Iran Claims 'MI6 Spy' On Trial After Capture

Iran says it has arrested a "spy" accused of working for the British secret intelligence service.

A court official said the man had confessed to his alleged crimes and was on trial.

He was detained in the town of Kerman in southeast Iran after authorities spent months tracking him down, the semi-official ISNA news agency said.

The suspect is accused of meeting four British intelligence operatives and giving them information.

Dadkhoda Salari, head of the Kerman revolutionary court, said: "Through the efforts of Iranian security forces, an MI6 spy has been arrested.

"He has met British intelligence officers in person 11 times, both inside the country and abroad, and provided them with intelligence."

It has not been suggested the alleged spy is a Briton, and Tehran has a history of announcing the arrest of people it claims are spying without releasing more details.

But the news is potentially embarrassing at a time when diplomatic relations between the UK and Iran had been improving after a two-year freeze.

On Friday, Iran's new envoy to Britain, Hassan Habibollah-Zadeh, held talks in London on his first visit since his appointment in November.

And a British diplomat, non-resident charge d'affaires Ajay Sharma, said he had "detailed and constructive discussions" about the UK's relationship with Iran during talks earlier this month.

He visited the site of the UK's embassy in the Iranian capital to assess the damage caused when it was ransacked by a mob in 2011, an incident which prompted the Government to pull its staff out of the country.

The thaw in relations between Tehran and the international community has also seen a deal reached over its nuclear programme.

Responding to the reported arrest a Foreign Office spokesman said: "We don't comment on intelligence matters."

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Banana Trade In Costa Rica Hit By Bug Plagues

Authorities in Costa Rica have declared a "national emergency" as a double plague of insects threatens banana exports from the Central American nation.

An outbreak of mealybugs and scale insects has quickly infected swathes of banana plantations across the country, with some 24,000 hectares of banana plants reportedly infected.

Agricultural engineer Eric Bolanos said the insects extract nutrients from banana plants, leaving them weak and causing dark stains on the fruit.

"Basically, what it does is suck out the nutrients, or sap from the plant's organs, stems, leaves. It could reach the fruit, causing damage (like) dark stains," he added.

The banana plants have had their nutrients sucked out

Some experts have blamed climate change, with warmer temperatures and changing rain patterns, for the explosion in the bug population.

Magda Gonzalez, from Costa Rica's Phytosanitary Service, said up to 20% of Costa Rica's banana crop could be affected.

"At the moment, the problem that we have is that the two plagues are distributed practically across the entire (agricultural) sector where there is banana. That's one thing. This started as a little point in La Estrella Valley and from there they dispersed towards other areas. At the moment, it's said that suppliers could reject 20% of the fruit," she said..

According to trade officials, Costa Rica is one of the world's largest banana exporters with more than half a billion dollars worth of the fruit crop exported abroad over 10 months.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Egypt Sees First Snow Storm In Years

A winter storm has brought snow to Cairo for the first time in decades and has blanketed parts of the Middle East.

Bad weather closed two of the country's Mediterranean ports and two ports on the Red Sea as "several" in inches fell in the Sinai Desert and elsewhere.

Ali Abdelazim, an official at Egypt's meteorological centre, said it was "the first time in very many years" since the last snowfall in the suburbs of Cairo.

Precipitation of any kind is rare in Egypt so the rare sight of snow has been much talked about on social networking sites such as Twitter.

In Syria's contested northern city of Aleppo, soldiers and rebels took a break from fighting as the temperatures on the deserted streets hovered around zero.

"All the fighters are cold and hiding," the activist who uses the pseudonym Abu Raed said.

A man walks through the snow in Jerusalem

The cold weather was part of a storm, dubbed Alexa, which has been pounding much of Lebanon and parts of northern Syria since Wednesday, pushing temperatures below zero in mountainous areas and dumping snow and heavy rains.

The snow has heaped another layer of misery on the already grim existence of many of the more than two million Syrians who have fled the civil war raging in their homeland.

In Lebanon, snow fell on northern and eastern regions where tens of thousands of Syrian refugees are staying, many of them in flimsy plastic tents.

Up to 13cm (5in) have fallen in refugee camps in Lebanon with 8cm (3in) in the wartorn Syrian city of Homs.

Jerusalem was left blanketed by up to 50cm (20in) of snow, forcing police to block access to and from the city as the army was called in to help restore power to more than 35,000 homes.

The city's heaviest snowstorm for 50 years forced Israeli authorities to lift a ban on public transport on the Jewish Sabbath - Saturday.

The unusually large fall allowed children to build snowmen but left elderly residents shivering.

John Kerry and Benjamin Netanyahu look out at snow-covered city Jerusalem

The weather even featured in talks between visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mr Kerry, a former Massachusetts senator, said the snow in Jerusalem made him feel "at home".

"I have heard of making guests welcome and feeling at home. This is about as far as I've ever seen anything go ... giving me a New England snowstorm."

In the West Bank and Gaza, UN relief teams offered emergency services to the worst-hit communities.

In Gaza, which was experiencing its first snow in a decade, more than 500 people were evacuated from their homes, according to Hamas spokesman Ihab Ghussein.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Shooting At Denver School Near Columbine

A gunman has killed himself after opening fire at a Denver high school near to the site of the Columbine High School massacre.

One 15-year-old student was injured at the Arapahoe High School in Centennial and is in a critical condition, according to authorities.

Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson identified the shooter as 18-year-old Karl Halverson Pierson.

Pierson entered the school with a shotgun and was looking for an individual teacher who he identified by name, said Mr Robinson.

Armed police at the school

He added: "The teacher began to understand that he was being looked at and exited the school. One student confronted the armed student and was shot."

Mr Robinson did not elaborate on any possible motive except to say Pierson had had a "confrontation or disagreement" with the teacher.

The teenager was later found with fatal self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Mr Robinson said a possible Molotov cocktail was also found at the scene.

Pupils were led out of the building with their hands in the air by police officers after the shooting, which began at 12.30pm local time. All the schools in the area are on lockdown as a result. 

One student told the Denver Post: "I was scared and shaking." She added that she heard, "bang, bang, bang" and by the third shot was on the ground.

Youngsters told the newspaper they hid in the corners of dark classrooms until police SWAT teams arrived.  

A student is reunited with her father after the shooting

The school is about eight miles (13km) east of Columbine High School in Littleton, where two teenage shooters killed 12 classmates and a teacher before killing themselves in 1999.

Tracy Monroe, who had step-siblings who attended Columbine, was standing outside the high school looking at her phone, reading text messages from her 15-year-old daughter inside.

She said she got the first text from her daughter, Jade Stanton, at 12.41pm. The text read: "There's sirens. It's real. I love you."

A few minutes later, Jade texted "shots were fired in our school".

Ms Monroe rushed to the school and was relieved when Jade texted that a police officer entered her classroom and that she was safe.

Ms Monroe was friends with a teacher killed in the Columbine shooting, Dave Carpenter.

"We didn't think it could happen in Colorado then, either," she said.

Some 2,141 students attend the school, which has 70 classrooms.

The attack comes almost one year after 20 children and six adults were killed in a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Geminid Meteor Shower: Treat For Stargazers

Dozens of shooting stars have been burning up in the Earth's atmosphere in the annual Geminid meteor shower.

Stargazers say the display - which peaked overnight - is one of the best this year and will continue until Monday.

Some people on Twitter reported seeing one meteor every minute and the shower was described as "perfect" and "phenomenal".

But others complained that it was too cloudy to see anything.

Robert Massey from the Royal Astronomical Society told Sky News that in suburban London he saw eight in 15 minutes which was "not bad at all".

He said considering he was watching from a light polluted area it was "fairly positive" and would have been even better with fewer lights around.

He also said even though the shower will continue over the weekend it may not be as good visually as the Moon will be further away.

On Twitter, HeineKing13 said: "Meteor shower is awesome. 26 falling stars in 20 minutes. Awesome!", while Organic4Kendall said it was "definitely perfect".

Reaction to the meteor shower has been positive. Pic: Nemetode.org

PryorFrancis wrote: "Geminid meteor shower was fabulous at 4am in dark Fenland skies. Good again tonight and no clouds forecast. Look north."

Dlelacru said: "This meteor shower is phenomenal!"

And Accordingtoxen said: "I've seen at least 30 large meteors and 2 dozen smaller streaks so far. The rate of the #Geminid #Meteor shower is intensifying."

But Njp_myworld said: "Cloudy yet again on one of the best meteor shower nights of the year."

While most meteor showers come from comets, Geminids is different because the 'parent' is an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon.

"Of all the debris streams Earth passes through every year, the Geminids' is by far the most massive," said Nasa astronomer Bill Cooke.

The Geminid shower takes its name from the Gemini constellation, from where it is thought to originate.

The shower lasts from December 12-16 but the Moon was expected to make viewing tricky at times because it is in its waxing phase, a few days before being full.

Getting away from the artificial light of towns and cities will give skywatchers a better chance.

A meteor - also referred to as a shooting star - is the streak of light caused when a meteoroid fragment enters the atmosphere and burns up.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Space Monkey: Iran Claims Second Success

Iran claims a second monkey it has sent into space has survived - nearly a year after questions were asked over an earlier attempt.

State TV said the monkey had travelled in a rocket dubbed Pajohesh, or Research in Farsi, which was the country's first craft to use liquid fuel.

It said the monkey, named Fargam or Auspicious, reached a height of 72 miles (120km) before being returned to Earth safely.

President Hassan Rouhani congratulated the scientists involved in the mission, in a message carried by Iran's official IRNA news agency.

"The launch of Pajohesh is another long step getting the Islamic Republic of Iran closer to sending a man into space," the official IRNA news agency said.

Pre-recorded footage, shown on state TV, showed the rocket blasting off and then showed the monkey, strapped snugly into a seat, staring at people clapping to celebrate its safe return.

The report said Fargam's capsule parachuted safely to Earth after detaching from the rocket in a mission that lasted 15 minutes.

In January, Iran said it had successfully brought a live monkey back to Earth from orbit.

But the experiment's success was disputed, when a different monkey was presented to the media after the landing.

An earlier attempt had failed in September 2011.

Doubts were cast on Iran's last claim after it presented a different monkey

Iran's space programme has prompted concern among Western governments which fear Tehran is experimenting in an attempt to master the technology required to deliver a nuclear warhead.

But for Iranians, the country's aerospace programme is a source of national pride.

Iran is keen to show itself as a technological hub for Islamic and developing countries.

In the January mission, one of two official packages of photos depicted the wrong monkey, causing some international observers to wonder whether the monkey had died in space or that the space flight had in fact failed.

But Iranian officials later said one set of pictures showed an archive photo of an alternative monkey, which was not used.

They said three to five monkeys are simultaneously trained for such a flight but only one is chosen.

The Islamic Republic has not revealed where the rocket launch took place, but it has a major satellite launch complex near Semnan, about 125 miles (200km) east of Tehran.

Analysts say putting a monkey into space without putting it into orbit is similar to the achievements of the superpowers during the late 1950s.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mandela Funeral: Tutu 'Heartbroken At Snub'

Desmond Tutu is said to be "heartbroken" after he was apparently left off the guest list for the funeral of his close friend Nelson Mandela.

The 82-year-old retired archbishop said he received "no indication" he had been invited to the burial service.

He worked closely with the former South African president in his long struggle against apartheid and welcomed Mr Mandela into his home after his fellow campaigner's release from jail.

"Much as I would have loved to attend the service to say a final farewell to someone I loved and treasured, it would have been disrespectful to Tata to gatecrash what was billed as a private family funeral," he said.

Contradicting President Jacob Zuma's claim that he was "definitely" on the guest list, Mr Tutu added: "Had I or my office been informed that I would be be welcome, there is no way on Earth that I would have missed it."

The apparent exclusion of the Nobel Peace Prize winner has led to speculation he is being punished for vocal criticism of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party.

Don Mullan, who travelled from Ireland to South Africa as Mr Tutu's photographer, told Sky News the veteran campaigner is "grieving very, very much" and deserved to be at the event.

"The world needs Desmond Tutu to be here to say goodbye to his old friend," he said.

"This is about Madiba, it's about South Africa and it's about two very important peacemakers saying farewell to each other."

Mr Mullan, who said he will refuse to attend the service in protest against the apparent omission of Mr Tutu, said there was "great confusion" but also "great sadness" at his absence.

"Mr Tutu was the one who kept the flame of freedom alive when Mr Mandela and other campaigners were in prison or in exile," he said.

"He is the one Mr Mandela spent his first night of freedom with and the one he and Graca Machel asked to assist at their wedding."

Zelda la Grange, a former private secretary to Mr Mandela, said South Africa's first black president was "very fond" of the man he affectionately called "The Arch".

"Madiba really adored him," she said. "He respected him, he loved him - there was a very close relationship."

Mr Mandela will be buried in his childhood home of Qutu following South Africa's first state funeral.

Thousands of people lined the streets of Mthatha, as his body was driven towards its final resting place.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Obama Marks Newtown Shooting Anniversary

President Barack Obama has marked the anniversary of the Newtown school shootings by calling for tighter gun control and expanded mental health care.

His comments come a year after the massacre in which 20 children and six school workers were murdered by 20-year-old Adam Lanza.

Mr Obama said in his weekly address: "We haven't yet done enough to make our communities and our country safer.

"We have to do more to keep dangerous people from getting their hands on a gun so easily.

"We have to do more to heal troubled minds."

The US president, who suffered humiliation as he tried but failed to impose greater gun controls in the wake of the shootings, took part in a candle lighting ceremony on Saturday afternoon.

President Obama and his wife Michelle light candles for the Sandy Hook dead

He also held a moment's silence at the White House in memory of the victims who died in the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Connecticut, a year ago.

Meanwhile, in Newtown, Connecticut, bells tolled to mark the anniversary of the massacre. The bells of St. Rose of Lima church rang 26 times to honour each of the victims.

During his address, the president did not mention another shooting at a Colorado high school on Friday during which a student armed with a shotgun wounded at least two classmates before apparently taking his own life.

The president's address is recorded in advance.

Legislation that would have extended background checks for gun sales made online and at gun shows and to ban rapid-firing "assault" weapons failed to clear the US Senate this year.

Opponents argued it is essential to hold the line on protecting Americans' right to keep and bear arms guaranteed under the Second Amendment to the US Constitution.

There were 26 candles: 20 for the dead children and six for the adults

State legislatures have been more aggressive in enacting gun control legislation but those measures have faced some backlash.

Colorado passed gun control measures, but gun rights activists used recall elections to oust two state senators who backed them.

The White House has proposed spending $130m (£80m) to help teachers and other people who work with youth recognise the signs of mental illness and help people get treatment, but Congress has yet to allocate the funds.

So the administration will spend $50m (£30m) from its Health and Human Services budget to help community health centres hire more mental health professionals.

Another $50m (£30m) from the Agriculture Department budget will be spent on improving mental health facilities in rural areas, the White House has said.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mandela Funeral: Mourners Angry At Procession

Tribal Traditions At Mandela Burial

Updated: 11:05am UK, Saturday 14 December 2013

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, in Qunu

He is Qunu's most famous son and the return of Nelson Mandela's body to his ancestral homeland is not just for sentimental reasons - it is part of Xhosa tradition that those who pass away are returned to the soil from where they came.

This weekend sees a stark shift in tempo, organisation and ceremony as the state funeral meshes with the centuries-old traditions of Mr Mandela's countrymen and women in the rural Eastern Cape.

"We feel very represented by Nelson Mandela," Mandisi Tshaka, a young Xhosa man, resplendent in his traditional robes and big beaded necklace, told me.

"Everyone in the world knows the Xhosa tribe because of him and we're saluting him."

The South African government has announced the former president's state funeral is a "first for the country" and means full military ceremonial honours will be laid on and led by the armed forces.

There will be 21-gun salutes and a fly-over by the South African Air Force.

But there is a strong importance being put on performing the Xhosa rites as Mr Mandela is laid to rest.

There will be a ritual slaughtering of an ox in the early hours before receiving his body at Mthatha airport in the Eastern Cape.

The AbaThembu king, Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, is expected to lead a group of traditional leaders as well as Mandela elders in welcoming him home to the village of Qunu, where he spent much of his childhood.

Xhosa custom dictates a welcome ritual is performed to ensure the ancestors are informed of the arrival of Mr Mandela's remains.

Mr Mandela will be called on by his praise name Dlibhunga and the AbaThembu king will shout this three times as he greets the body when he arrives home.

Despite the pomp and ceremony of the state funeral, there will be equal, if not more, importance put on the traditional Xhosa burial rituals to ensure the man they call Madiba has an easy transition into the afterworld.

The Xhosa king, Zwelonke Sigcau, told Sky News: "The Xhosa people believe Nelson Mandela is not leaving us. It is just his body which is going into the ground. His spirit will remain."

In the African culture many believe a dead person's spirit lives on beyond death and joins other ancestors who guide, help and protect the living.

It is a belief which greatly helps alleviate the pain felt by the loss of a loved one - and Mr Mandela may assume even greater importance amongst his people because of his exalted status as a spiritual ancestor now.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

China's Moon Rover 'Jade Rabbit' Lands Safely

An unmanned spacecraft carrying China's first lunar rover called "Jade Rabbit' has safely landed on the surface of the Moon, according to state television.

It is the first "soft landing" of a probe there for 37 years and China is only the third country to complete such a feat after the US and former Soviet Union.

Beijing has now taken a big step towards becoming a global player in space.

Scientists burst into applause as a computer-generated image representing the Chang'e 3 spacecraft carrying the solar-powered buggy was seen touching down on the Moon's surface via screens in Beijing.

The craft's camera broadcast images of the surface before it reportedly came down in the Sinus Iridum, or the Bay of Rainbows.

It had hovered for several minutes seeking an appropriate place to land.

Simulation of how the rover was expected to leave the spacecraft

A soft landing does not damage the craft and the equipment it takes.

In 2007, China put another lunar probe in orbit around the Moon, which then carried out a controlled crash on to its surface.

The rover is expected to separate from the lander and then carry out a three-month scientific exploration of the surface, in which it will look for natural resources.

The vehicle will be remotely controlled by Chinese control centres with support from tracking and transmission stations operated by the European Space Agency.

It was launched into space onboard a rocket on December 1 from southern China.

The name Jade Rabbit or "Yutu" was chosen in an online poll of 3.4 million voters indicating just how important this mission is to the Chinese public.

It is the next step in China's ambitious plans to land astronauts on the surface by around 2025.

The rocket carrying the rover blasted off on December 1

As well as space enthusiasts, many private space companies were expected to watch the landing closely.

Teams taking part in the Google Lunar XPRIZE are competing for $30m (£18m) to become the first private organisation to send pictures back from the Moon by 2015.

Alexandra Hall, director of Lunar XPRIZE, told Sky News: "The space community is a truly global endeavour and although there are politics involved, there are many engineers and scientists around the world feeling for those guys and girls in mission control in China right now.

"It is actually quite difficult to land successfully on another planetary body so I think there is definitely a sympathy with the tension that is probably quite high in that control room."

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

23.17 | 0 komentar | Read More