Shaquille O'Neal Applies To Join Miami Police

Retired NBA star Shaquille O'Neal has brought new meaning to the phrase 'long arm of the law' - by applying to be a reserve police officer in Florida.

The 7ft 1in-tall basketball legend is set to fight crime on the streets of Doral, near Miami, if his application is accepted.

O'Neal will be given no preferential treatment, say Florida officials

He must first pass psychological and physical tests to ensure he is fit enough to join Miami Beach Police Department, said city spokeswoman Christina Baguer.

She said 'Shaq' submitted his request on Wednesday and would be given no preferential treatment.

"If he passes (the first stage of the application), he will then have to do everything else to be certified by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, just like any of our other officers, reserve or not reserve," she told the Miami Herald.

The 42-year-old - a four-time NBA champion - left professional basketball in 2011 after stints with the Los Angeles Lakers, the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics.

He apparently has some previous experience as a cop.

According to local media, he served briefly as a reserve officer in Miami Beach in 2005.

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Sanctions Warning As Ukraine Ceasefire Holds

Deep Divisions Amid Fragile Ukraine Peace

Updated: 12:27pm UK, Saturday 06 September 2014

By Katie Stallard, Moscow Correspondent in Mariupol

Ceasefire is a temporary state. It's not the same as lasting peace.

What has been agreed so far is a halt in the bloodshed - the reasons people took up arms in the first place have so far not been addressed.

The Ukrainian President sounds optimistic - a prisoner exchange could begin as soon as this weekend, a second Russian aid convoy could be allowed in.

The self-proclaimed prime minister of the separatist Luhansk People's Republic is less encouraging.

He said the status of the people's republics had not been discussed, and the ceasefire should not be taken to mean they had abandoned their plans to separate from Ukraine.

The commander of one of the pro-Ukrainian battalions outside Mariupol said they would use the time to regroup and retrain.

The divisions run deep, and not just among the militia.

Plenty of people in the east did not support the winter revolution - from their perspective what they saw was their democratically elected president overthrown, and a government now in Kiev they believe seized power in a coup d'etat.

Some want more regional autonomy, others want their region to secede and join Russia.

On the other side are the pro-Ukrainians who fought for the future of their country on the Maidan, some of whom have now joined volunteer battalions in the east.

They have already seen part of their country annexed by President Vladimir Putin, and believe the Russian army is fighting on the side of the rebels, intervening in their sovereign state.

They want their country to be united, to be allowed to move towards the European Union, and they want their land back.

Militarily we're back to relative stalemate - that in itself is quite a reversal of fortunes.

A couple of weeks ago it seemed the Ukrainian army was in the ascendant - the rebels seemed to be on the backfoot, retreating and largely restricted to the centres of Luhansk and Donetsk.

Over the course of the last fortnight, the rebels have had a sudden and mysterious resurgence - opening a new front in the south threatening the strategic port city of Mariupol, and simultaneously taking villages and towns to the east of the regional capital Donetsk.

Now it's the Ukrainian army losing ground, and the overall balance is roughly back to where it was.

Kiev says that's because Russia is sending troops and equipment across the border - not in sufficient quantities to look like an overt invasion and force the west to act, but enough to stop the rebels from being defeated.

The Kremlin insists any Russian soldiers in Ukraine are either on holiday or lost.

A return to stalemate would quite suit President Putin.

He doesn't necessarily need the rebels to win, and he doesn't seem to want to occupy, and have to defend, eastern Ukraine.

A frozen conflict, that could be thawed as and when necessary, could be just fine.

In terms of domestic Russian politics, President Putin doesn't want the Maidan revolution to be followed by success - his administration has long feared a colour revolution, in the manner of Ukraine or Georgia, fomenting outside the Kremlin walls in Moscow.

Much better that that revolution is synonymous in Russian minds with violence and chaos.

Russian state TV is pushing that narrative heavily at home.

In terms of broader geopolitics, the Kremlin doesn't want a united Ukraine leaving its sphere of influence to join the EU, and maybe one day Nato.

They don't want to find Nato bases on their western border in five years' time.

Keeping a level of control of the east, and an insurgency that has not been defeated, could give Moscow just the leverage it needs.

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US Seeks 'Core Coalition' To Combat IS Threat

The US is forming a "core coalition" to battle Islamic State militants in Iraq, senior American officials have said.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called for support as they held talks with officials from 10 nations on the sidelines of a Nato summit on a strategy to defeat IS.

"We need to attack them in ways that prevent them from taking over territory, to bolster the Iraqi security forces and others in the region who are prepared to take them on, without committing troops of our own," Mr Kerry said.

"Obviously I think that's a red line for everybody here: no boots on the ground," he added.

Mr Kerry said he was aware that many nations would not want to do military strikes, but he said they could provide intelligence, equipment or weapons.

The talks were held with defence and foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Poland and Denmark. 

"This group here this morning is the core coalition," Mr Hagel told them.

IS controls large areas of northern Iraq and Syria

"It is the core group that will form the larger and extended coalition that's going to be required to deal with this challenge."

Speaking after the meeting, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said: "The clear message coming out of here is that we have to have a comprehensive response to the ISIL challenge. 

"It's not just about whether or not we should get involved in airstrikes. Everyone has a role to play and we should look at all elements, though it is clear we need regional support with a new and inclusive government of Iraq leading the efforts."

He reiterated that the UK had not made a decision on whether or not to take part in airstrikes.

The US has launched airstrikes in Iraq against the Sunni militants but is looking to expand its campaign after two videos showed the beheading of two American journalists held captive by the group, James Foley and Steven Sotloff.

The coaltion was announced as an Iraqi airstrike reportedly killed a senior aide of IS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.

IS - which is also known as ISIS and ISIL - has gained control over vast swathes of Iraq and Syria. It controls the territory with a strict interpretation of Islamic law and has gone after religious minorities.

The US stressed the need for a comprehensive approach to the crisis in talks on Friday and acknowledged that action against IS in Iraq would have implications in Syria as well.

"We're convinced in the days ahead we have the ability to destroy ISIL. It may take a year, it may take two years, it may take three years," Mr Kerry said.

"But we're determined."

Washington is looking to have solid plans in place by the time the United Nations General Assembly meets in two weeks.

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Pentagon Confirms Al Shabaab Leader Killed

The leader of the al Shabaab Islamist terror group was killed in US airstrikes in Somalia, the Pentagon has confirmed.

Ahmed Abdi Godane was targeted in the September 1 strikes conducted by US special operations forces using manned and unmanned aircraft.

"Removing Godane from the battlefield is a major symbolic and operational loss to al Shabaab," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement on Friday.

The White House, under pressure to increase its efforts in battling terror groups including Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq, hailed Godane's death as an "important step forward in the fight against al Shabaab".

US officials said on Monday that the airstrikes destroyed an encampment and a vehicle using several Hellfire missiles and laser-guided munitions.

The 37-year-old militant was reportedly trained by the Taliban in Afghanistan and took over the leadership of al Shabaab in 2008 after Adan Hashi Ayro was killed in a US missile attack.

The US had previously offered a reward of up to $7m for information leading to the arrest of Godane, who is the spiritual leader of the al Qaeda-linked group.

Al Shabaab seeks to impose its own strict version of Sharia law in Somalia and has also carried out attacks in Kenya and Uganda.

The terror group claimed responsibility for the deadly 2013 attack on a mall in Nairobi that claimed the lives of more than 60 people, including four attackers.

Shabaab controlled most of the southern region of Somalia from 2006 until 2011, when African peacekeeping troops marched into the capital, Mogadishu.

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Europe Agrees On Fresh Russian Sanctions

European leaders have agreed to hit Russia with a fresh round of sanctions - despite Moscow signing up to a ceasefire in Ukraine.

The sanctions include credit restrictions on Russia companies, export bans, travel bans and asset freezes on a new set of officials, according to a European Union diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Two branches of the world's biggest oil producer - Gazprom Bank and Gazprom Neft - are targeted by the measures, said the diplomat.

Speaking at the end of a Nato summit in Wales on Friday, David Cameron said sanctions would continue despite both sides agreeing to the 12-point peace plan.

However, the Prime Minister said they could be lifted if a lasting peace was found.

The new restrictions, which will be imposed early next week, come as Britain agreed to supply 1,000 troops to a Nato rapid response force aimed at countering Russian aggression in Ukraine and Eastern Europe.

Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen revealed the plan for the Spearhead force after discussions with members in Newport.

Ukraine was a dominant topic on the final day of the Nato summit

"This decision sends a clear message: Nato protects all allies at all times," he said.

"And it sends a clear message to any potential aggressor: should you even think of attacking one ally, you will be facing the whole alliance."

Western leaders accuse Russia of sending thousands of troops into the east of Ukraine - prompting fears of future incursions into other Eastern European countries.

Mr Rasmussen said the Spearhead force would establish a command-and-control presence in the east of allied territories ready to deploy air, sea and special forces in the event of aggression.

He told Sky News Tonight: "We have decided to improve our ability to act swiftly. The force could be deployed within very few days if needed.

"The intention is to strengthen the defence of our allies."

Mr Rasmussen said alliance countries would contribute troops on a rotational basis to the high-readiness force.

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Lockdown To Combat Ebola In Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone will impose a four-day countrywide lockdown as part of efforts to halt the spread of the deadly ebola virus.

Ben Kargbo, a presidential adviser on the country's ebola task force, said citizens will not be allowed to leave their homes between September 18 and 21.

This will allow health workers to identify cases in the early stages of the illness which has killed more than 2,000 people since March.

Mr Kargbo told the Reuters news agency: "The aggressive approach is necessary to deal with the spread of ebola once and for all."

According to United Nations figures, Sierra Leone has recorded 491 of the total suspected, probable and confirmed deaths.

Mr Kargbo said 21,000 people would be recruited to enforce the lockdown.

Thousands of police and soldiers have already been deployed to enforce the quarantining of towns in the country's worst-hit areas near the border with Guinea.

But an aid worker in the capital, Freetown, told Sky News a lockdown alone is not enough.

A poster in Ivory Coast warns of the risk of ebola

Augustine Allieu, from Plan International, said improving education, hygiene and facilities are also necessary.

He said: "It's not absolutely the best option, but it is definitely one of those that needs to support all of these things that I have mentioned in terms of containing the spread."

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation has said a vaccine for health workers could be available by November, with testing of two candidate vaccines under way.

An American doctor who came down with the virus while working in a Liberian maternity ward is "sick but stable", officials said on Friday.

There is currently no cure or vaccine for the virus

Rick Sacra, 51, has arrived at the Nebraska Medical Center where he is being treated.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has set a goal of stopping the outbreak within six to nine months.

Mr Ban said the "next few weeks will be crucial" to step up international efforts and called on countries to contribute to a $600m (£367m) appeal for supplies to west Africa.

The UN has stepped up its campaign after the international medical group Medecins Sans Frontieres declared that the world was "losing the battle" to contain ebola.

Ebola is contracted through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids and there is currently no cure or vaccine.

Symptoms of the virus appear as a sudden onset of fever, headache, sore throat, intense weakness and muscle pain.

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Deep Divisions Amid Fragile Ukraine Peace

Ceasefire is a temporary state. It's not the same as lasting peace.

What has been agreed so far is a halt in the bloodshed - the reasons people took up arms in the first place have so far not been addressed.

The Ukrainian President sounds optimistic - a prisoner exchange could begin as soon as this weekend, a second Russian aid convoy could be allowed in.

People buy bread at a market in Mariupol after a ceasefire was signed

The self-proclaimed prime minister of the separatist Luhansk People's Republic is less encouraging.

He said the status of the people's republics had not been discussed, and the ceasefire should not be taken to mean they had abandoned their plans to separate from Ukraine.

The commander of one of the pro-Ukrainian battalions outside Mariupol said they would use the time to regroup and retrain.

The divisions run deep, and not just among the militia.

Plenty of people in the east did not support the winter revolution - from their perspective what they saw was their democratically elected president overthrown, and a government now in Kiev they believe seized power in a coup d'etat.

Some want more regional autonomy, others want their region to secede and join Russia.

On the other side are the pro-Ukrainians who fought for the future of their country on the Maidan, some of whom have now joined volunteer battalions in the east.

Rebel leaders say they have not abandoned their plans to break from Ukraine

They have already seen part of their country annexed by President Vladimir Putin, and believe the Russian army is fighting on the side of the rebels, intervening in their sovereign state.

They want their country to be united, to be allowed to move towards the European Union, and they want their land back.

Militarily we're back to relative stalemate - that in itself is quite a reversal of fortunes.

A couple of weeks ago it seemed the Ukrainian army was in the ascendant - the rebels seemed to be on the backfoot, retreating and largely restricted to the centres of Luhansk and Donetsk.

Over the course of the last fortnight, the rebels have had a sudden and mysterious resurgence - opening a new front in the south threatening the strategic port city of Mariupol, and simultaneously taking villages and towns to the east of the regional capital Donetsk.

Now it's the Ukrainian army losing ground, and the overall balance is roughly back to where it was.

A stalemate in eastern Ukraine would suit Russian President Vladimir Putin

Kiev says that's because Russia is sending troops and equipment across the border - not in sufficient quantities to look like an overt invasion and force the west to act, but enough to stop the rebels from being defeated.

The Kremlin insists any Russian soldiers in Ukraine are either on holiday or lost.

A return to stalemate would quite suit President Putin.

He doesn't necessarily need the rebels to win, and he doesn't seem to want to occupy, and have to defend, eastern Ukraine.

A frozen conflict, that could be thawed as and when necessary, could be just fine.

In terms of domestic Russian politics, President Putin doesn't want the Maidan revolution to be followed by success - his administration has long feared a colour revolution, in the manner of Ukraine or Georgia, fomenting outside the Kremlin walls in Moscow.

Much better that that revolution is synonymous in Russian minds with violence and chaos.

Russian state TV is pushing that narrative heavily at home.

In terms of broader geopolitics, the Kremlin doesn't want a united Ukraine leaving its sphere of influence to join the EU, and maybe one day Nato.

They don't want to find Nato bases on their western border in five years' time.

Keeping a level of control of the east, and an insurgency that has not been defeated, could give Moscow just the leverage it needs.

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New York Couple Die In Mystery Plane Crash

Tributes have been paid to a New York couple who were on board an aircraft that crashed into the waters off Jamaica after they apparently became incapacitated at the controls.

The wreckage of the plane carrying prominent real estate developer Laurence Glazer and his entrepreneur wife Jane has not been found.

US fighter pilots launched to shadow the unresponsive aircraft reported seeing the pilot slumped over and its windows frosting over, indicating a loss of oxygen.

The jets were forced to break off as the Socata TBM-700 continued south from Florida over Cuban airspace for another four hours.

A search team resumes the hunt for wreckage on Saturday

The aircraft was last tracked nearing Jamaica before local military officials confirmed it had crashed into the ocean about 14 miles (22 km) northeast of Port Antonio, most likely due to a loss of fuel.

Rick Glazer said his parents were both licensed pilots and said he could not confirm they were killed, adding that "we know so little".

However, numerous public officials in New York State have offered their condolences for a couple described as linchpins in efforts to rejuvenate the city of Rochester.

Former Rochester mayor Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy said: "They cannot be replaced."

The plane crashed in waters off Port Antonio

Senator Charles Schumer called the crash "a massive and heartbreaking loss for this community." 

"It deeply saddens me that Rochester has now lost two of its most indomitable, industrious visionaries," Senator Schumer said.

Governor Andrew Cuomo said: "The Glazers were innovative and generous people who were committed to revitalising downtown Rochester and making the city they loved a better place for all."

Mr Glazer was the co-founder of Buckingham Properties and served as its chief executive and managing partner, working alongside two sons.

The aircraft flew over Cuban airspace. Pic: FlightAware.com

He had been president of the TBM Owners and Pilots Association and was active on the boards of numerous civic organisations.

Mrs Glazer set up QCI Direct, a business that has 100 employees, the Democrat and Chronicle newspaper reported.

Their plane had taken off at 8:45am on Friday from Greater Rochester International Airport in New York en route to Naples, Florida.

The plane's pilot had indicated there was a problem and twice asked to descend to a lower altitude before permission was granted by an air traffic controller, according to a recording of the radio conversation.

A search team returns to port after failing to find the plane's wreckage

Radio contact was lost a short time later.

The US Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that air traffic controllers were last able to contact the pilot at 10am.

Search operations resumed at first light on Saturday, and an oil slick has been spotted in the area where the crash is suspected to have taken place.

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Hawaii Emergency: Lava Flow Threatens Homes

Hawaii's largest island has declared a state of emergency after lava from an active volcano threatened homes.

The lava flow from Kilauea volcano is now less than a mile from houses in Ka'ohe Homesteads, said county mayor Billy Kenoi.

He told residents on Hawaii Island, also known as the Big Island, to monitor emergency services' news updates and be ready to evacuate their homes.

The lava could reach homes within days

"We are taking this step to ensure our residents have time to prepare their families, their pets, and their livestock for a safe and orderly evacuation from Ka'ohe in the event the flow continues to advance," he said.

According to the Honolulu Star newspaper, the lava could reach houses within days, possibly a week.

Hawaii Island is among the eight main islands that make up the Pacific US state.

The archipelago also includes hundreds of smaller volcanic islands.

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Former X Factor Star Dies In Los Angeles

Tributes have been paid to American pop star Simone Battle who has died aged 25.

The former US X Factor contestant, who was later a member of girl group G.R.L., was found dead at 8am on Friday at her home in Los Angeles.

Police are investigating the cause of her death.

X Factor judge Cheryl Cole, now known as Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, led tributes to the singer.

"Such tragically sad news to hear of the passing of Simone Battle. My thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones #RIPSimone," she tweeted.

Battle was in the five-piece group GRL

Battle's friend and fellow musician Derek Butler broke the news on his Instagram account overnight.

He posted a picture of the singer, with the message: "I'm still in shock and in disbelief to have confirmed the death of my childhood friend.

"Her heart was pure gold and her star power limitless. Rest in sweet peace Angel."

Battle appeared in the first series of the X Factor in 2011 and made it through to the live shows.

G.R.L. were formed last year by Robin Antin, who founded the Pussycat Dolls.

They are expected to enter the top five of the UK's Official Chart with their new single Ugly Heart.

Battle's record company and management company issued a joint statement, saying: "We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Simone Battle of GRL.

"Simone was an exceptional young talent and human being, and we are all devastated to learn of her passing.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and loved ones at this time."

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