Ice Floe Rescue: 220 Saved In Latvia

More than 220 people who were left drifting at sea after large sections of ice broke away from a shore off Latvia have been saved in a massive rescue operation.

The Latvian State Fire and Rescue Service launched boats, ships and helicopters in a three-hour operation to bring people safely back to land.

Emergency teams launch rescue boats

The ice had drifted in strong winds about two and a half miles from the shore by the end of the operation in the Gulf of Riga.

Around 180 people, mostly fishermen were rescued from a floe off the town of Vakarbulli, while another 43 people were taken off the ice near the seaside resort of Jurmala.

One of the rescued men disembarked

Viktorija Sembele, a spokeswoman for the State Fire and Rescue Service, said only one person had needed medical treatment.

She said helicopters had carried up to 20 people at a time off the ice floes.

Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics used his Facebook page to congratulate the emergency services and army for their "high level of professionalism".

Rescue operations involving people stranded on ice floes occur regularly in the Baltic states, particularly with ice fishermen who often stray far from the shore.

On Thursday authorities had begun warning of a thaw amid high winds - a combination that creates ice floes and pushes them offshore.

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China: Tibet Gold Miners Buried Under Rock

A landslide has crashed down a Tibet mountainside and buried 83 workers in a gold-mining area, according to Chinese state media.

A vast three kilometre long section of land, with a volume of two million cubic metres, slid down a slope and buried the workers' camp in Maizhokunggar county, east of the Tibetan capital Lhasa.

Some 1,000 police, firefighters and doctors were sent to the disaster site, at an altitude of 4,600 metres, the official Xinhua agency said.

There were also 200 vehicles and 15 dogs, and sets of life-detecting equipment.

State broadcaster CCTV quoted a member of the Chinese People's Armed Police on the scene as saying that "the situation looks serious, the collapsed area is three or four square kilometres".

The landslide brought massive rocks which smashed the workers' camp area and sliced a huge excavator in two, Xinhua said.

Rescuers have so far found no signs of the 83 trapped workers. The rescue would be very difficult due to the size of the affected area, a fire department official was quoted as saying.

Diggers have been brought in to help with the search

The workers were from a subsidiary of the China National Gold Group Corporation, a state-owned company and the nation's biggest gold miner.

Almost all of them were Han Chinese, the national ethnic majority, with only two of them ethnic Tibetans, Xinhua added. Most were migrant workers from the provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan.

China's new president Xi Jinping, who is currently visiting the Republic of Congo in Africa, and new premier Li Keqiang had ordered "top efforts" to rescue the victims, Xinhua added.

A worker at a hospital in the county reached by AFP news agency late on Friday said it had not yet received any casualties but staff were "making preparations".

Mountainous regions of Tibet are prone to landslides, which can be exacerbated by heavy mining activity.

In recent years China has discovered huge mineral resources in Tibet, including tens of millions of tonnes of copper, lead and zinc, and billions of tonnes of iron ore, according to state media reports.

Around 1,000 police, firefighters and doctors went to the disaster site

The reserves are estimated to be worth more than $100bn (£66bn), according to government statistics. It quoted a local official saying that the purpose of mining was to "benefit the local people".

But mining developments can lead to accusations of exploitation.

In 2010, at least four Tibetans may have been killed and 30 others hurt when Chinese police fired on crowds protesting the expansion of mine operations blamed for environmental damage.

The demonstrators, in a Tibetan area of Sichuan province, complained that stepped-up Chinese gold-mining operations had brought large numbers of people and heavy machinery to the area, damaging farmland and the local grassland habitat.

A separate gas explosion at a coal mine in northeast China has left 28 people dead.

China's State Administration of Work Safety said the cause of the blast at a state-owned mine outside Baishan in Jilin province is under investigation.

The Xinhua news agency said that apart from the 28 deaths, 13 people have been rescued.

Chinese mines remain among the deadliest in the world, with frequent explosions of the gases released in mining. A government campaign to close small, illegally operated mines and upgrade equipment in other has markedly improved safety in recent years.

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North Korea Says 'We Are At War With South'

North Korea says it has entered a "state of war" with South Korea in the latest threat aimed at Seoul and Washington.

Amid escalating tensions, Pyongyang also threatened to shut down a factory complex that is the last major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation.

The rising animosity prompted Russia to urge restraint. South Korea said the North's threats "are never acceptable" but noted there was no visible movement of troops at the border.

"As of now, inter-Korea relations enter a state of war and all matters between the two Koreas will be handled according to wartime protocol," the North said in a statement broadcast by the official Korean Central News Agency.

"The long-standing situation of the Korean peninsula being neither at peace nor at war is finally over."

The statement also warned that any military provocation near the North-South land or sea border would result "in a full-scale conflict and a nuclear war".

Hours later, a spokesman for the North's office controlling the Kaesong industrial complex said it would close the factory park if the South continued to undermine its dignity.

Pyongyang is angry at media reports that say the factory had remained open because it is a source of hard currency for the North.

Business has been operating normally at Kaesong, just across the border in North Korea, despite the escalation of rhetoric, and the North has previously made similar threats.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un

The two Koreas have always technically remained at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Earlier this month, the North said it was ripping up the armistice and other bilateral peace pacts signed with the South in protest against South Korea-US joint military exercises.

A Russian Foreign Ministry official, Grigory Logvinov, said: "We expect all sides to show maximum responsibility and restraint, and that no-one will cross the line after which there will be no return."

"Naturally, we cannot remain indifferent when an escalation of tensions is taking place at our eastern frontiers," the diplomat told the Interfax news agency.

"We cannot but worry."

The South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman, Kim Min-seok, said: "North Korea's continuing threats against South Korea such as saying it is 'entering a state of war' are never acceptable since it is harming peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.

"Our recent military exercises such as 'Key Resolve and Foal Eagle' and the US strategic bombers' deployment on the peninsula were defensive in nature against North Korea's possible provocations."

The ministry also said "no particular troop movement" had been observed along the border.

The US has used B-2 bombers as a 'deterrence' measure in the region

Former South Korean foreign minister Han Sung Joo told Sky News that the announcement amounted to "certainly more than rhetoric, even by North Korean standards".

The US said it was taking the new threat "seriously" but said it was following a familiar pattern.

"We've seen reports of a new and unconstructive statement from North Korea. We take these threats seriously and remain in close contact with our South Korean allies," said Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the National Security Council.

Most analysts still believe this will remain a rhetorical rather than a physical battle, but the situation has now become so volatile that any slight miscalculation carries the potential for rapid escalation.

Sky's Asia Correspondent Mark Stone said: "It is more rhetoric by North Korea until they actually do something. Wars tend to begin with bangs not announcements on state news agencies, so this is Mr Kim pushing the rhetoric up another level.

"The problem is, he hasn't got any more levels to go to after this other than actual war - that is the big worry and the big unknown. Does his belligerence have a limit or not?

"The assumption, and hope, is that he will stop at the eleventh hour but what if he doesn't? That is why the Americans, the South Koreans, the Japanese and, more quietly, the Chinese too are all taking it very seriously."

Sources in Pyongyang say life continues as normal in the city.

South Korean soldiers at a check point during a drill near the border

There are signs of civil construction with thousands of workers. Many of them are conscripts, and if war was imminent, then Kim would have called them up and they would not be busy building apartment blocks and hotels.

Earlier this week, the North's leader Kim Jong-Un has ordered missile units to prepare to strike US mainland and military bases, vowing to "settle accounts" after US stealth bombers flew over the South.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel stressed that Washington would not be cowed by Pyongyang's threats and stood ready to respond to "any eventuality".

The standoff has its roots in the North's successful long-range rocket launch in December and the third nuclear test it carried out in February.

Both events drew UN sanctions that incensed Pyongyang, which then switched the focus of its anger to the annual joint South Korea-US military drills.

As tensions escalated, Washington has maintained a notably assertive stance, publicising its use of nuclear-capable B-52s and B-2 stealth bombers.

The long-distance deployment of both sets of aircraft was intended as a clear signal of US commitment to defending the South against any act of aggression.

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UN's Global Arms Trade Treaty Is Blocked

A ground-breaking UN treaty that would regulate the international arms trade has been blocked by Iran, Syria and North Korea.

The three nations refused to ratify the treaty, which required agreement by all 193 UN member states, at a meeting in New York.

For more than a decade, activists and some governments have been pushing for international rules to regulate the estimated £40bn global arms trade and try to keep illicit weapons out of the hands of terrorists, insurgent fighters and organised crime.

After two weeks of intensive negotiations, many delegates had been optimistic that consensus - which does not require a vote - was within reach.

Both Iran and North Korea are under UN arms embargoes over their nuclear programmes, while Syria is in the third year of a conflict that has escalated to civil war.

The United Nations headquarters in New York

Amnesty International said all three countries "have abysmal human rights records - having even used arms against their own citizens".

But the British Foreign Secretary said he was determined to find a resolution.

William Hague said: "I am deeply disappointed that the negotiations on an Arms Trade Treaty closed today without consensus.

"After seven years of intensive work, the international community had never had a better chance to agree a global, legally binding treaty that would make the world a safer place.

"The UK has played a leading role and spared no effort to secure a treaty which would be both strong and globally applied, based on consensus.

"We have come very close. It is disappointing that three countries blocked the historic agreement that lay within our reach."

North Korea is under a UN arms embargo

The Arms Trade Treaty would be the first international, legally binding treaty setting controls on the transfers of weapons, Mr Hague said, and would ban sales of weapons that would be used for genocide or war crimes.

Arms brokering would also be regulated, protecting legitimate trade.

He added: "This treaty is too important for us to let it end here. The overwhelming majority of the international community want this treaty and we are determined to take it forward."

Other countries also refused to let the treaty die.

Mexico proposed that the UN conference go ahead and adopt the treaty without the support of the three dissenting countries, saying there was no definition of "consensus". Several countries supported the idea, but the Russian delegation objected.

Jo Adamson, the British ambassador to the UN Conference on Disarmament, struck a hopeful note. "This is not failure," she said. "Today is success deferred, and deferred by not very long."

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Veteran Who Fought For Syrian Rebels Charged

An American army veteran has been charged in the US for fighting alongside a Syrian rebel group linked to al Qaeda.

Eric Harroun boasted on Facebook and posted videos of his military adventures with Jabhat al Nusrah, which is designated as a terrorist group by the US.

But he is now facing charges of conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction outside the US, specifically firing rocket-propelled grenades as part of an attack against the government of President Bashar al Assad.

Harroun filmed these images of a downed Syrian helicopter

The 30-year-old from Phoenix in Arizona - who served three years in the US Army before being medically discharged in 2003 - told the FBI that he crossed into Syria from Turkey in January.

He claimed credit on Facebook for downing a regime helicopter and told investigators that he shot an estimated 10 people in his various battles, though he was unsure if he had ever killed anyone.

Harroun also stated that "the only good Zionist is a dead Zionist", and that he intended to travel to the Palestinian territories because of Israeli atrocities there, according to the FBI.

In media interviews, he described himself as a "freedom fighter" and said joining up with al Nusrah is "not rocket science".

Although at other times he disputed a connection with the group.

The former soldier never saw overseas action with the US military

His father, Darryl Harroun, has said the car accident that led to his son's military discharge left him with a steel plate in his head, and exacerbated depression from which his son already suffered.

"They treat Eric like a hero over there. He was trying to save lives," he told KNXV.

"He was working with the same rebels that Obama was going to fund," he added.

Harroun faces up to life in prison if found guilty of breaking the American law which makes no exception for anyone who may be fighting a hostile regime.

He is due to appear in court in Virginia next Tuesday.

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North Korea Rockets 'Ready To Hit US Bases'

North Korea's leader has told rocket units to be on standby for an attack on US bases, according to state media.

The country's KCNA news agency said Kim Jong-Un had signed off on the order to train sights on American bases in South Korea and the Pacific after a midnight meeting with top generals.

The move was followed by reports of increased activity at North Korea's mid to long-range missile sites, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

Mr Kim at a meeting of army information workers on Thursday in Pyongyang

It comes after two American stealth bombers flew over South Korea in a show of force to Pyongyang, following an escalation of rhetoric from the North's young leader.

Both China and Russia have appealed for calm.

Moscow said the heightened military activity was slipping into a "vicious cycle" that could get out of control, implicitly criticising the US bomber flights.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that North Korea should also cool down, calling on "all sides not to flex their military muscle" and avoid the danger of a belligerent response.

The US uses B-2 bombers as a 'deterrence' measure in the region

China's foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said: "We call on all relevant parties to make joint efforts to turn around the tense situation. Peace and stability on the Korean peninsula as well as Northeast Asia serves the common interest."

The two nuclear-capable B-2 planes flew a 13,000-mile round trip from an air base in Missouri, dropping a dummy bomb on a target range in the South.

The planes were taking part in a joint South Korea-US military exercise that has inflamed tensions with Pyongyang, which earlier this month threatened to unleash an "all-out war" backed by nuclear weapons.

Mr Kim presides over an urgent operations meeting

"This .... demonstrates the United States' ability to conduct long range, precision strikes quickly and at will," the US military said in a statement.

"The B-2 bomber is an important element of America's enduring and robust extended deterrence capability in the Asia-Pacific region."

KCNA reported that Mr Kim had "judged the time has come to settle accounts with the US imperialists in view of the prevailing situation".

The agency said: "He finally signed the plan on technical preparations of strategic rockets of the KPA, ordering them to be on standby for fire so that they may strike any time the US mainland, its military bases in the operational theatres in the Pacific, including Hawaii and Guam, and those in South Korea."

Following their leader's call to arms, thousands of North Koreans turned out for a mass rally in the main square in the capital.

Chanting "Death to the US imperialists" and "Sweep away the US aggressors," soldiers and students marched through Kim Il-Sung Square during the 90-minute rally.

The US has denied its military exercise was provocative but said it was "committed to a pathway to peace" and "prepared to deal with any eventuality" in the region.

Mr Kim had 'judged the time has come to settle accounts with the US'

Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel and General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the B-2 bombers were a message intended more for allies than Pyongyang.

"The North Koreans have to understand that what they're doing is very dangerous," Mr Hagel said.

"I don't think we're doing anything extraordinary or provocative or out of the ... orbit of what nations do to protect their own interests."

The US, he added, must make it clear to South Korea, Japan and other allies in the region that "these provocations by the North are taken by us very seriously, and we'll respond to that".

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Brazil Doctor 'May Have Killed 300 Patients'

A Brazilian doctor charged with killing seven patients at a hospital could be responsible for up to 300 deaths, an investigator has said.

Virginia Helena Soares de Souza and her medical team gave muscle relaxing drugs to patients and reduced their oxygen supply, causing them to die of asphyxiation, claim prosecutors.

The doctor and her seven assistants were suspected of injecting patients with "drug cocktails" and of tampering with their respirators, a health ministry official said.

If prosecutors prove De Souza was responsible for 300 deaths, it could be one of the world's worst serial killings, rivalling the case of British GP Harold Shipman who killed at least 215 patients.

Prosecutors said De Souza's taped phone conversations revealed her motive was to free up beds for other patients at an intensive care unit, which she headed up.

"I want to clear the intensive care unit. It's making me itch," she allegedly said in one recording released to Brazilian media.

Deaths are being investigated at the Evangelical Hospital in Curitiba

"Unfortunately, our mission is to be go-betweens on the springboard to the next life," she reportedly added in the same phone call.

Prosecutors said De Souza felt "all powerful" running the unit, to the point where she "had the power to decree the moment when a victim would die".

In some cases, she was absent from the hospital and gave instructions to end the life of a patient by phone to members of her medical team, it was alleged.

The 56-year-old widow was arrested last month and charged with seven counts of aggravated first degree murder. She was released on bail a week ago pending the outcome of the investigation.

Three other doctors, three nurses and a physiotherapist who worked for her have also been charged with murder.

GP Harold Shipman killed at least 215 patients

More cases are expected to emerge as investigators look through 1,700 medical records of patients who died in the last seven years at the Evangelical Hospital in the southern city of Curitiba.

"We already have more than 20 cases established, and there are nearly 300 more that we are looking into," the chief investigator assigned by Brazil's health ministry, Dr Mario Lobato, told Globo TV.

He said the deaths he reviewed happened under similar circumstances: a muscle relaxant such as Pancuronium was administered, increasing the patients' dependence on artificial respiration; then the oxygen supply was reduced, causing death by asphyxiation.

Some of the patients were conscious moments before they died, he said.

De Souza's lawyer, Elias Mattar Assad, said investigators had misunderstood how an intensive care unit works and she would prove her innocence.

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Pistorius Can Leave South Africa To Compete

Paralympian Oscar Pistorius, who is charged with murdering his girlfriend, has been allowed to compete overseas.

The 26-year-old, has won an appeal over his bail restrictions, permitting him to leave South Africa to compete in international competition, with conditions.

His lawyers told the North Guateng High Court that while the Olympic and Paralympic athlete had no immediate plans to compete, he might in time need to run at track meets again to continue earning a living.

Judge Bert Bam agreed to ease Pistorius' bail restrictions, but said the runner must provide authorities with his travel plans at least a week before he leaves the country.

He must also return his passport to the court within 24 hours of returning to South Africa.

"I find no reason why the appellant should he forbidden to leave the country if invited to compete," the judge told the hearing.

Reeva Steenkamp was killed by Oscar Pistorius last month

Pistorius was released on bail on February 22, a week after he was arrested on charges of murdering girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

He says he shot her after mistaking her for an intruder at his home on Valentine's Day.

Her body was discovered at the athlete's property in the Silver Woods gated community in eastern Pretoria.

The 30-year-old top South African model died at the scene.

Prosecutors believe Pistorius killed her intentionally after an argument.

The Johannesburg-born athlete, known as the Blade Runner because of the carbon fibre blades he uses on the track, made history in 2012 when he became the first amputee to compete in the Olympics.

In the Paralympics, he won gold in the 400m and another in the 4x400m relay.

Both of his legs were amputated below the knee just before his first birthday because of a congenital condition.

Last year Time Magazine named him as one of the world's 100 most influential people.

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Cyprus Banks Reopen With Capital Restrictions

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent in Cyprus

Cyprus' banks have opened their doors after the longest enforced bank holiday in Europe's history.

Queues grew outside branches across the country, but there were no signs of panic as employees limited the number of customers allowed in at any one time.

But many customers expressed anger at the country's controversial bailout - which requires Cyprus to raise 5.8bn euros (£4.9bn).

Banks are giving customers information about the capital restrictions

"They have stolen our money," Mr Lucas told Sky News.

"I have been working for 60 years. I am 80 years old. I cannot work again for my living - they have cut the lot.

"Our money, our social insurance - they have cut them. How are we going to live?"

Another Cypriot, Stelios, came out of the bank empty handed.

"I tried to get my February wages and they gave me a piece of paper only," he said.

The British security firm G4S deploys 180 guards to banks across Cyprus

"I have two children in the army and they asked for money - I don't have money to give them.

"The Government didn't pay anybody. My old parents didn't get their pension."

Cash withdrawals and other transactions are subject to tough restrictions, introduced by the country's Finance Ministry in an effort to avoid a run on the banks.

The country's crippled banking system was effectively closed down on March 16 while the terms of the 10bn euro (£8.5bn) bailout were agreed and implemented.

Large depositors face losses of as much as 40% of their savings as part of the deal, leading to fears that customers would attempt to withdraw large amounts of money when the banks reopened.

As a result, strict capital controls include a withdrawal limit of 300 euros (£253) a day and a ban on cashing cheques.

Travellers leaving the country can only take up to 1,000 euros (£845), or the equivalent in foreign currency, with them in cash - significantly less than expected.

Demonstrations against austerity measures continued in Cyprus on Wednesday

Police and security staff were deployed to maintain order at branches, and G4S employees worked to ensure cash machines were filled up overnight.

The giant global firm was the contractor that failed to meet their promises over security at the London Olympics prompting the British military to step in.

G4S's managing director in Cyprus, John Arghyrou, told Sky News: "I feel we have the resources, I feel extremely confident as a security company that we can undertake and meet the requirements of our customers."

Some 180 guards were deployed to banks across Cyprus to work alongside police officers and other security firms.

Mr Arghyrou added: "It is not really guarding it is assistance services ... but close co-operation with the police is essential."

With just 860,000 people, Cyprus has around 68bn euros (£57bn) in its banks.

This outsized financial system attracted deposits from foreigners but has struggled since investments in neighbouring Greece went sour.

More follows...

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Amanda Knox Told To Stay Away From Retrial

By Greg Milam, in Seattle

An American judge who campaigned for the release of Amanda Knox has told Sky News she "may" return to Italy to face renewed proceedings - but that he would recommend she stay away.

Michael Heavey, a Superior Court judge in Knox's home state of Washington, says he is disappointed but not surprised that the Italian Supreme Court has ordered a retrial for her and former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito.

The couple were released by an appeals court 18 months ago after it found fault with their convictions for murdering the British exchange student Meredith Kercher at the home she and Knox shared in Perugia in 2007.

Judge Heavey, who attracted criticism for writing to the Italian authorities about the case while still serving in his role in the US, says he remains convinced the couple are innocent and that the prosecution case is flawed.

Meredith Kercher was killed in 2007

When asked if Knox might return to Italy for any part of the new proceedings, he said: "She may. The intelligentsia of Italy knows she is absolutely innocent.

"But a good proportion of the population, because of what's called confirmation bias, what they've been told so many times, they can't tell you why, but they think she's guilty and that is not a healthy climate for her to be in."

He said he would not criticise the Italian judicial system - and that the US has its own examples of such mistakes being made - but added that he believed the case was set to drag on for years.

He said: "It is terribly disappointing. You just feel like you have been kicked in the stomach. My heart goes out to Amanda and Raffaele and their families for what they're going to have to go through. The nightmare continues."

No-one in the Knox camp has commented on whether she plans to return to Italy for the retrial. If she were to be convicted and that conviction upheld, Italy could seek her extradition from the United States.

A 'Free Amanda Knox' sticker on a car outside her Seattle home

One Knox lawyer in Italy has said he does not believe she will attend the trial, which is her right under Italian law.

Since the Supreme Court announcement, Amanda Knox has been keeping a low profile in her home city of Seattle. Members of her family politely told reporters outside their home in the Arbor Heights suburb they would not be commenting on the developments.

The 25-year-old has returned to complete her studies at the University of Washington and it is reported she plans to go ahead with a television interview next month to promote a book about the case.

Five thousand miles away from Seattle, a woman claiming to be the new girlfriend of Sollecito told reporters at his apartment that the couple planned to move to Switzerland. She confirmed that he and Knox had spoken to each other about the Supreme Court decision.

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Brazilian Olympic Stadium Closed Indefinitely

A stadium in Brazil that was expected to hold some of the main events of the 2016 Olympics has been closed indefinitely because of problems with its roof.

Rio de Janeiro's Joao Havelange Olympic Stadium, which was scheduled to host athletics at the 2016 games, will have to undergo roof repairs, the city's mayor said.

The stadium, completed less than six years ago, is currently the city's main soccer venue while the Maracana is rebuilt for this year's Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup.

Although the Joao Havelange Stadium was due to host the athletics in 2016, the opening and closing ceremonies will both take place at the Maracana.

The upgrade of the Maracana is also behind schedule, however.

Rio's mayor Eduardo Paes told a news conference: "Today, they informed me that the roof has structural problems.

"I asked if this represented a risk for spectators and they told me it did, depending on the wind speed and temperature.

"On that basis, I immediately decided to close the stadium until we had more details."

Mr Paes added: "It's simply not acceptable that a stadium which was inaugurated such a short time ago now has to face this sort of situation."

The stadium was built for the 2007 Panamerican Games at a cost of 380 million reais (£125m) and opened just one month before the event.

Afterwards, it was leased to local soccer club Botafogo although it is frequently used by other teams.

The first event to be affected was Wednesday's Carioca championship match between Brazilian champions Fluminense and Macae.

It has not yet been announced what other effects the closure will have.

The England football team were due to play Brazil in Rio de Janeiro on June 2, but the FA said the stadium where that match was due to take place at has not yet been confirmed.

The Maracana is due to re-open at the end of April, four months behind schedule.

The capacity of the Joao Havelange stadium was due to be increased from 46,000 to 60,000 ahead of the Olympics.

The stadium is named after Joao Havelange, the Brazilian former president of Fifa and later member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who has been accused of taking bribes while head of world football.

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North Korea Cuts Military Hotline To South

North Korea has cut another military hotline with the South as state media said the country's leadership would meet in the coming days to discuss taking a "drastic turn".

A message to South Korean military officials said staff at the military communications liaison office would stop their activities "from this moment".

"Under the situation where a war may break out any moment, there is no need to keep north-south military communications which were laid between the militaries of both sides," it said.

"Not words but only arms will work on the US and the South Korean puppet forces."

Several weeks ago North Korea severed the Red Cross hotline that had been used for government-to-government communications in the absence of diplomatic relations.

Severing the military hotline could affect operations at the Seoul-funded Kaesong industrial complex, established in the North in 2004 as a symbol of co-operation, as the hotline was used to organise movement of people and vehicles in and out.

North Korea has become increasingly bellicose in recent weeks, ending an armistice agreement with the South and ordering the military to be ready to strike US bases in Guam, Hawaii and mainland America.

However, it military threat maybe not be as fearsome as portrayed in images of North Korean military exercises released by the state news agency on Tuesday.

South Korea's Park Geun-Hye

Experts said images of a sea-borne assault using hovercraft on an unidentified beach on the country's east coast had been doctored, with one or two vessels copied and pasted a number of times along the shore.

Sky's Asia Correspondent Mark Stone said: I was slightly currious yesterday ... because what usually happens in these cases is that they release the stills and then within an hour or two there we get the video.

"The people who are watching the state television channel will never hear that this was photoshopped, what they will hear is that they have got some sort of great military."

Pyongyang's latest threats followed the decision to impose new sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear ambitions and military exercises involving US and South Korean troops.

Cho Han-Bum, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said the forthcoming meeting of the politburo of the ruling Workers' Party would probably seek to keep "the momentum going" through some symbolic gesture.

"I envisage a resolution that further raises the alarm, like declaring a top alert for the entire nation beyond the military, or something like that," Mr Cho said.

The North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, a state body in charge of propaganda and inter-Korean affairs, has also launched an attack on the South, accusing President Park Geun-Hye of slander and provocation.

It said she would meet a "miserable ruin" if she keeps "defying the warnings" of the North.

On Tuesday, President Park warned North Korea that its only "path to survival" lay in abandoning its nuclear and missile programmes, and she urged Pyongyang to "change course".

Meanwhile, a Chinese border province, Jilin, has said it will improve its trade and transport links with North Korea, building new railways and a road link.

The Jilin government proposals come despite Beijing working with the US on a UN Security Council resolution targeting Pyongyang's efforts to raise funds for its nuclear programme.

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Cyprus Crisis: Banks Shut Until Thursday

Cyprus Facing Jobless Total Of 30%

Updated: 10:40am UK, Tuesday 26 March 2013

By Tom Parmenter, Sky Correspondent, in Nicosia

Cyprus is facing a recession so deep that 30% of people may find themselves unemployed.

The EU bailout means massive restructuring of the financial system, the inevitable loss of many investors and thousands of people seeing their jobs disappear.

Professor Hari Tsoukas, a business analyst, told Sky News: "Unemployment is likely to at least double from 14% to at least 25% and possibly up to 30%. Not so long ago it was just 5%.

"It is a huge challenge now facing the Cypriot people, we have been resilient before and we will need all that again," he added.

For a week now people have been rationed to how much they can withdraw from cashpoints.

Wages have not been paid, businesses have been unable to pay suppliers and the whole economy has seized up.

Banks have been closed since March 16 but Cyprus' president Nicos Anastasiades has said they will reopen on Thursday.

However, he added that the island will introduce some limits on transactions to prevent a huge outflow of money.

Politicians have been struggling to come up with a plan that would raise enough funds to qualify for an international bailout.

In a televised address to the country, the president said: "The central bank will implement capital controls on transactions. I want to assure you that this will be a very temporary measure that will gradually be relaxed."

He did not specify what limitations would be imposed on transactions.

He said he had taken "painful decisions to save the country from bankruptcy" and pledged Cyprus "would find its feet again".

It follows a bailout deal which reports suggest could see Bank of Cyprus savers with deposits above 100,000 euros (£85,000) hit with a levy of "around 30%".

In a smart fourth floor apartment, Sky News met one Cypriot woman prepared to show us where she has been stashing her money.

Fearful of losing control of her cash by leaving it in the bank she now has a daily routine of hiding it in drawers or cupboards around her bedroom.

She didn't want to be identified but said: "You just want to know your money is safe, this is quite small scale but it is all I can do."

Her flat was burgled last year so she is taking no chances - every time before she leaves home for over an hour she collects together her growing stash of notes and takes it with her stuffed in her handbag.

She hates having to do it but while banks remain closed some people feel they have little option but to take control of their own money.

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North Korea Rocket Strike Threat Targets US

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

North Korea has ordered its military to be ready to strike US bases in Guam, Hawaii and mainland America, according to state TV.

North Korea threatens a missile attack on Guam, Hawaii and the US mainland

"The Korea People's Army top command declares that all artillery troops including strategic rocket units and long-range artillery units are to be placed under class-A combat readiness," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

The announcement came as images were released showing a new round of military exercises by the isolated state.

North Korea has previously threatened a nuclear attack on US military bases

The still photographs show what appears to be a sea-borne assault using hovercraft and an artillery drill using multiple rocket launchers - none of which would have the capacity to reach more than a dozen or so miles.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is pictured visiting troops and watching the exercise from a vantage point above the unidentified beach on the country's east coast.

It's not thought to have the technology to hit the US with an atomic weapon

The photographs, released by KCNA, are accompanied by language which matches weeks of rhetoric.

According to the news agency, Mr Kim "stressed the need to destroy and wipe away any enemy who lands on their coast through strong firepower and ordered the soldiers of the heroic Korean People's Army to display their mettle in the great war against the enemies".

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is photographed visiting troops

"Crazy like wild wolves threatened with fire, send all of them to the bottom of the sea," he is quoted as saying.

The exercise and the photographs of it are a clear response to a series of month-long exercises taking place across the border in South Korea involving American and South Korean troops and naval forces.

Defence analysts have been studying the latest photographs with interest.

Rockets and long-range artillery have been ordered to be combat ready

James Hardy, the Asia-Pacific Editor of Jane's Defence Weekly, told Sky News he had not seen hovercraft like those in the photographs before.

However, he added: "I can categorically state that multiple rocket launchers and 'long-range artillery' are not going to threaten the US mainland, Guam or Hawaii, unless they are put on a ship and sailed to within firing distance (which I doubt the North Koreans are about to do)."

Order was issued in a statement from the North's military "supreme command"

It has been an uneasy few months on the Korean peninsula with rhetoric and threatening language at a level not seen for several years.

The increased tension comes as Seoul marks the third anniversary of the sinking of a South Korean warship.

On March 26, 2010, the Cheonan was torpedoed by the North Korean military with the loss of 46 sailors.

The fresh threat marks the latest fiery rhetoric from Pyongyang

In December, North Korea launched a satellite into orbit in the tip of a rocket.

Their claim then was that this was all part of Pyongyang's legitimate right to pursue a space programme.

Few countries bought that claim, believing instead that it represented the latest move in North Korea's development of a ballistic missile programme.

The warning follows joint military drills by the US and South Korean forces

The rocket launch was followed in February by an underground nuclear test and a sharp escalation in tension.

Faced with unprecedented UN sanctions, backed by his historical ally China, Mr Kim admitted the rocket launch and nuclear test were indeed all part of his ideological desire to destroy America and its allies.

Asked about the accuracy and range of rockets like that fired in December, Mr Hardy said he believed North Korea was still some way off possessing an operational missile of this type.

US military bases in the Pacific are in range of its medium-range missiles

"It's a mish mash of fuel types and requires quite a bit of time to assemble on a purpose-built launch pad," he continued.

"The US, or anyone else, would have plenty of time to scope it out before it got airborne so its operational value is quite low even before you start talking about the challenges of placing a warhead on it," he added.

The South says it has seen no signs of an imminent military action

The annulment of the armistice agreement with South Korea and repeated threats to attack the South over the past three weeks have, so far, been exposed as nothing more than bluff and bluster.

However, with unattributed cyber attacks in Seoul, repositioned missile defence systems on America's west coast and the presence of US B-52 bombers in the skies above the Korean peninsula, there's no doubt minds across the region and beyond are very focused on a fragile peace and an unpredictable regime.

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Cyprus Facing 30% Unemployment Amid Crisis

By Tom Parmenter, Sky Correspondent, in Nicosia

Cyprus is facing a recession so deep that 30% of people may find themselves unemployed.

The EU bailout means massive restructuring of the financial system, the inevitable loss of many investors and thousands of people seeing their jobs disappear.

Professor Hari Tsoukas, a business analyst, told Sky News: "Unemployment is likely to at least double from 14% to at least 25% and possibly up to 30%. Not so long ago it was just 5%.

"It is a huge challenge now facing the Cypriot people, we have been resilient before and we will need all that again," he added.

For a week now people have been rationed to how much they can withdraw from cashpoints.

Wages have not been paid, businesses have been unable to pay suppliers and the whole economy has seized up.

Banks have been closed since March 16 but Cyprus' president Nicos Anastasiades has said they will reopen on Thursday.

A woman and child beg for money in Nicosia

However, he added that the island will introduce some limits on transactions to prevent a huge outflow of money.

Politicians have been struggling to come up with a plan that would raise enough funds to qualify for an international bailout.

In a televised address to the country, the president said: "The central bank will implement capital controls on transactions. I want to assure you that this will be a very temporary measure that will gradually be relaxed."

He did not specify what limitations would be imposed on transactions.

He said he had taken "painful decisions to save the country from bankruptcy" and pledged Cyprus "would find its feet again".

It follows a bailout deal which reports suggest could see Bank of Cyprus savers with deposits above 100,000 euros (£85,000) hit with a levy of "around 30%".

In a smart fourth floor apartment, Sky News met one Cypriot woman prepared to show us where she has been stashing her money.

Fearful of losing control of her cash by leaving it in the bank she now has a daily routine of hiding it in drawers or cupboards around her bedroom.

She didn't want to be identified but said: "You just want to know your money is safe, this is quite small scale but it is all I can do."

Her flat was burgled last year so she is taking no chances - every time before she leaves home for over an hour she collects together her growing stash of notes and takes it with her stuffed in her handbag.

She hates having to do it but while banks remain closed some people feel they have little option but to take control of their own money.

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Newborn Left In Car With Note As Mum Shops

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

A baby has been found alone in a locked car with a note attached to its blanket asking passers-by to call if there were any problems.

The newborn had been left in a car seat while the child's mother went shopping at a supermarket in Porirua on New Zealand's north island.

A photo of the baby, and the hastily scrawled note which had a mobile phone number on it, has sparked outrage after it was printed in a newspaper and posted online.

According to The New Zealand Herald, a man who parked next to the car with the abandoned baby raised the alarm.

He told the paper: "It was written from the baby's perspective, and it said, 'my mum's in doing the shopping, call her if I need anything', and it had the cellphone number.

"We waited there for a little bit, wondering if the mum was just going to be two seconds and come back.

"And my wife said, 'I'm not going in without someone being here with the baby'."

The baby was spotted in the car park of Pak'nSave on Saturday morning.

According to the newspaper, another two passers-by waited by the car, with one of them phoning the mother and telling her to come outside.

Senior sergeant Justin Rakena said police could not investigate if there had been no complaint, and no-one had come forward to talk to police about it.

They had not spoken with the mother.

Police would "absolutely" investigate if a complaint was made, he told NZ Newswire.

It is illegal in New Zealand to leave a child under 14 years old alone for an unreasonable time or in unreasonable conditions.

Doing so could result in a fine of up to NZ$2,000 (£1,000).

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Russian Civilians Join Raids On Migrant Camps

By Katie Stallard, Moscow Correspondent

Russia's federal migration service has introduced civilian patrols as part of a crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Civic-minded citizens in Moscow can now sign up to take part in organised raids of migrant housing and street patrols.

The volunteers are supervised by a migration service official and not allowed to use force, unless in self-defence.

Sky News filmed a raid on a suspected migrant workers' camp in a suburb on the outskirts of Moscow.

The volunteers gathered in a supermarket car park at 6am. It was snowing heavily and the temperature was -10C, but the group seemed enthusiastic as they piled out of their 4x4s to discuss the plan.

We set off in convoy towards the camp along a rough track deep in snow. We were told the area is close to a large open-air market where many of the migrants find work.

Volunteers gather in a car park ahead of a raid

At first sight the camp was little more than a shanty town - a ramshackle collection of sheds and garages, improvised shelters against the depths of the Russian winter.

The patrol fanned out on foot, banging on doors and shouting for the people inside to come out.

Most meekly obeyed, zipping up jackets and pulling on hats as they stepped out into the snow and torchlights.

We saw one man breaking down a door with his shoulder after the occupants refused to open the door - a bewildered-looking man in his underwear was ordered to get dressed and get outside.

For the most part the volunteers were entirely civil and polite, and that was perhaps the most striking feature of what was happening - that these were not skin-headed neo-nazis or right wing extremists - to a person they seemed to be reasonable, educated Russians, who genuinely believe migrant workers have no place in their country.

Statistics suggest that view is not in the minority.

A migrant (left) is led away during a raid

According to the most recent research by the independent Levada Centre, 71% of Russians believe an increase in migration leads to an increase in crime.

Some 65% want the number of migrants in Russia - whether here legally or illegally - to be reduced, and 73% support 'strong measures' to deport those here illegally.

Members of the patrol claimed there was a clear link between migrant workers and crime.

The lead volunteer told us he believed migrants were responsible for the vast majority of local criminal activity.

"Ninety-nine percent of crime," he explained. "Most often it is, of course, guests from the east and from the Caucasus."

Another man gestured to the park behind and said: "There is so much stuff going on. They are stealing, raping, right there in the parks."

But that attitude can leave migrant workers vulnerable to exploitation - leaving them feeling they have few rights and even fewer places to turn if they find themselves in trouble in Russia.

A migrant called Bakia says she had been forced to work as a slave

Sky News met an Uzbek woman who was freed in an anti-slavery raid in Moscow last year. She told us she was forced to work as a slave for almost 10 years; cleaning, stacking shelves and serving customers in a shop.

Bakia said she was beaten and made to sleep in a basement, but that she could not escape because her children were being kept in a flat elsewhere.

She was rescued along with her six-year-old son, who she says has health problems linked to malnutrition and damage to his legs from being tied to a radiator.

Bakia says she also had a daughter, Camilla, who was taken from her shortly after the birth but she doesn't know what has happened to her.

She has no papers so it is difficult to verify her claims, but she says she has tried repeatedly to report her daughter missing to the police and a charity has now taken up her case. But four months after her release, she told us no-one is looking for her child.

Bakia said: "Thank God my son is with me, even though he is disabled. My daughter, my daughter, well if they don't want to do this I will go and look for her myself."

She told us she didn't want to leave Russia without finding her daughter, but that it was very clear they were not welcome here.

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Cyprus Bailout Deal Wins Eurozone Approval

Deposits above 100,000 euros (£85,000) in the Bank of Cyprus will be hit with a levy of "around 30%" under the EU bailout deal, a government official has confirmed.

Spokesman Christos Stylianides told state radio that the charge would be paid as the second largest Greek Cypriot lender is destined to be wound up.

But Russia, which is the source of many large uninsured accounts in Cyprus, reacted angrily on Monday to the levy news.

"The stealing of what has already been stolen continues," Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was quoted by news agencies as telling a meeting of government officials.

Christine Lagarde and the German finance minister at the Eurogroup

The island's deal has allowed Cyprus to secure a last-minute 10bn euro (£8.5bn) EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved bailout by eurozone ministers, saving the country from a banking system collapse, bankruptcy and eurozone departure.

Markets across Europe reacted positively in mid-morning trading.

The second-largest bank, Popular Bank of Cyprus - known as Laiki - will effectively be shut down and split into a "good bank" and a "bad bank".

Sub-100,000-euro deposits in Laiki will be safeguarded and transferred to the Bank of Cyprus, the so-called "good bank", while those above the 100,000-euro limit, which under EU law are not insured, will be frozen and hit with the levy of around 30% to resolve the debt crisis.

Angry Greek Cypriots have taken to the streets

The move will yield some 4.2bn euros (£3.6bn) overall - the bulk of the 5.8bn euros (£4.9bn) Cyprus needed to raise as part of the bailout conditions.

It followed fraught negotiations between Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and the troika of creditors - the IMF, European Commission and European Central Bank.

"We've put an end to the uncertainty that has affected Cyprus and the euro area over the past week," Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who chairs the meetings of the 17-nation eurozone's finance ministers, said.

"We believe that this will form a lasting, durable and fully financed solution," IMF chief Christine Lagarde said.

President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, added: "I welcome the agreement reached by the Eurogroup and the Cypriot authorities early this morning.

Banks have been closed this past week

"The agreement is essential to ensure a sustainable future for Cyprus in the euro area. This is first and foremost true for its people, who are living through times of great uncertainty."

After the eurozone's finance ministers' approval, several national parliaments, such as Germany's, must also approve the bailout deal, which might take another few weeks. EU officials said they expect the whole programme to be approved by mid-April.

Cyprus' outsized banking sector was crippled by exposure to crisis-hit Greece and has been used as a haven for foreign funds.

In a vote on Tuesday, the country's 56-seat parliament dismissed a levy on depositors as "bank robbery".

The country's finance minister Michael Sarris then spent three fruitless days in Moscow trying to win help from Russia. The two countries share historic religious ties.

Cypriots were outraged by the original proposal and have been queuing at cash machines ever since the government ordered banks to close last weekend.

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Cyprus Agrees 20% Tax On Bank Deposits

Politicians in Cyprus have reportedly agreed a new one-off levy on savers in order to secure a European bailout.

The measures, yet to be confirmed by the country's President, include a 20% tax on savers with deposits over 100,000 euros at the country's largest bank, the Bank of Cyprus.

A 4% tax on deposits over 100,000 euros would be levied at other banks, a senior Cypriot official told Reuters.

Cyprus has to raise 5.8bn euros by Monday or face being kicked out of the single currency.

Eurozone finance ministers are due to meet on Sunday evening to see if the numbers Cyprus has agreed with its international lenders add up.

Bank workers shout during a protest outside the presidential palace

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades tweeted: "We are undertaking great efforts. I hope we have a solution soon."

The conservative leader, barely a month into the job and wrestling with Cyprus's worst crisis since a 1974 invasion by Turkish forces split the island in two, was due to lead a delegation to Brussels, also on Sunday, to meet heads of the "troika" - the EU, the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund - in a sign a deal might be near.

Government officials held talks throughout Saturday at the finance ministry with troika lenders. Angry demonstrators outside chanted "resign, resign!"

Its outsized banking sector crippled by exposure to crisis-hit Greece, Cyprus needs to raise the 5.8bn euros in exchange for a 10bn euro EU lifeline to keep the country's economy afloat.

But in a vote on Tuesday, Cyprus's 56-seat parliament rejected a levy on depositors, big and small, as "bank robbery", and the country's finance minister Michael Sarris spent three fruitless days in Moscow trying to win help from Russia, whose citizens have billions of euros at stake in Cypriot banks.

Rebuffed by the Kremlin, Mr Sarris said earlier on Saturday that talks with the troika were centred on a possibly levy of up to 25% on savings over and above 100,000 euros at failing Bank of Cyprus.

However, the situation remains fluid and other options, including a "voluntary haircut" in exchange for equity that would not require parliamentary approval, are said to still be on the table.

Ordinary Cypriots were outraged by the original proposal, and have been besieging cash machines ever since bank doors were closed last weekend on the orders of the government to avert a massive flight of capital.

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Musharraf Returns To Pakistan Despite Threat

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has defied Taliban death threats to return home after more than four years in exile.

The 69-year-old ex-dictator was whisked away by security forces as he arrived at Karachi airport and did not stop to greet hundreds of supporters who had waited for him.

It is unclear if the security forces detained Mr Musharraf, who faces criminal charges in three cases including one involving the assassination of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto, or acted out of concern for his safety.

His return came after the Pakistani Taliban released a video threatening to unleash a squad of suicide bombers to assassinate him if he sets foot in the country.

Hours before his arrival, a car bomb exploded near the Afghanistan border, killing 17 soldiers and injuring dozens more.

Mr Musharraf greets supporters on his flight home to Pakistan

Mr Musharraf said he was prepared to risk any danger to stand for election on May 11, marking the first time an elected government has fulfilled its term and handed over power to another elected government.

"I don't get scared ... by such kind of threat … I am going back to save Pakistan," said Mr Musharraf, who escaped three al Qaeda assassination attempts as ruler.

Mr Musharraf is expected to make his way to the tomb of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the father and first president of Pakistan.

He plans to hold a public rally for his All Pakistan Muslim League party, but police said they had withdrawn permission following the Taliban threat. However, the party's information secretary said the rally would go ahead "at any cost".

Mr Musharraf has been living in London and Dubai since leaving Pakistan

Mr Musharraf has failed to follow through on previous promises to return home but flew in from Dubai after a Pakistani court granted him pre-emptive bail on Friday.

The order prevents his immediate arrest in the three cases in which he is implicated.

Under the pre-emptive bail, he has 10 days to appear in court, which Mr Musharraf promised he would do.

He said he would "face these cases with bravery", adding that "elements in Pakistan and outside" were spreading rumours that he was not returning, but the granting of his bail would address some of those concerns.

The ex-president seized power in a bloodless coup as army chief of staff in 1999 and left the country after stepping down in August 2008 when Asif Ali Zardari was elected president after the murder of his wife, Benazir Bhutto.

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Berezovsky Death: Police Give Home 'All Clear'

Chemical, biological and nuclear experts from the police searching the home of dead Russian exile Boris Berezovsky have given the scene the all clear after finding "nothing of concern".

Most of the cordon which had been put in place around the perimeter of the property in Ascot, Berkshire, has been lifted and officers thanked local residents for their patience.

Scenes of crimes officers from Thames Valley Police are now carrying out a "full and thorough investigation" at the house to find out the circumstances surrounding the 67-year-old's "unexplained" death.

It has been reported the former billionaire, who had fallen out with the Kremlin, was found dead in the bath and took his own life, but this has not been confirmed.

Mr Berezovsky's lawyer Alexander Dobrovinsky told Russian state television he had been informed by contacts in London that Mr Berezovsky had killed himself.

He said: "Berezovsky has been in a terrible state as of late. He was in debt. He felt destroyed. He was forced to sell his paintings and other things."

It is thought he had done badly in the financial crisis. In 2009 his wealth was estimated at £450m, but he is thought to have spent £100m on the £3.7bn lawsuit against Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich last year, which he lost.

Speaking to Sky News, a friend of Mr Berezovsky said she did not think his death was suspicious.

Sasha Nerozina said: "There is nothing to be suspicious about, as far as I understand. It is shocking, terrible news. It is not something you expect. He was full of life and love ... we  expected him to outlive us all."

She said Mr Berezovsky had been left "demoralised" by losing the high-profile legal battle with Mr Abramovich in 2012.

Mr Berezovsky was a friend of murdered dissident Alexander Litvinenko, who died in London after consuming radioactive polonium in 2006.

Mr Berezovsky made his fortune in Russia in the 1990s when he bought up state assets which were being sold off cheaply.

He had lived in Britain from 2000, having fled from Russia after falling out with President Vladimir Putin.

In fear of his life, he sought political asylum and moved to the South East of England, buying upmarket properties in Knightsbridge, London, and Berkshire.

The businessman survived a number of assassination attempts, including a bomb in his car that decapitated his chauffeur.

He became a vocal and strong critic of Mr Putin's rule in Russia, where had become a wanted man.

More follows...

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