Ukraine Observers Freed Amid New Offensive

Military observers kept prisoner in Ukraine for more than a week have been released as bloody clashes in the country show no sign of letting up.

The seven observers and their five assistants, from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, were seized in Slavyansk on April 25.

The separatists had previously accused the observers of being "Nato spies" and said they were to be used as human shields.

A prisoner-swap was thought likely, although they were set free today without any conditions.

Two of the observers pictured while they were being held in Slavyansk

Colonel Axel Schneider, the head of the observers, said the group had shown "strength" and said the captivity was "unforgettable for us".

The release comes as Ukraine launched a dawn military operation against separatists in the east of the country.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said troops had seized control of a television tower in Kramatorsk, near the rebel stronghold of Slavyansk.

Fresh scuffles broke out outside the burned building in Odessa on Saturday

"We are not stopping," Mr Avakov wrote on his Facebook page. Heavy fighting is now being reported in the town, according to Ukraine's anti-terrorist centre.

The violence comes hours after 31 people died after a building in Odessa was set on fire during clashes between protesters.

Police said some people inside the trade union building were overcome by smoke and others were killed jumping from windows as they tried to escape.

A pro-Russian activist fires a gun during clashes with rivals

Pro-Russian and pro-Kiev activists fought running battles as the southern port city saw some of its worst violence since President Victor Yanukovych was ousted in February.

The Interior Ministry said a total of 42 people were killed in Odessa.

Russia said it was "outraged" and denounced the "criminal irresponsibility" of the pro-Western authorities in Kiev.

Russia's foreign ministry called on Ukraine and its "Western backers to end the anarchy and take responsibility for the Ukranian people".

At an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council, the UK accused Moscow of "breathtaking" hypocrisy over the latest clashes.

A protester throws a petrol bomb at the trade union building in Odessa

The UK's ambassador to the UN, Sir Mark Lyall Grant, said Russia had "funded, equipped and directed" some of those involved in the insurgency.

"Many" pro-Russian separatists were also said to have been killed on Friday as the Ukrainian army took control of checkpoints around Slavyansk.

Two Ukrainian soldiers were also killed as two helicopters were shot down in the city, acting president Oleksandr Turchynov said.

People wait for rescue on an upper-storey ledge during the fire

The Ukrainian Security Service said one was shot down with a surface-to-air missile, adding that the sophisticated weapon undermined Russia's claims that Slavyansk was simply under the control of armed locals.

Sky News Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay, in Donetsk, said the Ukraine government is in a "very difficult position".

"If they want to take control of these towns they are going to have to put a lot of soldiers on the ground and bring in police from other parts of the country. If that happens it will absolutely be violent – it will only escalate further.

"Russia has made it clear that would be a reason for them to intervene to protect ethnic Russians.

"If Kiev doesn't do that, they are going to see the eastern parts of the country drift away."

Russia has tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine's border, and Kiev claims its neighbouring country is preparing to invade and that it is stoking the unrest in the east.

Moscow denies the allegations, but has warned Russia would respond to attacks on Russian citizens or interests in the east, where insurgents have seized government buildings in around a dozen cities.

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US And Germany United In Russia Warning

Germany and the US appear to have hardened their line on potential sanctions on Russia.

This is surprising and raises the stakes for what happens in the region.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Barack Obama both set a new threshold for action over Ukraine after meeting at the White House on Friday.

More severe "sectoral sanctions" have been held in reserve until now. Both leaders previously warning they could be used to punish a Russian military invasion.

But they are now threatening their use if elections in Ukraine on May 25 are disrupted.

Putin warned of "consequences" over military action

In the run up to their meeting much had been made of differences between the two allies.

German industry has been vigorously lobbying the Chancellor not to impose more severe sanctions. Germany is closer to Russia and has more trade than America, meaning it has more to lose than the US.

There have been differences of opinion on the degree to which sanctions should be ramped up. But if the two leaders are sincere in the warning issued to Russia from the White House Rose Garden those divisions have not prevented agreement on when more stringent sanctions should next be imposed.

Until now, sanctions have targeted individuals and some companies and banks. Assets have been frozen, visa bans imposed.

The White House has talked up the impact on the Russian economy. Others have pointed out it was heading in a negative direction before all this started.

But sectoral sanctions would be far more punishing, They would target entire sectors of the Russian economy - banking, mining, financial services, for instance.

It would hurt Russia, but its trading partners too.

While sceptics will question how much Mr Obama and Ms Merkel mean what they say, it is still significant that they said it.

A variety of factors may be pushing them closer.

Ukraine has launched a major offensive against pro-Russian forces

The German chancellor is reportedly furious about the continued detention of OSCE observers, some of them German, by pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine.

The US president poured scorn on Russian actions and propaganda, ridiculing the claim what is happening in Eastern Ukraine is a local protest.

Local protestors, he said, generally do not have the capacity to shoot down helicopters. The president knows recent polls show the Ukraine situation is weakening his popularity and approval ratings.

The German-US response makes escalation more likely.

It is hard to see how the May 25 elections can avoid disruption given the takeover of towns in the east of the country and the presence of shadowy militia.

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Over 2,000 Confirmed Dead In Afghan Landslide

More than 2,000 people have been confirmed dead in a landslide in Afghanistan after part of a hill above a village collapsed.

The community, in Badakhshan province which borders Tajikistan in the country's northeast, has been buried in more than 300ft of mud (100 metres).

"More than 2,100 people from 300 families are all dead," Naweed Forotan, a spokesman for the Badakhshan provincial governor, told the Reuters news agency.

There are fears of further landslides in the area

Hundreds of mud brick homes were destroyed when two landslides triggered by torrential rain hit Hobo Barik, in Argo district.

At least 100 people have been injured.

The side of the mountain collapsed as villagers were trying to recover belongings and livestock following a smaller landslip a few hours earlier.

A digger works to clear the mud

Mark Bowden, the humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan, has told Sky News as many as 2,700 people could have been killed, with at least 4,500 people displaced.

Local people and dozens of police officers equipped with only basic digging tools began searching for survivors from first light on Saturday.

But it quickly became apparent there was no hope of finding anyone.

Thousands of people have been displaced

The United Nations says the focus is now on the thousands of people who have been displaced by the disaster.

A memorial service was planned for later on Saturday, and the site is expected to be designated as a mass grave, according to UN spokesman Ari Gaitanis.

He added the survivors need water, medical support, counselling, food and emergency shelter.

Afghan National Army troops in Kabul load supplies for survivors

British charities are mobilising teams to help with the rescue effort.

Save the Children sent five ambulances to the scene and are planning to distribute blankets and give medical assistance.

Other charities are monitoring the situation and stand ready to provide assistance if necessary.

There are also fears that another section of the mountainside could collapse, threatening the homeless and hundreds of rescue workers.

The US and the Nato-led coalition in Afghanistan have offered to send help

The Afghan military flew rescue teams to the search area on Saturday because the remote mountain region is served by only narrow, poor roads that have been damaged by more than a week of heavy rain.

Nato-led coalition troops are ready to assist, but have not yet been asked for help by the Afghan government.

US President Barack Obama has also offered to send help.

Seasonal rains and spring snow melt have brought destruction to large parts of northern Afghanistan, killing more than 100 people.

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North Korean Defectors' Harrowing Stories

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

In a series of rare and harrowing interviews, defectors have told Sky News of their horrific lives inside North Korea and their extraordinary journeys to escape the country.

The men and women agreed to talk from their new homes in the South Korean capital, Seoul.

Their interviews form part of a special programme to be shown on Sky News this weekend.

Two of the defectors had spent time inside North Korea's notorious political prison camps.

Another was a tank commander in the secretive state's army before managing to escape.

One women describes, for the first time, the torture she endured at the hands of North Korean prison camp guards.

From her Seoul apartment, Cheon YoungSuk sobbed uncontrollably as she recalled the torture.

"With that plank, they hit me until it split into two or they won't stop hitting me. It must split into two. Then the beating stops. They hit me like that, they starved me, kicked me," she said.

Lee Soon Shil managed to escape from North to South Korea

"During the torture the hardest thing was they made me kneel on a chair. The guard had ridges on the bottom of his shoes. He would stand on my bare skin and start twisting (his feet).

"When bare skin and shoe soles are twisted with pressure it grinds the skin. That was the most hard. That was the time I shouted. It hurt too much.

"Because it hurt too much I shouted to him to grind faster. Twist faster to finish it more quickly.

"They wrapped my hair on their hand and start smashing my face on the corner of the desk.... [they are] crueller than beasts. How could a human do that to another human?"

On Thursday, diplomats addressed the United Nations saying that North Korea must act immediately to halt its "litany of abuses" and "crimes against humanity".

"We note with concern that... human rights violations and crimes against humanity continue to take place with impunity," British UN representative Karen Pierce told the Geneva forum.

Sky's Mark Stone speaks to a defector in Seoul

North Korea denies the existence of prison camps. It reacted angrily to a United Nations Human Rights Council Commission of Inquiry (COI), published in February.

The COI conducted scores of interviews with defectors all of whom told stories similar to those heard by Sky News.

The UN body concluded that "systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations have been and are being committed" by North Korea.

It said that "the gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a state that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world".

It described a catalogue of "unspeakable atrocities" which amounted to "crimes against humanity".

The report is currently being considered at the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York.

The detailed findings of the report were also discussed at informal meeting of the UN Security Council two weeks ago. However, two members of the council, Russia and China, both historically allied to North Korea, failed to attend.

Speaking after the informal meeting, the chairman of the Commission of Inquiry, retired Australian judge Michael Kirby, said he was disappointed that China and Russia failed to attend but still hoped that the UN would now act against North Korea.

"The time has come for effective action from the United Nations," he said.

"If ever there is to be a case for referral of a matter to the International Criminal Court, it is difficult to imagine a stronger case than has been made out in the case of North Korea.

"If this is not a case for such a referral, it is difficult to imagine what would be."

The level of abuse uncovered in North Korea, both in the UN report and the interviews conducted by Sky News has been compared to some of the abuses during the holocaust of World War Two.

Mr Kirby said that the descriptions he heard reminded him of Holocaust abuses.

He said: "I never thought that in my professional life, my life as a judge or as an officer of the United Nations, I would sit there and hear descriptions that were so similar to the descriptions of what went on in those places.

"I thought we had said as a world community, 'never again'.

"I thought that was what the charter of the United Nations was about. I thought that was why in the charter it speaks of international peace and security and the protection of universal human rights together."

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British Fighters Filmed In Syria 'War Crime'

By Tom Rayner, Middle East Reporter

Video has emerged implicating British fighters in Syria in an apparent war crime.

Footage uncovered by researchers at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) shows jihadist rebels killing a prisoner, said to be a loyalist of President Bashar al Assad.

The incident is thought to have happened in the last two weeks near Raqqa in northern Syria.

The footage was posted on the Instagram account of a man believed to be from London.

The caption accompanying the video describes the prisoner as one of "Bashar [al Assad's] dogs" and says the killing was retribution for the deaths of four fellow rebels and the rape of a woman.

The ICSR monitors the social media accounts of hundreds of foreign fighters inside Syria.

Researchers say one of the executioners is a Briton seen in other videos

They believe the man that posted the video is part of a group of British fighters, known as Rayat al Tawheed, an affiliate of the Sunni jihadi movement ISIS, which controls large swathes of northern Syria.

Shiraz Maher, a senior ICSR researcher based at King's College London, said the killing of prisoners is a war crime in international law.

"It's incredibly serious," he said.

"We believe the main characters involved with Rayat al Tawheed come from London.

"We have deduced this based on our discussions with foreign fighters, our extensive record-keeping of foreign fighter activity in Syria, and our maintenance of social network maps which allows us to plot activity and associations in a visual form."

In one video a British fighter says a bullet is "the pen of the mujahid"

Although no audible English is spoken in the video itself, analysts from the ICSR believe they have identified one of the gunmen as being a British citizen.

A man is seen in the video firing shots into the body of the prisoner in the seconds after the initial bullet was fired by the main shooter.

Analysis of the gunman's physical build, wristwatch and balaclava led the ICSR to conclude he is the same man seen speaking English with a London accent in other videos posted by the group.

"We don't know if the prisoner was alive or dead when he fired, but he did partake in the execution, he did fire shots at the individual from his weapon, and we believe he is a British citizen," said ICSR researcher Joseph Carter.

On two separate videos posted on YouTube, the man identified as the gunman by the ICSR is heard berating the British Muslim community for failing to provide sufficient financial support for the jihad or the families the fighters have left behind.

The group lobbies for donations to buy more weapons and ammunition

"You know who you are, from the capital, the Midlands, up north, wherever you may be… it's a disgrace, that brothers know where these wives are, where these families are, and yet you are buying your nephew or your child a PlayStation 4 or taking them out to Nando's," he said.

The Government's counter-terrorism programme last week launched a campaign urging the families of young men planning to travel to Syria to intervene.

It is estimated that up to 400 Britons have travelled to fight or train in Syria in the last two years. 

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "This demonstrates why we have consistently called for the situation in Syria to be referred to the International Criminal Court.

"Horrific atrocities have been committed by both the Assad regime and by extremists. The international community must ensure that all those responsible are held to account.

"Our priority is to dissuade people from travelling, but any extremists should know we are prepared to take action to protect national security, and intelligence agencies and police are working to identify potential threats."

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Ukraine In Military Assault On Slavyansk

Two Ukrainian soldiers have been killed after pro-Russian forces shot down helicopters during the first major government offensive in the east of Ukraine.

A spokeswoman for the pro-Russian militants also said one of their men was killed and another injured, according to the AP news agency.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov urged local residents to stay indoors during the "anti-terrorist operation" in rebel-held Slavyansk early Friday morning.

A man, said to be one of the helicopter crew, is taken away

Posting on Facebook, he said the city was "tightly surrounded" after government troops seized nine rebel-held road checkpoints.

"Against Ukraine's special forces, terrorists used heavy artillery, including grenade launchers and portable anti-aircraft missile launchers," Mr Avakov said.

Vyacheslav Ponomarev, the insurgency-appointed mayor of Slavyansk, said self-defence forces had shot down two helicopters and taken one person hostage.

A helicopter lands at Andreevka, 7 km from the centre of Slavyansk

Shoulder-launched missiles had downed the aircraft, according to the Ukrainian defence ministry.

A third helicopter, said to be carrying carrying medical staff, was also hit and one person wounded, according to the ministry.

Ukrainian officials believe the use of such heavy weaponry proves Russian forces are in the area - something repeatedly denied by Moscow.

Separatist forces were still reported to be firmly in control of Slavyansk's streets, with Ukrainian armoured vehicles restricted to the city's outskirts.

The offensive by the Ukrainian government marks the first significant military response by Kiev.

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said the "punitive operation" had destroyed a peace plan agreed with Western powers in Geneva last month.

"While Russia is making efforts to de-escalate and settle the conflict, the Kiev regime moved combat air forces against peaceful settlements, began a reprisal raid, essentially finishing off the last hope for the feasibility of the Geneva accords," Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

A Ukrainian solider at one of the seized road checkpoints

Officials have been criticised for being slow to act to stop the pro-Russian forces seizing swathes of its Donbass coal and steel belt.

The armed groups seeking union with Moscow have seized a number of government buildings in towns in eastern Ukraine.

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Ukraine: Militia Controls A Million Weapons

At the end of a completely anonymous road on the outskirts of the eastern Ukrainian town of Artemivsk is the village of Paraskoviyevka.

It has two claims to fame: one of the few still functioning salt mines in the region, and, more importantly, the largest cache of weapons in Europe - over a million of them and they are under the control of separatists.

Outside the gates of the mine, a cluster of tents mark the pro-Russian checkpoint guarding the entrance to this enormous supply of weapons.

The militia say they started guarding the mine in March when efforts were made to move some of the weapons. They say they will not allow anyone to get their hands on them.

But military experts and government sources in Kiev have warned that such a ready supply should not be guarded by groups who wish to separate from the country.

The storage facility was created in the 1950s by the Soviet Union.

About 150 metres below ground and stretching horizontally for kilometres the weapons age back to World War Two but in the 1990s huge numbers of Kalashnikov machine guns were stored in the facility as well.

The men guarding the store say the conditions underground are dry and perfect for storage.

The weapons are held in a storage facility at a salt mine

They say that the armaments, particularly the newer ones, are in perfect working order.

"If anyone got in there they could arm everyone in Ukraine," a masked separatist told me.

He added: "There are rifles, machine guns, heavy weapons and millions and millions of rounds of ammunition. We are here to stop the forces of the west and anyone else for that matter from getting their hands on them.

"For certain the fascists from Kiev won't get them."

The real point of this is that there is absolutely nothing anyone can do to take control of the store from the pro-Russia group.

Soldiers at a nearby camp are powerless here; their authority has gone and do nothing to move the blockade outside the mine.

To a degree this is a perfect microcosm example of what is happening across the east of the country.

Government institutions and police stations in virtually all the main towns and cities have fallen to the pro-Russia militia.

Tents mark the pro-Russian checkpoint guarding the entrance

It is an extremely well-organised takeover. Armed and masked men arrive and disarm police before moving to town halls and regional buildings.

At gunpoint, they impose their authority before civilian activists move in and start building barricades.

Asked who the enemy are, the usual reply is "Fascists from Kiev".

The truth is there isn't a fascist horde wending its way out here.

It is a myth that has been propagated by self-appointed regional leaders with the help of Russian media, whose reporting of events is watched by most people here.

And it is a cross between hysterical warnings of armageddon and comic manipulation of facts and events; comic if people were not dying as a result, which they are.

This is getting increasingly nasty and once again there is nothing anyone can do about it.

A pro-Russian separatist in Ukraine

In Donestsk, where pro-Kiev supporters have staged rallies of support, people have been beaten senseless and in one instance knifed to death by pro-Russian thugs.

The police do nothing to stop the attacks happening and, worse, there is more than a suspicion that they are in cahoots with the mob.

I have seen riot police clad in full protective gear hugging men who minutes earlier were beating an old man.

The Kiev administration admits its forces in the east are not able to intervene or are failing to do their jobs.

But the police themselves say they are getting no orders or guidance from Kiev.

Even if they don't like what is going on here, and many admit they do, they have no intention of taking a beating, or worse, by stick-wielding groups and armed masked men.

From Kiev, they are warning of an imminent invasion by Russian forces and have put their troops on full alert.

But these soldiers are in truth utterly incapable of resistance to an army, or, as we have seen, even a militia.

Eastern Ukraine is drifting away and it seems there is nothing anyone can do to stop it - just like Crimea.

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IMF: Ukraine Crisis Sparks Russia 'Recession'

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned Russia is already in recession as a result of the effects of the crisis in Ukraine.

An economist working for the organisation, Antonio Spilimbergo, made the comment while confirming a huge downgrade in the IMF's growth forecast for 2014 from 1.3% to just 0.2%.

It had predicted the higher growth figure for Russia just three weeks ago.

The move was a response to heightened concerns over the effects of a flight in capital from Russia - expected by the IMF to top $100bn in 2014 alone.

A tightening of sanctions against Russian individuals and firms close to Russian president Vladimir Putin, imposed by the West in response to his annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, was also cited as a core reason for the downgrade.

The tensions surrounding the crisis in Ukraine have pushed relations between Russia and the West to their lowest since the end of the Cold War, sparking a wider flight from risk on world markets.

As the IMF amended its forecasts, Ukraine's acting leader warned his country's forces were on full combat alert in case of a Russia invasion.

Mr Spilimbergo was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying: "If we define recession as negative growth in two quarters in a row, then Russia from that point of view is experiencing recession.

"This all has a very negative effect on the investment climate. We expect that the fall in investments that already took place in 2013 will increase further this year."

Russia's economy contracted by about 0.5% in the first three months of the year compared with the previous quarter.

Standard and Poor's ratings agency on Friday downgraded Russia's ability to repay debt to BBB-, one notch above junk status, and retained its negative outlook.

Mr Spilimbergo, who acts as the IMF's mission chief to Moscow, agreed there were "considerable downside risks" and said the decision by Russia's central bank to raise interest rates last week would reduce inflation but would not be enough.

He argued the depreciation in the rouble over the past few months would put pressure on inflation and forecast consumer prices would rise more than 6% during the course of 2014.

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Ukraine 'Detains Russian Attache For Spying'

Ukraine Mine: Militia Controls Million Weapons

Updated: 11:37pm UK, Wednesday 30 April 2014

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent, in Ukraine

At the end of a completely anonymous road on the outskirts of the eastern Ukrainian town of Artemivsk is the village of Paraskoviyevka.

It has two claims to fame: one of the few still functioning salt mines in the region, and, more importantly, the largest cache of weapons in Europe - over a million of them and they are under the control of separatists.

Outside the gates of the mine, a cluster of tents mark the pro-Russian checkpoint guarding the entrance to this enormous supply of weapons.

The militia say they started guarding the mine in March when efforts were made to move some of the weapons. They say they will not allow anyone to get their hands on them.

But military experts and government sources in Kiev have warned that such a ready supply should not be guarded by groups who wish to separate from the country.

The storage facility was created in the 1950s by the Soviet Union.

About 150 metres below ground and stretching horizontally for kilometres the weapons age back to World War Two but in the 1990s huge numbers of Kalashnikov machine guns were stored in the facility as well.

The men guarding the store say the conditions underground are dry and perfect for storage.

They say that the armaments, particularly the newer ones, are in perfect working order.

"If anyone got in there they could arm everyone in Ukraine," a masked separatist told me.

He added: "There are rifles, machine guns, heavy weapons and millions and millions of rounds of ammunition. We are here to stop the forces of the west and anyone else for that matter from getting their hands on them.

"For certain the fascists from Kiev won't get them."

The real point of this is that there is absolutely nothing anyone can do to take control of the store from the pro-Russia group.

Soldiers at a nearby camp are powerless here; their authority has gone and do nothing to move the blockade outside the mine.

To a degree this is a perfect microcosm example of what is happening across the east of the country.

Government institutions and police stations in virtually all the main towns and cities have fallen to the pro-Russia militia.

It is an extremely well-organised takeover. Armed and masked men arrive and disarm police before moving to town halls and regional buildings.

At gunpoint, they impose their authority before civilian activists move in and start building barricades.

Asked who the enemy are, the usual reply is "Fascists from Kiev".

The truth is there isn't a fascist horde wending its way out here.

It is a myth that has been propagated by self-appointed regional leaders with the help of Russian media, whose reporting of events is watched by most people here.

And it is a cross between hysterical warnings of armageddon and comic manipulation of facts and events; comic if people were not dying as a result, which they are.

This is getting increasingly nasty and once again there is nothing anyone can do about it.

In Donestsk, where pro-Kiev supporters have staged rallies of support, people have been beaten senseless and in one instance knifed to death by pro-Russian thugs.

The police do nothing to stop the attacks happening and, worse, there is more than a suspicion that they are in cahoots with the mob.

I have seen riot police clad in full protective gear hugging men who minutes earlier were beating an old man.

The Kiev administration admits its forces in the east are not able to intervene or are failing to do their jobs.

But the police themselves say they are getting no orders or guidance from Kiev.

Even if they don't like what is going on here, and many admit they do, they have no intention of taking a beating, or worse, by stick-wielding groups and armed masked men.

From Kiev, they are warning of an imminent invasion by Russian forces and have put their troops on full alert.

But these soldiers are in truth utterly incapable of resistance to an army, or, as we have seen, even a militia.

Eastern Ukraine is drifting away and it seems there is nothing anyone can do to stop it - just like Crimea.

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India: Burning Man Hugs Politician On TV Show

An Indian politician has suffered horrific burns after he was grabbed by a man who set himself on fire during a TV election debate.

Kamruzzama Fauji was taking part in the show in Sultanpur, in Uttar Pradesh state, when an audience member doused himself in petrol.

Crowds of people ran from the set as the man, named by police as Durgesh Kumar Singh, set himself alight before embracing Mr Fauji.

Local photographer Pankaj Kumar Gupta, whose pictures show the two men engulfed in flames, said the debate was coming to an end when the man suddenly appeared.

"People were just too shocked to know what was happening," he added.

Onlookers grabbed buckets of water to try to extinguish the flames

Mr Singh, whose motive is unknown, suffered burns to 95% of his body and is unlikely to survive, according to doctors.

Mr Fauji, the local leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party, sustained 75% burns and is in a critical condition in hospital.

Two other politicians were treated for minor injuries they suffered while trying to save the pair.

The debate was being recorded for India's state-owned Doordarshan channel.

A spokesman for the station, which is understood to have stopped filming and packed up its equipment within minutes, described the incident as "sad and shocking".

He said the debate was part of a "roadshow" held by the station, with politicians taking questions from local voters.

Parliamentary elections are being held across India until May 12, with results expected four days later.

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MH370 Debris Discovery Claims Dismissed

Claims that wreckage from the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 may have been found in the Bay of Bengal have been dismissed by Australian authorities.

Marine exploration company GeoResonance reportedly said it had detected elements on the ocean floor consistent with material from a Boeing 777 aircraft.

"We identified chemical elements and materials that make up a Boeing 777," company representative Pavel Kursa told Australia's Channel Seven.

"These are aluminium, titanium, copper, steel alloys and other materials."

Australian PM Tony Abbott has conceded the aircraft may never be found

But his colleague David Pope downplayed the find. He told the broadcaster: "We're not trying to say that it definitely is MH370, however it is a lead we feel should be followed up."

Malaysia's acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein confirmed the new information would be analysed but Australian authorities who are at the forefront of the search dismissed any link.

"The location of MH370 suggested by the GeoResonance report (in the Bay of Bengal) is not in the Australian search and rescue zone," a spokesman for Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre said.

The search for the missing plane is concentrated in an area of some 21,600 square miles (56,000 sq km) of the Indian Ocean.

Marine experts have deployed an unmanned deep-sea submarine to scour the sea bed in an effort to locate the black box recorders from the missing aircraft.

But Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has conceded that after 56 days of searching it is possible that no trace of the missing aircraft may ever be found.

"Of course it's possible, but that would be a terrible outcome because it would leave families with a baffling uncertainty forever," he said.

"The aircraft plainly cannot disappear - it must be somewhere," he added.

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Ukraine On Full Combat Alert Over 'Invasion'

Ukraine's military is "on full combat alert" over a possible invasion by Russian troops massed on the border, Kiev's acting leader has said.

Interim president Oleksandr Turchynov told a ministerial meeting: "Our armed forces are on full combat alert. The threat of Russia starting a war against mainland Ukraine is real."

Russia has denied it has any plans to invade eastern Ukraine after its annexation of the Crimean peninsula in March.

Kiev, however, has accused Moscow of orchestrating an armed uprising in the industrial east by Russian-speaking separatists, who have seized government buildings in a number of towns and cities.

Ukraine's acting president Oleksander Turchinov at the cabinet meeting

Ukraine's army and police appear to be making little progress in a high-profile operation to prevent the rebels expanding their grip over towns in the east.

It came as the International Monetary Fund said Russia was already in recession, while citing the effect of the ongoing crisis on investment in the country.

IMF economist Antonio Spilimbergo was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying: "If we define recession as negative growth in two quarters in a row, then Russia from that point of view is experiencing recession."

The IMF has lowered its 2014 growth forecast for Russia to 0.2% from the 1.3% figure it issued on April 8, Mr Spilimbergo added.

Russia deployed around 40,000 troops to its shared border with Ukraine in March. Moscow initially claimed they were sent for exercises but later said they were ready to respond to Kiev's military offensive against pro-Kremlin rebels.

Russian President Vladimir Putin insists he has a "right" to send his forces into Ukraine, but has not yet done so.

Kiev and the US say Russian special forces are already active in the insurgency in eastern Ukraine.

Mr  Turchynov told the cabinet meeting: "Our number one task is to prevent terrorism spreading from the Donetsk and Lugansk regions to other Ukrainian regions".

He underlined moves announced a day earlier to set up armed civilian "territorial volunteer militia" units to help beleaguered police and troops in the east.

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North Korea Holds Live-Fire Drills Near Border

North Korea has carried out live-fire drills in two areas near the disputed Yellow Sea border with the South, which told its island residents to take cover in shelters.

The Pyongyang regime fired artillery close to the Northern Limit Line (NLL) but no rounds appear to have landed south of it.

The drills came hours after North Korea told Seoul of the areas near populated South Korean islands where it would be conducting the exercise.

A red line marks the Korean peninsula's de facto maritime border

Last month, it carried out similar drills close to the NLL, firing more than 500 artillery rounds, including over 100 that landed south of the border.

The move led to the South firing hundreds of rounds back into the North's waters.

The NLL is an extension of the land border between the two Koreas, stretching into the sea west of the Korean peninsula.

North Korea leader Kim Jong-Un

It was drawn up by the US-led UN Command without Pyongyang's consent after the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with a truce rather than a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula still technically at war.

The North has refused to recognise the line as the sea border and has periodically challenged the South by violating it and demanding a new border be set further to the south.

The existing line curves northwards, effectively isolating five remote, South Korean-controlled islands from the mainland.

The furthest of those islands is closer to Pyongyang than Seoul.

The South has increased its military presence on the islands after four people died during the 2010 bombardment of Yeonpyeong island by the North, which it said was in response to its rival's artillery drills.

Seoul officials have claimed the North could be preparing for its fourth nuclear test and US President Barack Obama recently warned Pyongyang against such a measure.

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South Korean President Sorry For Ferry Response

South Korea's president has apologised for her government's "insufficient" response to the ferry disaster.

While 204 people - most of them schoolchildren - have been confirmed dead, nearly 100 passengers are still missing after the Sewol sank on April 16.

President Park Geun-hye apologised at a Cabinet meeting, saying South Korea has "lost many precious lives because of the accident, and I am sorry to the public and am heavy hearted."

A mourner weeps at the official memorial altar in Ansan

She insisted the government could not have prevented the accident but said: "The initial response and remedy were insufficient."

Ms Park's apology came after her prime minister's resignation amid continuing claims by relatives that the government did not do enough in the initial stages to try to rescue their loved ones.

The government has also been widely criticised over perceived corruption and lax safety standards that may have led to the disaster.

Meanwhile, divers are continuing to work through strong currents to try to recover the remaining victims.

Many of those killed in the disaster were school students

They are mainly using their hands to feel for remaining bodies as they make their way through dark cabins, stairwells, storage rooms, lounges and restaurants of the submerged passenger ship.

But the search is being hampered by strong currents swirling around the ferry and, once inside, divers have to deal with overturned furniture, mattresses and other debris floating in the murky, sediment-heavy waters.

Ms Park earlier visited Ansan, south of Seoul, where she paid respects at a memorial for the schoolchildren who died in the disaster.

The ferry sunk on April 16

Of the 476 people on board the ferry, 325 were students from the same high school in Ansan. Only 75 of them were rescued.

Media reports said the president listened to angry family members of victims for 10 minutes as they shouted at her and demanded an apology.

All 15 of the surviving crew responsible for sailing the ferry remain in custody, facing charges including negligence and abandoning passengers.

Prime minister Chung Hong-won has resigned

Investigators, meanwhile, are widening their inquiries into both the cause of the ship's sinking and emergency workers' initial response to the tragedy.

Prosecutors are investigating an exchange of calls between crew members of the sunken ferry and the offices of the owner, Chonghaejin Marine.

A number of crew members on the ferry spoke by phone about seven times with the owner's offices, prosecutors said, with the first call to the owner going through just six minutes after the ferry reported a distress call to a vessel traffic services centre.

Prosecutors are looking into what was the purpose of the calls. 

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Ukraine: Russia Denounces New US Sanctions

Who's Who On Latest Sanctions US And EU List

Updated: 11:00am UK, Tuesday 29 April 2014

The US has targeted seven of President Vladimir Putin's "cronies" in a new round of sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.

The Russian and Ukrainian individuals have been hit with visa bans and freezing of any US assets.

Some 17 companies were also named by the US Treasury.

Igor Sechin - President Putin's friend and head of oil giant Rosneft.

Oleg Belavencev - Mr Putin's presidential envoy to Crimea

Dmitry Kozak - Deputy prime minister of the Russian Federation, responsible for overseeing the integration of the annexed Crimea into Russia

Evgeniy Murov - Director of Russia's federal protective service

Aleksei Pushkov - A state Duma deputy

Vyacheslav Volodin - A Putin adviser

Sergei Chemezov - A Putin ally and head of Rostec, a Russian state-owned high-tech products company.

The European Union has also released a list of 15 politicians and military leaders that will be subject to asset freezes and travel bans.

The EU had already sanctioned 33 Russians and Ukrainians in protest at Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region in March.

The 15 new names are:

Dmitry Kozak

Oleg Belavencev

Oleg Savelyev - Minister for Crimean Affairs responsible for the integration of Crimea into Russia

Sergei Menyailo - Acting governor of the Ukrainian annexed city of Sevastopol

Olga Kovatidi - Member of the Russian Federation Council from Crimea

Lyudmila Shvetsova - Deputy chairman of the State Duma, responsible for initiating legislation to integrate Crimea into Russia

Sergei Neverov - Deputy chairman of the state Duma, responsible for law to integrate Crimea into Russia

Igor Sergun - Director of GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate), deputy Chief of the general staff of Russia's armed forces. He is responsible for GRU officers in Eastern  Ukraine

Valery Gerasimov - Chief of the general staff of Russia's armed forces, first deputy minister of defence, army general responsible for "massive deployment" of Russian troops along the border with Ukraine

German Prokopiv - Active leader of the Lugansk Guard who took part in the seizure of the building of the Lugansk regional office of the Security Service

Valeriy Bolotov - One of the leaders of the separatist group Army of the South-East, which occupied the building of the Security Service in the Lugansk region

Andriy Purgin - Head of the "Donetsk Republic", active organiser of separatist actions, co-ordinator of actions of the "Russian tourists" in Donetsk.

Denys Pushylin - One of the leaders of the Donetsk People's Republic. Participated in the seizure and occupation of the regional administration. Spokesman for the separatists

Tsyplakov Gennadevich - One of the leaders of "ideologically radical organisation", the People's Militia of Donbass. He took part in the seizure of state buildings in the Donetsk region

Igor Strelkov - From the main intelligence directorate of the general staff of Russia's armed forces. He was involved in incidents in Sloviansk. He is an assistant on security issues to Sergey Aksionov, self-proclaimed prime-minister of Crimea.

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MH370: 'Highly Unlikely' Debris Will Be Found

Missing Plane: 13 Things You Need To Know

Updated: 7:33am UK, Thursday 13 March 2014

As the search for Flight MH370 continues, we answer 13 questions about the disappearance and what could have happened.

When did the plane disappear?

Flight MH370 vanished from radars early on Saturday local time, an hour into a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. When it last made contact, the jet was cruising at 35,000 feet over the South China Sea.

There are reports that the plane tried to turn around, but this would give rise to the question why didn't the pilot communicate this decision to air traffic control? Meanwhile, at an undisclosed time a relative reportedly managed to call one of the passengers. Investigators have repeatedly tried to call the same number without success.

Who was on board?

The plane's manifest contained 12 crew members from Malaysia and 227 passengers from 14 different countries.

There were 153 Chinese, 38 Malaysians, seven Indonesians, six Australians, five Indians, four French, three Americans, two each from Iran (both travelling on fake passports), New Zealand, Ukraine and Canada, and one each from Russia, Taiwan and The Netherlands.

Among the passengers was a 19-strong group of prominent artists returning from an exhibition in Malaysia. Five children - aged two to four - were on board. The oldest person on the plane was 79.

What are the main theories?

Mechanical error remains the most likely explanation. Poor conditions and strong turbulence always have to be considered, but weather conditions were good in this instance. Four areas of investigation are focused on the possibility of human involvement: hijacking, sabotage, psychological problems or personal problems with passengers or crew.

Could there have been a mechanical error?

Inquiries into Air France Flight 447 that dived into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009 en route from Brazil to Paris, killing 228 people, blamed both technical and human error.

However, in the event of engine failure, a plane such as the Boeing 777-200 could glide for 80-90 miles (128-145km), giving the pilot time to issue a distress signal. The descent would also have been traced by radars. The lack of any Mayday call makes an explosion a possibility.

Could the plane have broken up in the air?

The apparent lack of wreckage from MH370 does point to a high-altitude disaster. In such an event the debris would be spread far and wide, making it difficult to find.

A smaller debris field would indicate the plane probably fell intact, breaking up on impact with the water. In the event of a sudden loss of pressure due to a window blowing out the crew would dive the plane in order to lose altitude - but this would not cause the plane to disintegrate.

How about the plane's safety record?

Sudden, accidental, structural failures are considered extremely unlikely in today's passenger aircraft. This is especially so with the Boeing 777-200, which has one of the best safety records of any jet.

One of the missing plane's wingtips was clipped in an incident while taxiing in 2012, but it was repaired and certified as safe.

Could it have been a terrorist attack or hijacking?

In the event of a hijacker trying to enter the cockpit, a pilot can send a secret distress code - something that wasn't done on Flight MH370.

The profiles of all 239 passengers are being checked against databases worldwide, but the terrorism theory was weakened on Tuesday when Malaysian police confirmed it had identified the two passengers who were travelling on fake passports. Both were said to be seeking asylum in Europe.

In the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, claims of responsibility came soon after the disaster - but no one has come forward to claim the Malaysia incident as their attack.

Human error?

The 53-year-old pilot was experienced, having amassed more than 18,000 flying hours since being employed by the airline in 1981.

However, in Indonesia in 2007, Adam Air Flight 574 disappeared with 102 passengers during a domestic flight, where the authorities found the pilots lost control after becoming preoccupied with malfunctioning navigational equipment.

Former naval pilot Dr Simon Mitchell told Sky News: "We've expended billions of dollars on developing very sophisticated aids to make the life of the pilot safer and more straightforward, but there are still opportunities whereby mistakes can be made."

Why was there no distress signal?

One explanation is that the plane fell into a communications black spot. Former Boeing 777 instructor and United Airlines captain Ross Aimer explained: "These are very sophisticated (items of) equipment that should have been working under any conditions - in the water, in the jungle, after a fire, after an explosion - and none of them have talked to the outside world yet.

"There are spots in the world, however, that are called blind spots, where you cannot communicate for some reason. Unfortunately, that area near Vietnam, over the Gulf of Thailand, those are some of the black spots."

Where is the search taking place?

A number of aircraft and ships have been taking part in the search in the seas off Vietnam and Malaysia. Search teams from Australia, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, New Zealand and the US are assisting.

Officials said on Tuesday that the search was being conducted on both sides of Vietnam's Ca Mau peninsula. The search area has been expanded from 50 nautical miles from where the plane disappeared - over waters between Malaysia and Vietnam - to 100 nautical miles (115 miles; 185km).

This expansion was a result of a new report from the Malaysian military, which said it tracked the plane in the Strait of Malacca - a long distance from where it last made contact - in the hours following its disappearance.

Why has no wreckage been found?

Whatever caused the apparent crash, there would be some debris - but it could take a while to find. It took two years to find the main wreckage of Air France Flight 447 in 2009.

In 2007, in the case of the Adam Air flight, it was a week before an Indonesian naval vessel detected metal on the ocean floor. It was a further two weeks before the US Navy picked up signals from the flight data and cockpit recorders and seven months for the recorder to be recovered.

If the plane had crashed on land, chances are the wreckage would have been found by now. At sea, much of the plane would have sunk, but some debris should remain on the surface. But the longer the search takes the harder it becomes as the wind and tide spread any debris further from the initial crash zone.

Could the flight data recorder provide answers?

As well as wreckage, search teams are looking for the aircraft's emergency locator transmitter (ELT) - though these do not always work if a plane hits water. However, attached to the plane's "black box" is a device known as a pinger. This can emit radio signals deep underwater for up to 30 days - or 40 days in warm water.

Has a plane ever simply vanished?

Since the start of the jet age in the 1950s, nearly every major aircraft that disappeared was found - eventually - and the rare exceptions did not involve passengers.

In September 1990, a Boeing 727 plunged into the North Atlantic after running out of fuel. The accident was attributed to poor pilot planning and the wreck was never recovered.

Another Boeing 727 transporting diesel to diamond mines in Africa took off without clearance and with its transponder turned off. It is believed to have crashed in the Atlantic Ocean.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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American State At War Over Abortion Rights

By Amanda Walker, US Correspondent, in Jackson, Mississippi

A court in New Orleans will hear arguments today that could result in the closure of Mississippi's only abortion clinic.

The case is just one of many abortion battles being fought across the US. In several states laws are being passed that restrict the right to choose by imposing new limits on abortion.

You can't miss Jackson Women's Clinic - the big, pink building sits on a hill where protesters carry banners showing images of aborted foetuses.

It's the only abortion facility in the entire state of Mississippi.

Up to 40 women come here each day. Some are teenagers from the poorest parts of the state; others are working women with families.

What they all have in common is that none of them want to be here. Each woman has to have a scan to determine the age of the foetus.

Shonda, 19, lies back as gel is applied to her stomach. The image of her unborn baby appears on the screen and she can't look.

It is 12 weeks and six days old. Her eyes overflow with tears. Shonda says she has no choice but to have an abortion because she was raped.

For the women, actually getting inside the clinic is the first challenge. A permanent rotation of anti-abortion protesters stand outside and confront them as they enter.

Berkeley Ostrand says God "put it on her heart" to save babies. She approaches women in their cars, showing them a plastic model of a 12-week-old foetus.

Anti-abortion campaigner Berkeley Ostrand at the Jackson Women's Clinic

"Little hands, little feet ... It breaks your heart. The women look at this and this is a real baby to them.

"We try to make them realise this is a real baby, not just a blob of tissue - it has a beating heart, it has fingers and toes."

A team of escorts - mainly volunteers - are on a mission to stop the women being approached by the constant rotation of anti-abortion protesters.

Betty Thompson, the chief counsellor at the clinic, says its survival is constantly under threat.

"We have had it rough trying to stay in compliance, trying to follow everything to the letter of the law and we have been very successful at doing that.

The women's clinic is under constrant threat from campaigners

"The need that women have for this health service is not going to go away."

The clinic is struggling to stay open amid sweeping measures to restrict abortion across the US.

Ultrasound technician Stephanie Battle says if they are shut down, she believes women will resort to desperate measures.

"They will drink bleach, turpentine; anything that they think will make them have an abortion. Fall down some steps, have somebody kick them, and probably even go back to the coat hanger."

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US Tornado Season Claims First Fatalities

At least 17 people have been killed and many more injured in the United States after a powerful storm system saw tornadoes rip through Arkansas and Oklahoma.

A dozen or more twisters tore through central and southern parts of the country, decimating buildings, overturning trucks and bringing down trees and power lines.

National Guard troops have been mobilised in the worst hit areas and rescue workers have been searching debris for victims, as forecasters warned more twisters were on their way.

A tornado in Arkansas killed 16 people on its 30-mile destructive path

Tornadoes also hit in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Louisiana, causing damage and injuries.

President Barack Obama, who is currently in the Philippines, sent his condolences to those affected and pledged any assistance necessary.

"Your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild, as long as it takes," he said.

The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management said a large tornado which formed outside Little Rock killed 16 people as it carved a 30-mile path of destruction through the state.

It was the largest of several tornadoes created by a powerful storm system.

Another twister which hit the town of Quapaw, Oklahoma, left one person dead and at least six people injured.

A tornado obliterated homes in Mayflower, Arkansas

It then continued into Kansas, destroying up to 70 homes and injuring 25 people in the city of Baxter Springs. 

In Mayflower, Arkansas, one person was killed and 45 homes were destroyed as a tornado swept through.

City alderman Will Elder said: "It's extremely hazardous here right now. The power lines are down, roads are blocked and they (emergency services) will have to proceed with caution."

James Firestone, mayor of the Arkansas town of Velonia said: "It's chaos right now."

He said the downtown area "seems like it's completely levelled", adding: "There are a few buildings partially standing, gas lines are spewing and fire lines are down. We've had some casualties."

Firefighters from nearby cities, as well as National Guard troops, were heading to the town to help, with the county sheriff's office reporting a "mass casualty situation".

The deadly twisters have devastated neighbourhoods

Representative Tim Griffin said: "Tonight, I walked around what was only hours earlier a thriving neighbourhood that is now gone.

"An entire neighbourhood of 50 or so homes has been destroyed.

"Many homes are completely gone except the foundation and there is more devastation like this in other parts of Arkansas."

Writing on Twitter, Arkansas governor Mike Beebe added: "It's been a truly awful night for many families, neighbourhoods and communities, but Arkansans always step up to help each other recover."

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US Reassures Europe Of Nato's 'Ironclad' Support

America has reassured its East European allies of Nato's support as the worst post-Cold War stand-off between Russia and the West continues.

US Vice President Joe Biden phoned Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban and "underscored the ironclad commitment of the US" to the collective defence of Nato members.

They "agreed that Russia would face further costs for its destabilising actions in Ukraine and massing of troops along the Russian-Ukrainian border," the White House said.

The US has ruled out sending American or Nato forces into Ukraine, but has begun deploying 600 US troops to bolster defences in the nearby countries of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Meanwhile, Western leaders are urging Russia to help free a team of international military observers in eastern Ukraine.

Eight members of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) were travelling with five Ukrainian troops when they were detained by separatists in the flashpoint town of Slavyansk.

Colonel Axel Schneider says his team are being well-treated

Team leader Colonel Axel Schneider appeared before cameras in Slavyansk to say they are being well-treated and "haven't been touched" by their kidnappers.

They are being protected by the town's self-appointed mayor Vyacheslav Ponomaryovt and "treated as his guests," he said.

On Saturday, Moscow said it would take "all possible steps" to free the OSCE monitors as their capture was condemned by Western leaders.

However, rebels accused the observers of being "Nato spies" and vowed to continue holding them.

It comes as Britain and other G7 nations agreed new sanctions against Russia.

Speaking at a news conference in Malaysia, US President Barack Obama said it was important for the world to send Russia a message.

A barricade around the state security service building in Slavyansk

"We're going to be in a stronger position to deter Mr Putin when he sees that the world is unified and the United States and Europe is unified rather than this is just a US-Russian conflict," he said.

He said Russia had not "lifted a finger" to get pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine to comply with an international agreement to defuse the crisis.

"In fact, there's strong evidence that they've been encouraging the activities in eastern and southern Ukraine," he said.

Senior EU diplomats are to hold an emergency meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss sanctions against Moscow.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the EU and US would be bringing forward further travel bans and asset freezes against Moscow over coming days as punishment for its "bullying" behaviour.

Speaking on Sky's Murnaghan programme, he said damage to the UK economy from imposing trade sanctions on Russia would be a "price worth paying".

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South Korean PM Resigns Over Ferry Disaster

South Korea's Prime Minister has resigned over the government's handling of the ferry disaster that has left more than 300 people dead or missing.

Chung Hong-won said: "As I saw grieving families suffering with the pain of losing their loved ones and the sadness and resentment of the public, I thought I should take all responsibility as prime minister.

"There have been so many varieties of irregularities that have continued in every corner of our society and practices that have gone wrong.

"I hope these deep-rooted evils get corrected this time and this kind of accident never happens again."

A total of 115 passengers remain missing after the Sewol ferry sank on a trip from the port on Incheon to the holiday island of Jeju on April 16.

More than 100 passengers remain missing

The death toll stands at 187.

The resignation has to be accepted by President Park Geun-hye.

Executive power largely rests with the president, so Mr Chung's offer appears to be largely symbolic.

Mr Chung was booed and had a water bottle thrown at him when he visited distraught parents the day after the tragedy.

There has been anger at the slow pace of the recovery mission and the frequent changes in information provided by the government.

A relative of one of those on board cries as she waits for news

There have also been several reports in the South Korean media of bodies going to the wrong families, with the error sometimes being identified only after remains had been taken to a funeral home.

A total of 325 out of the 476 people on board were high school students. Around 250 are either confirmed or presumed dead.

The children on board were told to stay put in their cabins while they waited for further orders.

Divers are continuing to search for bodies believed to be trapped in the sunken vessel, but poor weather conditions and a powerful swell are complicating efforts.

Despite waves of up to nine feet (three metres) and near gale-force winds, 93 divers are trying to get into the ferry.

Search teams are battling harsh conditions in the hunt for bodies

A coastguard spokesman said: "The situation is very difficult due to the weather, but we are continuing search efforts, using the occasional calmer periods."

Around a quarter of the bodies recovered have been found in waters outside the vessel, and there are fears some of those who are missing might have drifted from the wreck.

On Saturday four more crew members were arrested.

All 15 members of the crew are in custody and face charges ranging from criminal negligence to abandoning passengers.

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Helicopter Crash: Probe After 5 Servicemen Killed

An investigation has been launched into why a Lynx helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan, killing five service personnel.

The crash site, near Kandahar, has been cordoned off by investigators from the Military Aviation Authority.

The Taliban claimed its insurgents shot down the helicopter, but the Ministry of Defence denied this and said initial indications were a technical problem during the routine flight caused it to crash.

Experts have said the investigation will examine the aircraft's log books, weather conditions and whether the the helicopter was carrying out an authorised job in keeping with its capabilities.

A spokeswoman said: "The investigation is now under way, and the area of the crash has been cordoned off.

"We cannot go into further details. At this stage it is not known how long the investigation might last or when investigators will deliver their report, but it will be a thorough inquiry."

Three of the servicemen were from the Army Air Corps, based at RAF Odiham in Hampshire.

The aircraft went down in the Takhta Pul district of Kandahar

A Royal Air Force serviceman also stationed at the base was among those killed, along with a member of the Army Reserve from 3 Military Intelligence Battalion.

Major General Richard Felton, commander of Joint Helicopter Command at RAF Odiham, said: "It is with the deepest sadness that I must confirm the death of five service personnel.

"Our heartfelt condolences go out to the families at this most difficult time.

"The focus for the immediate future is to ensure that the families receive the support they need at this most difficult of times."

Next of kin for all five servicemen have been informed.

Lynx helicopters are deployed for a wide variety of operations

It is the third biggest single loss of life of British troops since the conflict in Afghanistan began in 2001. A total of 453 UK service personnel have been killed.

It comes after Prime Minister David Cameron said on Sunday his "heart goes out to the families and friends of those killed in this terrible tragedy".

He said: "Every British fatality is a source of deep sadness.

"This latest incident, which has cost the lives of five UK service personnel, brings home to us all once again how our armed forces continue to put their lives on the line to help the people of Afghanistan."

Foreign Secretary William Hague told Sky News the deaths appeared to have been a "tragic accident".

He said: "This appears to have been a tragic accident, although it is still being investigated.

"It is a reminder of the work that our troops still do in Afghanistan."

Kandahar provincial police spokesman Zia Durrani said the helicopter went down in the Takhta Pul district of Kandahar province, around 30 miles from the Pakistan border - and that it was not attacked by militants.

The helicopter involved was a Westland Lynx, an aircraft with a range of uses including transport and resupply.

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