North Korea Missile Alert After Japan Blunder

A Japanese official mistakenly announced the launch of a North Korean missile instead of sending an alert about a strong earthquake.

An official at the western Osaka aviation bureau emailed 87 airport offices to say a North Korean missile had been launched, Japan's transport ministry said.

The official was trying to send a message to check on possible airport damage immediately after the 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck near the southwestern city of Kobe, injuring dozens of people and destroying several homes.

But instead the official dispatched a pre-prepared alert ready to go in the event of a North Korean missile launch.

The incorrect message was retracted six minutes later but at least one domestic flight was delayed due to the mistake.

Japan is on full alert ahead of an expected mid-range missile launch by North Korea, with Patriot missiles stationed in its capital to protect the 30 million people who live there.

In addition to PAC-3 batteries, Aegis destroyers equipped with sea-based interceptor missiles have been deployed in the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

On Wednesday officials in the Japanese city of Yokohama were left red-faced after mistakenly announcing the launch of a North Korean missile to 40,000 followers on Twitter.

Saturday night's earthquake was in the area where a magnitude 7.2 quake killed more than 6,400 people in 1995.

The Meteorological Agency warned there may be aftershocks for about a week.

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Mubarak Retrial: Judge Withdraws From Case

The retrial of former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak has been plunged into chaos after the judge quit on the first day.

Mubarak returned to court on Saturday to face a new trial over the deaths of 800 protests during the 2011 revolt that led to him being ousted.

But Judge Mustafa Hassan Abdullah said he had decided to refer the case to the Cairo appeals court because he felt "unease" in reviewing it.

Sky's Tom Rayner said Mr Abdullah also blamed health problems and suggested he did not want to embarrass himself - which may be connected to his sympathies with the Mubarak regime.

A man calls for Mubarak to face a court in the Hague

As he filed out of the courtroom after a hearing that lasted just seconds, there was uproar with people shouting and waving their arms.

Civil society lawyers attending the trial chanted: "The people want the execution of the president."

Last October, the same judge acquitted the defendants in the infamous "Battle of the Camels" trial, who were accused of sending men on camels and horses to break up a protest during the 2011 uprising.

"This judge and this circuit acquitted all the defendants in the battle of the camels and there is a lot of doubt over their position. This prevents him from conducting this trial," said Amir Salem, a lawyer for the victims of families.

There was uproar in the courtroom as the judge walked out

Mubarak is facing retrial on charges of complicity in the murder of more than 800 protesters killed during the revolt.

Last year, he was sentenced to life imprisonment on the same charges, which include indictments related to corruption.

But the conviction was overturned due to failings in the prosecution case after a successful appeal in January.

He will now face those charges again, alongside his former interior minister Habib El Adly and four aides.

The findings of an independent fact-finding report, leaked to the Guardian newspaper, may bolster some of the evidence against him.

It indicates that Mubarak and other senior officials may have had knowledge or been complicit in the widespread use of torture and killings by the regime's forces during the height of the revolution.

Some families of the victims gathered outside court

Earlier on Saturday, television footage showed Mubarak, dressed in white and wearing sunglasses, wheeled out of an ambulance on a stretcher and taken into the capital's Police Academy in a suburb of the capital for the hearing.

In the courtroom, he was seen sitting up, smiling and waving from inside a barred cage before the proceedings were adjourned.

He was flown in from a military hospital where he is being treated.

The 84-year-old has suffered several health scares and the official news agency MENA even reported him clinically dead at one point as he slipped into a coma.

Outside the compound, pro-Mubarak demonstrators outnumbered opponents with the two groups kept apart.

Relatives of victims of Mubarak's security forces held posters of young men killed in the revolt.

"What can I expect from this trial? If there was justice in this country, the first trial would have been fair," said Eman Saeed, whose 24-year old son Mohab died in January 2011 after marching to Tahrir Square

Until Saturday's courtroom turmoil, the fate of the ousted strongman has been largely eclipsed by deadly violence and economic woes currently gripping Egypt.

Mohammed Morsi's presidency has been plagued by unrest and deadly clashes between protesters and police, a revolt in the canal cities, sectarian violence and a devastating economic crisis.             

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Womb Transplant Patient Falls Pregnant

The first woman to have a successful womb transplant from a dead donor is two weeks pregnant, according to a hospital in Turkey.

Derya Sert, 22, was born without a womb and was given a uterus in August 2011 in what was described as a "medical miracle" at the time.

She has now conceived after having in-vitro fertilisation treatment (IVF) and is in the early stages of pregnancy.

Doctors waited for 18 months before implanting the embryo to make sure that the organ was still functioning properly.

"Early test results are consistent with pregnancy. The patient is in good health at the moment," Akdeniz University Hospital in Antalya said in a statement.

The baby is expected to be delivered by Caesarean.

The womb will then be removed in the months after the birth to avoid further complications and the risk of rejection.

Experts warn the pregnancy carries several health risks to the patient as well as to the baby.

These include birth defects due to the use of immuno-suppressive drugs as well as premature delivery.

Miss Sert was the second woman in the world to have a womb transplant.

The first went to a woman in Saudi Arabia in 2000 but was from a living donor.

Doctors had to remove the organ when it failed after 99 days due to heavy clotting.

The groundbreaking news of Miss Sert's pregnancy will rekindle hopes for thousands of childless women.

One in every 5,000 women globally is born without a womb, while thousands more have the organ removed due to cancer or other diseases, leaving them unable to get pregnant.

In September, doctors in Sweden performed the world's first mother-to-daughter womb transplants on two Swedish women, both in their 30s.

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North Korea: US Urges China To Help End Crisis

The US and China have said they are committed to finding a peaceful means of ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said there had been enough confrontational language on North Korea and he did not want to get into a cycle of threats and counter-threats with the reclusive nation.

"We are determined to make that goal a reality," he said after a series of meetings with top Chinese officials, including the country's foreign policy chief Yang Jiechi.

"China and the United States must together take steps in order to achieve the goal of a denuclearised Korean peninsula. And today we agreed that further discussions to bear down very quickly with great specificity on exactly how we will accomplish this goal.

John Kerry with China's foreign policy chief Yang Jiechi

"We agreed that this is of critical importance for the stability of the region and indeed for the world and indeed for all of our nonproliferation efforts," he added.

Mr Yang said China was "firmly committed to upholding peace and stability" in the region, and finding a peaceful way to ensure a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.

"To properly address the Korean nuclear issue serves the interests of all parties," he added.

The joint pledge follows talks between Mr Kerry and China's communist leaders including President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and foreign minister Wang Yi.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-UN has vowed to beef up its nuclear arsenal

Mr Kerry arrived in Beijing this morning from talks in Seoul with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, where he warned North Korea a further missile test would be a "huge mistake".

He said the current situation on the Korean peninsula was at a "critical time" and called for Beijing's intervention to halt the escalating tensions with North Korea.

The US wants China - historically Pyongyang's ally - to increase its pressure on North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to back down.

Tensions have soared on the Korean peninsula since December, when North Korea test-launched a long-range rocket. In February, it conducted its third nuclear test and drew fresh UN sanctions.

Mr Kerry holds talks with China's President Xi Jinping

Without naming any countries, President Xi had said recently that "no-one should be allowed to throw a region and even the whole world into chaos for selfish gains".

In his opening remarks during Saturday's meeting, he assured Mr Kerry China's relationship with the US was "at a new historical stage" and had "got off to a good start".

According to state television, he went on to say that rising tensions in the region were in no-one's interests.

"All sides must bear responsibility for maintaining regional peace and stability and be responsible for the consequences," he was reported to have said.

Mr Kerry was first met by China's foreign minister Wang Yi in Beijing

The purpose of Mr Kerry's visit is to persuade Beijing to help rein in its aggressive ally and bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table over its suspect nuclear programme.

"I think it's clear to everybody in the world that no country in the world has as close a relationship or as significant an impact on the DPRK than China," Mr Kerry said in Seoul before leaving for Beijing.

In the past few weeks, North Korea has declared itself to be in a "state of war" with the South, announced that a mothballed nuclear site is to be reopened and threatened to carry out nuclear attacks against the US

China has backed North Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War and could wield tremendous leverage over the isolated communist regime thanks to the vital aid it provides, including almost all of its neighbour's energy imports.

North Korean soldiers seen at work today on Hwanggumpyong Island

It is estimated to provide as much as 90% of its neighbour's energy imports, 80% of its consumer goods and 45% of its food, according to the US-based Council on Foreign Relations.

But analysts say it is wary of pushing too hard for fear of destabilising North Korea, which could send a wave of hungry refugees flooding into China and ultimately lead to a reunified Korea allied with the United States.

After China, Mr Kerry will head to Japan which is also deeply involved in the North Korea issue and which deployed Patriot missiles around Tokyo this week as anticipation of a missile launch by the North's mounted.

Mr Kerry said he hoped China, Japan and the United States would be able to find the "unity" required to offer a "very different set of alternatives for how we can proceed and ultimately how we can defuse this situation".

South Korean army soldiers standing guard on Unification Bridge in Paju

Last week the US brought forward its drone deployment to Japan and sent an unmanned spy plane to its airbase in Misawa, Northern Japan, after North Korea moved two missile launchers to its east coast.

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Plane Plunges Into Water Near Bali Airport

A plane with more than 100 people onboard has overshot a runway on the island of Bali and plunged into the sea.

Despite dramatic pictures showing the Lion Air jet with a broken fuselage, officials said everyone on board had survived.

The brand new Boeing 737-800 came to rest in shallow water and bright yellow life jackets could be seen littering the shore.

Passengers spoke of screaming in terror it hit the water and "chaos" erupting amid fears they would drown before escaping.

"There was no sign at all it would fall but then suddenly it dropped into the water," Tantri Widiastuti, 60, told Metro TV.

Tourists and locals gathered on the shoreline after the crash

Dewi, who suffered head wounds, added: "The aircraft was in landing position when suddenly I saw it getting closer to the sea, and finally it hit the water.

"All of the passengers were screaming in panic in fear they would drown. I left behind my belongings and went to an emergency door. I got out of the plane and swam before rescuers jumped in to help me."

Passengers in life jackets could be seen in the water as police in rubber dinghies rowed out from the shore.

The plane came to rest just yards beyond the airport edge

Lion Air said there were 95 adults, five children and a baby on board - as well as seven crew. They included three foreigners - a Frenchman, a Singaporean woman and a Singaporean man.

Bali police chief Arif Wahyunadi told local TV One that everyone had been evacuated and taken inside Denpasar airport.

He said the jet had flown in from Bandung, the capital of West Java province.

Some 40 people were treated for injuries including broken legs, head wounds and shock, though only four were admitted to hospital, officials said.

Ignatius Juan Sinduk, 45, was treated for breathing difficulties after his chest was injured in the crash.

A passenger being attended to a hospital in Kedongan, near Denpasar

Speaking from his hospital bed, he said: "The plane plunged into the sea at high speed. Everybody screamed and water suddenly surged into the plane.

"Passengers panicked and scrambled for life jackets. Some passengers fell, some ran into others, it was chaos. I managed to grab one (a lifejacket) and slowly swam out of the plane and to the shore."

The twin-engined aircraft was operated by local carrier Lion Air, a budget airline whose operating base is in Bandung.

Company spokesman Edward Sirait said the jet had been delivered to Lion Air in Indonesia on March 18 and had come "straight from the factory".

It started operations a week later and the pilot had been flying for the airline for six years, the firm added.

He refused to comment on the cause of the crash but said: "The plane broke into two pieces," adding that "judging from visual observation, the plane cannot be used any more."

Lion Air - the first private airline in Indonesia was founded in 1999 by multi-millionaire brothers Kusnan and Rusdi Kirana.

Bali is a popular tourist destination in Indonesia

It started operating in 2000 with just one aircraft in its fleet but quickly expanded operations to more than 36 locations across the sprawling archiplego nation.

The airline also flies to foreign locations including Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam and used a fleet Boeing 737 aircraft.

Last month, it signed a $24bn (£18bn) deal with Airbus for 234 passenger jets and two years ago, it signed a contract with Boeing for 230 planes.

However, the rapidly-expanding carrier is reportedly banned from US and European airspace due to safety concerns.

Between 2004 and 2006, Lion Air suffered a series of six accidents which all involved planes overshooting or missing the runway - but no-one died. 

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Tornadoes And Severe Storms Hit US Midwest

A severe spring storm in the US midwest has left at least one person dead and several injured.

The fatality came after a tornado hit eastern parts of Mississippi, with one resident capturing a huge twister in Noxubee County on video.

In Missouri, the National Weather Service says that the St Louis suburb of Hazelwood was hit by a tornado on Wednesday night.

A National Weather Service meteorologist said emergency crews were still assessing whether tornadoes were to blame for other damage in Missouri and neighbouring Illinois.

Lightning strikes across the skies of Patterson, in Arkansas

Missouri governor Jay Nixon has declared a state of emergency.

The storms have also brought ice and snow to much of the midwest and parts of the south east of the US.

The latest one formed a giant T on Thursday, NBC News reported, leading to snow in upstate New York, ice-covered roads in Wisconsin and heavy rain in Ohio and New Orleans.

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North Korea: Defector Reveals Harrowing Escape

Visiting Secretive North Korea

Updated: 2:46pm UK, Friday 12 April 2013

Despite the current tensions on the Korean Peninsula, tourists have been able to travel to North Korea.

A Sky News employee has just returned from a four-day trip. Journalists are strictly banned from the county without visas, which are rarely issued, so we are not revealing her name, but here is her story:

I flew from Beijing to Pyongyang. On the flight with me were lots of North Koreans with plenty of excess baggage: TVs, vegetables and meat.

Nothing felt abnormal. There was no feeling of tension.

Only when I arrived at the Demilitarised Zone were we prevented access to some of the buildings because of the current situation.

Throughout the four-day trip, which was organised by a Chinese travel company, we were assigned two North Korean minders.

One of them was more senior than the other. She watched us and watched her colleague too.

They did not want the war but were also determined to fight if the country decided to start a war. They emphasised to us that they believed in the country from their hearts.

We were not allowed to move freely. We could only do tourist things according to the guidance of the tour "guards".

We were not allowed to take photographs in the car or anywhere without the minder's permission. We were told not to photograph anything that looked bad or makes North Korea look bad.

"Don't bring bad impressions out of Pyongyang," they said.

People were very friendly. There was little traffic, so people would stare at our bus wherever we drove.

People there are very aware of the potential war.

Every time we arrived at the places of interest, the tour guides would always ask us in Korean (the minders would translate into Chinese) about the latest situation and our opinions about the situation, particularly our opinions about the US, as they all believe the tensions are the fault of America.

When we asked the minders what would happen if the war breaks out tomorrow, they said: "If the war breaks tomorrow, until midnight tonight, we are still building the socialist constructions."

We also asked them whether they know where Kim Jong-Un lives and works, as we explained to them that in Beijing, all the top leaders work and live in a place called Zhongnanhai. They all said they had no idea.

The two minders liked to sing. One of the songs they sang was apparently written by a South Korean musician to express his admiration toward Kim Jong-Il.

On one of the days we went to Myohyang San, a North Korean mountain. The six of us on the tour were locked in the restaurant because the North Koreans were so afraid that we would wander around.

There is a museum near the mountain, where gifts from foreign countries are displayed. A lot of them came from Japan.

We asked them how could they receive so many gifts from Japan given that North Korea considers the Japanese as enemies. They told us that the Japanese really admire the leaders, so they gave us many gifts.

We stayed in the Yanggakdo International Hotel, where we could watch international TV channels including the BBC, NHK, (Japanese TV), Phoenix (Hong Kong TV) and CCTV (Chinese TV).

The minders live on a specific floor where they only have three North Korean channels to watch. They never ate with us and when we asked what they had eaten, they always refused to tell us.

We were not allowed to use the local currency, and they never showed us their money. We could use Chinese RMB, US dollars or euros.

There were not many opportunities to see any ordinary North Korean people apart from the shopkeepers, tour guides or waitresses in the hotel.

There is a casino on the underground floor of the Yanggakdo International Hotel, where most of the staff members come from Liaoning Province over the northern border in China, and North Koreans are not allowed to enter.

The casino is managed by people from Macau. The staff there told us it was empty because the tensions mean far fewer people are travelling to North Korea.

Staff at the casino are all Chinese. When we asked to go to the casino, one of the minders said to us: "You must be non-communists, because communist members don't go to casinos."

Wherever we go to visit, they always asked us if we think their places or things are pretty. They only wanted to show us the good side of the country.

As soon as we travelled outside the capital city, it felt very like the real North Korea: rural, no tall buildings, only farmland.

We never felt the tension of war on our trip. On the streets, on our tour, in the hotel and even at a school we visited, the students were studying as normal.

The people we spoke to asked us if it was true that living in Beijing is hard. They think living in North Korea is the happiest thing in the world.

It feels as though those North Koreans who have travelled outside the country have never mentioned what the outside world really looks like.

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Thousands Of Mali Refugees 'Stranded In Desert'

By Lisa Holland, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

A leading charity has warned of a growing humanitarian crisis in west Africa, with around 70,000 refugees stranded in the Mauritanian desert with no hope of returning to their home country of Mali.

A woman and child at their shelter in the Mbera refugee camp (file pic)

Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) is calling for an urgent aid operation to help them.

Their report, Stranded In The Desert, is based on testimonies collected from more than 100 refugees in Mbera refugee camp in Mauritania.

It tells of their isolation in the middle of the desert and their total dependence on outside assistance and humanitarian aid.

Henry Gray, emergency co-ordinator for MSF, said: "More than 100,000 people from northern Mali are currently displaced within their country or have escaped abroad as refugees.

"Most of the refugees are from the Tuareg and Arab Communities. They fled pre-emptively often for fear of violence due to their presumed links with Islamist or separatist groups.

"Their home in northern Mali is still in the grip of fear and mistrust."

In November 2012, MSF conducted a retrospective nutritional mortality survey that revealed a critical nutrition situation with mortality rates above the emergency threshold for children under two years old.

But since the crisis in Mali which saw French military intervention to push back Islamist militants in early 2013, MSF said the medical situation has got worse.

It said the military intervention triggered an influx of 15,000 new refugees.

Consultations in MSF's clinics in the Mbera camp have increased from 1,500 to 2,500 per week.

The number of children admitted per week for severe malnutrition has more than doubled from 42 to 106 despite the nutritional status of the new refugees being generally good when assessed on arrival at the camp.

MSF said 85% of the children being treated arrived at the camp in January and February.

Mr Gray said: "These statistics show that the refugees have grown weaker whilst in the camp, the very place where they should have been receiving assistance.

"There has clearly been a lack of preparation for this new influx of refugees. The situation has improved in recent weeks but it is still extremely precarious and aid organisations need to maintain their humanitarian response for as long as necessary.

"Shelter, clean water, latrines, hygiene and food must all reach those in need and be sustained at the minimum humanitarian standards."

France intervened in Mali in January to help the weak Malian army recapture the vast northern desert region from Islamist militants.

The Islamist groups had formed an alliance with Tuareg separatists early in 2012 to capture territory from the government in the wake of the coup.

The alliance quickly collapsed and the Islamists drove out the Tuareg separatist group - the MNLA - from the main cities and towns in the north.

France has meanwhile begun to withdraw troops it sent to Mali. Around 100 of the 4,000 sent to the west African nation in January have been withdrawn to Cyprus.

It told Europe it had to act to stop the Islamists gaining strength in north Africa and on Europe's doorstep. It intervened when the Islamist fighters threatened to march on the capital Bamako.

A regional African force has now arrived in Mali to boost its security.

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Leaping Shark Steals Scared Fisherman's Catch

A fisherman had a fright when a 9ft-long shark leapt out of the water right by his kayak and stole his catch - all caught on camera.

Isaac Brumaghim was trying to reel in his mackerel tuna when the shark jumped up behind him and attempted to take the fish for itself before going back under the water.

In the video, the panicked man was then seen trying to haul the tuna on board that he wanted for a competition.

But it broke off his line and then disappeared under the surface off Hawaii.

Mr Brumaghim, 37, put his fishing rod away, picked up his paddle, shouted "Oh my God", and starting paddling.

He checked his hand for injuries before cheering, shivering and laughing in excitement.

Recalling the experience off the Waianae Coast, he said of the shark: "He exploded under my kayak, his dorsal hit my kayak. It was just like a rush."

Many thoughts ran through his head: fear, excitement and disappointment at losing a big catch. "The shark scared me," he said. "But I really needed that fish for my job."

The next thought after the rush subsided was: "I hope I got that on camera."

He often goes fishing with a camera mounted to his kayak. At home, he watched the footage and posted it online, not expecting it to generate the attention it is getting.

Meanwhile, many people are said to be sceptical, accusing him of doctoring the footage.

The father of three is still in shock. "I just have to laugh about it," he said, hoping the experience at least brings some attention to the growing sport of kayak fishing and Aquahunters, the company he runs.

He also said the experience was a humble reminder of the creatures he shares the ocean with.

"You get the chills when it happens," he said, "but it never scares me from going in."

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'We Stand With Allies': US Warns North Korea

US Secretary of State John Kerry has warned North Korea it would defend its allies after holding talks in the South Korean capital Seoul.

Speaking at a joint news conference with South Korean counterpart, Foreign Minister Yun Byung Se, Mr Kerry said the US would never accept North Korea as a nuclear power and described rhetoric from Pyongyang as "unacceptable".

He added that a missile test would be another "unwanted contribution to an already volatile situation" and a "huge mistake".

He said: "It would indicate who was being provactive with an exclamation point again.

"We will defend our allies. We will stand with South Korea, Japan and others. We will defend ourselves.

"Kim Jong Un needs to understand, as I think he probably does, what the outcome of a conflict would be."

A US agency believes that Kim Jong Un does have nuclear weapons

Intelligence reports from the Japanese, South Koreans and Americans have indicated that a North Korean missile test could take place at any time, though there has been silence from the leadership in Pyongyang.

The focus in the North Korean capital has been on a weekend of celebrations to mark a year in office for Kim Jong Un, which fell yesterday, and the anniversary of Mr Kim's grandfather, Kim Il Song, the founder of the nation.

The level of rhetoric to emerge from North Korea is unprecedented.

Over several weeks, the regime has declared itself to be in a "state of war" with the South, announced that a mothballed nuclear site is to be reopened and threatened to carry out nuclear attacks against the US.

Mr Kerry arrived in the region as confusion surfaced in Washington over the true status of North Korea's nuclear capability.

North Korea is celebrating a year in office for Kim Jong Un

The broad consensus is that while Kim Jong Un does possess nuclear devices and has crossed the "nuclear threshold", he does not have the capability to launch a nuclear missile.

However, at a congressional hearing on Thursday night, it emerged that one US government agency believes that Kim Jong Un does have nuclear weapons which could be placed inside a ballistic missile and fired.

Republican US Representative Doug Lamborn, quoting from a March 2013 DIA report which was inadvertently labelled "unclassified", said: "(The) Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) assesses with moderate confidence the North currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles, however the reliability will be low."

The Pentagon was quick to issue a written clarification on the matter.

Spokesman George Little said: "In today's House Armed Services Committee hearing on the Department of Defence budget, a member of the committee read an unclassified passage in a classified report on North Korea's nuclear capabilities.

Flower displays for the anniversary of Kim Il Sung's death feature missiles

"While I cannot speak to all the details of a report that is classified in its entirety, it would be inaccurate to suggest that the North Korean regime has fully tested, developed, or demonstrated the kinds of nuclear capabilities referenced in the passage."

Washington added it was concerned about unexpected developments linked to the inexperience of 30-year-old Kim Jong Un.

One official said: "Kim Jong Un's youth and inexperience make him very vulnerable to miscalculation. Our greatest concern is a miscalculation and where that may lead.

"We have seen no indications of massive troop movements, or troops massing on the border, or massive exercises or anything like that that would back up any of the rhetoric that is going on."

North Korea has said that it does possess advanced nuclear devices.

President Barack Obama, speaking after White House talks with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, said "nobody wants to see a conflict".

He added: "We both agree that now is the time for North Korea to end the kind of belligerent approach that they've been taking.

"It's important for North Korea, like every other country in the world, to observe basic rules and norms."

This whole crisis stems from Pyongyang's desire to pursue a nuclear programme which it says it needs to defend itself from "American aggression".

By manufacturing this crisis, Kim Jong Un is likely to be demonstrating strength domestically and thus bolstering his legitimacy.

Internationally, he is determined that his country is taken seriously as a nuclear power.

He would want an acceptance from the Americans that he is part of the 'nuclear club' as a pretext to any negotiations to end this crisis.

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Palestinian PM Exit To Spark New Peace Fears

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent

The resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad, which Sky sources have confirmed is imminent, threatens to undermine American-led efforts to rekindle the peace process with Israel amid hectic shuttle diplomacy by John Kerry.

The US Secretary of State has twice met Israeli, Palestinian and regional leaders in the Middle East over the last three weeks and is now in London, where he will be briefing G8 foreign ministers on the US initiative set off by President Barack Obama during his April tour of the Holy Land and Jordan.

Mr Fayyad, a technocrat with no political affiliations, is seen as key to the Palestinian Authority's much-improved record on tackling corruption, reducing violence, and drastic improvements in administration.

He has repeatedly clashed with Fatah, the dominant political force on the West Bank which was founded by the late Yasser Arafat and is led by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

Jewish settlements are seen as a continuing obstacle to peace

A source close to the prime minister said: "Fayyad has resigned before and it was rejected by the president.

"This time he is adamant. He could not have gone in the previous months because he would have been leaving a sinking ship but now that the finances of the Palestinian Authority are more secure he will go."

He is expected to hand in his letter of resignation when President Abbas returns from a meeting with the Arab League's Peace Committee in Doha, Qatar.

His last quarrel with Mr Abbas was over the resignation of the finance minister Dr Nabil Kassis which he accepted, but which was then overruled by the president.

"He simply cannot and will not continue in office to be constantly sniped at and undermined by Fatah," a source close to him said.

Palestinian politics is always fractious. Such local dramas rarely attract the interest of the outside world.

The US Secretary of State John Kerry and his counterpart, Mr Hague

But this time the consequences of his resignation have wider implications.

A senior Western diplomat told Sky News: "The single best thing that has happened in the last few years is the Fayyad agenda of state-building … Fayyad's departure would have serious implications on relations with the international community.

"It is hard to overstate how important Fayyad has been.

"The Israelis trust him, even some senior quite hawkish Israelis."

He had been expected to go sooner but agreed to stay on after Israel suspended the transfer of tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority which almost crippled its ability to function.

Those transfers have now been restarted - and the Palestinian budget is in place.

Mr Kerry's efforts have been focused on trying to get talks going to end the occupation based largely on a Saudi peace plan dating back to 2002.

Mr Netanyahu is under pressure to end Jewish settlement

As part of the plan Israel would withdraw to the Green Line that separated the Jewish State from Palestinian territories until the Israelis seized it in 1967.

In return 57 Arab and Islamic states would agree to normalise diplomatic relations with Israel, which many have refused to recognise at all.

The US Secretary of State's efforts have assumed an air of urgency. British Foreign Secretary William Hague believes that the opportunity for a successful outcome is rapidly vanishing.

Israel's position, most strongly articulated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been that there is no "partner for peace" on the Palestinian side.

Diplomats agree that the Palestinians have agreed to suspend their campaign against Israel within UN bodies and the International Criminal Court for 12 weeks to give Mr Kerry a chance of getting talks off the ground.

The Israelis are believed to have similarly slowed or suspended the creation of new illegal Jewish settlements on the West Bank.

But if, as expected, Mr Fayyad goes, a vital and trusted link to the Palestinian leadership would be broken - which could send the peace process back into a deep coma.

The US and European Union can be expected to put Mr Abbas under heavy pressure to somehow hang on to his prime minister.

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Israel: Police Arrest Five Women at Wailing Wall

Five women have been arrested by Israeli police at the Wailing Wall for wearing prayer shawls that Orthodox tradition states should only be worn by men.

The women were all members of the Women of the Wall group that opposes police-enforced segregation of worshippers according to sex at the Jerusalem holy site.

The arrests occurred during a monthly prayer session organised by the group.

"Police detained for questioning five women who prayed with religious garments at the Wall," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

A girl watches men praying at the Wailing Wall from behind a barrier

The group's monthly gatherings at the Western Wall often end with arrests of women who don prayer shawls or read publicly from the holy scriptures, a rite also reserved under Orthodox ritual for men.

Jewish modernisers have long called on senior rabbis to relax laws in Israel preventing men and women worshipping together at the Wall.

Women are not allowed to pray with men at the Wailing Wall

On Wednesday, officials said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was considering a plan to convert an old archaeological dig south of the Wall into an area where men and women would be allowed to mix and worship freely.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

North Korea: Japan Anxious Over Missiles

By Alex Rossi, Sky News Correspondent, in Tokyo

The Japanese government is continuing to hold emergency meetings with the country's military planners over fears of an imminent missile test from North Korea.

The latest military intelligence shows that the regime has moved medium-range missiles to its eastern seaboard.

It is believed leader Kim Jong-Un may order one to be launched on or around April 15 to celebrate the 101st anniversary of the birth of his grandfather and founder of North Korea Kim Il-Sung.

The Japanese have deployed Patriot missiles at key locations across the country as a precaution. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said Japan is ready to face down any threat.

Shinzo Abe: 'Sense of urgency'

"We are all working together united and with a sense of urgency," he said as he arrived at his offices earlier.

For people living and working in the shadow of the military hardware, the last few days have been unnerving.

At a clothes company across the road from one of the sites - the Defence Ministry - workers are preparing the summer collection for buyers from across the world.

One clothes designer, Akira Kinura, sums up how everyone is feeling - this is an anxious time.

He said: "We got a little bit tense when they brought out the Patriot missiles but we hope nothing happens and this is resolved peacefully."

In truth Japan is well used to angry language from Pyongyang, and this is not the first time Patriot missiles have been deployed as a defensive measure.

Meanwhile, in one of Tokyo's amusement arcades, gamers enjoy life-and-death battles in a world of digital make believe.

Arcade owner Patsuyuki Muchiki, who has been around video games his entire working life, believes the young North Korean leader is bluffing and that starting a war would be suicide.

"So Kim Jong is very childish. What he is doing is very unpredictable, but who would do such a thing when the consequences would mean the destruction of his own nation."

The Japanese are familiar with North Korean bluster and they are hoping this time is no different.

The real fear is that the regime may misjudge or miscalculate, and start something that ends with catastrophic consequences, not just for Tokyo but for the whole region.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

North Korea's Missiles 'In Upright Position'

Visiting Secretive North Korea

Updated: 11:52am UK, Wednesday 10 April 2013

Despite the current tensions on the Korean Peninsula, tourists have been able to travel to North Korea.

A Sky News employee has just returned from a four-day trip. Journalists are strictly banned from the county without visas, which are rarely issued, so we are not revealing her name, but here is her story:

I flew from Beijing to Pyongyang. On the flight with me were lots of North Koreans with plenty of excess baggage: TVs, vegetables and meat.

Nothing felt abnormal. There was no feeling of tension.

Only when I arrived at the Demilitarised Zone were we prevented access to some of the buildings because of the current situation.

Throughout the four-day trip, which was organised by a Chinese travel company, we were assigned two North Korean minders.

One of them was more senior than the other. She watched us and watched her colleague too.

They did not want the war but were also determined to fight if the country decided to start a war. They emphasised to us that they believed in the country from their hearts.

We were not allowed to move freely. We could only do tourist things according to the guidance of the tour "guards".

We were not allowed to take photographs in the car or anywhere without the minder's permission. We were told not to photograph anything that looked bad or makes North Korea look bad.

"Don't bring bad impressions out of Pyongyang," they said.

People were very friendly. There was little traffic, so people would stare at our bus wherever we drove.

People there are very aware of the potential war.

Every time we arrived at the places of interest, the tour guides would always ask us in Korean (the minders would translate into Chinese) about the latest situation and our opinions about the situation, particularly our opinions about the US, as they all believe the tensions are the fault of America.

When we asked the minders what would happen if the war breaks out tomorrow, they said: "If the war breaks tomorrow, until midnight tonight, we are still building the socialist constructions."

We also asked them whether they know where Kim Jong-Un lives and works, as we explained to them that in Beijing, all the top leaders work and live in a place called Zhongnanhai. They all said they had no idea.

The two minders liked to sing. One of the songs they sang was apparently written by a South Korean musician to express his admiration toward Kim Jong-Il.

On one of the days we went to Myohyang San, a North Korean mountain. The six of us on the tour were locked in the restaurant because the North Koreans were so afraid that we would wander around.

There is a museum near the mountain, where gifts from foreign countries are displayed. A lot of them came from Japan.

We asked them how could they receive so many gifts from Japan given that North Korea considers the Japanese as enemies. They told us that the Japanese really admire the leaders, so they gave us many gifts.

We stayed in the Yanggakdo International Hotel, where we could watch international TV channels including the BBC, NHK, (Japanese TV), Phoenix (Hong Kong TV) and CCTV (Chinese TV).

The minders live on a specific floor where they only have three North Korean channels to watch. They never ate with us and when we asked what they had eaten, they always refused to tell us.

We were not allowed to use the local currency, and they never showed us their money. We could use Chinese RMB, US dollars or euros.

There were not many opportunities to see any ordinary North Korean people apart from the shopkeepers, tour guides or waitresses in the hotel.

There is a casino on the underground floor of the Yanggakdo International Hotel, where most of the staff members come from Liaoning Province over the northern border in China, and North Koreans are not allowed to enter.

The casino is managed by people from Macau. The staff there told us it was empty because the tensions mean far fewer people are travelling to North Korea.

Staff at the casino are all Chinese. When we asked to go to the casino, one of the minders said to us: "You must be non-communists, because communist members don't go to casinos."

Wherever we go to visit, they always asked us if we think their places or things are pretty. They only wanted to show us the good side of the country.

As soon as we travelled outside the capital city, it felt very like the real North Korea: rural, no tall buildings, only farmland.

We never felt the tension of war on our trip. On the streets, on our tour, in the hotel and even at a school we visited, the students were studying as normal.

The people we spoke to asked us if it was true that living in Beijing is hard. They think living in North Korea is the happiest thing in the world.

It feels as though those North Koreans who have travelled outside the country have never mentioned what the outside world really looks like.

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Angelina Jolie Joins Hague At G8 In London

By Alistair Bunkall, Sky News Correspondent

The G8 group of leading countries has pledged to end sexual violence and rape in conflict in an historic announcement.

William Hague confirmed the agreement at a meeting of the G8 foreign ministers at Lancaster House in London.

He was joined by the actress Angelina Jolie who is a Special Envoy for the UN Human Rights Council, and Zainab Bangura, the Special Representative for the UN on sexual violence in conflict.

Mr Hague likened the crimes to the slave trade, saying rape in war zones is "one of the greatest and most persistent injustices in the world".

He added: "It is almost one of the most neglected."

The agreement will result in money pledged to fight the crimes.

Britain is providing £10m from the budgets of the Foreign Office and Department for International Development.

The pledge will make up part of the £23m package pledged by the G8 nations at the London meeting.

William Hague and Angelina Jolie in the Congo last month

The G8 has also agreed that there should be no amnesty for sexual violence in peace agreements, and committed to developing an international protocol to investigate such crimes.

Soldiers, who are sometimes the first to come across victims in conflict zones, will receive dedicated training to deal with such scenarios.

Mr Hague and Jolie have worked together on the agreement over the past year.

Last month they travelled together to the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country with one of the worst records of rape as a weapon on conflict.

Speaking alongside Mr Hague in London, Jolie said: "International political will has been sorely lacking. But today I believe that their (the victims') voices have been heard, and that we finally have some hope to offer them."

Britain has pushed the issue as part of its presidency of the G8 and the Foreign Secretary has said he intends to take it further when the UK assumes Presidency of the UN Security Council in June.

International Development Secretary Justine Greening said: "Britain will not stand on the sidelines while so many are denied the chance to reach their full potential and live safe, happy lives.

"We know that girls and women are at their most vulnerable at times of conflict or humanitarian disaster but we need to know what works best to tackle the terrible, often sexual, violence they face."

22.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

North Korea: South On Alert For Missile Launch

Visiting Secretive North Korea

Updated: 11:52am UK, Wednesday 10 April 2013

Despite the current tensions on the Korean Peninsula, tourists have been able to travel to North Korea.

A Sky News employee has just returned from a four-day trip. Journalists are strictly banned from the county without visas, which are rarely issued, so we are not revealing her name, but here is her story:

I flew from Beijing to Pyongyang. On the flight with me were lots of North Koreans with plenty of excess baggage: TVs, vegetables and meat.

Nothing felt abnormal. There was no feeling of tension.

Only when I arrived at the Demilitarised Zone were we prevented access to some of the buildings because of the current situation.

Throughout the four-day trip, which was organised by a Chinese travel company, we were assigned two North Korean minders.

One of them was more senior than the other. She watched us and watched her colleague too.

They did not want the war but were also determined to fight if the country decided to start a war. They emphasised to us that they believed in the country from their hearts.

We were not allowed to move freely. We could only do tourist things according to the guidance of the tour "guards".

We were not allowed to take photographs in the car or anywhere without the minder's permission. We were told not to photograph anything that looked bad or makes North Korea look bad.

"Don't bring bad impressions out of Pyongyang," they said.

People were very friendly. There was little traffic, so people would stare at our bus wherever we drove.

People there are very aware of the potential war.

Every time we arrived at the places of interest, the tour guides would always ask us in Korean (the minders would translate into Chinese) about the latest situation and our opinions about the situation, particularly our opinions about the US, as they all believe the tensions are the fault of America.

When we asked the minders what would happen if the war breaks out tomorrow, they said: "If the war breaks tomorrow, until midnight tonight, we are still building the socialist constructions."

We also asked them whether they know where Kim Jong-Un lives and works, as we explained to them that in Beijing, all the top leaders work and live in a place called Zhongnanhai. They all said they had no idea.

The two minders liked to sing. One of the songs they sang was apparently written by a South Korean musician to express his admiration toward Kim Jong-Il.

On one of the days we went to Myohyang San, a North Korean mountain. The six of us on the tour were locked in the restaurant because the North Koreans were so afraid that we would wander around.

There is a museum near the mountain, where gifts from foreign countries are displayed. A lot of them came from Japan.

We asked them how could they receive so many gifts from Japan given that North Korea considers the Japanese as enemies. They told us that the Japanese really admire the leaders, so they gave us many gifts.

We stayed in the Yanggakdo International Hotel, where we could watch international TV channels including the BBC, NHK, (Japanese TV), Phoenix (Hong Kong TV) and CCTV (Chinese TV).

The minders live on a specific floor where they only have three North Korean channels to watch. They never ate with us and when we asked what they had eaten, they always refused to tell us.

We were not allowed to use the local currency, and they never showed us their money. We could use Chinese RMB, US dollars or euros.

There were not many opportunities to see any ordinary North Korean people apart from the shopkeepers, tour guides or waitresses in the hotel.

There is a casino on the underground floor of the Yanggakdo International Hotel, where most of the staff members come from Liaoning Province over the northern border in China, and North Koreans are not allowed to enter.

The casino is managed by people from Macau. The staff there told us it was empty because the tensions mean far fewer people are travelling to North Korea.

Staff at the casino are all Chinese. When we asked to go to the casino, one of the minders said to us: "You must be non-communists, because communist members don't go to casinos."

Wherever we go to visit, they always asked us if we think their places or things are pretty. They only wanted to show us the good side of the country.

As soon as we travelled outside the capital city, it felt very like the real North Korea: rural, no tall buildings, only farmland.

We never felt the tension of war on our trip. On the streets, on our tour, in the hotel and even at a school we visited, the students were studying as normal.

The people we spoke to asked us if it was true that living in Beijing is hard. They think living in North Korea is the happiest thing in the world.

It feels as though those North Koreans who have travelled outside the country have never mentioned what the outside world really looks like.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

South Korea Meets North's Threat With Boredom

Visiting Secretive North Korea

Updated: 11:52am UK, Wednesday 10 April 2013

Despite the current tensions on the Korean Peninsula, tourists have been able to travel to North Korea.

A Sky News employee has just returned from a four-day trip. Journalists are strictly banned from the county without visas, which are rarely issued, so we are not revealing her name, but here is her story:

I flew from Beijing to Pyongyang. On the flight with me were lots of North Koreans with plenty of excess baggage: TVs, vegetables and meat.

Nothing felt abnormal. There was no feeling of tension.

Only when I arrived at the Demilitarised Zone were we prevented access to some of the buildings because of the current situation.

Throughout the four-day trip, which was organised by a Chinese travel company, we were assigned two North Korean minders.

One of them was more senior than the other. She watched us and watched her colleague too.

They did not want the war but were also determined to fight if the country decided to start a war. They emphasised to us that they believed in the country from their hearts.

We were not allowed to move freely. We could only do tourist things according to the guidance of the tour "guards".

We were not allowed to take photographs in the car or anywhere without the minder's permission. We were told not to photograph anything that looked bad or makes North Korea look bad.

"Don't bring bad impressions out of Pyongyang," they said.

People were very friendly. There was little traffic, so people would stare at our bus wherever we drove.

People there are very aware of the potential war.

Every time we arrived at the places of interest, the tour guides would always ask us in Korean (the minders would translate into Chinese) about the latest situation and our opinions about the situation, particularly our opinions about the US, as they all believe the tensions are the fault of America.

When we asked the minders what would happen if the war breaks out tomorrow, they said: "If the war breaks tomorrow, until midnight tonight, we are still building the socialist constructions."

We also asked them whether they know where Kim Jong-Un lives and works, as we explained to them that in Beijing, all the top leaders work and live in a place called Zhongnanhai. They all said they had no idea.

The two minders liked to sing. One of the songs they sang was apparently written by a South Korean musician to express his admiration toward Kim Jong-Il.

On one of the days we went to Myohyang San, a North Korean mountain. The six of us on the tour were locked in the restaurant because the North Koreans were so afraid that we would wander around.

There is a museum near the mountain, where gifts from foreign countries are displayed. A lot of them came from Japan.

We asked them how could they receive so many gifts from Japan given that North Korea considers the Japanese as enemies. They told us that the Japanese really admire the leaders, so they gave us many gifts.

We stayed in the Yanggakdo International Hotel, where we could watch international TV channels including the BBC, NHK, (Japanese TV), Phoenix (Hong Kong TV) and CCTV (Chinese TV).

The minders live on a specific floor where they only have three North Korean channels to watch. They never ate with us and when we asked what they had eaten, they always refused to tell us.

We were not allowed to use the local currency, and they never showed us their money. We could use Chinese RMB, US dollars or euros.

There were not many opportunities to see any ordinary North Korean people apart from the shopkeepers, tour guides or waitresses in the hotel.

There is a casino on the underground floor of the Yanggakdo International Hotel, where most of the staff members come from Liaoning Province over the northern border in China, and North Koreans are not allowed to enter.

The casino is managed by people from Macau. The staff there told us it was empty because the tensions mean far fewer people are travelling to North Korea.

Staff at the casino are all Chinese. When we asked to go to the casino, one of the minders said to us: "You must be non-communists, because communist members don't go to casinos."

Wherever we go to visit, they always asked us if we think their places or things are pretty. They only wanted to show us the good side of the country.

As soon as we travelled outside the capital city, it felt very like the real North Korea: rural, no tall buildings, only farmland.

We never felt the tension of war on our trip. On the streets, on our tour, in the hotel and even at a school we visited, the students were studying as normal.

The people we spoke to asked us if it was true that living in Beijing is hard. They think living in North Korea is the happiest thing in the world.

It feels as though those North Koreans who have travelled outside the country have never mentioned what the outside world really looks like.

22.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mother Held Over Babies Found Dead In Freezer

Police in Poland are questioning a woman suspected of killing her three newborn sons.

The boys' bodies were found in the family's freezer.

Police have said the woman, 41-year-old Lucyna D from the northern town of Lubawa, has confessed to killing the infants.

If convicted of murder, the woman could face a life sentence in prison.

The woman reportedly said she kept the bodies in the freezer because she "could not part from them", according to police spokeswoman Anna Fic.

Forensic examinations are being carried out to see what was the actual cause of death and whether or not the babies were born alive and healthy.

The woman's husband has also been questioned.

The couple have four living children, aged between six and 22.

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France's Richest Man Arnault Ends Belgian Bid

France's richest man Bernard Arnault has withdrawn his application for Belgian citizenship.

The decision by the head of luxury group LVMH was revealed months after news of his application caused a huge outcry within France, being widely condemned by both left and right.

Mr Arnault's application followed the French government's decision to impose a 75% tax on incomes above 1m euros (£849,000) but  he had always denied doing it for tax reasons.

"I explained several times that I would remain a resident in France and that I would continue to pay my taxes there. In vain - the message did not get through," he told Le Monde newspaper.

"Today, I have decided to clear any ambiguity. I am withdrawing my demand for Belgian citizenship."

Mr Arnault and his wife at the wedding of Monaco's Prince Albert

The move comes as debate about tax havens rages in France, which is reeling from a major tax fraud scandal after former budget minister Jerome Cahuzac admitted having an undeclared bank account abroad.

Mr Arnault, the world's 10th-richest person - with a fortune estimated at almost £19bn, according to Forbes - is just one of several personalities to have recently caused controversy over plans to take up other nationalities.

Actor Gerard Depardieu is another, having announced late last year that he was giving up his French passport and moving abroad because of the rising tax rate.

Since then, the tax plan has been struck down as unconstitutional but the government has insisted it will present a new proposal that will see the rate charged to employers instead of individuals.

In his recent interview, Mr Arnault said France should be more understanding of entrepreneurs and business people: "In France, no matter if the government is left- or right-wing, they (entrepreneurs) are not thought highly of. We are like footballers, not CEOs," he said.

"Mr Tata (founder of Tata Group) is a star in India, like Warren Buffett in the United States. In Germany, the UK or in the US, they condemn poverty to better fight it, while in France we condemn wealth."

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Horsemeat Scare: 50,000 Tons Of 'Beef' Recall

Dutch authorities have recalled 50,000 tons of meat which has been sold as beef across Europe because it may contain horsemeat.

Around 370 different companies in Europe and a further 130 in the Netherlands are affected by the recall because they bought meat from two Dutch trading wholesalers.

Firms have been told to "take it off the market as a precautionary measure" and "verify all products".

The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) has taken the decision to recall the meat because its exact source cannot be established.

As a result, "its safety cannot be guaranteed", it said, ordering the immediate withdrawal of the beef from sale on Wednesday.

The horsemeat scandal has spread across Europe

The statement said there was no immediate suggestion of any danger to human health.

"The buyers have probably already processed the meat and sold it on," it said.

"They, in turn, are obliged to inform their own customers."

The Authority does not know where the meat has ended up, but it may have been used in frozen products.

The Dutch wholesalers involved are Wiljo Import en Export B.V. and Vleesgroothandel Willy Selten B.V.

Officials began a large-scale investigation into the country's meat industry in February following revelations across Europe that horsemeat was being sold as beef.

Inspectors examining Willy Selten's records found that the origin of the meat it supplied was unclear.

This makes it impossible for them to confirm whether slaughterhouses have been acting according to procedure.

"It might contain traces of horsemeat, but we don't know for certain at the moment if this is the case," a spokeswoman for the NVWA said.

Tests have been carried on products for contamination

The Authority has warned its foreign counterparts about the recall via a European rapid alert system.

Sky's Europe Correspondent Robert Nisbet said: "One of these factories that processes meat was raided on February 15.

"Prosecutors at the time said they believed that the management inside was shredding up horsemeat then adding it to beef and selling it on as 100% beef.

"What they (authorities) are saying is that they don't believe that there is horsemeat in all of this 50,000 tons - but they cannot be sure - therefore they want to take it off the shelves and subject it to more tests.

"If you remember the previous horsemeat scandal that was detected from Findus products that was made from Comigel in Luxembourg that was traced back to horsemeat from two Romanian abattoirs. That horsemeat was then sent to another processor in the Netherlands.

"So this would suggest that the Netherlands is an area that people are looking at very closely now in terms of oversight in this massively sprawling industry that runs across Europe.

"Could it be there that many of the problems have originated since this horsemeat scandal blew-up back in January?"

The Europe-wide horsemeat scandal has seen many products pulled from supermarket shelves - damaging confidence in the continent's vast and complex food industry.

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Iran Opens Two Nuclear Sites On 'Atomic Day'

Iran has announced it has opened two nuclear sites, just days after talks with world powers to limit the country's atomic programme.

State television said that operations are under way at a uranium production facility in Ardakan and at the country's biggest uranium mine at Saghand.

Tehran's announcement was made to mark the country's Atomic Energy Technology Day and comes just four days after talks with six world powers over curbing its nuclear ambitions.

The mines in the city of Saghand in central Iran operate 1,150ft (350m) underground and are within 75 miles (120km) of the new yellowcake production facility in the city of Ardakan, according to the report.

It gave few details of the Ardakan facility but said it had an estimated 60 tonnes of output of yellowcake, which is an impure state of uranium oxide later used in enrichment processes.

The country already has a number of smaller uranium mines and processing facilities.

Workers at a uranium production plant near Isfahan in 2005

In October, a report from the Institute for Scientific and International Security warned that Iran could produce enough weapons-grade uranium to make a nuclear bomb within two to four months.

The study, which used figures from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said it would take a further 10 months to actually build the nuclear weapon.

Its conclusion echoed a warning in September from then US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta who said Tehran could have a nuclear weapon within a year if it wanted to.

The US has come under increasing pressure from Israel to take military action over Iran's nuclear movements as Tehran remains defiant in the face of sanctions.

However, the US favours talks.

Last week, the five members of the UN Security Council plus Germany, known as the P5+1, met with Iranian negotiators in the Kazakh city of Almaty in a bid to coax Iran into curbing its programme in exchange for the easing of some sanctions.

The Israeli PM explains Iran's nuclear programme to the UN

Iran continues to insist the programme is for peaceful purposes. However, it is looking to expand its own enrichment programme amid UN sanctions that prevent it buying in nuclear material.

David Cameron last week named the country as a potential atomic threat as he argued that Britain should retain its own nuclear defence system, Trident.

Iran enriches uranium to both 3.5 and 20% levels in its Natanz and Fordo enrichment facilities.

Uranium purified at high levels can be used in a nuclear weapon.

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Hi-Tech Firms Join Forces Against Google

A group of companies led by Microsoft has asked European officials to investigate Google over alleged unfair practices in the mobile smartphone market.

"FairSearch" - which consists of 17 hi-tech firms including Microsoft, Nokia, Expedia, TripAdvisor and Oracle - has claimed that the internet giant acted unfairly with its Android operating system.

"We are asking the commission to move quickly and decisively to protect competition and innovation in this critical market," Thomas Vinje, Brussels-based counsel for FairSearch, said in a statement.

"Failure to act will only embolden Google to repeat its desktop abuses of dominance as consumers increasingly turn to a mobile platform dominated by Google's Android operating system."

FairSearch said it had filed a complaint with the commission, charging that the internet giant wanted Android operators to use its leading applications such as Maps or YouTube.

It said Google's Android is the dominant smartphone operating system, accounting for 70% at the end of 2012, while it had 96% of mobile phone search advertising.

Samsung's S4 is the flagship Android smartphone device

A spokesman for Google told Sky News: "We continue to work cooperatively with the European Commission."

Google has been under investigation by the commission for practices related to its dominance of online search and advertising markets since 2010.

Last week, six European countries including France and Britain, launched joint action against Google to try to get it to scale back new monitoring powers that watchdogs believe violate EU privacy protection rules.

The European Commission is not obliged to take any action other than reply to the complaint.

Android operating systems have the largest share of the smartphone market, followed by those made by Apple. Blackberry, Microsoft and others are far behind.

The European move comes as Taiwain's HTC saw its shares rise 1.5% even though the smartphone maker posted a record-low quarterly profit.

HTC's first-quarter net profit slumped 98% from a year earlier after sales suffered from the delayed launch of the company's new flagship smartphone.

The phonemaker saw its net profit fall to 85m New Taiwan dollars (£1.85m) for the quarter ending March 31, down from NT$4.47bn (£97m) a year earlier.

:: During 2010 HTC was the biggest seller of smartphones in the US operating on the Android system.

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Serbia: Gunman Kills 13 In Shooting Spree

A gunman has killed 13 people, including his mother and son, as he went house to house on a shooting spree in Serbia, authorities have said.

The 60-year-old suspect, identified by police as Ljubisa Bogdanovic, allegedly opened fire at around 5am local time with a pistol in a village near the capital Belgrade.

Residents told reporters the gunman first killed his son before leaving his home and shooting his neighbours, some of whom were still asleep.

The victims in the apparently random shootings in Velika Ivanca were six men, six women, and a two-year-old child.

Twelve were killed at the scene, 30 miles southeast of the capital, and one person died in a Belgrade hospital, police said.

The gunman, who had a semi-automatic 9mm pistol, also shot his wife before turning the gun on himself.

The pair were both seriously injured and in a critical condition in hospital.

Police officers among those at the scene of the atrocity

Another person was also hurt in the attack, which lasted around half an hour.

Police, who blocked off the village while they investigated the attacks, said the motive for the killings was unclear.

They added the suspect lost his job in 2012 and fought as a Serb soldier in the war in Croatia in 1992.

Villager Radovan Radosavljevic said of the shootings: "He knocked on the doors, and as they were opened he just fired a shot.

"He was a good neighbour and anyone would open their doors to him. I don't know what happened."

Milorad Velijovic from the interior ministry said: "Most of the victims were shot in the head as they slept.

"They were killed in five houses, mainly relatives and neighbours."

Mr Velijovic said the gunman had a firearms permit and he and his son had been made redundant last year.

Belgrade emergency hospital spokeswoman Nada Macura said the suspect was not believed to have a history of mentally illness.

Although such apparently random shootings are rare in Serbia, weapons are readily available mostly from the war in the Balkans in the 1990s and there is a tradition of possessing firearms.

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North Korea: Japan Deploys Missile Defence

By Mark Stone, on Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea

Japan has deployed missile-defence systems in its capital as North Korea warned foreigners in the South to take evacuation measures in case of war.

The interceptors were set up as a precautionary measure, and the Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun reported that North Korea would launch a missile test on Wednesday.

Two Patriot Advanced Capability-3 surface-to-air missile launchers were stationed at the defence ministry in Tokyo before dawn, and other batteries are to be installed in the semi-tropical island chain of Okinawa, officials said.

The deployment isn't unusual. Japan has responded to North Korea tests in the past by positioning interceptor missiles.

"The government is making utmost efforts to protect our people's lives and ensure their safety," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.

In addition to the PAC-3, Aegis destroyers equipped with sea-based interceptor missiles have been deployed in the Sea of Japan.

A Musudan missile, pictured in 2010

North Korea's latest warning to foreigners intensified the threat of an imminent conflict, keeping up the fiery rhetoric employed for weeks by officials in Pyongyang.

"The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inching close to a thermo-nuclear war," said the statement by the Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee.

"Once a war is ignited on the peninsula, it will be an all-out war, a merciless, sacred, retaliatory war waged by the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)," it went on to say.

"We do not wish harm on foreigners in South Korea should there be a war."

Last week, the North Korean government told embassies in the capital it could not guarantee the safety of their staff.

However, US and South Korean defence officials have said they have seen nothing to indicate that Pyongyang is preparing for a major military action, in which it would be heavily outgunned.

North Korea has also suspended its operations at the Kaesong industrial complex, its last major economic link with the South, and recalled all 53,000 of its workers.

North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong-Un, is seen as unpredictable

The work stoppage at a key source of hard cash for the North suggests Pyongyang is willing to hurt its own shaky economy in order to display its anger with South Korea and the US.

Amid rising tensions on the peninsula, the US and South Korea have also raised their defence postures.

North Korea is believed to have moved two missiles - possibly the medium-range Musudan - to its eastern coast on the Sea of Japan, loading them on to mobile launchers.

The Musudan missile has a range of about 3,000km (1,800 miles), meaning it is capable of reaching South Korea and Japan and perhaps also the US territory of Guam in the Pacific Ocean.

There has been speculation that Pyongyang might schedule a missile launch to coincide with the birthday of the country's late founder Kim Il-Sung - the current leader's grandfather - in mid-April.

Foreign Secretary William Hague has said the threat posed by North Korea must be treated "very seriously" and the US has delayed the testing of an intercontinental ballistic missile in an effort to defuse the situation.

US Secretary of State John Kerry visits Seoul this week

North Korea is furious at UN sanctions imposed after Pyongyang conducted its third nuclear test in February, and at joint military exercises between the US and South Korea, with B-2 stealth bombers dispatched from US bases.

Seoul and Washington say those exercises are routine but Pyongyang has unleashed a torrent of threats against the allies.

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Iran Earthquake Strikes Near Nuclear Plant

Four people have been killed in a 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck near Bushehr in southern Iran, according to state TV.

The epicentre of the quake was Kaki, 60 miles south of Bushehr - home to the country's only nuclear power station.

The Russian company that built the plant said the quake had been felt there but operations had not been affected.

"The earthquake in no way affected the normal situation at the reactor. Personnel continue to work in the normal regime and radiation levels are fully within the norm," Russian state news agency RIA quoted an official at Atomstroyexport as saying.

Fereydoon Hasanvand, the governor of the port city, confirmed that "no damage at all has been caused" to the reactor.

A reactor at the Bushehr nuclear power plant

Two villages - Shanbe and Sana -  near the nuclear plant suffered serious damage, according to Red Crescent official Morteza Moradipour.

One Bushehr resident said her home and the homes of her neighbours were shaken by the quake but not damaged.

Nikoo said: "We could clearly feel the earthquake. The windows and chandeliers all shook."

The tremors were felt as far as Dubai, Qatar and Bahrain and five aftershocks struck within an hour.

It was much smaller than the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Japan two years ago, triggering a tsunami that destroyed back-up generators and disabled the Fukushima nuclear plant's cooling system. Three of the reactors melted down.

In the past, Gulf Arab countries and Western experts have voiced concerns about the Bushehr plant, which is in a highly seismic area.

Iran has repeatedly rejected concerns it could be unsafe.

It is the only country operating a nuclear power plant that does not belong to the Convention on Nuclear Safety, negotiated after the 1986 nuclear disaster in Chernobyl which contaminated wide areas and forced about 160,000 Ukrainians from their homes.

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Bali Court Upholds Briton's Death Penalty

A British grandmother sentenced to death in Bali for trafficking cocaine has lost her appeal.

Lindsay Sandiford, 56, was sentenced to capital punishment in January for taking almost 5kg (10.6lb) of the drug onto the island.

She launched an appeal but on Monday the Bali High Court ruled the original punishments was "accurate and correct" and confirmed it.

Sandiford, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, has 14 days to appeal to the Supreme Court.

If the Supreme Court also rejects her plea, she can seek a judicial review of the decision from the same court.

After that, only the president can grant her a reprieve.

The sentence would see her shot by a firing squad.

Sandiford after her arrest at Bali airport

The Government said it was disappointed at the High Court's decision.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The UK strongly opposes the death penalty and has repeatedly made representations to the Indonesian government on this matter."

Sandiford was arrested in May 2012 at Bali airport when customs officers found the drugs, worth £1.6m, in her luggage.

She said she had been forced to smuggle the drugs into Bali from Thailand by a criminal gang and that the safety of her children was at risk.

She has cooperated with the police and local authorities, which has led to other arrests.

January's death sentence came as a shock because prosecutors had recommended a 15-year jail term.

Sandiford's lawyer has said the punishment is out of proportion, given she has admitted her crime, expressed regret and helped police in the investigation.

Paul Beales (L), Rachell Dougall and Julian Ponder received jail sentences

But the court ruled she had damaged Indonesia's hard-line stance on drugs, as well as Bali's reputation as a tourism destination.

Three other Britons arrested in connection with the case received lighter punishments.

Julian Ponder was sentenced to six years in jail after being found guilty of possessing cocaine in his luxury Bali villa.

Rachel Dougall was sentenced to 12 months for failing to report Sandiford's crime, and Paul Beales received four years for possession of hashish but was cleared of drug trafficking.

Indonesia enforces stiff penalties for drug trafficking, but death penalty sentences are commonly commuted to lengthy prison terms.

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Kayaker Rescues Family From Sinking Car

A kayaker rescued a family-of-five from a river after the vehicle they were travelling in veered off a cliff into the water and nearly hit him.

The family's SUV slammed into a concrete bollard then hit a tree and a boulder before the wreckage ended up in the middle of the river.

Mark Divottori, who was kayaking in the American River near Sacramento in North California, said the out-of-control vehicle hit the water just behind him.

He told local channel KCRA: "It was fortuitous that they didn't actually land on me. I was kayaking right there moments before they plunged off the cliff."

The three children managed to take off their seatbelts and swim from the car. Mr Divottori ferried them to safety.

However, the driver of the car was unable to get out of the vehicle and was pinned upside down with his wife trying to hold his head above water, according to the KCRA report.

He was eventually rescued by El Dorado County firefighters but suffered serious injuries in the crash, which happened on Saturday.

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North Korea: Putin In 'Chernobyl' Warning

By Mark Stone, Yeonpyeong island

Vladimir Putin said a war in Korea could be more devastating than the Chernobyl disaster - as Pyongyang was warned against another nuclear test.

The Russian President said he was "worried about the escalation on the Korean peninsula, because we are neighbours".

And Mr Putin, who also praised a US decision to postpone a planned missile test as part of efforts to reduce tensions, said he feared a situation worse than that in Chernobyl after a nuclear accident that was later linked to thousands of deaths.

"If, God forbid, something happens, Chernobyl which we all know a lot about, may seem like a child's fairy tale," he said.

"Is there such a threat or not? I think there is ... I would urge everyone to calm down ... and start to resolve the problems that have piled up for many years there at the negotiating table."

His intervention came after United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the North not to carry out a new nuclear test - saying it would be a "provocative" act.

South Korea raised fears that a fourth test was due amid reports of increased activity at the main atomic test site Punggye-ri, but later backtracked.

Its Defence Ministry said: "We found there had been no unusual movements that indicated it wanted to carry out a nuclear test."

North Korea leader Kim Jong-Un

Mr Ban said: "The Democratic People's Republic of North Korea cannot go on like this, confronting and challenging the authority of the (UN) Security Council and the international community.

"I am urging them to refrain from taking any further provocative measures."

China's Foreign Ministry also said it wanted peace on the Korean peninsula, not war, adding a proper solution to the crisis was the responsibility of all parties.

The Pentagon has already strengthened its missile defences in response to the repeated threats made by Pyongyang in recent weeks.

However, the New York Times has reported that a more thorough plan - setting out a limited but forceful response to any future provocation - has been drawn up by the US and South Korea.

It said US officials had outlined a "counter-provocation" plan that would see a "response in kind" that would hit the source of any North Korean attack with similar weapons.

Meanwhile, North Korea said it was withdrawing all workers and suspending operations at its joint industrial zone with South Korea, the only surviving symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.

South Korea has appealed for North Korea to allow access to the Kaesong joint industrial park, six miles inside its borders.

The North has banned South Korean managers and personnel from crossing the border to enter the complex since last Wednesday.

So far 13 of the 123 South Korean firms operating there have been forced to halt production due to fuel and raw material shortages.

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Nutella Heist: 5.5 Tonnes Of Spread Stolen

Thieves in Germany have stolen 5.5 tonnes of Nutella, the chocolate-hazelnut spread.

They stole the jars from a parked trailer in the central German town of Bad Hersfeld.

The haul of Nutella, which is manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero, is worth around 16,000 euros (£13,600).

5.5 tonnes of Nutella is worth £13,600

Police said that an unknown number of culprits made off with the spread over the weekend.

Germans news agency dpa reported that thieves had previously stolen a load of energy drinks from the same location.

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Syria: Car Bomb Explodes In Damascus

A car bomb has exploded in the business district of the Syrian capital killing 15 people and leaving at least 47 injured.

A government official said the explosion occurred at one of the capital's biggest roundabouts in Sabaa Bahrat, the city's main business district, which houses the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance.

A resident described the explosion as the biggest she had heard in the capital and said that large plumes of smoke were rising from the area.

A car bombing at the Baath Party headquarter in February

Footage on state television showed scenes of devastation, with plumes of thick black smoke billowing up around buildings in the area, and bodies being pulled from wreckage.

According to one broadcaster, the bombing happened near to a school and some of the dead were believed to be children.

It is the latest attack on government-held Damascus by Syrian rebels who have increased the number of mortar and car bomb attacks on the city in recent months.

Free Syrian Army fighters run for cover from snipers in Damascus yesterday

On March 21 an explosion ripped through a mosque in the city killing at least 49 people.

In February, a car bombing near the ruling Baath Party headquarters killed 53 people and injured 200 others. It was the deadliest attack in nine months.

The attack comes as the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, said that he had a team of chemical weapons inspectors ready to deploy to Syria within 24 hours to investigate claims of chemical weapon use by both sides.

Speaking after meeting with the head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague, Mr Ban said: "The use of chemical weapons, by any side under any circumstances, would constitute a crime against humanity."

Mr Ban said he is waiting for agreement from the Syrian government to allow him to send the team, which is currently awaiting orders in Cyprus, and urged Bashar Assad's regime to be "flexible" so the investigation could be launched as soon as possible.

Both the rebels and the government have claimed chemical weapons have been used in attacks and that each has the capability to deploy the devices in the ongoing conflict.

The Syrian-based human rights group, Violations Documentation Centre, reported that 9,000 government troops have been killed in the two years of fighting between President Bashar Assad's forces and the Free Syrian Army of rebels trying to overthrow him.

More than 70,000 people have died since the Syrian uprising started in March 2011.

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Nelson Mandela Leaves Hospital After 10 Days

Former South African president Nelson Mandela is spending his first day at home after 10 days in hospital being treated for pneumonia.

The 94-year-old was allowed to return home "following a sustained and gradual improvement in his general condition".

An ambulance is understood to have taken him back to his residence in Johannesburg.

President Jacob Zuma's office said Mr Mandela would now receive "home-based" care.

Mr Mandela is believed to have been transported home in this ambulance

A statement said: "President Zuma thanks the hard working medical team and hospital staff for looking after Madiba so efficiently."

He also extended his gratitude to all South Africans, friends of the nation and to people around the world for their support.

Spokesman Mac Maharaj told Sky News: "We are all very happy with the news and grateful to the doctors and the hospital staff for looking after him so well.

"The doctors say that given his age, they have to monitor him very carefully and they have to remain cautious all the time.

"He is frail, and we need to take into account his age ... but Madiba is a fighter and he is not ready to say goodbye to us."

It has been the third health scare in four months for the anti-apartheid leader.

He was in hospital briefly in early March for a check-up and before that in December for nearly three weeks with a lung infection and following surgery to remove gallstones.

The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, who became South Africa's first black President in 1994, is a global symbol of tolerance and the struggle for equality.

Mr Mandela stepped down as President in 1999 and has not been politically active for a decade.

He has a history of lung problems dating from when he contracted tuberculosis as a political prisoner.

He spent 27 years on Robben Island and in other jails for his attempts to overthrow the white-minority government.

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Afghanistan Nato Raid 'Kills 11 Children'

A Nato air strike has killed 11 children and a woman in eastern Afghanistan, according to local officials.

The strike targeted militants in the Shigal district of restive Kunar province, which is on the border with Pakistan.

"Eleven children and a woman were killed when an air strike hit their houses," said Wasifullah Wasifi, the spokesman for Kunar province.

They were killed when their houses collapsed on them, officials said.

Six insurgents - two of them senior Taliban leaders - were also killed during the operation on Saturday.

Civilian casualties caused by Nato forces have been one of the most contentious issues in the campaign against Taliban insurgents, provoking harsh criticism from President Hamid Karzai and angry public protests.

President Hamid Karzai has condemned civilian casualties

Mr Karzai has banned his troops from requesting air strikes.

Shigal district governor Abdul Zahir said people had brought the children's bodies to the centre of the town.

A spokesman for the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Captain Luca Carniel, said they were aware of reports of civilian casualties and were assessing the incident.

He said ISAF had provided "air support" during the operation. The air strike had been called in by Nato forces, and not their Afghan allies, he continued.

Taliban militants have killed six Americans - including a young female diplomat - in the deadliest day in Afghanistan for the US in eight months.

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