Kidnapped Nigerian Schoolgirls Tell Of Escape

Schoolgirls who escaped from the Islamist militant group Boko Haram in Nigeria have told of their harrowing ordeal as the search for those still held captive continues.

One described being shot at as she ran from the gunmen when she was sent to fetch water.

Another spoke of how she and a friend jumped from a moving lorry as it slowed down, despite the threat of being killed, and spent a night in the bush before making their way to safety.

The schoolgirls gave their accounts to the distraught mothers of those still being held hostage.

One girl was shot at as she fled while another jumped from a lorry

"They took us away in a convoy of lorries," one of them said.

"We travelled through the night before reaching the final destination in the forest.

"The following day we were sent to fetch water. That was when we seized the opportunity and bolted.

"Even when they were shooting at us, we took the chance and God helped us arrive in Chibok two days later."

The other girl added: "They threatened to shoot anyone who tried to escape. As the vehicle slowed down along the road I jumped down with my friend.

"We spent the night in the bush and trekked back to Chibok the next day."

The girls' accounts came as it was reported the kidnapped girls had been split into four groups, complicating the search to find them and making any potential rescue more difficult.

The UK has sent a group of experts to offer advice and logistical support in the hunt for the 276 missing girls, who were kidnapped from a boarding school in the northern village of Chibok almost four weeks ago.

Air and satellite surveillance is to be extended to the neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Chad and Niger amid fears the girls may be trafficked across the border to be sold as slaves by their captors.

The leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, has threatened to sell the girls "on the market".

Their kidnap triggered international condemnation and led to a high-profile campaign calling for their release.

Prime Minister David Cameron told Sky News the abduction is "a ghastly situation, an act of pure evil".

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Putin Condemned For Marking Victory In Crimea

Hague's Whirlwind Diplomatic Tour Of Europe

Updated: 10:57am UK, Saturday 10 May 2014

By Tim Marshall, Diplomatic Editor

When you travel with the Foreign Office, you travel at speed.

Foreign Secretary William Hague lives his working life in blocks of time allocated according to timetables, worked out by staff, who liaise with their counterparts around the world.

For his trip around Eastern Europe they had arranged 21 meetings in four countries over four days.

To achieve that they had chartered a 13-seat charter jet. It's expensive, but the RAF planes sometimes used by government officials were unavailable or didn't have the range required.

The view was that if they travelled on scheduled flights they couldn't make all the meetings.

On board were the Foreign Secretary, several advisors, his private secretary, security men, and a two-person Sky News team including cameraman Pete Milnes.

We were inside what is called "The Bubble".

On Monday the first call was to Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, where we were met by various government officials and whisked into town in an eight-vehicle convoy, with lights flashing and sirens blaring.

The trip was about signalling to the countries he visited, but also to Russia. The message was that the UK will support Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia.

Britain sent a similar but stronger message to the Baltic States and Russia when it flew four fighter jets to Lithuania last month, but they are Nato members. On this tour he only had political and economic weapons at his disposal.

For the Moldova leg he had penned an article for a leading newspaper and acknowledged to Sky News that is was written for two audiences.

"You have to get through to the publics of the countries you visit, but you also know that the Russians are reading it ... Moscow needs to understand that there is a long-term price for violating the sovereignty of other nations," he said.

After a series of meetings, Mr Hague was back in his vehicle and preparing to return to the airport.

At this point it is essential all 13 of us, and the 30-odd pieces of kit and luggage, are all ready to move because the only people the convoy will wait for is the Foreign Secretary and his security detail.

After each meeting there is a flurry of activity with people throwing bags into cars, which occasionally might even be moving.

We get back to the plane and head for Vienna.

On board the protocol is that on the rare occasions a reporter is travelling with the Foreign Secretary he or she sits at the back, thus allowing the diplomats to spend the flight time working and talking privately.

Their area is for the duration of the flight their private office. Occasionally the Foreign Secretary will come back for a chat.

This is usually a mixture of everyday pleasantries, light humour over an incident which may have occurred at the previous location, and genuine insights into aims and strategies of HMG.

At dusk we land in Vienna and are two-thirds of the way through a 15-hour day.

In the Austrian capital the following morning Mr Hague attends the Council of Europe meeting on the Ukraine crisis.

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is present, but there is no meeting of minds.

Back at the airport the Foreign Secretary meets the acting Ukrainian Foreign Minister who is hitching a lift to Ukraine.

Mr Hague jokes: "We've thrown someone off to make room." He then takes the rare opportunity to spend the 90-minute flight to Kiev for a proper and private conversation with his opposite number.

When we arrive there is moment of light comedy.

The Minister, Andrii Deshchytsia, gets off first, followed immediately by Mr Hague, before the Ukrainian turns around, and as protocol demands, shakes hands with Mr Hague and welcomes him to his country.

The Bubble moves into Kiev where the Ukrainian Acting Prime Minister is in his own bubble which is running five minutes late.

For the first time in two days things slow down. We wait in a huge meeting room with the UK diplomats chatting to each other in a relaxed manner before the Prime Minister arrives and its back to business.

The following day the convoy passes the Ukrainian revolution The Maidan where most of the fighting during the winter took place. It's a reminder of just how serious the trip is.

Back on the plane I ask the Foreign Secretary what his favourite part of the job is and he replies: "It's knowing that we are not dealing with trivial stuff here. This matters, and it matters what we do."

On to Georgia, a country where a lot of people have long names, which for a native English speaker can present difficulties.

I ask Mr Hague if he ever forgets anyone's name.

"No, but then I've usually got people's names written down and I have a team of people to help me.

"If you are unsure, then the first thing you do when you land is ask the ambassador to take you through names and pronunciations."

Tbilisi is an attractive city with excellent wine and food, but Mr Hague can't concentrate on the architecture due to work, and says he's learned over the years not to enjoy the food too much.

Most meetings involve at least coffee and biscuits, and more usually a meal at which the host will pile up every local delicacy as a way of showing off their country's food.

Towards the end of day four we end up back in London after a five-hour flight. During the flight, the Foreign Secretary was slightly more relaxed for the first time.

He was still working but his mind was now clear of the 21 meetings. As we approached RAF Northolt the focus was returning.

On the tarmac, under grey skies, he greeted an air force officer with the words: "What have you done with the weather while we were away."

The sunshine of the previous weekend had given way to a chilly breeze, but in Ukraine the temperature was rising.

I worked out that most of us had, by Thursday afternoon, worked for about 55 hours so far this week.

I was now out of The Bubble and so drove home. The Foreign Secretary got into another car, in another convoy, and headed for the Foreign Office.

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Nigeria Kidnappings: Michelle Obama 'Outraged'

How To Tackle Nigeria's Growing Insurgency?

Updated: 1:09pm UK, Friday 09 May 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

American "experts" have arrived. British "advisers" are on their way - phew. It may only be a matter of time before Nigeria's missing girls are found and rescued.

Baloney.

Boko Haram is not a new problem. It's been violently opposing Nigeria's governments since 2009, leaving 4,000 dead, laying waste to villages, and not long ago killing 58 schoolboys in their classrooms.

It's had links to al Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb (AQIM).

It kidnapped a French family in the Cameroons, and is reported to have netted $3m (£1.78m) for their safe release.

The militant Islamist group has achieved international notoriety over the abduction of the girls, all aged between 12 and 15  - but only after releasing a video threat to sell them into slavery.

But it has been closely monitored by Western security agencies for some time.

In 2012, British special forces troops were at the sharp end of a failed rescue operation in Sokoto aimed at releasing Chris McManus, a British engineer and his Italian colleague.

They had been held by Boko Haram for over a year. It was thought they were about to be moved or sold to an al Qaeda group operating in the lawless Sahel.

The connections to al Qaeda, which intelligence sources say extends all the way to Somalia but is more tightly entwined with AQIM, have meant that Boko Haram has been of considerable interest to the West.

This has been mostly manifest in sharing intelligence with and getting information from Nigerian agencies about the threat that the movement might pose beyond Nigeria's borders.

Dealing with the growing domestic insurgency has been seen as a strictly Nigerian matter.

Very often Western commentators will see the involvement of Western troops or spooks as a panacea to turmoil in a Third World nation.

They are not.

It took the British army half a decade to get to grips with the complex tribal structures that dominate Helmand in Afghanistan, where the UK sent some 10,000 troops.

American forces never got to grips with the complex world of Somalia's clan structures after its UN/US intervention there in 1991.

And Western allies have left chaos in their wake after their invasion of Iraq.

Foreign experts can, however, help with technical intelligence surveillance, planning, and perhaps even offering troops for a final assault on a complex target.

But all other matters must remain domestic issues because only locals can fully understand the complexities of the social landscape they live in.

There may, ultimately, be a useful military option involving a strike at the leadership of Boko Haram that the West can help with.

But Nigerians know that finding a solution to a growing insurgency involves far more complex issues.

Nigeria's economically-neglected north will need a greater share of the nation's annual oil revenues of $50bn (£29.8bn) if it's going to reverse the growing north-south schism that has always threatened the coherence of the former British colony.

Locally, Boko Haram's foot soldiers will need to be lured out of the bush with offers of amnesty and employment. Surviving leaders may need to be given a role.

But, of course, this "proves" the argument that politics in Nigeria can only be advanced through the barrel of a gun - the nation has suffered at least eight military coups since independence from Britain in 1960 and is now taking nervous steps along a democratic pathway.

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Brazil World Cup Stadium Worker Electrocuted

An eighth construction worker has been killed while building one of Brazil's World Cup stadiums.

Muhammed-Ali Maciel Afonso was installing communications equipment at the Arena Pantanal in the western city of Cuiaba when he was electrocuted.

The 32-year-old's death, which caused building work to be halted temporarily, is the latest setback in rushed preparations for the tournament.

The Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba, western Brazil, holds 40,000 people

Several stadiums have been delayed, often by telecoms work, as organisers struggle to get wi-fi and mobile phone networks up and running.

A number of key transportation projects have been abandoned altogether.

Four times as many workers have now been killed in preparations for the competition than in South Africa four years ago.

Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke and Brazilian sports minister Aldo Rebelo both sent their condolences to Mr Afonso's family, as well as his colleagues at Etel Engenharia.

Many of Brazil's World Cup stadiums are still not finished

The Arena Pantanal held a test match last month but the venue is one of the most-delayed of the tournament, with seating and wiring yet to be finished.

A fire in October caused structural damage, although that has since been repaired.

Four group stage matches will be played in the stadium, one of a dozen built by Brazil especially for the World Cup, which gets under way on June 12.

Critics warn the 40,000-seat venue could be one of the tournament's biggest white elephants, given that Cuiaba's biggest football team normally plays in front of crowds of just 2,000.

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Pistorius Trial: Witness Plays Part Of Reeva

A weapons expert has recreated the moment Oscar Pistorius' girlfriend was shot dead by playing the part of the former model in a court reconstruction.

Thomas Wolmarans was being questioned about the injuries Reeva Steenkamp suffered on Valentine's Day last year, when he asked to enter a mocked-up version of Pistorius' bathroom.

As he stood behind the door, he mimicked the movements he believes Ms Steenkamp made when the bullets struck her body.

The judge looks on as a laser is shone through Pistorius' bathroom door

It came after Judge Thokozile Masipa and lawyers huddled around the door as a court official used a spray to reveal a laser beam set up by prosecutors to show the trajectory taken by one of the bullets.

Earlier, Pistorius sat with his head in his hands as Mr Wolmarans spoke in detail about the wounds Ms Steenkamp suffered.

As the trial entered its 29th day, the witness, called by the defence, also talked about the various bullet fragments found in the bathroom of the athlete's home on a luxury development in Pretoria.

Pistorius denies murdering his girlfriend Ms Steenkamp. Pic: Stimulii

During an intense cross-examination, Mr Wolmarans admitted altering one of his reports but insisted the only changes he made were grammatical corrections.

Asked exactly what he had corrected, however, he replied: "I can't remember."

Mr Wolmarans also revealed he supervised a sound test involving a gun and the cricket bat Pistorius says he used to break down the bathroom door, even though he is not an expert in the field and has tinnitus, which causes a ringing noise in his ears.

Mr Wolmarans faced an uncomfortable day of questioning

He said he had "never" discussed the case with Pistorius, even when he went to remove a piece of the athlete's prosthetic leg for forensic examination.

On Thursday, the court heard from a social worker and probation officer, who claimed Pistorius was "not putting on a show" - a reference to allegations he had been taking acting lessons.

Yvette van Schalkwyk, who sat with the 27-year-old at the time of his initial court hearings, said he vomited twice and told her he shot Ms Steenkamp accidentally.

"What I saw ... was a man who was heartbroken," she said. "He cried, he was in mourning, he suffered emotionally."

Pistorius denies a charge of premeditated murder, claiming he mistook his partner, a model and reality TV star, for an intruder.

The trial continues.

More follows...

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Ukraine: Eight Killed As Putin Lands In Crimea

Eight pro-Russian militants have been reportedly killed in eastern Ukraine as Vladimir Putin landed in Crimea for his first visit since it was annexed by Moscow.

Ukrainian troops used large-calibre weapons as they tried to take an occupied police HQ in the southeastern port city of Mariupol.

Sky's Katie Stallard, in Mariupol, said there is black smoke over the city and heavy fighting.

She said the police HQ was taken by pro-Russian gunmen on Thursday night, and Ukrainian forces are now trying to retake it.

Mr Putin joined veterans at the annual Victory Day parade in Moscow

The building holds one of the largest armouries in the city, and separatists are using the weapons to defend their position.

The bloodshed occurred as Mr Putin attended an event in Sevastopol to mark Soviet victory over the Nazis in World War Two - which comes days ahead of a referendum in eastern Ukraine.

A similar Victory Day parade - marking 69 years since Nazi Germany surrendered its forces - took place in Moscow's Red Square on Friday morning.

Around 11,000 troops are taking part in the Victory Day parade

About 11,000 servicemen took part in the annual event, which began with troops marching to the sound of brass bands as Mr Putin watched from the stands, flanked by veterans.

"This is a holiday when all-conquering patriotic force triumphs, when we all feel especially strongly what it means to be true to the Motherland and how important it is to be able to stand up for its interests," he told troops to shouts of "Hurrah!"

Some 150 military vehicles and 70 combat aircraft also took part in the show.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (right) salutes during the event

Pro-Russians in eastern Ukraine are pressing ahead with plans to hold referendums on Sunday, despite calls from the Kremlin to postpone them.

There are fears the vote in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk could spark further violence between Ukrainian troops and separatists.

Militants have seized government buildings in about a dozen cities in the east of the country.

Mr Putin wants the vote postponed so talks can take place with the Kiev government.

However, many in the east say the referendum is the only way to prevent war against what rebels and Moscow call the "fascist" politicians in the capital.

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Oscar Pistorius 'Is Not Putting On A Show'

Oscar Pistorius was not "putting on a show" and seemed genuinely heartbroken after shooting his girlfriend dead, the athlete's murder trial has heard.

Social worker and probation officer Yvette van Schalkwyk said she came forward as a witness on Tuesday after reading reports that the athlete had been "taking acting classes" and that his tears in court may not be real.

Ms van Schalkwyk, who was asked in February 2013 to assist Pistorius at his first court appearance, said he "cried 80% of the time" when she was with him.

She told the court: "What I saw from the first time I saw him was a man who was heartbroken... he cried, he was in mourning, he suffered emotionally.

"He was very sorry for the loss, especially for the parents, what they were going through."

She said that when she sat with Pistorius in the cells at the time of his intial court hearings he vomited twice and told her he shot Reeva Steenkamp accidentally.

Ms van Schalkwyk denied feeling sorry for Pistorius, saying: "After 24 years in probation you've got empathy. There's a difference."

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said her evidence should be inadmissable because it did not relate directly to the charges - but Judge Thokozile Masipa turned down his objections, pointing out that he had earlier questioned the Paralympian's sincerity.

An anaesthetist cast doubt on prosecution claims that Oscar Pistorius had a late-night argument with Ms Steenkamp before he shot her.

Professor Christina Lundgren - who has a PhD in deaths due to anaesthesia - explained why she was qualified to give expert evidence on gastric emptying and its use to determine the time of death.

State Pathologist Gert Saayman has previously testified that food found in Ms Steenkamp's stomach had been eaten no more than two hours before she was shot dead at 3am on February 14, 2013.

His evidence challenged Pistorius' claim that she ate early the previous evening and suggested she was awake when a neighbour said she heard what sounded like a woman arguing in the house where Pistorius shot her.

Pistorius arrives at court ahead of the trial's 28th day

But Prof Lundgren said the prosecution case that Ms Steenkamp's stomach should have been empty if Pistorius was telling the truth was "purely speculative".

She explained that before surgery patients are typically told not to eat for six hours to ensure their stomachs are empty.

But she said that some ingredients in a chicken stir-fry Ms Steenkamp ate, such as vegetables and fatty foods, could take longer to digest.

Gastric emptying could also be delayed in pre-menopausal women and by sleep, eating disorders or some medications such as anti-depressants and slimming drugs, Prof Lundgren told the court. 

Mr Nel worked to eliminate the factors that could have delayed the digestion process in Ms Steenkamp's case, saying that she had not drunk alcohol, smoked or taken medication and did not have an eating disorder.

He said that made Professor Saayman's evidence more probable.

The witness acknowledged to Mr Nel that if Ms Steenkamp had been involved in a long argument that caused her anxiety before her death, the gastric emptying process could have been delayed.

Ms Steenkamp's friend Kim Myers, who Pistorius was accused of intimidating on Tuesday, was back in court to hear the anaesthetist's evidence, reportedly accompanied by her mother Desi and sister Gina.

Pistorius is accused of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, but he claims he shot her by accident.

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Girls' Kidnap Will Be 'End Of Nigeria Terror'

The abduction of more than 200 girls in Nigeria will be the "beginning of the end of terror" there, says Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Nigerian capital Abuja, he also thanked the international community for its support and said "by God's grace we will conquer the terrorists".

Mr Goodluck has been criticised for his response to the kidnapping, and for not acting sooner to recruit help.

His words come as military and intelligence experts from around the world head to Nigeria to help in the search.

Michelle Obama has joined the social media campaign to free the girls

The UK, France, China and the US are among the countries lending their support.

Britain is sending a small team of advisers - possibly including some military officers - to help with planning and coordination. However, they will not take part in operations on the ground.

The US is flying out a group including experts in intelligence, law enforcement and hostage negotiations, with fewer than 10 military troops going.

Prime Minister David Cameron told Parliament the kidnapping was "an act of pure evil".

Many people in Nigeria are angry at the government's response

"There are extreme Islamists around our world who are against education, against progress, against equality and we must fight them and take them on wherever they are," he said.

The 276 girls were abducted from a boarding school in the village of Chibok in Borno state, north Nigeria, on April 14.

Islamist group Boko Haram claimed responsibility and its leader, Abubakar Shekau, has threatened to sell the girls "on the market".

Some of the group have already reportedly been trafficked to neighbouring Chad and Cameroon.

A further 11 girls, aged 12 to 15, were taken from the northeastern village of Warabe on Sunday.

The search is focussed around the huge Sambisa Forest - the 'hideout' of Boko Haram which extends to some 60,000 square kilometres - three times the size of Wales.

Boko Haram is also thought to be behind the killing of up to 300 people reported to have been killed on Monday in the northeastern Nigerian town of Gamboru Ngala.

Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the abduction

A witness told the AFP agency that fighters in armoured trucks and motorcycles overran the town, leaving it "littered" with bodies.

A social media campaign to raise awareness of the kidnapping has ramped up in recent days, with the Twitter hashtag #BringBackOurGirls being promoted by the likes of US First Lady Michelle Obama.

Malala Yousafzai, the schoolgirl who survived being shot by the Taliban for promoting girls' education, has also spoken out over the kidnapping.

The girls were taken three weeks ago in the village of Chibok

The Nigerian government has now put up a 50m Nigerian naira (£182,000) reward for information leading to the location and rescue of the female students.

Sky News Special Correspondent Alex Crawford, in the Nigerian capital Abuja, said the situation is likely to be a key concern for politicians at the World Economic Forum, currently being held in the city.

"It's very poor advertising for Nigeria. This international outcry, the fact it's taken so long for the Nigerians to react is not going to play well.

"There's going to be a lot of whispering and diplomatic chat behind the scenes to try to galvanise them into action.

"Of course, there is a great deal of anxiety and anger right here in Nigeria against the government and what's perceived to be their sluggish response."

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Separatists Set To Defy Putin On Ukraine Vote

Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine plan to hold a vote on independence this weekend despite President Vladimir Putin's call to delay it.

The co-ordinating committee of the self-proclaimed 'Donetsk People's Republic' announced it would have a referendum as planned on Sunday, following a meeting.

But some people fear the vote in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk could spark further violence between Ukrainian troops and the pro-Russian militants.

The separatists have already seized government buildings in about a dozen cities in the east of the country.

Russian leader Mr Putin wants the vote postponed so talks could take place with the Kiev government.

President Putin wants the independence vote postponed

However, many in the east said the referendum was the only way to prevent war against what the rebels and Moscow call the "fascist" politicians in the capital.

Head of the rebel elections commission Denis Pushilin said the suggestion to put off the vote "came from a person who indeed cares for the people of the southeast" of Ukraine.

"But we are the bullhorn of the people," he said.

There have been clashes between rebels and troops in the east

The Russian stock market fell on the news and Kiev officials promised to continue with their "anti-terrorist campaign" to retake control over Donetsk and Luhansk regardless of the poll decision.

The European Union said the rebel vote has "no democratic legitimacy" can "only further worsen the situation".

Mr Putin's comments appeared to be an attempt to try to defuse the row with the West over Ukraine.

The president also declared Russia has pulled its troops away from the Ukrainian border.

But Nato and the US said they saw no signs of this.

Mr Putin also spoke more positively about the Ukrainian interim government's plan to hold a presidential election on May 25.

He called it a "step in the right direction," but reiterated Russia's view there should be constitutional reforms beforehand.

Also, Russia's defence ministry said Ukraine had assembled 15,000 troops on its border with Russia.

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Thailand PM Yingluck Shinawatra Dismissed

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has been dismissed from office after the country's constitutional court ruled she was guilty of abusing her power.

According to the court ruled, by transferring a senior civil servant in 2011 to another position, Ms Yingluck was carrying out a "hidden agenda" that would benefit her politically powerful family.

Therefore, the court ruled, the act violated the constitution - a claim the PM has denied.

"The judges unanimously rule that Yingluck abused her prime minister status and interfered in transferring (Thawil Pliensri) for her own benefit," said court president Charoon Intachan in a televised ruling.

May Day protests took place last week against the government

"Therefore her prime minister status has ended ... Yingluck can no longer stay in her position acting as caretaker prime minister."

Several cabinet ministers who endorsed the decision to transfer the security chief will also be stripped of their status.

The ruling means Ms Yingluck and nine members of her current caretaker Cabinet must step down from office.

Anti-government protests have been taking place in Bangkok for months

Thailand's first female prime minister has been in power for more than two years but there has been considerable opposition to her position because of her brother, former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006.

Despite becoming skilled at fighting off political opponents, Ms Yingluck has spent recent months facing mass political demonstrations in the capital, Bangkok, with the Thai people calling for her to step down.

She came under strong criticism for her government's reaction to the flooding of 2011, which threatened to overwhelm Bangkok and ruin the economy.

The new PM of the caretaker government has been named as Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan.

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