Italy: Berlusconi Facing Ban From Public Office

A court has ruled that Silvio Berlusconi should be barred from public office for two years following a tax fraud conviction.

But as the former prime minister is a senator the upper house of parliament will need to approve his expulsion in a vote expected next month.

The Senate - which is dominated by Berlusconi opponents from both the left and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement - is expected to strip him of his seat.

The 76-year-old billionaire could also face a six-year ban from public office because the upper house's vote will be based on a separate law to that applied by the Milan court.

Losing his seat would also deprive Berlusconi, who is fighting a conviction for paying for sex with a minor among other legal cases, of his parliamentary immunity from arrest.

The Milan court's ruling reflected the prosecution's request for a two-year ban.

Berlusconi's lawyers, who can appeal to the supreme court, had asked for a one-year ban, the minimum under the law that was being applied in the case.

The maximum would have been three years.

On August 1, Italy's supreme court definitively upheld a tax fraud conviction against the centre-right leader, rejecting his final appeal against an earlier four-year jail sentence, which was reduced to one year.

If the Senate expels him, Berlusconi will spend the year either under house arrest or in community service.

The August supreme court ruling involved claims of inflated invoices at his Mediaset broadcasting empire.

It was the first definitive sentence he had received after dozens of previous trials on charges ranging from tax to sex offences.

Berlusconi has protested his innocence, accusing magistrates of persecuting him since his entry into politics 20 years ago.

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Australia Fires: Military Investigates Blaze

The Australian military is investigating whether it is responsible for starting a major bushfire, as firefighters battle blazes that have destroyed or damaged 300 homes.

The Rural Fire Service said some 85 fires were burning across New South Wales state, with about 20 of them uncontained despite Saturday's cooler weather conditions.

Among the major fires was one burning between the towns of Lithgow and Bilpin, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of Sydney.

The blaze, called the State Mine Fire, has so far burned through 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) and destroyed a number of properties.

There are around 85 fires burning across the state

The Australian Defence Force said its personnel were carrying out explosive ordnance training in the area on Wednesday, the day the fire started.

"The fire started on 16 October, the same day that Defence personnel were conducting an explosive ordnance training activity," it said in a statement.

"Defence is investigating if the two events are linked.

"Our thoughts are with those who have lost property or whose property is threatened by these devastating fires."

More than 130 firefighters are still battling the blaze.

The military said it will work with fire authorities to investigate the blaze once the fire is extinguished.

"The primary concern at this stage is for the safety of the communities in the vicinity of the fire, then the ongoing investigation which will review both the incident and Defence procedures," the statement said.

Arson investigators are examining the origins of several more fires that have threatened towns surrounding Sydney in recent days.

About 300 homes have been destroyed or damaged

The bushfires across the state could take weeks to fully overcome, particularly with more hot and gusty weather forecast for as soon as Sunday.

One man has already died while trying to protect his home on the Central Coast north of Sydney, possibly succumbing to a heart attack, but authorities are hopeful no other people are unaccounted for in the blazes.

The fires took hold in warm and windy conditions on Thursday and the worst affected areas have been in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, where some 193 properties were destroyed and 109 damaged in the towns of Springwood and Winmalee.

Yellow Rock resident Christine Senior lost her family home.

"I said to my husband, 'I remember when you carried me across the threshold'. I remember having all my babies here. All of that hard work that we put into everything for all years and it's just gone," she said.

NSW Rural Fire Service Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers said Saturday's conditions were a "pause" but that the fire perimeter stretched for more than 500 kilometres.

"We're by no means out of the woods," he told national broadcaster ABC.

"It's just calmed down a little bit and obviously we're bracing ourselves for these worsening conditions."

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Mystery Blonde Girl: Greece Charity In Appeal

An international search is under way to identify the parents of a blonde girl found in the care of a couple on a Roma camp in Greece.

DNA tests have shown the four-year-old is not related to the pair - and their accounts of how she came to be living with them differ.

Police found the girl, who recognises the name Maria, during a raid on the camp, in Farsala, central Greece, on Wednesday.

She has now been taken into the care of a Greek charity called The Smile Of The Child, which has put out a Europe-wide alert.

A poster released to help find the girl's parents

A statement from the charity said: "The features of the girl and the controversial claims of the persons who claimed to be the parents of the child led the authorities to collect a DNA sample test.

"The results of DNA testing proved that these people are not the biological parents of the child.

"The Smile of the Child in co-operation with national police authorities is taking all necessary steps to inform the competent actors at national and international level."

The director of The Smile Of The Child praised an observant prosecutor who went on the camp raid along with dozens of police.

Costas Giannopoulos told Greece's Skai TV: "She saw a little blonde head poking out from under the bedclothes. It struck her as odd, and that's how it all started."

The girl recognises the name Maria

Vassilis Halatsis, the police chief handling the case, told Sky News that despite a flood of local and international calls to domestic media and social groups, no parent has come forward to claim the child.

"That makes the case so much more difficult for us," he said.

He said authorities will release pictures of the arrested gypsy couple on Monday and hope it will unravel the mystery surrounding Maria.

Another reason detectives suspect the case could be part of an international trafficking ring is that Greek police records show a related kidnapping case in 2009, the year Maria was born.

Apparently, the couple's various excuses included that the girl was found in a blanket and that she was handed to them by strangers. They later claimed she had a foreign father.

Maria is described as: born around 2009, white, with blue eyes, long blonde hair, 100cm tall and weighing 17kg.

The couple - a 39-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman - have been arrested and are now under investigation for abduction and falsifying identity and family certificates.

They claimed to have 14 children, police said, and had registered different numbers with authorities in three different parts of Greece. Including Maria, the couple only actually had four.

The woman is also said to have claimed to have given birth to six children within a space of less than 10 months.

Police say they also found drugs and unregistered firearms in other parts of the camp, which is about 170 miles (280km) north of Athens.

Officers are now working on the theory that, because of her appearance, Maria may be northern or eastern European.

The case, which some people have likened to the Madeleine McCann disappearance, has raised concerns about how easy it appeared to be for people to get official documents for children who are not their own.

A spokesman for Madeleine's family said: "This gives Kate and Gerry great hope that Madeleine could be found alive."

The Smile Of The Child director Costas Giannopoulos said Maria was being examined by doctors.

"We are shocked by how easy it is for people to register children as their own," he told the Greek TV station Skai.

"There is much more to investigate ... and I believe police will unravel a thread that doesn't just have to do with the girl."

Greece has only acquired a central system of registration for births in the last five months.

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Snowden Denies Taking NSA Files To Russia

Edward Snowden has said he did not take any secret National Security Agency documents with him to Russia, telling a newspaper "it wouldn't serve the public interest".

In an interview with The New York Times, the former NSA analyst said he handed over all material to journalists during his stay in Hong Kong and that he did not keep copies for himself.

China and Russia could not get access to the documents he had obtained before leaving the US, he insisted.

Snowden, who worked for a contractor as a systems administrator at an NSA facility, said he was able to protect the documents from Chinese agencies because he was familiar with Beijing's intelligence capabilities.

"There's a zero per cent chance the Russians or Chinese have received any documents," he told the paper.

The US has faced protests at home and abroad over its spying operations

Snowden's leaks of highly classified material have unveiled US surveillance activities at home and abroad, sparking debate about the privacy implications for Americans.

In the Times interview, Snowden described himself as a whistleblower who was acting in the nation's best interests by revealing information about the NSA's programmes.

"The secret continuance of these programmes represents a far greater danger than their disclosure," he said in the interview, which took place over several days and involved encrypted online communications.

Snowden said he feels he has boosted US national security by prompting a public debate about the scope of US data collection.

"So long as there's broad support amongst a people, it can be argued there's a level of legitimacy even to the most invasive and morally wrong programme, as it was an informed and willing decision," he said.

"However, programmes that are implemented in secret, out of public oversight, lack that legitimacy, and that's a problem."

Snowden, 30, has polarised opinion in the US, where some consider him a civil rights hero who wants to empower citizens, and others a traitor who stole secrets after vowing to protect them.

Snowden, who faces espionage charges in the US, is now in Russia, which granted him asylum for one year.

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Kenya Mall Attack: New Video Of The Gunmen

New CCTV footage has emerged from inside the Nairobi shopping mall showing how the attackers calmly shot people before taking time out to pray.

The video shows shoppers running away from the gunmen and dropping to the floor as bullets fly through the air.

At one point an injured man, who is bleeding heavily, is seen trying to pull himself to safety before apparently being shot again and then dying.

The silent video is taken from a number of CCTV cameras around the upmarket Westgate Mall in Kenya's capital and was obtained by CNN.

It appears that the footage was taken on September 21, the first day of a four-day siege, which left at least 67 people dead.

The attackers are also shown taking in turns to pray in what appears to be a store room.

Another section shows two militants casually walking through a supermarket while firing their guns and then talking on their mobile phones.

A woman with two children and pushing another in a shopping trolley are seen walking past a line of tills before a teenage girl follows them with a gunman behind her pointing the way.

It is believed they were all eventually released.

The al Qaeda-linked group al Shabaab claimed the attack was in retaliation for Kenyan military operations in Somalia.

A month on from the attack, two boxes of charred body parts have been delivered to a Nairobi morgue in what could be the first discovered remains of the gunmen.

Officials in Kenya, speaking anonymously, said they were found in the mall alongside four AK-47 rifles.

Another security official also said one of the four gunmen seen in the CCTV footage is a Norwegian-Somali whose last name is Dhuhulow, with the first or middle name Abdi.

Five attackers were killed by security forces during the siege, Kenya authorities have said.

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Australia Fires: Man Dies As Homes Destroyed

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

Around 100 bushfires continue to burn across the state of New South Wales in Australia with the crisis claiming its first life.

A man died from a heart attack on the Central Coast north of Sydney whilst trying to protect his home from the flames.

Dozens of houses have been destroyed with the authorities suggesting the eventual number of properties burned down could be in "the hundreds".

Barry O'Farrell, New South Wales State Premier, said: "Regrettably, overnight we had what we hoped wouldn't occur which is a loss of life up there at Lake Munmorah.

"A 63-year-old man who apparently collapsed fighting a fire to defend his property, taken to Wyong Hospital and unfortunately couldn't be resuscitated. That's the worst that anyone wants to happen."

Firefighters were assisted by milder conditions on Friday after unseasonably hot temperatures and strong winds fanned flames across the parched landscape threatening areas to the North, South and West of Sydney, Rural Fire Service officials said.

Around 30 fires are still understood to be burning out of control.

Two firefighters were taken to hospital with injuries, and one had undergone surgery, Mr O'Farrell said. He did not give details of their injuries.

Hundreds of residents spent Thursday night in dozens of evacuation centres in the Blue Mountains, a popular tourist region to Sydney's west, and elsewhere in New South Wales.

One of the houses destroyed in Winmalee in Sydney's Blue Mountains

Most were unaware of the fate of their homes.

One homeowner from Springwood, west of Sydney told reporters: "You do your best and it just kind of gets to the stage where you just realise that you can't do any more and you go.

"You take what you can and go. In my case, it was the dog."

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, himself a volunteer firefighter, has been visiting Winmalee, one of the areas affected.

He said he wanted to "convey our nation's sympathy to all those who are suffering, to all those who have lost homes".

"And in particular, to acknowledge there has already been a loss of life and we fear more," he said.

"Australia is a country which is prone to natural disaster but, every time it strikes, it hurts and we grieve for all of those who are now hurting."

Temperatures west of Sydney made conditions easier for fire crews, reaching around 23C (73F) - around 10C (18F) cooler than on Thursday.

However, high temperatures and strong winds are forecast to return on Sunday and Monday.

Wildfires are common throughout Australia in the warmer months.

In February 2009, wildfires killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes in Victoria state.

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Up To 30m People 'Live As Modern-Day Slaves'

Some 30 million people around the world are living as so-called modern-day slaves, according to an inaugural report by the Walk Free Foundation.

The Global Slavery Index 2013 reveals African and Asian countries have the highest numbers of slaves and the highest proportion according to population density.

Britain, Ireland and Iceland are placed joint bottom in the prevalence table of 162 countries.

While Iceland is believed to have fewer than 100 slaves, Britain is understood to have up to 4,600.

The study defines slavery as the possession or control of people to deny freedom and exploit them for profit or sex, usually through violence, coercion or deception.

Aysha was forced to work as a prostitute in her home of Uzbekistan

It includes practices such as debt-bondage, forced marriage, forced begging, human trafficking, forced labour and the abduction of children to serve in war.

The report said: "Today some people are still being born into hereditary slavery, a staggering but harsh reality, particularly in parts of west Africa and south Asia.

"Other victims are captured or kidnapped before being sold or kept for exploitation, whether through marriage, unpaid labour on fishing boats, or as domestic workers.

"Others are tricked and lured into situations they cannot escape, with false promises of a good job or an education."

Forced labour workers on a penal colony near Krasnoyarsk, Siberia

Almost half of the world's slaves are in India, where bonded labour in quarries and kilns and commercial sex exploitation is widespread.

The report reveals some 10 countries alone account for three quarters of the world's slaves.

After India, China has the most with 2.9 million, followed by Pakistan (2.1 million), Nigeria (701,000), Ethiopia (651,000), Russia (516,000), Thailand (473,000), Democratic Republic of Congo (462,000), Myanmar (384,000) and Bangladesh (343,000).

When ranked by prevalence of slavery per head of population, Mauritania ranks highest with almost 4% of its 3.8 million people reported to be enslaved, though estimates by other organisations put the level at up to 20%.

Two children rescued from a child-marriage ceremony in Pakistan

Chattel slavery is common in Mauritania, meaning that slave status is passed down through generations, with 'owners' buying, renting or giving away their slaves as gifts.

After Mauritania, slavery is most prevalent by population in Haiti, where a system of child labour known as "restavek" encourages poor families to send their children to wealthier acquaintances, where many end up exploited and abused.

Nick Grono from the Walk Free Foundation said the annual index would serve as an important baseline for governments and activists in the anti-slavery fight.

"This kind of data hasn't been out there before," he said.

"It's a multi-year effort, and next year we'll have a much better picture of where slavery is and what changes there are."

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Air Pollution 'Leading Cause of Cancer'

Outdoor air pollution is the leading cause of cancer, a World Health Organisation agency has revealed.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said that in 2010, 223,000 deaths from lung cancer worldwide resulted from air pollution, also pointing out there was also convincing evidence it increases the risk of bladder cancer.

Air pollution, mostly caused by transport, power generation, industrial or agricultural emissions, and residential heating and cooking, is already known to raise risks for a wide range of illnesses including respiratory and heart diseases.

Kurt Straif, of the IARC, said: "The air we breathe has become polluted with a mixture of cancer-causing substances.

"We now know that outdoor air pollution is not only a major risk to health in general, but also a leading environmental cause of cancer deaths."

Research suggests that in recent years exposure levels have risen significantly in some parts of the world - particularly countries with large populations going through rapid industrialisation such as China.

In a statement, IARC said both outdoor air pollution and "particulate matter" would not be classified among its Group One human carcinogens.

That puts them alongside more than 100 other known cancer-causing substances, including asbestos, plutonium, ultraviolet radiation and tobacco smoke.

IARC director Christopher Wild said the decision to classify outdoor air pollution as carcinogenic was an important step to alerting governments to its dangers and potential costs.

He said: "There are effective ways to reduce air pollution and, given the scale of the exposure affecting people worldwide, this report should send a strong signal to the international community to take action."

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Madeleine McCann: 500 Calls From Germany

German broadcaster ZDF has received 500 phone calls and emails after airing a programme on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Madeleine's parents launched an appeal for information to help them find their daughter on the television show "Aktenzeichen XY ungeloest," Germany's version of BBC's Crimewatch programme.

Some 7.26 million people watched the show, its highest rating in 15 years.

E-fit images of a man police want to talk to in connection with the case

The missing girl's mother Kate McCann told the programme: "Please have the compassion and courage to tell us what happened to her."

It is not known how many of the 500 tip-offs will prove useful to police, who received 150 phone calls from the public after a similar appeal was aired on Dutch television.

Officers at Scotland Yard said they received the calls after the appeal was broadcast on the crime programme Opsporing Verzocht.

Mrs McCann and her husband Gerry said they were "absolutely delighted" with the "overwhelming" response to the new appeal for information about their daughter's disappearance which first featured on Crimewatch.

Following a similar appeal on Norway's TV2 channel, a Norwegian woman claimed to have seen a girl resembling Madeleine with a strange man when she was on holiday in Spain two years ago.

Detectives have released two e-fit images of a man they want to speak to in connection with the case based on the accounts of two witnesses.

Both described seeing him in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on the evening of the three-year-old's disappearance on May 3, 2007.

:: Madeleine: The New Investigation, Friday at 7.30pm on Sky News

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Nazi War Criminal's Funeral Halted By Protests

The body of Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke is expected to be sent to Germany for burial after his funeral in Italy was stopped by violent protests.

The former SS officer, who died last week at the age of 100, was to be laid to rest in the town of Albano Laziale near Rome but police halted the funeral after neo-Nazi sympathisers broke into the seminary as hundreds of protesters outside shouted "Assassin!"

Priebke was in charge of troops who massacred 335 civilians in the Ardeatine Caves in March 1944. He had been living under house arrest in the Italian capital since being sentenced to life imprisonment for the killings in 1998.

Neo-Nazi sympathisers salute the hearse carrying Priebke's coffin

His coffin has now been taken to a military airport outside Rome.

"We are planning to resolve the situation today. We are in contact with Germany," Giuseppe Pecoraro, a local official, said.

"We had to cancel the funeral yesterday because there was a risk that it could have become a neo-Nazi demonstration," he said.

The car was halted as protesters kicked and spat at it

Anti-facist protesters had kicked and spat on the hearse as it arrived for the start of the funeral. A priest was heckled with the shout: "Shame".

At least two people were detained as clashes broke out and some people were seen fighting with bottles and chains.

A rock was later thrown at the windscreen of the van driving Priebke's coffin to the airport.

Priebke (r) in 2010 with his lawyer and friend Paolo Giachini

The Vatican had issued an unprecedented order forbidding any Roman Catholic church in Rome from holding his funeral.

But a fringe right-wing group, the Catholic Society of St Pius (SSPX), went ahead with the ceremony anyway.

In a statement, the society said it agreed to perform the funeral at the family's request because "no matter what the guilt or sins" anyone who dies reconciled with God and the Church "has the right to celebrate Mass and a funeral".

Scuffle broke out outside the seminary near Rome

Priebke had wanted to be buried in Argentina, from where he was extradited to face trial, next to his wife but the government there earlier said it would not accept the body.

Jewish groups and relatives of the people he executed said he should be cremated and his ashes scattered to erase every trace.

Protests held outside Priebke's apartment on his 100th birthday in July

The furore comes at a particularly sensitive time in Italy on the anniversary of the round-up of the Jews from the Rome Ghetto on October 16, 1943.

More than 1,000 Jews were taken away to concentration camps and only 16 returned.

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Al Libi Denies Terrorism Charges In NY Court

By Sky News US Team, in New York

A Libyan charged in the 1998 al Qaeda bombings of US embassies in Africa has pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges in New York.

Abu Anas al Libi entered the plea in a federal court in Manhattan.

Al Libi, who has a thick grey beard, kept his hands folded on his lap as the judge read the charges.

The 49-year-old was captured during an October 5 special forces raid in Libya.

Al Libi allegedly helped plan the 1998 embassy bombing in Kenya

Al Libi, whose full name is Nazih Abdul-Hamed al Ruqai, was handcuffed and led out of court after the judge ordered him to be detained because he is a flight risk.

The suspected al Qaeda leader is accused of helping plan and conduct surveillance for the bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people, including a dozen Americans.

A prosecutor said it is not a death penalty-eligible case.

Al Libi was put on the FBI's most wanted list following the 9/11 attacks

Al Libi's family and former associates have denied he was ever a member of al Qaeda and said he has lived an ordinary life after living in Afghanistan and Pakistan and coming home in 2011.

His capture angered the Libyan government, which labelled the secret US forces raid a "kidnapping".

Al Libi was interrogated aboard a US Navy warship for a week before being brought to New York on Saturday.

His prosecution in the United States continues a policy of bringing suspected al Qaeda sympathisers and operatives to civilian courts rather than military tribunals.

Al Libi had been on the FBI's most wanted terrorists list since it was introduced shortly after the September 11 attacks.

A reward of $5m (£3.1m) was offered for his capture.

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Bullying Death Victim 'Told To Drink Bleach'

Two girls arrested for bullying a 12-year-old who then committed suicide intimidated their victim repeatedly, calling her names and at one point telling her "to drink bleach and die", police said.

Rebecca Sedwick climbed a tower at an abandoned concrete plant in central Florida and hurled herself to her death on September 9.

Katelyn Roman, 12, and Guadalupe Shaw, 14, repeatedly and maliciously harassed Rebecca between last December and February when all three went to Crystal Lake Middle School, police said.

Even after Rebecca's death, Shaw continued to make comments about her online, even bragging about the bullying, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.

Rebecca Sedwick took her own life last September

"Yes, I bullied Rebecca and she killed herself but I don't give a ...' and you can add the last word yourself," the sheriff said, quoting a Facebook post by the suspect.

Police said the bullying began after Shaw began dating a boy that Rebecca had been seeing.

A statement by the sheriff's office said: "Several students corroborated stories of both girls bullying Sedwick on different occasions, through name-calling, intimidation, threats to beat her up, and at least one actual physical fight".

The witnesses said Shaw had several arguments with Rebecca, both via Facebook and at school.

"Witnesses reported that Shaw sent messages to Rebecca, calling her ugly, telling her to drink bleach and die, and telling Rebecca that she should kill herself," the statement added.

Shaw tried to start fights with Rebecca on more than one occasion. She convinced Roman to stop being friends with Rebecca, and also instigated a fight between the two, according to police.

When questioned by detectives, Roman admitted that she "bullied" Rebecca, and that she was sorry for doing it, police said.

The sheriff's office statement said the harassment "was likely a contributing factor in Rebecca's decision to commit suicide".

 John Borgen, the boy who had dated both Rebecca and Shaw said: "It shocked me, it made me mad. She should have just told somebody."

Sheriff Judd said they were still investigating the girls, and trying to decide whether the parents should be charged.

"I'm aggravated that the parents aren't doing what parents should do," he said.

"Responsible parents take disciplinary action."

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Afghan Governor Killed by Microphone Bomb

An Afghan provincial governor and close ally of President Hamid Karzai has been killed while making a speech at a mosque after Eid prayers in Logar, close to the capital Kabul.

Logar provincial governor spokesman Din Mohammad Darwish said Arsala Jamal was killed by a bomb planted in the microphone he had been using.

He said: "The governor wanted to speak and congratulate everyone on the occasion of Eid. At least 18 other people have been wounded, including civilians and government employees."

Mr Jamal was appointed by the president and only took up the Logar job in April after serving as governor of Khost, on the border with Pakistan.

Volatile Logar, which lies to the south of the Afghan capital, is seen as a key strategic region, often described as a "gateway to Kabul" for Taliban militants based in strongholds across the south and east.

No group has said it was responsible for the blast, although Taliban militants often target provincial government officials as well as Afghan soldiers and police.

Security in Logar has deteriorated in recent years with the Taliban holding sway in some areas despite sustained Afghan and US military pressure.

Village-based Afghan Local Police (ALP) forces have also been trying to wrestle back control of Taliban-held territory.

The Taliban have vowed to step up attacks as Afghanistan prepares for presidential elections in April and the withdrawal of 87,000 Nato troops by the end of next year.

Taliban supremo Mullah Omar on Sunday said he "rejected" the elections, which he alleged were being manipulated by foreign powers, and called on Afghans not to participate.

The hardline Islamist Taliban regime was driven from power by a US-led coalition in 2001 for sheltering the al Qaeda leaders behind the 9/11 attacks.

Eid ul Adha is a major public holiday across the Muslim world, with mosques packed with devotees marking the prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son when God ordered him.

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Ireland Government Budget To Be Unveiled

By Vicki Hawthorne, Ireland Correspondent

The Irish Government will present its annual budget this afternoon, just days after the Prime Minister Enda Kenny said the country would exit the EU bailout in December.

The 2014 budget, billed as the final austerity budget in Ireland, is expected to bring a further €2.5bn (£2.1bn) in cuts and tax hikes, but the Irish Prime Minister has said there will be "some good news" too.

At his party conference at the weekend, Prime Minister and Fine Gael party leader Enda Kenny announced that Ireland would exit its strict bailout programme on December 15, 2013.

Speaking in Limerick on Saturday, Mr Kenny said: "Tonight I can confirm that Ireland is on track to exit the EU-IMF bailout on December 15. And we won't go back.

"It won't mean that our financial troubles are over.  Yes there are still fragile times ahead.  There's still a long way to go. But at last the era of the bailout will be no more.  The economic emergency will be over."

Ireland accepted a €85bn (£71bn) bailout from the EU-IMF in November 2010 following a crisis in the banking sector. 

Since then the country has faced a series of tough austerity budgets to ensure it meets the terms of the financial agreement.

The coalition parties in government have been meeting over the last few days to agree the 2014 budget for each government department. 

Cabinet ministers met in Dublin on Sunday evening to negotiate some of the final points on departmental spending.

So far there has been speculation that the budget will focus on measures to help low-income families and small businesses, as well as job creation. 

However, the Prime Minister has ruled out speculation that the government will increase the country's low corporation tax, currently 12.5%.

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Philippines Earthquake: At Least 85 Dead

At least 85 people have died after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit the Philippines.

Many of the fatalities were in Cebu, the political and economic hub of the central Philippines, civil defence office spokesman Reynaldo Balido told reporters.

However, there were a considerable number of fatalities reported on neighbouring Bohol island.

The quake struck at 8.12am local time near Balilihan, a town of about 18,000 people on Bohol, at a depth of 12 miles (20km), the United States Geological Survey reported.

The town lies across a strait about 37 miles (60km) from Cebu island.

Janet Maribao, a receptionist on Cebu, said: "I was fast asleep when suddenly I woke up because my bed was shaking. I was so shocked, I could do nothing but hide under the bed."

Residents and tourists reported extensive damage to old churches and modern buildings, including a university, while major roads had also been torn apart.

The earthquake ripped up roads

Neil Sanchez, the head of Cebu's disaster management office, said: "Communication lines are quite difficult here.

"Even the disaster risk reduction management office has been damaged. We had to move elsewhere."

Cebu hosts the country's busiest port and largest airport outside of the capital Manila. It also has a major ship building industry.

The earthquake was followed by at least four aftershocks measuring more than 5.0 in magnitude.

However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre did not issue a Pacific-wide tsunami threat.

The Philippines lies on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a chain of islands that are prone to quakes and volcanic eruptions.

The deadliest recorded natural disaster in the Philippines occurred in 1976, when a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 7.9 earthquake devastated the Moro Gulf on the southern island of Mindanao.

Between 5,000 and 8,000 people were killed, according to official estimates.

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Temple Stampede: At Least 109 Worshipers Dead

At least 109 people have been killed in a stampede at a Hindu temple in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Although the true cause of the stampede has yet to emerge, it has been reported that Pilgrims visiting the remote Ratangarh temple panicked after rumours spread that a bridge carrying 20,000 worshippers was about to collapse.

In the panic that followed, people were crushed to death or died after falling or jumping into the river below, officials said.

Rumous this bridge was about to collapse may have started the panic

The crush killed mostly women and children and although many bodies were pulled from the river, there are fears some bodies may have been washed away.

At least 130 people were injured in the incident which happened about 200 miles southeast of Delhi. Many of those who drowned while trying to save others, India's News Tribe website reported.

The incident happened at a bridge over the river Sindh where more than half a million pilgrims had gathered to take part in rituals.

Initial rumours suggested a police baton charge had caused the stampede, but this has been denied by senior officers.

A map showing the location of Datia

Engineers say the bridge was not damaged, and images from the scene showed vehicles and people using the bridge after the stampede occurred.

Relatives have been gathering outside a state-run hospital on Monday to take away the bodies after autopsies had been carried out.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan announced he had ordered a judicial probe into the incident.

Madhya Pradesh's government said it was offering Rs150,000 (£1,540) to the families of those who were killed and Rs50,000 (£513) to those who were seriously injured.

Bodies of Hindu devotees are loaded onto a truck following the tragedy

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tweeted: ''On this day of festivities, our hearts and prayers are with the victims and their families.''

The worshippers were gathering at the temple as part of the celebrations for the Navratri festival.

The 10-day festival includes an event marking the victory of the Goddess Durga over the buffalo demon in Hindu mythology.

In 2006, at least 35 devotees died at the same spot after they were washed away when a dam in a neighbouring province opened its sluice gates, causing a deluge.

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Seven Red Cross Workers Kidnapped In Syria

Seven International Committee of the Red Cross workers have been kidnapped after gunmen attacked their convoy in northern Syria.

Spokesman Saleh Dabbakeh said gunmen abducted the team after stopping their convoy near the town of Saraqeb in Idlib province on Sunday morning.

He said six of the people are ICRC workers and one is a volunteer from the Syrian Red Crescent.

It was unclear what nationalities the workers were.

Syria's state news agency said the gunmen opened fire on the ICRC team's four vehicles before seizing the Red Cross workers. It blamed "terrorists", a term the government uses to refer to opponents of President Bashar al Assad.

The team had been in the field since October 10 to assess the medical situation in the area, described as a "difficult area to go in".

Magne Barth, head of the ICRC delegation in Syria, said: "We call for the immediate and unconditional release of the seven colleagues abducted this morning.

"Both the ICRC and SARC work tirelessly to provide impartial humanitarian assistance for those most in need across Syria on both sides of the front lines, and incidents such as these potentially undermine our capacity to assist those who need us most."

Much of the countryside in Idlib has fallen into the hands of rebels over the last year, and kidnappings have become rife.

It comes after Syrian rebels claimed they had shot a government warplane on Sunday near the southern city of Deraa.

Fighters used anti-aircraft machine guns to hit the plane, but it was able to make an emergency landing at nearby Thala military airport.

Syrian state media has not confirmed the incident.

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Illegal Immigration In US Now Hard To Ignore

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

The United States is locked in a fierce debate over immigration, with an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants.

But frustration is growing at the lack of political action to answer the big immigration questions.

Earlier this month, thousands of people rallied in 150 cities in 40 of the 50 states to put pressure on Washington to deliver an overhaul to the country's immigration rules.

They fear the momentum for change is fading after almost unprecedented co-operation between Republicans and Democrats towards reaching agreement earlier this year.

The results of last year's presidential election demonstrated, particularly to Republicans, that the fast-growing immigrant population in states like Colorado meant the issue could not be ignored.

But a plan that would have offered a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants already living in the US appears to be in jeopardy with renewed wrangling between the parties.

Some believe the US border is way too porous

Immigration has often fallen behind other issues like guns, the economy and international concerns like Syria.

Reshma Shamasunder, executive director of California Immigrant Policy Centre, said: "People are fed up with inaction, they're fed up with Congress every year promising they're going to do something and then not doing it.

"We haven't had an immigration overhaul in this country for decades and our immigration laws are so outmoded and outdated that not only are they not serving immigrants well, they're not serving the American people well.

"So I think there is a huge appetite among Americans to do something."

Without an overhaul, she says, the problem is going to get worse.

Sky News spoke to a man, originally from Central America and now living legally in the US, who had sent $2,000 (£1,255) to a nephew waiting just across the border in Mexico. He will pay a so-called "coyote" to smuggle him into America.

Critics of immigration reform point to cases like that and say the government needs to urgently address border crossings that are way too porous.

California recently reached the landmark moment when whites were no longer the majority. By the middle of next year, Latinos will make up a greater proportion of the population.

The state's governor, Jerry Brown, recently signed into law a raft of new bills that increase protections for immigrants and campaigners say the rest of the US needs to follow suit.

But it remains an emotive issue and one it is increasingly hard to ignore.

:: Immigration UK: A week of special coverage on Sky from October 14 to 18 - watch on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 82, Skynews.com and Sky News for iPad

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US-Afghan 'Progress' In Security Talks

By Alistair Bunkall, Sky's Defence Correspondent

Significant progress has been made in negotiations for a Bilateral Security Agreement between the US and Afghanistan.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Afghan President Hamid Karzai held 28 hours of talks over two days in Kabul.

The BSA, if agreed, will allow a contingent of American troops to remain in the country post-2014.

Negotiations have been ongoing for a number of months.

Last week, it appeared they had reached an impasse over various conditions set down by Mr Karzai, including a request that Washington hand over intelligence documents concerning Afghanistan.

Mr Karzai had also wanted America to commit to military support if Pakistan attacked Afghanistan - a Nato-style solidarity pact.

But speaking at a news conference after the latest discussions, Mr Kerry told reporters that there had been movement but no deal yet.

"One issue that is outstanding is the issue of jurisdiction (immunity)," he said.

"We need to say that if the issue of jurisdiction cannot be resolved, unfortunately there cannot be a bilateral security agreement."

America has agreed not to carry out security operations unilaterally after 2014, one condition demanded by Mr Karzai, but insists troops must be immune from local prosecution.

Although Mr Kerry promised the US military would deal with disciplinary issues in a robust way, Washington does not want any of its soldiers facing trial in Afghanistan for acts they might have committed in their duty as a deployed soldier.

"The BSA has a lot of items. One is about immunity for foreign and US soldiers - we didn't have a united opinion on this issue," said Mr Karzai.

Washington wants the agreement to be made before the end of the month to avoid the issue becoming a part of political campaigning by candidates running for the presidency in Afghan elections next spring.

As such there has been much political brinkmanship from both sides, although few doubted a deal would be done in the end.

Although exact numbers have not been announced, it is thought between 5,000 and 10,000 US troops would remain in Afghanistan.

The deal is important for Afghanistan's future because foreign troops will stay to give mentoring and training to Afghan soldiers in the hope the security situation improves.

Without an agreement Afghanistan could see international funding withdrawn, and that accounts for around 80% of the country's expenditure.

The lack of such an agreement led to an early withdrawal from Iraq by US troops.

Once agreed, the BSA should pave the way for a European equivalent known as a "Statement of Force Agreement" or SOFA.

The UK government is then expected to formalise and announce how many British troops will stay in Afghanistan after the end of next year.

That figure will probably be in the low hundreds.

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Cyclone Phailin Slams Into India's East Coast

A powerful cyclone has ripped through India's east coast, killing at least five people and forcing more than half a million into shelters.

Cyclone Phailin, with winds up to 130mph, made landfall on Saturday night near the town of Golpalpur in Orissa state and is moving inland.

The storm, covering an area larger than France, lost some of its strength before hitting the coast, but it remains India's strongest since a typhoon killed 10,000 people in the same region 14 years ago.

Four people were killed by falling trees, while another died when the walls of her home collapsed.

Officials said the storm has already caused cause large-scale power and communications outages and shut down road and rail links.

A satellite image of the cyclone

The evacuation of around 450,000 people in Orissa and 100,000 in Andhra Pradesh state is one of the biggest exercises in the country's history.

Many people have fled low-lying villages for shelters, but others have refused to leave their homes.

"My son had to stay back with his wife because of the cattle and belongings ... I don't know if they are safe," said 70-year-old Kaushalya Jena, who has taken refuge in a makeshift shelter.

In Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa, government workers and volunteers have been putting together hundreds of thousands of food packages for relief camps.

Floods have already ripped down power lines

The state's top official, chief minister Naveen Patnaik, said: "I request everyone to not panic. Please assist the government. Everyone from the village to the state headquarters have been put on alert."

The army's National Disaster Response Force said 1,700 of its troops have been sent to both states.

"As soon as the fury of the cyclone abates our boys will start their work," said the force's director general Krishna Chaudhary.

"The teams have medical first responders (for first aid), heavy cutting equipment, life-saving equipment that responds to breathing and even to warmth. In the case of cyclones there is a likelihood of collapsed buildings."

People walk among debris from a broken wall brought down by a wave

While the full extent of the damage cannot yet be measured, India's meteorological department said the cyclone posed a danger to a 95-miles stretch of coastline.

Forecasters have likened its size and intensity to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the US Gulf coast and New Orleans in 2005.

Dr Liz Bentley from the Royal Meteorological Society told Sky News: "This particular part of the coastline is very low-lying so it (Phailin) will penetrate quite well in land.

"It is like a mini-tsunami hitting that - not caused in the same way as a tsunami but it's the same effect."

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Temple Stampede Kills Scores Of Worshippers

At least 60 people have reportedly been killed in a stampede at a Hindu temple in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Some reports said the stampede occurred when police used batons to control a huge crowd that had gathered at the Ratangarh Temple near the village of Chand Pur, in Datia District.

As the devotees attempted to flee, hundreds of people ran towards a bridge across the Sindh river and an unknown number are believed to have fallen in.

Dozens are feared to have died and at least 100 were injured in the incident on Sunday.

A map showing the location of Datia

Others claimed the stampede happened when a rumour swept through a crowd of 20,000 crossing the bridge that it was about the collapse.

Many of those who drowned did so while trying to save the lives of others, India's News Tribe website reported.

The true cause of the stampede, which happened about 200miles south east of the capital Delhi, has yet to emerge.

The incident happened at a spot on the Sindh river where more than half-a-million pilgrims have gathered to take part in rituals.

Local Deputy Police Inspector General D.K. Arya denied that a baton charge had taken place.

The body of one of those who died in the stampede

He told the AFP newswire: "Sixty people are confirmed killed and the figure could reach 100."

"More than 100 others have been injured ... There was no baton-charge," he added.

Rescue teams have been combing the water to pull out bodies and in an attempt to find survivors.

The worshippers were gathering at the temple as part of the celebrations for the Navratri festival.

The 10-day festival includes an event marking the victory of the Goddess Durga over the buffalo demon in Hindu mythology.

MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan announced he had ordered a judicial probe into the incident.

Madhya Pradesh's government said it was offering Rs150,000 (£1,540) to the families of those who were killed and Rs50,000 (£513) to those who were seriously injured

In 2006, at least 35 devotees died at the same spot after they were washed away when a dam in a neighbouring province opened its sluice gates causing a deluge.

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