Ukraine: Fresh Bombing Endangers Peace Deal

Boko Haram Fight Intensifies In West Africa

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 14 Februari 2015 | 23.17

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, Fotokol

The battle against Boko Haram is intensifying in the run-up to the delayed Nigerian elections.

The terror group appears to be mounting more attacks especially on neighbouring border towns along the country's frontier.

Authorities who put back the elections by six weeks because of the threat from the extremist group, have vowed to crush all Boko Haram camps between now and polling day on March 28.

On Saturday, Nigeria's military repelled an attack by scores of Boko Haram militants in the northeastern town of Gombe. As the insurgents retreated, they warned residents not to take part in the elections.

A five-Nation group of West African countries are now involved in the fight against the extremists. Nigeria has been joined by Cameroon, Niger, Chad and Benin.

The Sky News team of me, cameraman Garwen McLuckie and producer Nick Ludlam gained rare access to Cameroon's elite Rapid Intervention Battalion - known as BIR - and joined their troops in the far north of the country.

We travelled with them to the town of Fotokol, which continues to be the focus of fighting.

Parts of Fotokol have been torn apart - with rows of stalls, homes and vehicles torched. Survivors talk of men being sprayed with bullets as they rose from praying in one of the mosques.

We saw the walls of the mosque, peppered with holes. One of those who carried the bodies out said 37 men were killed there.

Fotokol is just one of the towns on the border with Nigeria to be invaded and terrorised by the Boko Haram extremist group - and its inhabitants are traumatised.

One inhabitant told us he had been too scared to leave his household since the attack five days earlier. Nine members of his household had been killed shortly after early morning prayers.

The stakes are high for the Cameroon military posted along the frontier with their much richer, bigger, more powerful Nigerian neighbour.

They have now been bolstered by troops from Chad, but the battle with the militants is just as fierce. And if they fail, the consequences are devastating - as Fotokol found out.

As we arrived in the area, more Chadian troops were preparing to advance into Nigeria, telling us there was a battle still raging over the bridge separating Cameroon from their neighbour.

One Chadian soldier who spoke to us told us the fighting was "very dangerous and hard".

"We don't even have time to sleep," he said.

"The fighting goes on through the night even."

The Cameroon soldiers are fiercely dedicated to their task.

"We will not let Boko Haram enter our country," said one commander.

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Gallery: Profile Of Boko Haram Leader

Abubakar Shekau is the leader of Boko Haram. He took control of the Islamist group after the death of founder Mohammed Yusuf in 2009

Little is known about him, although he was born in Shekau village in the northeastern state of Yobe and is now thought to be in his early 40s

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Stranded Whales: 140 Die On New Zealand Beach

Some 140 pilot whales that became stranded on a New Zealand beach have died, conservation officials have revealed.

The whales beached themselves on Friday at Farewell Spit on the northern tip of the South Island.

Teams of rescuers raced to re-float the mammals on the evening high tide, but the whales swam aground again overnight after they were escorted out to deeper water.

A second attempt to re-float around 60 remaining whales will be made at high tide later on Saturday, but if that fails they may have to be euthanised.

The area is described as a whale trap because its shallow waters seem to confuse the animals and reduce their ability to navigate.

Andrew Lamason, from the Department of Conservation (DOC), said: "We're preparing ourselves for a pretty bad outcome, each time they re-strand their health goes down quite dramatically."

He added "a lot of" young whales were among the dead.

"It's been quite an emotional time for our staff," he said. "The whales also go through a lot of physical and emotional trauma."

Farewell Spit, around 95 miles west of Nelson, has been the scene of mass pilot whale strandings in the past.

There have been at least eight in the past 10 years, although this one is one of the largest.

Mr Lamason said: "It's highly likely it's the geography, potentially they're coming in here hunting for fish and becoming disorientated and dying.

"It could be that some of the pods are sick and that brings them up on to the beach, we don't really know."

Pilot whales grow up to six metres (20ft) long and are the most common species of whale in New Zealand waters.

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Body Of AirAsia Victim Identified As Briton

A body recovered after an AirAsia airliner crashed into the Java Sea has been identified as Briton Choi Chi Man.

A Foreign Office spokesman said his family had been informed.

Mr Choi, who was 48, is thought to have been travelling on flight QZ8501 with his daughter Zoe when it came down on 28 December.

He is believed to have held a British passport, but lived in Singapore with his family.

All 155 passengers and seven crew on board died when the plane crashed during bad weather en route from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore.

At least 47 bodies have so far been recovered from the crash site.

The plane's black boxes were found last month and analysis revealed the French co-pilot Remi Plesel was in control when stall warnings began to sound.

Indonesian authorities said that the plane climbed abruptly from its cruising height before stalling.

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Gallery: AirAsia Jet Tail Pulled From Sea

Search teams have recovered a section of the tail of crashed AirAsia flight QZ8501 from bottom of the Java Sea. Continue through for more images of the recovery...

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Ukraine: Fresh Bombing Endangers Peace Deal

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Ukraine's president has warned that fresh shelling in the east of the country is putting the impending ceasefire in danger.

At least 13 civilians have been killed and dozens wounded in fighting in the last 24 hours in the east of the country.

Seven Ukrainian service personnel have also been killed as the new peace deal brokered by Germany and France in Minsk is due to come into force at 10pm UK time.

Sky's Senior Correspondent Stuart Ramsay, in Kiev, said an explosion had been reported in central Donetsk on Saturday, with two people killed.

He said the fighting could be a "sort of last-ditch land grab by the two sides to try and get their positions that they have been trying to get to for the last week or so, try and make it before the deadline, and then observe the ceasefire."

The fiercest fighting is said to be taking place around the strategic railway town of Debaltseve, which has come under sustained artillery fire.

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Gallery: Ukraine Crisis Continues

Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine agreed a deal on Thursday that offers a "glimmer of hope" for an end to fighting in eastern Ukraine after marathon overnight talks

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko (L) addresses journalists as he takes part in peace talks on resolving the Ukrainian crisis in Minsk

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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (L) shakes hands with European Council President Donald Tusk (R) during a European Union leaders summit in Brussels

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Mr Poroshenko told a news conference in Brussels on Thursday that the process of implementation in east Ukraine of a ceasefire agreed at a summit in Minsk will be difficult

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Debaltseve has been the scene of huge fighting

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Fierce clashes have also been reported near the port city of Mariupol.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said: "After what we reached in Minsk, this is not just an attack of Ukrainian civilians, on Ukrainian living centre.

"This is an attack on Minsk results and without any explanations because, unfortunately after Minsk the offensive operation of Russia intensified insignificantly.

"And we still think that the Minsk agreement is under big danger."

The ceasefire envisages a withdrawal of the heavy weapons responsible for many of the 5,000 casualties in the conflict that broke out almost a year ago.

Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of pushing weapons and troops into the country to bolster the separatist push to seize more territory in the east of the country.

Moscow has repeatedly denied the charges, but the rebels have the modern heavy weaponry of a regular army.

Mr Poroshenko is due to speak with US President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande later on Saturday. The UN Security Council is also expected to meet on Sunday for an emergency session.

Mr Obama has warned he could start weapons supplies to Ukraine if the new peace deal collapses. Ms Merkel has also threatened further sanctions on Russia if the truce fails.

Both sides have to begin withdrawing heavy weapons from the frontline within two days of the ceasefire, which will establish a buffer zone of between 31 and 87 miles wide.

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe will monitor the ceasefire and will increase the number of observers it has in the country to 350.

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Al Jazeera Pair Go Free Before Retrial Starts

Two Al Jazeera journalists have been allowed to leave prison in Egypt after spending more than a year locked up.

Baher Mohamed was freed hours after Mohamed Fahmy's release on bail following a ruling by a Cairo judge.

The men still face a retrial on charges that they supported the Muslim Brotherhood, whose leader Mohamed Morsi was ousted as president in 2013.

A third journalist for the broadcaster, Australian Peter Greste, was deported to his home country two weeks ago.

The brother of Egyptian national Baher Mohamed told the AFP news agency: "He is at home for the first time in more than a year."

Earlier on Friday, the brother of Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fahmy tweeted that he posted $33,000 bail following the decision to release them.

The men were initially detained in December 2013 and sentenced to between seven and 10 years.

The case further strained ties between Egypt and Qatar, where Al Jazeera is based, while human rights groups and several media outlets have described the arrests as politically motivated, saying the three were just doing their job.

Mr Greste was eventually freed under a hastily drawn-up law that gave President Abdel Fattah al Sisi the power to approve the deportation of foreign prisoners.

Mr al Sisi had previously acknowledged that the sentences had a "very negative" effect on Egypt's reputation and that he regretted that the trio had ever been put on trial.

Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, who spent more than 400 days behind bars, are due back in court on February 23 for the retrial, after a ruling that their original conviction was not supported by evidence.

Al Jazeera said the men's release was a "small step in the right direction" but that the "absurd" case should be dismissed.

While the retrial could see the case thrown out, it could also see the men convicted but sentenced to time served, or even face more prison time.

In Australia, Mr Greste said it was too soon for celebrations, adding: "The trial is ongoing, and nobody has yet been acquitted.

"I'm looking forward to the day when the court declares all of us innocent of the charges. Then the party will really begin."

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Obama Condemns Murders Of Muslim Students

By Sky News US Team

US President Barack Obama has condemned the "brutal and outrageous" murders of three Muslim students in North Carolina.

"No one in the United States of America should ever be targeted because of who they are, what they look like, or how they worship," he said in a statement, offering his condolences.

He added: "As we saw with the overwhelming presence at the funeral of these young Americans, we are all one American family."

Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21, and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, were killed on Tuesday in the couple's Chapel Hill apartment.

Police have said they suspect the catalyst for the alleged murders by neighbour Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, was a parking dispute, but family members claim it was a hate crime.

The FBI has opened an investigation into the killings to run parallel to that by the local police force.

North Carolina investigators said on Friday that Hicks had at least 12 guns and a large cache of ammunition.

Muslim groups planned to hold Friday prayers in front of the White House as part of their call for a federal hate-crime inquiry.

Mr Obama's remarks on Friday follow criticism from Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a devout Muslim, of his US counterpart's "telling" failure to speak out about the killings.

On Thursday, more than 5,000 people attended the funerals of the students in a ceremony that spilled over from a mosque to an athletic field at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

The fathers of the three young Muslims, standing before their coffins, said the killings were motivated by religious hatred.

"This has hate crime written all over it," said Dr Mohammad Yousif Abu-Salha, who lost his daughters.

"If they don't listen carefully, I will yell."

The murders saw the hashtag #MuslimLivesMatter trending on social media.

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Gallery: Vigil Held For Chapel Hill Victims

A makeshift memorial is made during a vigil at the University of North Carolina following the murders of three Muslim students

The three victims were Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Mohammad, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19

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IS Suicide Bomb Attacks At US Base Thwarted

An attack by Islamic State fighters on an air base hosting US Marines in Iraq has been defeated by the Iraqi army, the Pentagon has said.

About 25 Islamic State militants, led by several suicide bombers, attacked Ain al Asad air base in Iraq's western Anbar province.

The Pentagon said the assault was thwarted, however, by Iraqi troops guarding the perimeter, with most of the assailants killed.

The sprawling air base is hosting more than 300 US Marines training Iraqi troops.

The base is close to the town of al-Baghdadi, which the Pentagon says is now under the control of IS fighters after fierce fighting.

Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said that US Marines were not involved in the fighting at the perimeter.

Drones and Apache helicopters were scrambled but the fighting was over by the time they arrived.

Mr Kirby said some of the suicide bombers had detonated their vests.

"It does appear now that most, if not all of them, were wearing Iraqi uniforms," Mr Kirby said of the attackers.

Mr Kirby said US assessments indicated IS fighters were in control of al-Baghdadi. However, ongoing fighting and poor communications in the area made it difficult to confirm such reports.

Al-Baghdadi has been besieged for months by Islamic State, which captured large areas of northern and western Iraq last year.

About 320 US Marines are training members of the Iraqi 7th Division at the Ain al Asad base.

It has been struck by mortar fire on at least one previous occasion since December.

The US and its coalition partners carried out seven air strikes against IS militants in Iraq between early Thursday and early Friday.

Five of those were in the vicinity of the base.

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Argentina's Kirchner Faces Iran Bomb Probe

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has been formally accused of trying to cover up Iranian involvement in a deadly bombing.

The allegations were first aired by prosecutor Alberto Nisman, before he was found dead from a gunshot wound last month.

His death - which roused suspicion despite being labelled suicide - came a day before he was due to give evidence to Congress over the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association bombing, which killed 85.

Mr Nisman claimed the President protected Iranian officials from prosecution over the 1994 bombing in exchange for oil.

Federal Prosecutor Gerardo Pollicita has now decided to go ahead with the probe.

"An investigation will be initiated with an eye toward substantiating ... the accusations and whether those responsible can be held criminally responsible," he said.

Three prosecutors and a coordinator have been named to take over the case.

They have already endorsed Mr Nisman's conclusions, accusing Mrs Kirchner, Foreign Minister Hector Timerman and others of a cover-up.

A judge will now decide whether to call Mrs Kirchner to make a statement.

The 61-year-old has presidential immunity which can only be removed with a two-thirds majority in Congress.

Mrs Kirchner's cabinet chief, Jorge Capitanich, has accused the courts of trying to stage a "judicial coup" against the embattled leader.

The government says "no action on the part of government officials was designed to dis-incriminate Iranian citizens".

The bombing at the Buenos Aires Jewish center, known as AMIA, was the deadliest such attack in Argentina's history.

An initial investigation ended with no convictions.

In 2006 Mr Nisman was named to reopen the case.

He accused Iran of ordering the attack via Hezbollah and requested arrest warrants for five officials.

Four days before he was found dead he filed a report accusing Mrs Kirchner and Mr Timerman of colluding to shield the Iranians.

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'Rambo' Soldier Admits Sniper Murder Plot

A former US soldier has pleaded guilty to recruiting an international team of military-trained snipers to carry out contract killings for a drug cartel.

Joseph Manuel Hunter, 49, known as "Rambo", admitted to conspiring to murder a law enforcement officer and two other charges.

Hunter was one of five former soldiers charged in 2013 with agreeing to provide security for what he believed were Colombian cartel leaders.

But the individuals were actually informants for the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

Hunter, who was a sniper instructor in the US Army, is the fourth defendant to plead guilty after former Sergeant Timothy Vamvakias, former German sniper Dennis Gogel and former Polish sniper Slawomir Soborski.

The fifth man charged in the case, former German military sniper Michael Filter, goes on trial in June.

Prosecutors claimed in New York federal court that Hunter worked as a hired killer after leaving the army in 2004 and arranged for several murders.

In a series of meetings in 2013 in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, he met the two undercover agents and agreed to act as head of security for their cartel, according to court documents.

He then assembled the team of former soldiers.

Hunter, Gogel and Vamvakias agreed to assassinate a DEA agent and an informant in Liberia in exchange for $800,000 (£520,000), according to US authorities. The murders were never carried out.

Hunter could face life in prison when he is sentenced in May.

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One Dead After 'Valentine's Day Massacre Plot'

An alleged plot to kill as many people as possible at a shopping centre on Valentine's Day has been foiled, say Canadian police.

A 19-year-old Canadian man and 23-year-old US woman were suspected of planning to carry out a shooting in Halifax on 14 February before committing suicide.

There could have been a "large loss of life" if the attack had gone ahead, according to authorities.

The pair had access to firearms, were apparently obsessed with death, had many photographs of mass killings, and had been on a chat site, an official said.

The woman was arrested at Halifax's airport and confessed to the plot, said the official, who added she had written a number of messages to be tweeted after her death.

The teenager had shot himself dead after police were tipped off about the plot and surrounded his home, the official went on.

Police had stopped his parents while they were driving and then officers called the suspect.

He said he did not have any guns but then took his own life as he was on his way out of the house, it is believed.

Meanwhile, a 20-year-old man was detained at the airport and a 17-year-old youth, who was wanted for threatening to carry out a gun attack at a school, was arrested elsewhere.

It is thought the pair were also involved in the plot but investigators were still trying to work out what their roles were.

The plot was not related to Islamist extremism, said authorities.

Brian Brennan, from Nova Scotia Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said: "Information gathered suggested that a 19-year-old Timberlea male and a 23-year-old Geneva, Illinois, female had access to firearms.

"And it was their intention to go to a public venue in the Halifax region on February 14 with the goal of opening fire to kill citizens and then themselves.

"Evidence also suggested that two other males, ages 20 and 17, of Halifax and Cole Harbour respectively were involved. Their role is still to be determined as part of the investigation."

He added: "Had they been able to carry out their intentions, the possibility for a large loss of life was definitely there.

"I would classify it as a group of individuals that had some beliefs and were willing to carry out violent acts against citizens. But there is nothing in the investigation to classify it as a terrorist act."

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Boko Haram Fight Intensifies In West Africa

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 14 Februari 2015 | 23.17

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Al Jazeera Pair Go Free Before Retrial Starts

Obama Condemns Murders Of Muslim Students

IS Suicide Bomb Attacks At US Base Thwarted

Argentina's Kirchner Faces Iran Bomb Probe

'Rambo' Soldier Admits Sniper Murder Plot

One Dead After 'Valentine's Day Massacre Plot'

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