Al Qaeda-Linked Syrian Rebel Leader 'Killed'

The leader of the powerful Syrian rebel group the al Nusra Front has been killed, according to Syrian state-run TV.

According to the one-line report, Abu Mohammad al Golani was killed in the coastal province of Latakia.

It did not say when or give further details.

However the rebel group said in a statement on Saturday that its leader was in good health.

"What was claimed by one channel alone, regarding what it claimed was the killing of the emir of al Nusra Front, was a lie," said the group.

The extremist front has become one of the most effective among the rebel groups fighting President Bashar Assad's forces.

The al Nusra Front played a key part in the Battle of Aleppo

However, it has links to al Qaeda and is classed by the US, the UK and the UN as a terrorist organisation.

If al Golani's death is confirmed it will be a significant blow to rebels, who consider the group to be the "special forces" of the battle against the regime.

The group, whose goal is to overthrow Mr Assad and establish an Islamist state under Sharia law, announced its creation in January 2012 and were key players in the Battle of Aleppo.

But they have an uneasy alliance with the National Coalition for Opposition Forces and many rebel groups consider them to be too extreme.

Al Nusra is opposed to western intervention in the nearly three-year-long Syrian civil war and many members consider the US to be an enemy of Islam.

The news of al Golani's death came as a car bomb outside a mosque in Damascus killed at least 40, including seven children.

Dozens of people were wounded in the car bombing in the rebel-controlled town of Suq Wadi Barada, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Anti-regime activists blamed the attack on government forces, while state news agency SANA said "the car exploded while the terrorists were packing it with explosives".

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Saudi Women To Protest Against Driving Ban

By Zein Ja'Far, Sky News Producer in Abu Dhabi

Women in Saudi Arabia have told Sky News they will today take to the wheel to demand the right to drive - despite threats of immediate arrest.

Saudi authorities have warned women they face arrest, possible legal action and could be stopped by force if they are caught behind the wheel.

But the threats have failed to put off many, including Bareah Albuzeedy, who says she will fight for her rights regardless of what authorities say. 

Protesters are expected to drive their cars in cities across the country. 

Ms Albuzeedy said: "What we're asking for is a very simple right. It's only to let women drive and that's it."

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that imposes a state ban on women drivers.

Campaigners Bareah Zubeedy (L) and Dr Mahida Al Ajroush

Although there is nothing which legally states women cannot drive, only men are granted licenses and influential clerics have repeatedly called on the police to stop demonstrations from taking place.

Dr Mahida Al Ajroush, a prominent Saudi campaigner and psychotherapist, told Sky News she first drove in the country over 20 years ago and will do so again on Saturday.

She said: "The law says women can drive but the system does not give you a license ... when a woman cannot drive it means she can't go to work on her own, she can't pick up her children, she can't run her errands nor take her children to emergency."

Despite thousands signing a petition supporting the October 26 campaign and expressing solidarity on social media, the group's website has been hacked and an Interior Ministry spokesperson warned that even those campaigning online could be punished.

Last month a conservative cleric drew widespread criticism after suggesting women could damage their ovaries by driving.

The country's ruling establishment fear that demonstrations could lead to bigger and more challenging protests in the future.

The Kingdom is currently pushing for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) and the way in which police deal with the planned action will be closely scrutinised. 

The country's first driving protest took place in 1995 with 50 women arrested for breaking the law and made to sign a declaration promising not to do so again.

In 2011 another 40 women got behind the wheel  in several cities after journalist Eman al-Nafjan was arrested for posting a video of herself driving online.

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US Spy Agency Site Crashes Amid Attack Claims

The website for America's National Security Agency is back up after going down on Friday, fuelling speculation it might have been attacked by hackers.

The public-facing site for the intelligence agency, which has been under fire after whistleblower Edward Snowden released secret documents about it, suddenly went down in the afternoon.

Several Twitter accounts that purportedly belong to people loosely associated with the hacking movement Anonymous have suggested they were responsible.

An NSA spokesperson denied the claims, saying they were "not true."

"NSA.gov was not accessible for several hours tonight because of an internal error that occurred during a scheduled update. The issue will be resolved this evening," the spokesperson said.

"Claims that the outage was caused by a distributed denial of service attack are not true."

Twitter users @AnonymousOwn3r and @TruthIzSexy implied that a DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attack - a method of over-loading a website with too much traffic - may have been waged as an act of protest against the NSA.

Other Anonymous-affiliated accounts referred to the website crash.

Tweets from AnonyOps read: "Aww don't panic about http://nsa.gov being down. They have a backup copy of the internet.

"The #NSA is lawless and believes rules don't apply to them. Time for a total reboot."

An0nPun1shm3nt wrote: "Dear National Security Agency #NSA, Lesson #1 : If you spy on us, we are coming for you!"

The outage came a day after former NSA director Michael Hayden was allegedly overheard criticising the Obama administration over claims the FSA had monitored the phone calls of at least 35 world leaders.

Mr Hayden later told the Washington Post he had not been disparaging about Mr Obama or his administration.

He said: "I didn't criticise the President. I actually said these are very difficult issues. I said I had political guidance, too, that limited the things that I did when I was director of the NSA. Now that political guidance (for current officials) is going to be more robust. It wasn't a criticism."

A rally to protest against the NSA's surveillance programmes was due to take place in Washington DC later today.

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Racism: Toure Warns Of World Cup Boycott

Yaya Toure has warned Russia that black players may boycott the 2018 World Cup unless it tackles racism in the stands.

The Manchester City skipper says he was the target of monkey chants during his team's 2-1 victory over CSKA Moscow in the Uefa Champions League on Wednesday night.

TV footage showed a group of topless CSKA fans at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium waving their arms and chanting in a way that the Ivory Coast midfielder found "unbelievable".

UEFA have charged the Russian side for their fans' behaviour, although the club denies there was any racism, and they will face a disciplinary hearing on October 30.

Toure, 30, who was wearing a 'No to racism' armband during the match, spoke of his disgust at hearing the chants.

He told Russian news agency RIA Novosti: "If we aren't confident at the World Cup coming to Russia, we don't come."

Russian fans at the game on Wednesday

Piara Powar, executive director of European anti-discrimination body FARE and a Fifa anti-discrimination task force member, praised Toure for speaking out.

"Yaya Toure is absolutely right in raising the spectre of African players or players of African heritage not going to the 2018 World Cup - and without them there will not be a World Cup in Russia," he said.

"I wouldn't blame them - in this era players are the most powerful force and if all the players said they are not going there wouldn't be a World Cup, or if there was it would be meaningless."

Powar described Russian club football as "dire" and fuelled by far-right extremists.

FARE has identified banners supporting the Greek far-right party Golden Dawn - which has a swastika-like symbol - being displayed in several stadiums in eastern Europe and in Moscow on Wednesday.

CSKA issued a statement saying they were "surprised and disappointed" by Toure's allegations.

They also quoted their own Ivory Coast player, striker Seydou Doumbia, as saying he did not hear any racist abuse.

"I didn't hear anything like that from the CSKA fans. Yes, they're always noisy in supporting the team, and try to put as much pressure as possible on our opponents, but they wouldn't ever allow themselves to come out with racist chants.

"So my Ivory Coast colleague is clearly exaggerating," he said.

The local organising committee for the 2018 World Cup said in a statement: "All stakeholders in Russian football have made it clear that there is absolutely no place for any type of racial discrimination or abuse in our game."

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China Court Rejects Bo Xilai Appeal

A court in eastern China has rejected an appeal by ousted senior politician Bo Xilai and upheld his life sentence on charges of bribery, corruption and abuse of power.

In an announcement carried on its Weibo microblog, the official Xinhua news agency said that the high court in the eastern province of Shandong, where Bo was originally tried, had rejected his appeal. It gave no further details.

Once a rising star in China's leadership circles, Bo was jailed for life in September after a dramatic fall from grace that shook the ruling Communist Party.

His career was stopped short last year by a murder scandal in which his wife, Gu Kailai, was convicted of poisoning a British businessman, Neil Heywood, who had been a family friend.

The ruling is the latest development in one of China's most politically charged trials in decades.

But it comes as no surprise, with many political analysts saying such an outcome was predetermined by Communist Party leaders keen to put Bo away long enough to prevent him from making a comeback.

Bo Xilai's trial took place in the eastern city of Jinan last month

President Xi Jinping, who took office in March, will have wanted the Bo affair settled because the next few weeks are critical for his government.

At a closed-door party plenum next month, Xi will push for more economic reforms and he needs unstinting support from the party's elite 200-member Central Committee.

Bo, 64, who was Communist Party chief of the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing, mounted an unexpectedly fiery defence during his trial, denouncing testimony against him by his wife as the ravings of a mad woman hoping to have her own sentence reduced.

He repeatedly said that he was not guilty of any of the charges, although he admitted making some bad decisions and shaming his country by his handling of former Chongqing police chief, Wang Lijun, who first told Bo that Gu had probably murdered Mr Heywood.

Wang, who fled to the US consulate in the nearby city of Chengdu in February last year after confronting Bo with evidence that Gu was involved in the murder, was also jailed last year for covering up the crime.

Bo's wife Gu Kailai was found guilty of killing Briton Neil Heywood

According to Chinese law, Bo will not be able to lodge any further formal appeals, and while he can submit a "petition" to China's supreme court it is not required to take further action.

Sky's China correspondent Mark Stone said: "It is possibly the full stop that everyone has been waiting for at the end of this very long, protracted saga.

"This was a man who was once tipped for the very, very top of the Chinese government. He was to be, possibly one of the seven men on what's known as the standing committee of the politburo - the men who run the country, but his fall from grace was dramatic."

Bo cultivated a following through his populist, quasi-Maoist policies.

His policies in Chongqing won him supporters across China, but his openly ambitious approach also alienated other top party leaders, who saw it as harking back to a bygone era of strongman rule.

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NSA Spying: Germany Demands Talks With US

US Spying And The Moral High Ground

Updated: 6:47am UK, Friday 25 October 2013

By Tim Marshall, Foreign Affairs Editor

All nations spy, but not all nations claim they have liberal values and transparent government.

For those that do, it is a little embarrassing to be caught spying on your friends and military allies.

To be caught listening in on the private phone calls of the head of government of an ally is to be embarrassed on a different level.

Hence we see the presence of the US Ambassador to Berlin at the German foreign ministry.

Mr John B Emerson was called in to see foreign minister Guido Westerwelle for a touch of "clarification" on remarks made by the White House on Wednesday night.

This follows a call to Chancellor Angela Merkel's office by the Der Spiegel newspaper.

It asked a question which was probably based on some of Edward Snowden's files, to which it has access: "Has the US been tapping the mobile phone of the Chancellor?"

Der Spiegel says Germany's Federal Intelligence Service had enough information for Mrs Merkel to phone Barack Obama and ask the same question.

The Chancellery was confident enough to make public the call.

Within an hour, White House spokesman Jay Carney came up with an answer: "The  President assured the Chancellor that the United States is not monitoring, and will not monitor, the communications of the Chancellor."

Sadly, at the time of writing, the White House press corps did not appear to have asked the obvious question which arises from such a slippery answer: "OK - is not, and will not monitor, but has it monitored?"

President Obama has now found himself on the receiving end of phone calls from several indignant presidents.

The leaders of Brazil, Mexico, France, and Germany have all made it clear they take a dim view of activities of the American intelligence agencies in their own countries.

Brazil's President, Dilma Rouseff, even went so far as to cancel a state visit to Washington DC.

The US administration is now asking itself how much damage all of this is causing.

Some officials argue that spy storms come and go, but relationships survive.

Others agree about survival but say the relationships will be weakened and that America's standing in the world is damaged in the long term.

It is well known that Russia spies on Britain, which spies on China, which spies on America, which spies on … well, everyone it now appears.

Spying on enemies is obvious, and spying on trade partners is tolerated even if measures are taken to prevent it.

Spying on allies is frowned upon even if most countries do it while taking counter measures.

The French are well known to have been trying to steal everyone's business secrets for decades, and very good they are it too.

The golden rule is: don't get caught and don't embarrass us in public and remember, when it comes to allies, there are limits.

If the French and Americans wanted to know their respective positions ahead of a crucial UN Security Council vote, which was in the balance, they might use a variety of measures to find out.

If some of those measures were, perhaps, questionable and became public, it would be embarrassing but, behind the scenes, both sides would shrug their shoulders.

However, listening into the private calls of a head of government of a key ally is crossing a line - it is personal, a question of trust in a personal relationship, and it is impossible to justify in public.

Therefore, if the claims are true, the Americans have a stark choice.

In their democracy, with its open government, and liberal values, what has the greater value? The information you get from spying on friends at the highest levels or the moral standing you have among those friends and global public opinion?

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Marikana Massacre: 'Damning' Evidence Emerges

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent

The Marikana Miners Support group has called for South African police to be prosecuted after apparently unearthing new evidence which disputes the authorities' version of what happened on the day more than 30 striking miners were shot dead by police.

The evidence was uncovered by a film-maker - who is also a member of the campaign group - while he was doing research for a documentary on the incident at the Lonmin mine in August 2012.

It appears to throw more doubt on the police claim that they acted in self-defence when they opened fire on striking miners.

As well as the 34 miners killed, nearly 80 others were left wounded.

The footage has been submitted to the Commission of Inquiry which is continuing into just what went wrong at Marikana.

Film-maker Rehad Desai called it "damning" evidence which showed - in his opinion - that the police had not only engineered the situation which led to the miners being shot, but had then lied repeatedly to the South African public and the inquiry to cover up their actions.

New video shows a miners' leader (circled) who was shot dead minutes later

The footage is shot from what Mr Desai called a "fourth" angle that was mostly unseen and unexamined.

It depicts a large group of the miners being led away from the hillock, or koppie as it is known in South Africa, where they had been demonstrating.

They are filmed walking away slowly, apparently passively and quietly, as they are shepherded by their leaders towards the informal settlement where many of them lived.

The footage, which is shown in the order which it was filmed and apparently has an embedded time code showing what time it was recorded, then shows increased activity among the police.

They are seen moving armoured police vehicles to block the miners' path and forming a barrier between them and the informal settlement.

The footage shows police with guns drawn, apparently before trouble started

The miners are corralled down a relatively narrow path alongside police vehicles and in the direction of a waiting line of armed police.

As they pass a row of police trucks, one policeman can be seen to the left of the picture shooting birdshot into the crowd of passing miners.

Other police then follow suit. The miners, who are already cowering with some crouching over, then start to panic.

One can be seen turning towards the police who are side-on to the crowd and firing his handgun directly at the police.

There is some smoke seen which is thought to be tear gas. Miners start running away from the gas and the shooting coming at them from the side.

Film-maker Rehad Desai says the new evidence is 'damning

They run directly towards the line-up of police and within seconds, a cacophony of noise is heard as the police open fire with live ammunition.

The latest allegations follow a statement by the Commission a few weeks ago that it had managed to obtain documents which the police had previously said did not exist.

The Commission also managed to get access to police computer hard drives.

At the time, it issued a statement saying: "We have obtained documents which in our opinion demonstrate that the (police) version of the events at Marikana ... is in material respects not the truth."

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Migrant Crisis: 'UN Should Police Libyan Ports'

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

The Maltese Prime Minister has accused Northern European leaders of "hypocrisy" over the handling of immigration into Europe.

Joseph Muscat says a United Nations force should police Libyan ports to stem the tide of illegal immigrants if richer countries refuse to help frontline states.

Speaking before today's European Council meeting, Mr Muscat promised to be less co-operative on important Euro issues like bailouts if countries like Malta do not get more assistance.

Not far from the Maltese leader's office, a young Somali man shivers on the deck of a patrol boat as it enters the Grand Harbour of Valetta.

A refugee from North Africa in a Maltese detention centre for migrants

He and the others huddle together on the front and rear decks - over 120 of them.

They look scared and still worried, although in real terms they are safe now.

Fourteen hours earlier they were plucked from heavy Mediterranean seas by a United States warship, the USS San Antonio, then transferred to the Maltese armed forces.

They are herded ashore by masked and suited sailors, tagged and guided onto police buses before being driven to their new home - a detention centre where they will likely stay for the next 18 months.

Many in the centre have travelled thousands of miles from Africa

They are not prisoners, but holding centres are prisons in every sense.

High barbed wire walls keep the inmates inside. They sleep in large dormitories and they plan their moves to get an interview with a potential host nation that could offer them asylum.

As the latest inmates arrive there is a buzz of anticipation and the noise level rockets. The young men are sent to find their new accommodation. Many look terrified.

They have travelled thousands of miles from Somalia, risked their lives on unseaworthy boats, spent every penny they have and are now locked up in a huge noisy barracks. Arrival day is not a good day for Malta's new inhabitants.

Joseph Muscat: 'Europe is tackling the problem with tools of the past'

"We want freedom not this b*******," a young man whispers into my ear.

"We are escaping murder and we are treated like convicts. Nobody is happy about this, but nobody will say anything, they don't want to get sent back to Somalia," he said before disappearing into the throng.

The Maltese guards and the government accept it is not the best place in the world, but say they get little help from the outside world and the problem is not only not new, it is getting worse.

And still the international community does little to stop the stream of migrants crossing the Mediterranean.

This migrating human crisis now crosses Africa and the Middle East. Syrians are the latest nationality to join Nigerians, Somalis, Ethiopians and a host of others trying to get to Europe.

The boats usually come from Libya. A criminal network guides these people to the sea and on to Europe, although the chances of making it are often no better than 50/50.

The chaos of Libya means there is no law enforcement, so Europe's protection is down to Malta, Italy and Spain.

The centre holds migrants from Nigeria, Somalia and Ethiopia

Malta's minuscule military has tens of thousands of miles of sea to patrol. Simply put, it can't manage.

The prime minister wants a UN force to control Libya's ports and is demanding, along with other Mediterranean nations, that richer northern nations such as the UK do more, pay more and take more responsibility.

Mr Muscat will tell European leaders that countries receiving their aid money must find ways to screen people wanting to migrate.

He says that illegal immigrants who do not pass muster for legitimate immigration should be repatriated by Europe working as a united body.

"Europe is trying to tackle a problem with tools of the past. It's like trying to send an e-mail on a fax machine," he told Sky News in the magnificent surroundings of the PM's official castle built to protect Europe centuries ago.

"It is a European problem and global problem."

More migrants arrive in Malta every week

Accusing Europe of "hypocrisy" over the immigration issue, he says European leaders will "talk" and do nothing.

"It is all wrong. I turn down applications on a technicality. But if they get on a boat and come here illegally they stay and make it to Europe. They are making people act like criminals," he said.

"We could have said 'tough luck' when they wanted money for the bailouts. But we did the right thing. We need solidarity now."

The truth is that in Europe, where more than 270,000 people claimed asylum last year, governments do not like the whole immigration issue one bit.

Politically, it could cost an election, so they dodge it - or at least dodge giving an easy welcome to anyone, even if they are legitimate asylum seekers rather than benefit fraudsters.

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Germany Summons US Envoy Over Spying Row

Germany has summoned the US ambassador in Berlin over claims that the US carried out surveillance on German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone.

Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle will meet US envoy John B Emerson later today.

The move comes just hours after the White House insisted the US was not listening in on her phone calls.

Mr Obama and Ms Merkel spoke by phone on Wednesday after the German government said it had received information that the Chancellor's mobile may be monitored by US intelligence.

Ms Merkel told Mr Obama that if true, it would be unacceptable and a "serious breach of trust", according to her spokesman.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said: "The United States is not monitoring and will not monitor the communications of the Chancellor."

However, he did not specifically say the US had never monitored or obtained Ms Merkel's communications.

French President Francois Hollande spoke to Mr Obama this week

Mr Carney said the US was examining Germany's concerns as part of a review of how the government gathers intelligence.

Since material from National Security Agency (NSA) leaker Edward Snowden has been published, the Obama administration has come under fire from allies in Europe and Latin America, with citizens and officials expressing outrage at the scope of Washington's spying.

Ms Merkel had already raised concerns over the electronic eavesdropping issue when Mr Obama visited Germany in June. But Wednesday's comments, which came after allegations published in German magazine Der Spiegel, were more sharply worded.

She told the US president that among close partners such as Berlin and Washington "there must not be such surveillance of a head of government's communication", according to her spokesman Steffen Seibert.

For the chancellor, who grew up under the all-seeing ears of East Germany's Stasi secret police, any allegations of spying are sensitive ones.

Dilma Roussef, the Brazilian president, has cancelled a visit to the US

But she is not the only one to raise concern.

France summoned the US ambassador in Paris after French newspaper Le Monde reported the NSA had swept up 70.3 million French telephone records in a 30-day period.

French President Francois Hollande spoke to Mr Obama on Monday and put the issue of personal data protection on the agenda of the European Union summit, which opens today.

In Italy, Premier Enrico Letta raised the topic of spying during talks with Secretary of State John Kerry, after newspapers reported that a parliamentary committee was told the US had intercepted phone calls, emails and text messages of Italians.

Few countries have responded as angrily as Brazil, with President Dilma Rousseff cancelling a visit to Washington, a rare diplomatic step.

In Mexico the response has been more cautious, after allegations that the NSA allegedly spied on the emails President Enrique Pena Nieto and his predecessor Felipe Calderon - in addition to collecting data on Mexico's drug-fighting efforts.

The Mexican government has called the targeting of the presidents "unacceptable" and Mr Pena Nieto has demanded an investigation.

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Australian PM Hits Out At UN Amid New Infernos

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has denied that devastating bushfires in Australia are linked to climate change as firefighters continue to battle flames.

Mr Abbott accused the United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres of "talking through her hat" after she said there was "absolutely" a connection between bushfires and rising temperatures.

Mr Abbott told an Australian radio station: "These fires are certainly not a function of climate change - they're just a function of life in Australia."

At least 65 fires have spread across the state of New South Wales (NSW) with 18 of them uncontained as warnings were issued for people to leave their homes or be extra vigilant.

Fire crews have been working flat-out for a week to contain the blazes

In Springwood, where more than 100 homes were lost last week, one inferno has been upgraded to the highest "emergency" level.

NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said: "On days like today minutes really matter, with the focus again on the Blue Mountains region west of Sydney, a popular tourist area home to 75,000 people where three huge infernos have been burning for days."

Fires also broke out at Minmi near Newcastle, north of Sydney, which was deemed an "emergency" as it closed the main freeway that links the two cities and sparked traffic chaos.

"If you are in Minmi, follow your survival plan. If your plan is to leave, leave now," the fire service said.

Another blaze at Colo, northwest of Sydney, was burning aggressively with water-bombing aircraft attempting to bring it under control, although the high winds were hampering the effort.

So far more than 120,000 hectares (296,500 acres) of land has been burned across the state and more than 200 homes destroyed.

But only one person has died as residents heed advice to either flee or head to evacuation centres.

Temperatures were in the mid-30C range on Wednesday. The heat, combined with low humidity and expected winds of up to 100km (62 miles) per hour, has led to conditions described as "as bad as it gets" by the fire service.

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Syrian Refugee Rescue Caught On Film

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

Illegal immigrants are dying in the Mediterranean in record numbers because criminal gangs know that rich northern European countries such as the UK are too scared to address the issue of international migration because of domestic politics.

As European leaders meet this week to discuss demands for help from frontline countries like Malta, Sky News has obtained exclusive pictures of the moment hundreds of Syrians are left swimming for their lives over a hundred miles from shore.

Hundreds of refugees were tipped into the sea when their boat sank

Mediterranean countries say the whole European Union has to do more and must ignore local politics to help genuine refugees.

There is nothing more scary that being in heavy waters in a rubber dinghy when you are fleeing a war-torn country and you are already completely exhausted.

For refugees and illegal migrants that is normal. Life is basically terrible.

Malta, Spain and Italy are trying to deal with this daily problem.

Survivors scrambled onto life rafts thrown to them by the Maltese navy

The system is not perfect and to be frank they are not being as vigilant as they could be because they cannot really cope with what is going on.

This is a huge international problem that has been going on for years - but nobody so far has done anything significant to stop it.

Sky News obtained a remarkable series of videos from the Maltese government that show for the first time an entire rescue.

The migrants' boat has been shot at by Libyan gunmen who are traffickers and have not been paid off.

Young children were among those pulled from the water

Within hours the boat either capsizes or sinks, with Syrian migrants dumped into the sea.

By chance a Maltese spotter plane sees them and a rescue mission, lasting more than 20 hours, begins.

This man does not know if his two children survived

The spotter plane drops a life raft that gives the survivors a point to aim for. They swim in their dozens to try to find something to hold onto.

It will take over an hour of treading water before the rescue boats arrive. Many people die in this time.

Patrol boats and launch vessels pick the survivors from the sea. This is a joint venture between the Maltese and the Italian navy.

Men, women and children are transferred from the rubber boats to the safety of the patrol vessels.

Among them, a little girl and her father clutching one another survived. Her twin sister has died; her mother, his pregnant wife, perished trying to save the girl.

They know nothing of this as they stand on the rescue ship deck being dried. As with all these disasters many families are split forever in the rescue.

On shore the Syrian migrants wait in a detention centre for news of family members who have simply disappeared. A man cries in anguish and writes on a shoe box: "Where are my two children?"

A translator says he does not know if they are dead or not.

A doctor represents the people in an emotional appeal for more information. I speak to him quietly. I ask why a paediatrician is here, risking this dreadful trip.

"We have no choice, Stuart, you know that," he says. "It is too dangerous in Syria so I decided to take my family to somewhere safe.

"But this has been terrible. Worse than I ever imagined."

I ask if he would do it again.

"Yes," he says. "There is no choice."

These are not work-shy foreigners looking for benefits. These are refugees.

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Irish Roma Family Await Decision On Taken Girl

A Roma family in Ireland who had a blonde, blue-eyed girl removed from them over concerns she was not theirs are due to hear if she will be returned.

The seven-year-old was taken into care on Monday when a member of the public reported the youngster was living with the family in a house in the south Dublin suburb of Tallaght.

It follows the case in Greece where a four-year-old girl, known as Maria, was taken into care, and a Roma couple were charged with abduction.

Police spent several hours at the property in Dublin after asking for the family to produce documents to confirm the child is theirs.

It is understood a name and date of birth the parents gave does not match records with the register office.

A birth certificate was deemed to be inconclusive, and a passport bore a picture of a baby and could not be matched to the seven-year-old.

No arrests have been made, and family members are not facing an allegation of abduction.

A number of other children, believed to be the girl's siblings, were in the house at the time and not taken into care.

It is understood the police have sought to have DNA tests carried out on the child to confirm she is the daughter of the Roma couple.

Members of a group of about 15 friends and relations from the Roma community said they were upset, claiming that the girl was part of the family, and should be returned as the family have documentary proof.

Others said the girl was not the only member of the family with blonde hair.

The only similarity with the Greek case is that both girls are blonde-haired and blue-eyed, and had a different appearance from that of the couples they were found living with.

In Greece, a DNA test on Maria proved she was not related to Christos Salis, 39, and Eleftheria Dimopoulou, 40, and the couple have been held on charges of abduction and document fraud.

Pavee Point, a rights groups that works on behalf of Irish travellers and the Roma community, called for the girl's case to be investigated swiftly.

A spokesman said: "There is a real danger that precipitative action, undertaken on the basis of appearance, can create the conditions for an increase in racism and discrimination against the Roma community living here."

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Amnesty Criticises Drone Strikes In Pakistan

US drone strikes in Pakistan last year killed a woman who was farming with her grandchildren and 18 other civilians, Amnesty International has said.

The human rights group called on the US to investigate the killings, which it documented in a report, and provide the victims with "full reparation".

"We cannot find any justification for these killings," said Mustafa Qadri, the Amnesty researcher who wrote the report.

Washington considers its drone programme to be a key weapon against insurgents who go across the border into Afghanistan.

Islamabad opposes drone attacks, saying they kill too many civilians in addition to their intended targets.

The drone campaign is a source of tension between the two countries and complicates their ability to co-ordinate efforts against militants based in Pakistan, including al Qaeda operatives.

Amnesty said it conducted a detailed investigation into two incidents in North Waziristan, an area in Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan that is subjected to an intensive drone campaign.

According to the report, a drone strike in October 2012 killed Mamana Bibi, a 68-year-old grandmother and the wife of a retired head teacher, as she was gathering vegetables.

The drone campaign has drawn protests in Pakistan and elsewhere

Three of the woman's grandchildren were wounded in the strike, as were several others who were nearby.

Amnesty said 18 men were killed in a second drone attack in July 2012.

Residents described the dead as a woodcutter, a vegetable seller and miners who had gathered in the shade at dusk to talk after a day's work. The youngest was 14.

"Everyone in the hut was cut to pieces," Amnesty quoted one witness as saying.

"We started to panic and each person was trying to run in a different direction."

The report was based on more than 60 interviews conducted by teams of researchers working independently of each other.

"There are genuine threats to the USA and its allies in the region, and drone strikes may be lawful in some circumstances," said Mr Qadri.

"But it is hard to believe that a group of labourers, or an elderly woman surrounded by her grandchildren, were endangering anyone at all, let alone posing an imminent threat to the United States."

Amnesty said Pakistan had an "ambiguous attitude" towards the drone programme, and also noted the government's limited control on tribal areas.

It said victims have either received no compensation or inadequate assistance from Islamabad.

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'White Widow' Lewthwaite's Ode To Bin Laden

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent

The British terror suspect sought by police following the Nairobi shopping mall massacre wrote a poem in praise of Osama bin Laden in which she warned that al Qaeda is "stronger and fiercer" than ever, Sky News can reveal.

Samantha Lewthwaite - known as the "White Widow" - pledged to continue the fight to bring terror to the West and suggested she was prepared to be a martyr for the Islamic cause.

In the 34-line Ode To Osama, which was found by police on a computer in her Kenyan home, Lewthwaite said her love for the mastermind of the September 11 attacks "is like no other".

She lamented his death in 2011 at the hands of American special forces and called on Muslims to follow his example.

Investigators found an "Ode to Osama" on Lewthwaite's computer

"Us we are left to continue what you started," she wrote.

"To seek the victory until we are martyred. To instill (sic) terror into kuffar (non-Muslims) …Your life an example of how we should be.

"Oh Muslims listen to our beloved sheik's words, Let not his struggle and efforts go unheard, Revive what he started and strive to success, Then maybe we can be raised with the best."

The British suspect rented an apartment overlooking the Junction mall

Lewthwaite was married to July 7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay and lived with him in Buckinghamshire before the 2005 attacks. They had two children together.

Last year it emerged she had left Britain for East Africa and had been linked to the al Qaeda terror group al Shabaab.

Despite her sorrow at bin Laden's death, she warned the West - and US President Barack Obama - that the jihad was not over.

Sky News gained access to a flat directly below the one Lewthwaite rented

"As for our enemies our words will be less," she wrote.

"You picked the wrong army to contest. Al Qaeda are stronger and fiercer than ever. Their (sic) was no victory for you Mr Obama The honour is his on martyred Osama!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

As part of an investigation, Sky News has discovered that Lewthwaite, who is being hunted by Interpol in the aftermath of the Westgate Shopping Mall massacre, lived in a flat in the Kenyan capital overlooking a different shopping centre  for seven months in 2011.

Sky's Alex Crawford spoke to a block supervisor, who recognised Lewthwaite

She used her South African alias Natalie Faye Webb while she rented the apartment with her four children.

Sky News sources who are involved in the hunt for her have said this was one of three addresses she acquired in the capital.

It is the first time she has been specifically placed in the city where last month's attack, which left at least 67 people dead, took place.

Lewthwaite rented the apartment using her known alias, Natalie Faye Webb

Detectives examining the hard drive of a computer left at her house in Mombasa found several self-portraits of Lewthwaite, including one where she posed with two of her children.

They also discovered evidence which led them to an apartment block in Nairobi overlooking the Junction shopping mall, which British and Kenyan intelligence believe was a potential target for the al Shabaab terror group with which Lewthwaite has been linked.

She lived there with her four children and despite having no apparent income paid 60,000 shillings (nearly £500) a month for the three-bedroom flat.

The clean-up at the site of the Westgate mall attacks is ongoing

A man from the apartment block said she used to go shopping at the nearby mall - popular just like Westgate with wealthy expats - for up to four hours at a time.

Police also traced a flash drive back to her which showed the British woman who married a suicide bomber had spent eight years researching chemicals, explosive ingredients and how to make bombs.

One document she downloaded is entitled the Mujahideen explosives handbook.

The examination of her hard drive showed she had also Googled a significant number of dieting and fitness sites, including websites with workout routines to help you lose weight and makeover sites which demonstrated how to have hair like the singer Taylor Swift.

Out of nearly 2,000 files found, a vast number were about health and body image, and she had downloaded documents about getting started in bodybuilding and visited one site about self-defence.

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Syria: Ministers Meet Ahead Of Peace Talks

By Tim Marshall, Foreign Affairs Editor

The Friends of Syria group is meeting in London to try to keep next month's proposed Syria peace conference on track.

William Hague and his counterparts from 10 other countries are considering how to support the Syrian opposition ahead of the summit due to take place in Geneva.

Failure to agree a united front could jeopardise the chances of the conference, scheduled for Switzerland on November 23, even taking place.

Geneva II is intended to build on last year's Geneva agreement in which most parties to the conflict, including Russia, signed up to a rough road map intended to lead to peace.

Representatives of the opposition Syrian National Coalition are also expected to attend.

But one of the most prominent factions within the coalition, the Syrian National Council, has said it has no faith in negotiations with Bashar al Assad's regime and won't be part of the Geneva process.

Mr Hague hopes to unite the Coalition but Mr Assad has cast doubt on talks

Some of the Arab countries are also concerned about the prospects for success next month.

One Arab diplomat told Sky News: "It is unclear who will attend and it is unclear what the agenda is." 

Invitations for Geneva will be issued by the United Nations and it has yet to say if the Iranians will be invited. 

Nor is it clear if the Assad government will attend as it wants more clarity on how London, Paris, and Washington interpret the first Geneva agreement.

That calls for a "transitional government".

The Western powers say that means one in which Mr Assad has no future. However, Russia  and the Syrian government point out that it says "by mutual consent".

Add to these problems that most of the opposition forces inside Syria no longer pay any attention to the council, and that those forces will not go to Geneva, and the prospects for peace are dim.

Mr Assad has cast doubt on the conference, brokered by the US and Russia, telling Lebanon's Al Mayadeen TV that "the factors that would help in holding it are not in place if we want it to succeed".

He added: "Who are the groups that will participate? What is their relation with the Syrian people? Do they represent the Syrian people or do they represent the country that made them?"

Foreign Secretary Mr Hague said the meeting was to "discuss preparations for the Geneva Conference, support for the Syrian National Coalition, and our efforts to achieve a political settlement to this tragic conflict".

Today's conference is to try and iron out some of those problems, then work on making Geneva II a success.

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'Mega-Fire' Fears As Australia Battles Blazes

Firefighters trying to tame an enormous bushfire in southeastern Australia fear it could merge with other blazes to create a "mega-fire", if weather conditions worsen.

Crews have been battling fires that flared in high winds and searing heat across the state of New South Wales since last week, destroying 200 homes and leaving many others damaged.

While dozens of blazes have been contained, 58 were still alight and 14 of them out of control, enveloping Sydney in a thick white smoke haze that prompted warnings for people to stay indoors and avoid exercising.

The main area of concern was near the town of Lithgow, west of Sydney, where a huge fire that has already burned nearly 155 square miles (99,000 acres) was threatening the communities of Bilpin, Bell, Clarence and Dargan.

Volunteer firefighter Mark O'Carrigan has lived in the area all his life

Officials fear intensifying heat and winds this week could push it into another blaze at nearby Mount Victoria in the Blue Mountains and then move towards the populated areas of Katoomba and Leura.

"I don't think I've ever used the word mega-fire," said New South Wales rural fire service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons.

"But the reality is that the modelling indicates that there's every likelihood that in the forecast weather conditions that these two fires, particularly up in the back end of the mountains, will merge at some point."

The Australian military is investigating whether it was responsible for starting the blaze, northwest of Sydney.

Tea cups sit on a letterbox at a home destroyed by bushfire

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

Amid the worst fire disaster in the state for nearly 50 years, New South Wales declared a state of emergency on Sunday, which gives firefighters the power to forcibly evacuate people, with penalties for refusing.

Emergency Services Minister Mike Gallacher said every possible resource was being used, including firefighters being drafted in from interstate and the possibility that the military could also be deployed.

Lyndon Dunlop with his father among the ruins of his grandparents' home

"Everything is being thrown at this, I can assure you," he said.

With hundreds of people evacuated from their homes due to the encroaching flames, police have revealed they are dealing with reports of looting from victims, although the number of incidents is small.

State Premier Barry O'Farrell called looters "scumbags" and vowed to track them down.

"I'm just appalled that at these critical times, when people have been evacuated from homes or whether people have left homes because of fire dangers, that other scumbags in the community would front up and seek to rob them," he said.

Sue Dunlop sits in front of her home of 41 years which was destroyed

Police, meanwhile, said a young boy, reportedly aged 11, was being questioned about deliberately lighting a fire on the New South Wales Central Coast last week that forced hundreds of people to flee their homes and saw the closure of Newcastle airport.

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Snowden Leaks: NSA Swept French Phone Records

The US National Security Agency monitored up to 70.3 million French phone records over 30 days, according to documents leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The French government has summoned the US ambassador over a report in Le Monde newspaper to explain why the Americans spied on one of their closest allies.

The first picture of Snowden in Russia

The Mexican government also condemned the US over a Der Spiegel report that Mexican President Felipe Calderon's email account had been hacked into by the NSA.

According to the report, the NSA said this contained "diplomatic, economic and leadership communications which continue to provide insight into Mexico's political system and internal stability".

The Mexican foreign ministry described the practice as "unacceptable and illegitimate".

Documents relating to the French surveillance operation show that when certain numbers were used, the conversations were automatically recorded.

Documents claim Felipe Calderon's email was hacked by the US

Le Monde said the documents gave grounds to believe the NSA targeted not only people suspected of being involved in terrorism but also high-profile individuals from the world of business or politics.

The surveillance operation also swept up text messages according to key words, based on records from December 10 to January 7.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters: "These kinds of practices between partners that harm privacy are totally unacceptable.

"We have to rapidly make sure that they are no longer implemented in any circumstance."

French Interior Minister Manuel Valls, meanwhile, described the revelations as "shocking", in an interview with Europe 1 radio.

US authorities declined to comment to the French daily on the "classified" documents.

Snowden, who has taken refuge in Russia, is wanted in the US for espionage and other charges after leaking details of the NSA's worldwide snooping activities.

The fugitive had been in hiding in Hong Kong since May and flew to Moscow on June 23, where he stayed in the transit area for more than a month before being given temporary asylum and leaving the airport for a safe location.

US President Barack Obama has since proposed reforms of US surveillance programmes in the wake of the furore.

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Principal Charged Over India Meal Deaths

Indian police have charged a school principal and her husband with murder after 23 children died after eating their school meal.

The children, aged four to 12, fell ill on July 16 after their mid-day meal was contaminated with pesticide.

Police believe the poisoning was intentional and say the couple bought the substance two days before the tragedy.

Headteacher Meena Devi and husband Arjun Rai face at least five charges including murder and attempted murder, said local police superintendent Varun Kumar Sinha.

The poisoning took place at a village primary school in the Saran district of northeastern Bihar state.

Children suffered from stomach cramps and vomiting after eating the food

The two suspects went on the run after the deaths, leading to attacks on their house, but handed themselves in just over a week later.

Children at the school had begun vomiting and suffering stomach cramps within minutes of eating the meal, which contained lentils, potatoes and rice.

A forensic report later showed the oil the food was cooked in contained the pesticide monocrotophos at very high levels.

The deaths sparked protests from parents and local people

The World Health Organisation said it had asked India to ban the toxic substance as far back as 2009.

The tragedy sparked local protests and started a national debate about the world's largest school meals programme, where preparation is often unhygienic.

Despite concerns, the lunches are hugely popular with poor families and authorities see them as a way of increasing school attendance and fighting malnourishment.

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Mystery Blonde Girl 'Was Well Looked After'

A relative of a Roma Gypsy couple accused of abducting a girl found in their care said the child was given to them and that she was well looked after.

The youngster, known as Maria and aged about four, was found living in squalid conditions in a Roma camp near the central Greek town of Farsala on Wednesday.

She was with people who were pretending to be her parents, but DNA tests later proved they were not.

Kostas said the child was very loved

The couple, a 39-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman, were arrested and charged with abducting a minor.

But a man calling himself Kostas, the brother of the 39-year-old male, said Maria was very loved and cared for.

"We got this girl in a very nice way. We raised her. We got her. She was given to us and we raised her," he said.

"She had problems with her eyes. We took her to the doctor, we took her everywhere.

"We didn't take her to sell her. We loved her so much, with so much passion."

A Roma woman walks next to the house where the girl lived

Giorgos Tsakiris, the general secretary of the Roma association in Farsala, said the girl had a good life with the people who were raising her.

"I can tell you better than her other siblings, the biological ones," Mr Tsakiris said.

"She spent her days very well and that is why the little girl loves them and what they say about abductions is not true."

The girl is being looked after by The Smile of the Child charity

An international search is now under way to find Maria's real family.

Authorities say they have received enquiries from all over the world, including the UK.

The girl, who is now being looked after by The Smile of the Child charity, was found when police raided the camp in search of drugs and weapons.

A police officer became suspicious when he noticed Maria bore no likeness to her supposed family.

Members of the Roma community where the girl was found living

Further investigations into the couple raised even more suspicions.

Authorities allege the mother claimed to have given birth to six children in less than 10 months, while 10 of the 14 children the couple registered as their own are unaccounted for.

Maria's discovery has given hope to the family of Ben Needham, a British boy who disappeared from outside his grandparent's farmhouse on the Greek island of Kos in 1991.

A poster released in the search for Maria's real parents

Ben's sister Leighanna, 20, told Sky News: "Obviously, it's been a strong belief of myself and all my family that Ben was taken by gypsies for child trafficking or illegal adoptions and this case just shows that they can be found.

She added: "I believe that the camp the little girl was found in was looked at (during the investigation into her brother's disappearance).

Ben Needham disappeared in Greece

"But 22 years ago, the Greek police were scared of the gypsies and pretty much point-blank refused to go into the camps ... so our inquiries into these camps never fully got covered."

Ms Needham said the same technology could help find her long-lost brother.

"I think that would be a brilliant thing to get our DNA out there, even if it's not actually Ben but any siblings or any children maybe of Ben (that are found) then that could hopefully lead us to him," she said.

Maria's discovery has also buoyed the hopes of missing Madeleine McCann's parents.

Clarence Mitchell, a spokesman for Kate and Gerry McCann, said: "They have always maintained that until there is evidence to prove otherwise missing children can still be out there waiting to be found."

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Australia Bushfires: Fears Blazes Will Worsen

Firefighters battling bushfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes in Australia are braced for conditions to get worse in the coming days.

Higher temperatures and strong winds are expected to make the situation more dangerous this week after recent milder weather.

The bushfires are some of the most destructive ever to hit New South Wales - the country's most populous state.

Around 1,500 firefighters have been working to contain the blazes, which have been very intense.

They have happened earlier than usual in an annual fire season that normally peaks in the Australian summer, starting in December.

The country's dry winter and hotter than average spring are believed to have resulted in perfect fire conditions.

A total of 208 homes have been destroyed, another 122 have been damaged, and there has been at least one death.

Among the worst-affected areas is the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, where 193 homes have been razed and 109 damaged.

Many homes have been destroyed in the blazes

On Sunday firefighters were focusing on a major blaze near the town of Lithgow that stretched along a 190-mile front.

The military is investigating whether it was responsible for starting the blaze, northwest of Sydney.

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

With 68 fires still burning, including 22 out of control, and dangerous weather conditions forecast until Thursday, authorities were expecting the worst.

New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell said: "The state is in for challenging days ahead not just with the three fires in and around the Blue Mountains, but also on the other two fire grounds where work is still continuing."

Shane Fitzsimmons, fire service commissioner, said: "There will be a significant impact on populated areas should all these forecasts materialise as is being suggested and indeed should the fire behaviour get to the point that we are contemplating."

On Thursday, a 63-year-old man died of a heart attack while protecting his home from fire at Lake Munmorah, north of Sydney.

At least five people including three firefighters have been treated in hospitals for burns and smoke inhalation, officials said.

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Syria: Suicide Truck Bombing 'Kills 30'

A suicide bomber driving a truck packed with 1.5 tons of explosives has killed at least 30 people in Hama, Syrian state media reported.

The attacker blew himself up inside the vehicle at a government checkpoint on the edge of the city, the Sana agency said.

The explosion appeared to have set a nearby fuel truck on fire, increasing the damage and casualties, it added.

Sana blamed the assault on "terrorists", which is the term it uses to describe rebel forces trying to topple President Bashar al Assad.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the al Qaeda-linked Jabhat al Nusra, or al Nusra Front, carried out the attack.

Meanwhile, a key international conference aimed at ending Syria's civil war will be held in Geneva on November 23 and 24, according to Arab League chief Nabil el Araby.

The announcement came after talks with the Arab League-UN envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi.

The proposed conference will attempt to get Syria's rival sides to agree on a transitional government in that country based on a plan adopted in the Swiss city in June 2012.

Syria's conflict has left over 100,000 people dead.

The fractured and squabbling opposition movement has criticised the conference plan, saying they were not consulted.

They said they could not accept any negotiations that allowed for Mr Assad to remain as head of state in any transitional period.

In the early months of the uprising that started in March 2011, Hama saw some of the largest demonstrations against his rule.

But in the summer of that year, security forces stormed the city, killing scores of people.

They have held a tight grip on the city ever since.

While several other Syrian cities have been engulfed by fighting, Hama has seen only sporadic violence in recent months.

However, the surrounding province has seen some major clashes between troops and rebels.

More follows...

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