Berlusconi Begins Care Home Community Service

Italy's former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has started his community service following his conviction for tax fraud.

The flamboyant former premier has to do voluntary work once a week in a care home near Milan for people with Alzheimer's.

The sentence illustrates the spectacular fall from grace for the billionaire, who was expelled from parliament after being convicted last year.

Berlusconi's arrival for work in a chauffeur-driven car did not go unnoticed.

"To prison!" a trade unionist protester in a clown hat shouted.

"We Italian workers have one dream in our hearts: Berlusconi in San Vittore!" he called, referring to a Milan prison, before being led away by police.

Authorities at the care home in Cesano Boscone say they will not allow Berlusconi to use his work as a chance to campaign politically and insist he will be treated in the same way as any other volunteer.

Berlusconi enters the Sacred Family Foundation

Massimo Restelli, head of the home's care services, told the La Repubblica daily that Berlusconi's introduction would be "gradual" so that he and the elderly patients can get used to each other.

"It will be small steps so as not to make any mistakes. And then he could do all sorts of things," he said.

"He could help with meals, which are tricky because sometimes you have to 'remind' the patient that they are eating

"We ask everyone including Berlusconi to observe, to listen and not to get performance anxiety."

The former PM insists he has not given up on politics yet

He added that the media magnate would be accompanied at all times by a medical worker specialising in Alzheimer's.

"We'll see if Berlusconi's presence creates some kind of close bond, if he is a reference for anyone. The guests do remember things, even if that seems absurd to people who do not know the illness," he said.

The disgraced politician has dominated Italian politics for two decades and is leading a campaign for European Parliament elections despite being barred from running. His party is expected to get 20% of the vote.

Berlusconi has said in interviews that he has a "big surprise" in store and has hinted that the stint at the centre could involve a deeper commitment to Alzheimer's sufferers.

"I think in the end I will stay a lot longer than I have to," the 77-year-old told a radio show.

"I have a big surprise prepared. It took me just 10 days to learn the different cure methods that can be used."

The sentence is seen as part of a slow-moving disintegration of Berlusconi as a political force, with his Forza Italia party divided by bickering and top allies indicted for mafia ties and corruption.

He was first convicted in 2012 and lost his final appeal last year in a case that centred on fraudulent methods used to purchase film distribution rights in order to avoid paying taxes in Italy.

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Nigeria Kidnappings: Michelle Obama 'Outraged'

First Lady Michelle Obama says she and the US president are "outraged and heartbroken" over the kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls in Nigeria.

Mrs Obama, taking the rare step of delivering her husband's weekly radio address, called the abduction an "unconscionable act".

The First Lady spoke as intelligence sources told Sky News they believe the girls are now being kept in at least four separate groups, complicating the search.

The sources said they believe they know where some of the girls are.

The burnt-out school where the girls were taken from last month

"Like millions of people across the globe, my husband and I are outraged and heartbroken over the kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian girls from their school dormitory in the middle of the night," Mrs Obama said in the address.

"This unconscionable act was committed by a terrorist group determined to keep these girls from getting an education - grown men attempting to snuff out the aspirations of young girls."

She said this violence "was not an isolated incident ... it's a story we see every day as girls around the world risk their lives to pursue their ambitions".

"In these girls, Barack and I see our own daughters," Mrs Obama said, referring to Malia, 15, and Sasha, 12.

"We see their hopes, their dreams and we can only imagine the anguish their parents are feeling right now."

Michelle Obama released this photo earlier this week

Barack Obama has sent a team to help the Nigerian government locate the girls, who were kidnapped from a boarding school in Chibok in the northern Borno state on April 14.

The Boko Haram militant group is behind the kidnappings.

British and American officials are using advanced eavesdropping equipment to scan the Sambisa forest where the schoolgirls are thought to be, Sky News understands.

Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford, who is in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, said if the intelligence is true it would be "much more difficult to mount simultaneous raids" to rescue them.

"The whole thing is fraught with danger," she added.

Some reports said Nigerian security forces failed to respond to warnings about Boko Haram's planned abduction of the girls.

Amnesty International said it had verified reports from several credible sources who claimed the military was aware of the impending attack close to four hours before it took place.

The Nigerian government has rejected the findings as "unfounded".

The leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, has threatened to sell the girls "on the market", amid reports some have already been trafficked to neighbouring Chad and Cameroon.

But Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said he believes the girls are still in the country.

Parents of the kidnapped girls have taken part in protests

The kidnappings have drawn condemnation from around the world and celebrities have launched a Twitter campaign under the hashtag #bringbackourgirls.

Prime Minister David Cameron told Sky News the abduction is "a ghastly situation, an act of pure evil".

Boko Haram's name is said to figuratively mean "Western education is forbidden".

The Islamist militant group's five-year insurgency has left at least 1,500 dead this year alone.

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Brazil World Cup Stadium Worker Electrocuted

An eighth construction worker has been killed while building one of Brazil's World Cup stadiums.

Muhammed-Ali Maciel Afonso was installing communications equipment at the Arena Pantanal in the western city of Cuiaba when he was electrocuted.

The 32-year-old's death, which caused building work to be halted temporarily, is the latest setback in rushed preparations for the tournament.

The Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba, western Brazil, holds 40,000 people

Several stadiums have been delayed, often by telecoms work, as organisers struggle to get wi-fi and mobile phone networks up and running.

A number of key transportation projects have been abandoned altogether.

Four times as many workers have now been killed in preparations for the competition than in South Africa four years ago.

Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke and Brazilian sports minister Aldo Rebelo both sent their condolences to Mr Afonso's family, as well as his colleagues at Etel Engenharia.

Many of Brazil's World Cup stadiums are still not finished

The Arena Pantanal held a test match last month but the venue is one of the most-delayed of the tournament, with seating and wiring yet to be finished.

A fire in October caused structural damage, although that has since been repaired.

Four group stage matches will be played in the stadium, one of a dozen built by Brazil especially for the World Cup, which gets under way on June 12.

Critics warn the 40,000-seat venue could be one of the tournament's biggest white elephants, given that Cuiaba's biggest football team normally plays in front of crowds of just 2,000.

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Prisoner Freed In Error Behind Bars Again

A man has been sent back to a Colorado prison for 90 years after he was released too early due to a clerical error.

Rene Lima-Marin was convicted in 2000 for robberies at video stores in Aurora, including one armed robbery.

He was sentenced to a combined 98 years for several convictions.

But a court clerk mistakenly wrote in his file that the sentences were to run at the same time, and he was released on parole in 2008 after serving just eight years.

When authorities realised their mistake, they immediately sent Lima-Marin, now 35, to prison, saying he had been aware of the error but did not notify authorities.

The man had in the meantime tried to rebuild his life, starting a family with his old girlfriend, whom he married.

The woman had a child from a previous relationship and the couple have a four-year-old boy, Josiah. 

"He should go back because the law requires the sentence he received," said Rich Orman, an Arapahoe County senior deputy district attorney.

"He should not be able to escape the minimum sentence due to a clerical error."

Lima-Marin's error was discovered in January, but the case has only come to light now.

It comes after other court clerical errors made headlines in the US.

In Missouri, a convicted robber did not report to prison - despite trying to do so - for 13 years because of a clerical mistake. When authorities realised their mistake he was imprisoned, but a judge this week set him free.

A Los Angeles murder suspect who was accidentally freed last year due to a clerk's error was captured on Thursday.

And in Colorado, an inmate mistakenly released four years early due to such a mistake killed the state's corrections chief at his front door last year.

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Pistorius Trial: Witness Plays Part Of Reeva

A weapons expert has recreated the moment Oscar Pistorius' girlfriend was shot dead by playing the part of the former model in a court reconstruction.

Thomas Wolmarans was being questioned about the injuries Reeva Steenkamp suffered on Valentine's Day last year, when he asked to enter a mocked-up version of Pistorius' bathroom.

As he stood behind the door, he mimicked the movements he believes Ms Steenkamp made when the bullets struck her body.

The judge looks on as Mr Wolmarans plays the part of Ms Steenkamp

It came after Judge Thokozile Masipa and lawyers huddled around the door as a court official used a spray to reveal a laser beam set up by prosecutors to show the trajectory taken by one of the bullets.

Earlier, Pistorius sat with his head in his hands as Mr Wolmarans spoke in detail about the wounds Ms Steenkamp suffered.

As the trial entered its 29th day, the witness, called by the defence, also talked about the various bullet fragments found in the bathroom of the athlete's home on a luxury development in Pretoria.

Pistorius denies murdering his girlfriend Ms Steenkamp. Pic: Stimulii

During an intense cross-examination, Mr Wolmarans admitted altering one of his reports but insisted the only changes he made were grammatical corrections.

Asked exactly what he had corrected, however, he replied: "I can't remember."

Mr Wolmarans also revealed he supervised a sound test involving a gun and the cricket bat Pistorius says he used to break down the bathroom door, even though he is not an expert in the field and has tinnitus, which causes a ringing noise in his ears.

Mr Wolmarans faced an uncomfortable day of questioning

He said he had "never" discussed the case with Pistorius, even when he went to remove a piece of the athlete's prosthetic leg for forensic examination.

On Thursday, the court heard from a social worker and probation officer, who claimed Pistorius was "not putting on a show" - a reference to allegations he had been taking acting lessons.

Yvette van Schalkwyk, who sat with the 27-year-old at the time of his initial court hearings, said he vomited twice and told her he shot Ms Steenkamp accidentally.

"What I saw ... was a man who was heartbroken," she said. "He cried, he was in mourning, he suffered emotionally."

Pistorius denies a charge of premeditated murder, claiming he mistook his partner for an intruder.

The trial was adjourned to continue on Monday.

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Malibu Beach: 'Botox' Plan Causes Uproar

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

Celebrity homeowners are involved in a battle with environmentalists over their plans to 'Botox' one of America's most iconic beaches.

Coastal erosion has stripped away almost all of the sand at Broad Beach in Malibu, a stretch of Californian coastline where the likes of Steven Spielberg and Dustin Hoffman own homes.

Residents want to spend millions of dollars of their own money to bring sand from elsewhere and replenish the beach, but regulators and environmentalists stand in their way.

Nearly all of the sand has been stripped away by coastal erosion

The beach today is a shadow of the wide-open expanse of sand and dunes of forty years ago and erosion is now threatening some of the multi-million dollar homes.

Celebrity lawyer Marshall Grossman, just one of the Broad Beach residents pushing for the restoration, says private owners using their own money to restore a public beach should be welcomed.

Of critics, he told Sky News: "I would say 'Get a life'. We're trying to put sand on the beach, not wild animals, not condos and not fish and chip stands.

"It is going to bring an open beach to millions of people over a period of years, people who would not otherwise have access to it and it is going to be a resource for everybody to enjoy."

Homes on the beach can sell for millions of dollars

The residents have already spent almost half of their $20m (£11.8m) fund on legal fees and have major regulatory hurdles to clear.

They have identified sand from a quarry in California and say even buying a few years of beach is worth the investment.

But opponents say short-term solutions risk damaging the natural environment and that residents should accept that they cannot "buy off" nature.

Bill Patzert, an oceanographer at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, told Sky News: "Broad Beach at high tide is what I call 'invisible beach', there is no beach.

Steven Spielberg and Dustin Hoffman own homes in the area

"Even if you replenish the beach, three or four large storms will send that new sand right down the slope into Davy's Locker.

"In other words, it will disappear again and again and again."

Broad Beach is home to more than 100 properties.

Malibu, a 27-mile stretch of coastline north of Los Angeles, has been an iconic playground for the rich and famous for decades.

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Ukrainian Self-Rule 'Would Destroy Country'

Hague's Whirlwind Diplomatic Tour Of Europe

Updated: 10:57am UK, Saturday 10 May 2014

By Tim Marshall, Diplomatic Editor

When you travel with the Foreign Office, you travel at speed.

Foreign Secretary William Hague lives his working life in blocks of time allocated according to timetables, worked out by staff, who liaise with their counterparts around the world.

For his trip around Eastern Europe they had arranged 21 meetings in four countries over four days.

To achieve that they had chartered a 13-seat charter jet. It's expensive, but the RAF planes sometimes used by government officials were unavailable or didn't have the range required.

The view was that if they travelled on scheduled flights they couldn't make all the meetings.

On board were the Foreign Secretary, several advisors, his private secretary, security men, and a two-person Sky News team including cameraman Pete Milnes.

We were inside what is called "The Bubble".

On Monday the first call was to Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, where we were met by various government officials and whisked into town in an eight-vehicle convoy, with lights flashing and sirens blaring.

The trip was about signalling to the countries he visited, but also to Russia. The message was that the UK will support Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia.

Britain sent a similar but stronger message to the Baltic States and Russia when it flew four fighter jets to Lithuania last month, but they are Nato members. On this tour he only had political and economic weapons at his disposal.

For the Moldova leg he had penned an article for a leading newspaper and acknowledged to Sky News that is was written for two audiences.

"You have to get through to the publics of the countries you visit, but you also know that the Russians are reading it ... Moscow needs to understand that there is a long-term price for violating the sovereignty of other nations," he said.

After a series of meetings, Mr Hague was back in his vehicle and preparing to return to the airport.

At this point it is essential all 13 of us, and the 30-odd pieces of kit and luggage, are all ready to move because the only people the convoy will wait for is the Foreign Secretary and his security detail.

After each meeting there is a flurry of activity with people throwing bags into cars, which occasionally might even be moving.

We get back to the plane and head for Vienna.

On board the protocol is that on the rare occasions a reporter is travelling with the Foreign Secretary he or she sits at the back, thus allowing the diplomats to spend the flight time working and talking privately.

Their area is for the duration of the flight their private office. Occasionally the Foreign Secretary will come back for a chat.

This is usually a mixture of everyday pleasantries, light humour over an incident which may have occurred at the previous location, and genuine insights into aims and strategies of HMG.

At dusk we land in Vienna and are two-thirds of the way through a 15-hour day.

In the Austrian capital the following morning Mr Hague attends the Council of Europe meeting on the Ukraine crisis.

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is present, but there is no meeting of minds.

Back at the airport the Foreign Secretary meets the acting Ukrainian Foreign Minister who is hitching a lift to Ukraine.

Mr Hague jokes: "We've thrown someone off to make room." He then takes the rare opportunity to spend the 90-minute flight to Kiev for a proper and private conversation with his opposite number.

When we arrive there is moment of light comedy.

The Minister, Andrii Deshchytsia, gets off first, followed immediately by Mr Hague, before the Ukrainian turns around, and as protocol demands, shakes hands with Mr Hague and welcomes him to his country.

The Bubble moves into Kiev where the Ukrainian Acting Prime Minister is in his own bubble which is running five minutes late.

For the first time in two days things slow down. We wait in a huge meeting room with the UK diplomats chatting to each other in a relaxed manner before the Prime Minister arrives and its back to business.

The following day the convoy passes the Ukrainian revolution The Maidan where most of the fighting during the winter took place. It's a reminder of just how serious the trip is.

Back on the plane I ask the Foreign Secretary what his favourite part of the job is and he replies: "It's knowing that we are not dealing with trivial stuff here. This matters, and it matters what we do."

On to Georgia, a country where a lot of people have long names, which for a native English speaker can present difficulties.

I ask Mr Hague if he ever forgets anyone's name.

"No, but then I've usually got people's names written down and I have a team of people to help me.

"If you are unsure, then the first thing you do when you land is ask the ambassador to take you through names and pronunciations."

Tbilisi is an attractive city with excellent wine and food, but Mr Hague can't concentrate on the architecture due to work, and says he's learned over the years not to enjoy the food too much.

Most meetings involve at least coffee and biscuits, and more usually a meal at which the host will pile up every local delicacy as a way of showing off their country's food.

Towards the end of day four we end up back in London after a five-hour flight. During the flight, the Foreign Secretary was slightly more relaxed for the first time.

He was still working but his mind was now clear of the 21 meetings. As we approached RAF Northolt the focus was returning.

On the tarmac, under grey skies, he greeted an air force officer with the words: "What have you done with the weather while we were away."

The sunshine of the previous weekend had given way to a chilly breeze, but in Ukraine the temperature was rising.

I worked out that most of us had, by Thursday afternoon, worked for about 55 hours so far this week.

I was now out of The Bubble and so drove home. The Foreign Secretary got into another car, in another convoy, and headed for the Foreign Office.

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UK Soldier 'Posed With Dead Taliban Fighter'

By Anushka Asthana, Political Correspondent

The RAF has launched a probe after photographs surfaced appearing to show a serviceman posing with a dead Taliban fighter.

The pictures were apparently taken in the wake of an attack by 15 insurgents on Camp Bastion, the main British base in Afghanistan, in September 2012.

The insurgents breached the perimeter of the base, triggering a battle involving a British RAF regiment and US marines.

Two of the marines and 14 Taliban fighters were killed in the firefight, and UK troops were also injured.

The two photographs appear to show at least one member of the RAF giving a thumbs-up sign as he kneels next to the body of a dead insurgent.

The photos were taken after an attack on Camp Bastion in 2012

It is unclear if it is the same serviceman in both of the photographs.

Sky News has learned that the individual or individuals belong to 51 Squadron.

An RAF source said he was making "no excuses" for the behaviour but said it was important to consider the context.

"This was a long, extensive firefight against a well-drilled, well-armed enemy who was trying to kill them," the source said.

He said it was an "unusual adrenaline fuelled situation" in which "foolish" things could happen.

Camp Bastion is the main British base in Afghanistan

The investigation will focus on whether the airman broke the rules by "mistreating" the enemy.

They may also be reprimanded for simply having and using photographic equipment.

Another photograph shows a burned-out plane in a hangar - six US Harrier jets were destroyed in the attack.

The images first appeared on the website Live Leak.

An RAF spokesman said: "The RAF is treating this incident extremely seriously and has launched a military police investigation.

"As this incident is subject to an ongoing investigation it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time."

Joanne Mariner, Director of Law and Policy at Amnesty International, said: "These pictures ... are appalling.

"They violate international humanitarian law standards, including common article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit the disrespectful and degrading treatment of the bodies of dead combatants.

"There must be a thorough and impartial investigation into this incident; it is encouraging to learn that the UK military has instigated one."

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Kidnapped Nigerian Schoolgirls Tell Of Escape

Nigerian Kidnap Tactic 'Standard Procedure'

Updated: 4:26pm UK, Saturday 10 May 2014

Splitting the captured Nigerian schoolgirls into groups by their kidnappers is "standard operating procedure", a hostage negotiator has told Sky News.

Dr James Alvarez explained this was done on the basis of "not putting all your eggs in one basket".

He also said while negotiation was the safest option, it often had to be backed up by the threat of force in order to act as a back-up if talks do not work out, and also as a "prod" to the hostage-takers.

Meanwhile, Davis Lewin from the Henry Jackson Society - a think-tank on extremism - gave a chilling insight into the Boko Haram militant group behind the kidnappings.

Mr Lewin told Sky News the movement had a "gruesome history" and posed a "major security threat".

They demonstrated "a brutality that frankly doesn't compute in Western minds", he said.

It is thought the schoolgirls are being held in a forest near the border with Cameroon.

Their kidnappers have divided the girls into at least four different groups, complicating the search and hampering rescue efforts.

Dr Alvarez said: "It's standard operating procedure. You don't want to put all your eggs in one basket."

He said negotiators would be making contacts locally and trying to gather information about the aims of the group, what they wanted with the girls, and also find out from the Nigerian government what concessions they are prepared to make.

"Negotiations only work if you have got something to exchange," he said.

Mr Lewin added: "What the problem really is, is that there's a very grave lack of infrastructure in terms of intelligence in terms of capability on the part of the Nigerian government in the region of the country where these extremists are active.

"We have seen them get stronger and stronger and they have really proven to be one of the most deadly forms of this radical Islamist threat with thousands dead, and a brutality that frankly doesn't compute in Western minds.

"The leader of this terrorist movement couldn't care less about the outrage that Michelle Obama and so many others have expressed."

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Protest As 9/11 Remains Return To Ground Zero

Remains of unidentified 9/11 victims have returned to the World Trade Center site in a solemn procession, despite the protests of some of the victims' families.

The remains were moved from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Manhattan's East Side at the procession on a foggy morning, accompanied by a police motorcade.

A dozen firefighters stood in the cool breeze saluting the vehicles as they arrived at the site.

The remains - thousands of pouches containing fragments of bone - will be kept in an underground repository in the same building as the National September 11 Memorial Museum.

Families want a say over the resting place of their loved ones

Critics say the remains should be stored in an above-ground monument separate from the museum.

A group of victims' relatives staged a protest during the transfer, some wearing black bands over their mouths.

The death toll from the attacks stands at 2,753

One held a sign saying: "A Museum Is Not A Cemetery".

"I don't know how much of him is down here; if it's one little inch, I want it treated respectfully," said Rosemary Cain, referring to the son she lost in the attack.

"I want it above ground. I don't want it to be part of a museum. I don't want it to be part of a freak show."

Firefighters saluting the vehicles as they arrived at the site

The repository will be available for family visits but will be overseen by the medical examiner.

Officials hope that improvements in technology will eventually lead to the identification of the 7,930 fragmentary remains.

Other relatives, who also were at the ceremony, have supported the decision, saying the repository is an appropriate resting place.

The museum opens this month

The death toll stemming from the attacks at the World Trade Center stands at 2,753. Of those, 1,115, or 41 percent, have not been identified.

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