Ukraine: Insurgents Killed In Attack On Convoy

Is Putin Showing Olive Branch?

Updated: 10:02pm UK, Friday 23 May 2014

By Katie Stallard, in Donetsk

The St Petersburg economic forum was otherwise pretty unremarkable, but Vladimir Putin's speech on Friday could be significant.

He said he would "respect the choice of the Ukrainian people" - his first real indication that Russia will recognise the outcome of Sunday's presidential election, and perhaps the first glimmer of a suggestion that his position on Ukraine might be changing.

Before we all get carried away, he did go on to say that, technically, the ousted president Victor Yanukovych remains in power.

And he repeated, once again, his view that the revolution on the Maidan was a coup d'etat supported by the United States and "European partners".

He also said that Ukraine was now in the midst of "full-scale civil war".

But - choosing to focus on the positives - might this be an olive branch the Russian President bears before him?

Vladimir Putin is not a man who famously backs down. He is not known for softening his position under pressure. He is, though, a consummate pragmatist.

It may be that Mr Putin has now got what he wants, or at least enough of what he wants, to be going on with.

For all of the fury about the "fascist junta in Kiev" and the supposed oppression of Russian-speaking citizens in the east, the Kremlin's real fear here is Nato - the prospect of its old Cold War bogeyman expanding east, through an EU-affiliated Ukraine, right up to the Russian border.

A Ukraine that is destabilised, ideally federalised from Russia's point of view, leaves an eastern region still open to Russian influence and crucially not loyal to Kiev. The buffer state remains.

And for all that Russia massed tanks and troops on the border, the prospect of actually invading, and defending, Eastern Ukraine is deeply unpalatable.

Eastern Ukraine is not Crimea - with its small land border and ease of existing supply lines.

The east is vast, largely flat, and difficult to hold a line across. An occupying army would face years of guerrilla attacks and losses.

So it may be that this is enough, for now, for Mr Putin.

That calculation may be assisted by the need to ward off a further round of sanctions threatened as early as Monday at the slightest sign that Russia is undermining Ukraine's vote.

It is perhaps no coincidence that Mr Putin made his comments at an international economic forum, to an audience of investors and analysts keen to be reassured about Russia's economic prospects and stability.

Both he and they are undoubtedly keen to avoid more sanctions.

The real test now will be whether any action follows these words - whether, in the event that a majority of Ukrainians do vote for a new president on Sunday.

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Explosions And Gunfire Near Somali Parliament

At least four policemen have been killed after al Qaeda-linked militants carried out a bomb and gun attack outside Somalia's parliament.

Police said at least six insurgents also died in the assault in a Mogadishu compound.

There were two explosions - one was from a car bomb which exploded at the gate of parliament house and the other was a suicide bomber on foot nearby.

A soldier died while trying to stop the bomber from entering parliament in the capital.

Police captain Mohammed Hussein said security forces had shot and killed four men.

The two other attackers who died were the driver of the car bomb and the bomber on foot.

"A car bomb exploded at the gate of the parliament house - then it was followed by a suicide bomber explosion. So far we have confirmed four policemen dead," said police colonel Farah Hussein.

Al Shabaab admitted carrying out the 2013 Westgate shopping centre attack

"The lawmakers and the other workers were rescued as soon as the car bomb exploded. But the terrorists are still firing from inside a mosque nearby," he added.

Militants from the al Qaeda-linked group al Shabaab, which fighting to overthrow Somalia's internationally-backed government, reportedly claimed responsibility for the blasts.

The organisation previously admitted it was behind last September's attack on the Westgate shopping centre in the Kenyan capital Nairobi in which scores of people were killed.

Al Shabaab said that assault was in retaliation for Kenyan forces carrying out anti-militant operations in neighbouring Somalia.

The group was pushed out of Mogadishu about two years ago but has waged a sustained guerrilla campaign.

It has claimed a series of suicide bomb attacks in the city.

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Iran Hangs Billionaire Over $2.6bn Bank Fraud

A billionaire Iranian businessman convicted of masterminding a $2.6bn (£1.5bn) banking scam has reportedly been hanged in Tehran's notorious Evin prison.

Mahafarid Amir Khosravi was sentenced to death after being convicted of "corruption on earth... through bribery and money laundering", a justice department statement carried by Iranian media said.

Khosravi's lawyer, Gholam Ali Riahi, was quoted by news website khabaronline.ir as saying that his client was put to death without any notice.

"I had not been informed about execution of my client," Riahi said. "All the assets of my client are at the disposal of the prosecutor's office."

Revelations about the scandal swept Iran in 2011 when prosecutors said they uncovered a private umbrella group, led by Amir Khosravi, also known as Amir Mansour Aria, and his brothers, illegally amassing billions of dollars.

The case is said by prosecutors to be the largest fraud case since the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Over the space of two years, Amir Mansour Aria Development Co. bought some 40 companies including state-owned companies like major steel producer Khuzestan Steel Co, and a football club.

They were said to have used forged letters of credit obtained from several major banks whose managers they had bribed.

A total of 39 defendants were convicted in the case. Four received death sentences, two got life sentences and the rest received sentences of up to 25 years in prison.

Mahmoud Reza Khavari, a former head of Bank Melli, a major Iranian bank, escaped to Canada in 2011 after he resigned over the case.

He faces charges over the case in Iran and remains on the Islamic Republic's wanted list. Khavari previously admitted that his bank partially was involved in the fraud, but has maintained his innocence.

The case took on political dimensions when the finger was pointed at some senior officials in the administration of then president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Mr Ahmadinejad, who was elected on an anti-corruption platform, dismissed the attacks as a smear campaign by his opponents.

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Mayor Castrated And Killed In French Village

A French mayor has been murdered and then castrated by an electrician who suspected the official was having an affair with his girlfriend, reports say.

Dominique Leboucher was stabbed in the neck by the 39-year-old man, according to a prosecutor.

Mr Leboucher, 55, was apparently castrated after being killed and then the attacker took his own life, Catherine Denis said.

She added the killer had no previous criminal record and was "clearly very much in love" with his girlfriend.

The mayor's wife said she did not believe her husband was cheating, Ms Denis went on.

Officials at the home of the alleged killer

The killing and reported castration in Bretteville-le-Rabet - a village of 250 people in France's northern Calvados region - has caused shock and horror.

One of the mayor's deputies, Yannick Guesnon, said: "I do not believe this thing about infidelity at all."

He added the attack appeared to be "an act of madness".

Albert Gibot said the attacker was a father-of-two who had "blown a fuse as his partner used to attend meetings of the local council in the evenings".

The mayor, who worked in insurance sales, first became a councillor in 2001 before taking up the post of deputy mayor in 2008.

He was elected mayor in March's municipal elections.

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Thailand Police Confront Anti-Coup Protesters

Police and armed soldiers have been involved in a tense stand-off with protesters marching against the military coup in Thailand.

A group of around 200 demonstrators defied limits on public gatherings imposed since the army took control and refused to obey instructions not to march through Bangkok.

As the protesters marched from a shopping centre in the centre of the city they were met by a line of riot police, backed up by heavily-armed soldiers, and ordered to disperse.

Sky News Asia Correspondent Mark Stone, who is at the scene of the confrontation, said it had been "bloodless, but incredibly tense".

He said: "This is very tense because one of the key conditions the general now in charge of this country made was that he did not want any political gatherings of more than five people."

Soldiers descended from a truck as the situation became more tense

Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was in a "safe place" on Saturday, an aide said, after being held by the army following a coup this week,

The army moved on Thursday after failing to forge a compromise in a power struggle between Ms Yingluck's populist government and the royalist establishment, which brought months of unrest to Bangkok's streets.

The military detained Ms Yingluck on Friday when she and scores of other people, most of them her political allies, were summoned to an army facility in Bangkok. 

Lines of riot police and soldiers confronted the protesters

Thailand has been locked in political crisis since a 2006 military coup that deposed Ms Yingluck's elder brother Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire tycoon who clashed with the royalist establishment.

His Red Shirt supporters had warned that any military overthrow of the government could trigger civil war and all eyes are now on how his movement will respond.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said there was "no justification" for the military takeover.

He said it would have "negative implications" for US relations, and demanded early elections.

British ambassador to Thailand Mark Kent said British citizens should "exercise extreme caution" and follow travel advice and media updates."

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Zuma Pledges SA 'Economic Transformation'

Jacob Zuma has been sworn in again as South African president vowing "economic transformation" will take "centre stage" in his second term in power.

He pledged the economy would be put on an "inclusive growth path" and promised to promote "broad-based black economic empowerment".

There have been concerns that much of the economy remains in the hands of South Africa's white minority.

In his speech to a cheering crowd of thousands, Mr Zuma said his country was "a much better place to live in now than before 1994".

But he added that poverty, unemployment and other problems persisted despite many improvements.

The ceremony, attended by dignitaries including the leaders of Nigeria and Zimbabwe, was marked by dance, prayer, a 21-gun salute and flyovers by the air force.

It took place in the amphitheatre of Pretoria's Union Buildings - the seat of government - where just five months before Nelson Mandela's body lay in state.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan was among the dignitaries

"Today marks the beginning of the second phase of our transition from apartheid to a national democratic society," Mr Zuma said, promising a bigger economic role for the state.

Mr Zuma was a former anti-apartheid activist who was jailed for 10 years on Robben Island, the same prison where Mr Mandela was held for many years.

As president, Mr Zuma has been hit by criticism over a scandal surrounding more than $20m (£12m) in state spending on his private home.

On May 7, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) won elections, continuing its political dominance since the end of the apartheid system that it had fought for decades.

The ANC retains a comfortable majority, but opposition parties have capitalised with some success on allegations of official corruption and mismanagement.

National elections are held every five years.

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Tragic Sailors: Skipper 'Dearly Missed'

The family of yachtsman Andrew Bridge say they are "deeply saddened" by the discovery of the upturned hull of the missing boat Cheeki Rafiki.

The search for the four British sailors ended at 3am UK time after a search of the capsized vessel found the only realistic means of survival had not been deployed.

Mr Bridge, the yacht skipper, was one of four men on board the boat which got into trouble on May 15.

From left: Andrew Bridge, Steve Warren, James Male and Paul Goslin

The family statement said: "Andrew will be dearly missed by everyone who knew him. Our thoughts and condolences go out to the families of the rest of the crew on the Cheeki Rafiki.

"We would like to thank everyone who's helped in the search for Andrew including the US Coast Guard, the Canadian Coast Guard, the RAF, Merchant vessels, the yachting community and the British and American Governments."

The raft was found stored in the aft of the boat Pic: US Coast Guard

It added that they had been "overwhelmed" by public support.

US Navy divers found the boat with a missing keel and a completely flooded cabin with shattered windows, said the Coast Guard.

"A US Navy warship smallboat crew and surface swimmer captured underwater imagery clearly identifying the raft in its storage space [behind the wheel]. The image was shared with and acknowledged by the families," said a statement.

"The crew and swimmer deployed to investigate the overturned boat after a helicopter crew located it 1,000 miles offshore Massachusetts and within the US Coast Guard's search area.

The search effort involved military aircraft and ships

It had already been announced that the search would be called off in the early hours of Saturday if no signs of possible survival were discovered.

"None of the current developments" indicate the crew are still alive, said the US Coast Guard.

The upturned 40ft yacht had been found on Friday, with divers first knocking on the hull to check for signs of life.

The men's familes had campaigned for the search to go on

The families had said they were still hopeful their loved ones would be found.

Relatives of Steve Warren, 52, Andrew Bridge, 22, James Male, 23, and Paul Goslin, 56, said they had been told "endless stories" of people surviving for months at sea.

A statement on behalf of Steve Warren's family said it was an "incredibly difficult" time and that the search effort had been "exceptional".

The Cheeki Rafiki had been at a regatta in Antigua

The vessel ran into difficulties on May 15 and began taking on water while returning to the UK from a regatta in Antigua.

Yacht training and charter company Stormforce Coaching said it had been in contact with the skipper at the time, and that the crew were keeping the situation stable.

The original search was halted after 53 hours amid bad weather but resumed on Tuesday after a request from the UK government and a online petition which collected more than 200,000 names.

Rescuers scoured more than 21,000 square miles of ocean during their second search for the boat.

Experts had agreed it would be impossible for the crew to survive outside of the life raft in cold, rough seas for more than 20 hours.

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "My thoughts are with the families of the crew of the Cheeky Rafiki after the sad news its hull has been found with the life-raft unused."

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Putin Brands Charles Hitler Slur 'Unacceptable'

Vladimir Putin has branded a comparison made by the Prince of Wales in which the Royal likened the Russian president to Hitler as "not what monarchs do".

Mr Putin said Prince Charles' reported comments were "unacceptable" and "wrong".

The president was talking to leading global news agencies in St Petersburg including the British Press Association ahead of elections in Ukraine on Sunday.

It is claimed the Prince made his comments in a private conversation with a museum volunteer whose Jewish family fled Nazi Germany during the war during a Royal tour of Canada.

Marienne Ferguson, 78, said that after telling Charles the story of how her family fled the Nazis he replied: "Putin is doing just about the same as Hitler."

It is understood that Charles had been talking to Ms Ferguson about the Nazi occupation of Danzig at the start of World War Two, and had appeared to draw a parallel with Russia's annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in March.

When asked by the Press Association's chief executive what he thought of what the Prince was reported to have said, Mr Putin replied: "It reminds me of a good proverb: 'You are angry. That means you are wrong."'

He added: "Give my words to Prince Charles.

"He has been to our country more than once, if he made such a comparison, it is unacceptable and I am sure he understands that as a man of manners."

Mr Putin added: "I met him personally, as well as other members of the Royal Family. This is not what monarchs do.

"But over the past few years we have seen so much, nothing surprises me any longer."

Mr Putin's response comes a month before he is due to take part in a D-Day anniversary event with the Prince.

His comments made it clear that the disapproval of prominent international figures such as the Prince of Wales would not influence his actions in the current crisis in Ukraine.

He added: "I will be guided not by what they say about me anywhere.

"I will only be guided by the interests of the Russian people, and I hope our colleagues in Great Britain will keep that in mind and will always remember that when finding solutions to any issues, we are always guided by international law and its norms."

Mr Putin had earlier said he would treat the new Ukrainian president due to be elected on May 25 "with due respect" and would "work with the authorities (in place) based on the elections".

The deteriorating crisis in Ukraine last week led to Prime Minister David Cameron warning that the UK may have to prepare for "a very different long-term relationship with Russia".

But Mr Putin indicated that he did not regard the current differences as the start of a long-lasting rift in UK-Russian relations.

A spokeswoman for the Prince of Wales declined to comment.

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Three Killed In Shooting Near Jewish Museum

Three people have been killed and another seriously injured in a shooting outside the Jewish Museum in Brussels.

Belgian Interior Minister Joelle Milquet has tweeted to say he believes it was an "anti-semitic attack".

Two women and a man are thought to have been killed.

Sky's Robert Nisbet said a local website quoted witnesses as saying an Audi drove up to the museum and two men got out and began firing indiscriminately at passers-by.

They then got back into the car and drove off, La Libre newspaper said on its website.

Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders heard shots and arrived at the scene moments later to find bodies on the ground.

"I am shocked by the murders committed at the Jewish museum, I am thinking of the victims I saw there and their families," he wrote on Twitter.

Police have closed off the area, and a number of ambulances are at the scene.

A Jewish community leader, Joel Rubinfeld, told AFP it clearly "is a terrorist act" and the result of "a climate of hate".

Nisbet said there are reports one person is in custody.

More follows...

 

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Pope Calls For 'Urgent' End To Syrian War

By Tom Rayner, Middle East Reporter

Pope Francis has said there is an "urgent" need for a peaceful solution to the Syria crisis, on the first day of a visit to the Middle East.

The Pontiff was speaking in Amman following a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II, in which he also called for a "just" solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

King Abdullah praised the Pope for his "humanity and wisdom" saying his visit would help ease the suffering of the Syrian refugees and the burden of host countries like Jordan where most have fled.

He added the Pontiff had "become a conscience for the whole world".

Pope Francis then held a public mass in Amman's main sports stadium, attended by around 25,000 people, many of whom were Christian refugees who have fled Syria and Iraq.

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims in Amman stadium

The 77-year-old Pontiff did laps of the stadium to adoring cheers in an open-top vehicle, stopping to bless some of those who had gathered and kiss babies.

The whirl-wind visit will last just over 48 hours, but in that time the head of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics will also visit the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Israel, hold talks with national leaders and deliver 13 speeches or homilies.

The Vatican says the aim is raise awareness of the exodus of Christians from the region in the face of increasing persecution, as well as to call for greater unity between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

In an effort to promote inter-religious dialogue, the Pope will be accompanied by a Rabbi and an Imam, both close friends from his home city of Buenos Aires in Argentina.

But while the Vatican insists the visit is a "strictly religious" mission, the programme is fraught with potential political stumbling blocks, and every word delivered will be subject to intense scrutiny.

The Pope is pictured meeting Jordan's King Abdullah II

On Sunday, he will fly by helicopter to Bethlehem, where he will hold a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas before commencing a public mass in Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity.

Mayor of Bethlehem, Vera Baboun, says she believes his message will be one of hope for many Palestinians.

"The Pope is an adamant believer in peace, and adamant believer in the right of the discriminated-against and the marginalised", she told Sky News.

"When he comes here, he will be praying for peace to the Palestinians, praying the message of peace from the place that the message was ordained."

Following the mass he will meet with children at the Deheisheh Palestinian refugee camp near Bethlehem, before heading to Tel Aviv to receive an official welcome to Israel from President Shimon Peres, and then on to Jerusalem.

The 50th anniversary of an historic meeting between Pope Paul VI and Orthodox Patriarch Athenagoras, which ended hundreds of years of division between the two branches of Christianity, will be marked by a joint prayer meeting of Catholic and Orthodox priests at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The final day of the visit will see Pope Francis visit the grounds of the Al Aqsa Mosque as well as the Western Wall, the most holy site in Judaism, and the Holocaust memorial at Yad Vashem, before a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The visit will conclude with a mass at the Cenacle in Jerusalem, the site at which the last supper is thought to have taken place.

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