Iraq has worsened since American troops left Iraq in December 2011, removing the symbolic buffer of the US military power and weakening Washington's influence.

Former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix maintains that the invasion was a terrible mistake.

He told Sky News that Iraq was "not a danger to anyone at that time" and it was therefore "a violation of the UN charter which allows states to use arms in self-defence against an armed attack".

He said former US president George Bush and Britain's ex-prime minister Tony Blair "demonstrated poor judgement" in going to war.

But he said their decision had not been taken in bad faith.

"If they had exercised the slightest critical thinking I think they would have abstained, they would have delayed and then seen the results of more inspections," he said.

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Syria Accuses Opposition Of Chemical Attack

Syria's state media has accused opposition fighters of firing a chemical weapon in the north of the country, killing up to 25 people.

The opposition quickly denied the report and claimed regime forces fired the weapon.

Neither of the accusations could immediately be verified but Russia's foreign ministry accused the opposition of being responsible and said that it represented an "extremely dangerous" development.

But White House spokesman Jay Carney said the US had seen no evidence that rebels had used chemicals.

The report by the official SANA news agency marks the first time the government has accused forces seeking to topple President Bashar al Assad of using chemical weapons.

It said "terrorists" fired a rocket "containing chemical materials" into the Khan al Assal area in the northern province of Aleppo on Tuesday. The regime regularly uses the term terrorists to refer to rebels fighting Mr Assad's forces.

A Free Syrian Army member jumps off a destroyed military tank

It quoted the government's information minister Omran al Zoabi as saying the attack was a "dangerous escalation" in the violent conflict.

He said the firing of the weapon is the "first act" by the opposition interim government announced in Istanbul.

Mr Zoabi added that Turkey and Qatar, which have supported rebels fighting to overthrow President Assad, bore "legal, moral and political responsibility" for the attack, state television reported.

An activist in the area said the opposition had recently seized much of Khan al Assal, including a facility that housed a military academy.

The Aleppo Media Centre, affiliated with the opposition, said there were cases of "suffocation and poison" among civilians in Khan al Assal after a surface-to-surface missile was fired at the area.

It said in a statement the cases were "most likely" caused by regime forces' use of "poisonous gases".

SANA said around 25 people, most of them civilians, were killed and up to 100 more wounded.

An activist in Aleppo province who identified himself as Yassin Abu Raed, not his real name, confirmed the attack and said there were at least 40 cases of suffocation in the area and several deaths.

But he said no details were available as casualties were being taken to a government-controlled area in Aleppo.

President Assad, fighting a two-year uprising against his rule, is widely believed to have a chemical arsenal.

Syrian officials have neither confirmed nor denied having a chemical weapons capability but have said that if it existed it would be used to defend against foreign aggression, not against Syrians.

Western nations have warned Damascus against any use of chemical weapons and have also expressed concern about stockpiles falling into the hands of militant groups.

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US Marines Killed By Explosion While Training

Seven US Marines have died in an explosion at a military ammunition storage facility in western Nevada.

The US Marine Corp confirmed the deaths early on Tuesday.

"A fatal incident occurred during a training exercise shortly before 10pm Monday at Hawthorne Army Depot, Nevada, killing seven service members and injuring several others with 2nd Marine Division," a statement said.

Several other Marines were injured and taken to nearby hospitals for treatment and further evaluation.

A Marine Corps official said a 60mm mortar exploded unexpectedly.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was not immediately clear whether the mortar exploded prematurely inside its firing tube or whether more than a single round exploded. 

Hawthorne Army Depot is made up of hundreds of buildings. Pic: KABC.

An indefinite moratorium on the firing of all such mortars worldwide was imposed while an investigation was conducted.

The identities of those killed were not being released until their families had been informed.

"We send our prayers and condolences to the families of Marines involved in this tragic incident. We remain focused on ensuring that they are supported through this difficult time," said the force's commander, Major Gen. Raymond C. Fox.

"We mourn their loss, and it is with heavy hearts we remember their courage and sacrifice."

The explosion was unrelated to the ammunition that is stored at the 147,000-acre site, about 140 miles southeast of Reno.

Hawthorne became the key staging area for ammunition, bombs and rockets in World War II.

The site was chosen for the location because of its remoteness in the wake of a devastating explosion at the government's main depot in New Jersey in the 1920s.

It now serves several purposes for the military, including storing ammunition and explosives and providing what the military calls an ideal training facility for special forces preparing for deployments to similar desert terrain in places like Afghanistan.

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School Shooter Gives Finger As He Gets Life

Ohio teenager TJ Lane, who admitted killing three students in a high school cafeteria in February 2012, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The 18-year-old chuckled as the term was imposed for the deadly shootings at Chardon High School, 30 miles east of Cleveland.

Lane had arrived in court on Tuesday wearing a white T-shirt with the word "killer" scrawled on the front.

He stuck his middle finger up to the courtroom packed with relatives of his victims after making a short statement.

TJ Lane at a previous hearing

The prosecutor said it just went to prove how much the killer is a "disgusting human being".

Lane had pleaded guilty in February this year to three counts of aggravated murder, among other charges, in a deal with prosecutors.

Prosecutors agreed to drop the death-penalty specifications from the counts.

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Hong Kong Severed Head Murders: Two Charged

Police investigating the murders of a couple from Hong Kong whose severed heads were reportedly found in a fridge have charged two men.

The search continues for the victims' missing body parts, despite the decision to charge the couple's 29-year-old son and a 35-year-old man thought to be his friend.

Post-mortem examinations are due to be carried out on Chau Wing-ki, 64, and his wife, Siu Yuet-yee, 63, who were reported missing by their eldest son on March 9.

Their younger son told police his parents were travelling to mainland China, but officers reportedly became suspicious after they failed to find records of the couple leaving the city.

Police detained the two suspects on Friday and the arrests led police to the building where the victims' heads were found, along with saws, knives, a chopping board, plastic boxes and bags containing other body parts.

Both suspects appeared at a magistrates' court on Monday but no plea was recorded, according to public broadcaster RTHK.

They will remain in custody until the next court appearance on May 13, the broadcaster added.

Local TV showed one of the suspects being brought to court with his face covered by a black hood.

"The investigation continues into the motive of the case," a spokeswoman said.

The couple's severed heads were reportedly found by police in a refrigerator at a blood-covered apartment on the outskirts of the southern Chinese city on Friday.

Parts of their arms and legs were found elsewhere in the flat. Police divers failed to recover any more parts after a search at sea near the apartment over the weekend.

Murder is punishable with life imprisonment in Hong Kong.

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Egypt Vigilantes Kill Two Men As Crowd Watches

Two Egyptian men accused of stealing a rickshaw and trying to kidnap a girl were beaten and hung by their feet while some in a crowd of thousands chanted "kill them!".

Both men died in the vigilante attack in the town of Samanod, about 90km (55 miles) north of Cairo.

The lynchings come a week after the attorney general's office encouraged civilians to arrest criminals and hand them over to police.

State-run newspaper Ahram reported the two men were killed after being caught "red-handed" trying to steal the motorised rickshaw.

Witnesses said they were also accused of kidnapping a girl inside the rickshaw, but she escaped unharmed.

The two men were beaten and were still alive before they were strung up from the rafters of an open-air bus station, a witness said.

Both were stripped down to their underwear.

Graphic photos and recordings of the lynchings taken by people in the crowd quickly circulated on social media websites.

The images show one of the men hanging with deep, bloody lacerations covering his back.

Another shows a man's face completely covered in blood. Other shots show both hanging by their feet, bruised, cut and bleeding.

Mamdouh al-Muneer, spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood in Gharbiya, the province where the attack happened, said the lynchings followed a spate of rapes in the area.

Both men were stripped down to their underwear

He told the Associated Press (AP) there have been a number of cases in recent months where girls were abducted while leaving school.

"Unfortunately, the police are completely out of the picture in Gharbiya," he said.

A photographer who witnessed the killings told the AP that women and children were in the crowd of about 3,000 watching the killings.

Some were on balconies overlooking the scene, while some joined chants of "kill them!", he said.

The photographer, who was not named, said some in the crowd threatened to kill him if he took pictures of the lynchings with his professional camera.

Security officials said some people tried to help free the two men but were pushed back by others.

Afterward, residents took their bodies and dumped them on the doorstep of a nearby police station, according to witnesses.

Ahram said police could not reach the scene because angry drivers had cut off all the major roads nearby to protest a fuel shortage, another big problem in Egypt.

Witnesses said they were bracing for possible feuds between residents of Samanod and the nearby village of Mahallahit Ziyad, where the two men were from.

The lynchings are symptomatic of the chaos sweeping Egypt and a massive security breakdown.

People have increasingly taken matters into their own hands following the 2011 uprising that ousted authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak.

The country's once powerful and feared police force was left weakened after the revolt and thousands of  police officers are now on strike over working conditions.

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Florida Uni: Body, Explosives Found In Dorm

Authorities investigating the apparent suicide of a college student have discovered weapons and explosive devices in a dormitory at the University of Central Florida.

Hundreds of students were evacuated from the Orlando campus, though the school said there was no immediate threat.

University police were called to the dorm around 12.20am after a fire alarm went off, UCF spokesman Grant Heston said. While they were on their way to the scene, a 911 call came in about a man with a gun.

Arriving officers found a male student dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a residence at the Tower 1 dorm.

Police also found what they described as an assault weapon, a handgun and improvised explosive devices.

Mr Heston said the Orange County Sheriff's Office and the FBI are helping with the investigation. The sheriff's bomb squad was examining the explosive devices.

About 500 students were evacuated from the dorm, and an adjacent parking garage was closed initially, but Mr Heston said officials "don't believe there is any imminent threat to the campus".

The university cancelled classes through midday as a precaution.

Antonio Whitehead, a 21-year-old junior at the school, said he heard the fire alarm go off after midnight and thought it was a routine alarm. He headed outside where he saw a crowd already heading across the street from the dorm.

He said: "All of a sudden, I felt the crowd move a little faster. And a police officer with a machine gun or something told everyone to start moving a lot faster."

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Cyprus Bailout: Savings Shift Amid Russia Offer

Cyprus has ordered its banks to stay shut until Thursday as the government seeks to alter the terms of a controversial EU bailout that taxes savings.

The uncertainty comes as Russia's finance minister said his country would consider restructuring its loans to Cyprus.

Russian energy giant Gazprom has also reportedly offered financial assistance to Cyprus in exchange for access to the island's gas reserves.

Eurozone countries across the region have seen markets shudder as a result of the weekend bailout offer, which includes a one-off tax on bank deposits, with many losing more than 2% and the FTSE dropping 1.6%.

Officials in southern Cyprus, which does not include the Turkish north of the island, have now delayed the parliamentary vote until Tuesday in order to soften the impact of a levy on smaller savers.

Sky News will have Budget coverage throughout Wednesday, starting from 9am

Banks stayed closed on Monday due to a long weekend and will remain closed on Tuesday to prevent a run on the banks.

Yiannakis Omirou, the speaker of parliament, said the delay is needed to give the government time to amend the deal agreed late last week.

Authorities had planned a 6.7% tax on deposits under 100,000 euros (£85,000), triggering queues at cash machines as people in Cyprus rushed to withdraw their money on a bank holiday weekend.

But the country's government is thought to now want a 20,000-euro (£17,000) minimum to the levy, with the tax set at 6.7% on the next 80,000 euros (£68,000) and 9.9% above that figure.

In exchange for the levy which would raise 5.8bn euros (£5bn), Cyprus would receive another 4.2bn euros (£3.6bn) in aid to help recapitalise its banks.

Meanwhile, eurozone ministers planned a conference call to discuss the issue, as Germany insisted it was not behind the extraordinary weekend bailout proposal.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed the proposed tax in Cyprus, where some 30,000 of his compatriots live.

"(Mr) Putin said that this decision, in case of its adoption, will be unfair, unprofessional and dangerous," Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.

The Cypriot government discussed the bailout deal offer from the EU

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, who was elected just three weeks ago, had earlier said the island must accept a painful compromise or face bankruptcy.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) boss Christine Lagarde added: "The IMF has always said that we would support a solution that is sustainable, that is fully financed, and that appropriately allocates the burden sharing."

Depositors in the eurozone's weaker economies have been unnerved by the levy, with investors fearing it will set a precedent that could reignite market turmoil.

But the European Central Bank (ECB) moved to soothe investor nerves, saying Cyprus is a special case and other countries should not fear contagion from its bailout deal.

ECB governing council member Ewald Nowotnytold Austria's ORF radio: "For other countries, there is absolutely no reason to fear contagion."

He said Cyprus' banking system accounted for an above-average proportion of national output, and that the island nation had a particularly high share of foreign depositors.

Savers have queued to withdraw their money from cash machines across Cyprus

The British Government said staff and military personnel in Cyprus will be protected from any levy on their bank deposits.

Foreign Secretary William Hague told Sky News that Britain had been "separated" from contributing towards the bailout, adding that 3,000 Britons in the country would not suffer in the proposed raid on bank savings.

The tax on deposits in Cyprus, which accounts for only 0.2% of the eurozone's economy, is expected to raise up to 6bn euros (£5bn) and affect rich Russians with deposits in Cyprus and domiciled European retirees, as well as Cypriots themselves.

The levy will apply to all deposits held in banks within Cyprus, including an estimated 2bn euros (£1.75bn) of British money, according to the ECB.

It will not affect deposits held in the UK branches of Cypriot banks, such as Bank of Cyprus, whose UK subsidiary is regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

However, Laiki Bank UK said on its website: "Your eligible deposits with Laiki Bank UK are protected up to a total of 100,000 euro by the Cyprus Deposit Protection Scheme and are not protected by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

"Any deposits you hold above the 100,000-euro limit are not covered."

Cypriot banks lost 4.5bn euros (£3.8bn) - equal to a quarter of the island's gross domestic product - when eurozone leaders decided to write off Greek debt last year.

As part of its bailout deal, corporate tax will rise from 10% to 12.5%, while state assets will be sold off to help balance the public finances. Cuts to government workers' salaries and pensions have already been approved.

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Falklands: Pope Asked To Intervene In Row

Argentine President Cristina Kirchner says she has asked her fellow countryman to promote dialogue between their country and Britain.

"I asked his intervention to promote dialogue between the two sides," Ms Kirchner told a news conference after meeting Pope Francis ahead of his inaugural mass on Tuesday.

She noted that Pope John Paul II had mediated in a similar conflict between Argentina and Chile.

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Colorado Approves Historic New Gun Laws

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

The US state of Colorado - the scene of two of the worst shooting massacres in the country's history - has passed historic new laws which could prove a model for gun control measures across the country.

Politicians were prompted into action by the shooting spree at a cinema in Aurora near Denver last summer which claimed 12 lives. The killings at Newtown in Connecticut in December added renewed impetus.

So while the national effort at new restrictions appears to be stalling, Colorado's legislature has passed a ban on high capacity ammunition magazines and tightened requirements for background checks on people buying a gun.

It is seen as a remarkable success for the gun control movement in a 'frontier' state famous for its love of hunting and liberty.

Even though there is no ban on military-style assault weapons, the new restrictions are enough to anger gun enthusiasts in the state.

George Horne, owner of The Gun Room in Denver

George Horne, who owns Denver's oldest gun shop The Gun Room, told Sky News that gun owners were being unfairly targeted.

He said: "There's plenty of ways to create violence and inflict harm on other people other than firearms, so I think the emotion of firearms is being used. They're not addressing the problem which is the person, but the firearm which is just the tool.

"I always tell people it is not the arrow, it is the Indian."

One of his customers put it more bluntly. Mike Rosenthal said: "I think they are violating our constitution and I think they're all traitors."

He said that if authorities try to remove guns from owners the result "won't be pretty".

Daniel Mauser, a victim of the Columbine High School massacre in 1999

He said the Second Amendment to the US constitution, guaranteeing the right to bear arms, should allow people to own a bomb "if they could afford it".

Colorado has followed New York in being the first to put in place new restrictions as politicians and lobbyists in Washington continue to lock horns on a national framework.

Tom Mauser, whose son Daniel was killed in the shooting spree at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, in 1999, has long campaigned for tighter controls.

He says he is proud of what the state has done and hopes others will follow.

Tom Mauser wears his son Daniel's trainers to gun control events

"Two weeks before he died my son said to me 'Dad, do you know there are loopholes in the Brady law', the law that requires background checks, and then he was killed with a gun that was purchased through one of those loopholes.

"That is what has driven me. I have wanted to close those loopholes for him and for the sake of others."

Mr Mauser wears his son's trainers when attending gun control events. "I literally walk in his shoes," he said.

The scale of the task facing him is perhaps illustrated by the popularity of a website called gunsforeveryone.com

Its founder Edgar Antillon said it started out as a joke but had now taken on an activist role.

He said: "We don't think any new restrictions are the answer. Law abiding gun owners don't carry out massacres. If they put new laws in place, we will simply not follow them."

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Pregnant Lacrosse Coach Killed In Bus Crash

A lacrosse coach who was six months pregnant has been killed in a crash in Pennysylvania after her team bus veered off the road and hit a tree.

Katrina Quigley, 30, and her unborn child were both killed in the accident as well as the bus driver.

The Seton Hill University team players and coaches were among 23 people on the bus when it veered off the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Ms Quigley, from Greensburg, was flown to a hospital but died of her injuries. Authorities said her unborn child also did not survive.

The bus driver, Anthony Guaetta, 61, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, died at the scene.

Workers from the Coroners' Office examine the wreckage

The collision appeared to have shorn away the front left side of the bus, which rested upright about 70 yards (65m) from the road at the bottom of a grassy slope.

No other vehicle was involved and the cause was not immediately clear to detectives.

The team was heading to an afternoon game at Millersville University, around 50 miles from the crash site in central Pennsylvania.

Saturday's game and a Sunday home game were cancelled after the crash, which is now being investigated by police.

Seton Hill, a Catholic school of about 2,500 students near Pittsburgh, said a memorial Mass was planned for Sunday night on campus.

Ms Quigley, a native of Baltimore, was married and had a young son, according to the school.

Duquesne University women's lacrosse coach Mike Scerbo remembered her as a warm, outgoing person who immediately impressed him when he hired her to be an assistant during the 2008 season.

Ms Quigley spent just one season under Scerbo before moving to South Carolina to coach Erskine College's lacrosse team.

She spent three years at Erskine before taking the top job at Seton Hill for the 2012 season.

Bus operator, Mlaker Charter & Tours, of Davidsville, Pennsylvania, was up-to-date on its inspections, said Jennifer Kocher, a spokeswoman for the state Public Utility Commission, which regulates bus companies.

This included bus and driver safety checks.

The agency's motor safety inspectors could think of no accidents or violations involving the company that would raise a red flag, she said, though complete safety records were not available on Saturday.

On Tuesday, another bus carrying college lacrosse players from a Vermont team was hit by a sports car that spun out of control on a wet highway in upstate New York, sending the bus toppling onto its side, police said. One person in the car died.

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Pope Francis Ad Libs During His First Angelus

Pope Francis has broken with tradition while delivering the first Angelus of his papacy.

As he made his first Sunday window appearance from the balcony of a papal apartment high above St Peter's Square, he delivered off-the-cuff remarks about God's power to forgive instead of reading from a written speech.

And the 100,000-strong crowd gathered down below roared with delight.

Dozens of flags from his native Argentina were waving in the packed piazza as the former Buenos Aires archbishop began his first Angelus.

Tens of thousands packed into St Peter's Square for the Angelus

"Thank you for your welcome, and for your prayers," said the first pope from Latin America. "Pray for me," he added.

The occasion is traditionally used to comment on international issues, but Francis instead used the moment to emphasise his Italian roots.

The former cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, whose parents hailed from Italy's northwestern Piedmont region, said he chose to name himself after St Francis of Assisi because of his "spiritual ties with this land".

Flags from other Latin American nations including Colombia, Peru, Paraguay and Mexico, could also be seen in the crowd.

Pope Francis greeting crowds earlier on Sunday

One banner read: "Francis, You Are the Springtime of the Church", reflecting a groundswell of hope that the choice of a humble outsider has inspired in many Catholics weary of Vatican scandal and dysfunction.

Gabriel Solis, 33, an Argentine pilgrim, said: "He will bring much peace because he seems more humble, more spontaneous. He seems closer to the people. We didn't feel that with the pope we had before."

Earlier on Sunday, Francis made an impromptu appearance to the public from a side gate of the Vatican before celebrating Mass.

Dressed only in a white cassock, he waved to the crowd in the street outside St Anna's Gate before entering the church.

The Pope conducts a mass in Santa Anna church inside the Vatican

The Pope took the opportunity to shake hands with well-wishers, and kissed their babies, plunging into crowds pushing against barricades as security men and Swiss Guards stood nervously by.

Chanting "Viva Il Papa" and calling his names, the faithful jostled to greet the new pontiff, who has projected a common touch by breaking with many formal traditions since his surprise election to lead the world's 1.2bn Catholics on Wednesday.

Francis then went over to the chief of his security detail and appeared to indicate he wanted to greet two priests in the crowd, who approached and embraced him.

One said: "I think he is very different to what we are accustomed to. He has a different style, he is from the south. More natural. He is not so Vatican."

He shakes hands with well-wishers leaving the church

Some young American tourists said: "This is history in the making. It's great to be part of it and really exciting for us."

Soon after the Angelus, Francis sent his first tweet. It read: "Dear Friends I thank you from my heart and I ask you to continue to pray for me."

The 76-year-old has displayed an informal style that contrasts sharply with that of his more academic predecessor Benedict XVI.

Hours after his appointment, he shunned the papal limousine for a shuttle bus with other cardinals to return to a residence inside the Vatican for a formal supper.

He also showed his humorous side during the meal. As Francis toasted the cardinals, he said to them: "May God forgive you." It brought the house down, according to US cardinal Timothy Dolan

The first tweet from the new pope

The official car was dropped again on his first full day in office when he slipped out the Vatican for private morning prayers at Santa Maria Maggiore. The priest at the ancient Rome basilica was given just 10 minutes' notice of his arrival.

On leaving the place of worship, he insisted on settling his bill at the hotel he stayed in before the start of last week's conclave.

Pope Francis has a busy week ahead. On Monday, he will meet the President of Argentina Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, one of the many world leaders who are flying into Rome for the Pontiff's Inaugural Mass on Tuesday.

On Wednesday and Thursday, he holds meetings at the Vatican, and then on Saturday he will fly by helicopter to the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo on the outskirts of Rome for an unprecedented meeting with Benedict who resigned last month.

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