Airlines Warned Over Iceland Volcano Eruption

Why Volcanic Ash Is So Dangerous For Planes

Updated: 9:50am UK, Tuesday 19 August 2014

By Carole Erskine, Sky News Online

Pilots are advised never to fly though an ash cloud because of the extreme problems it can cause an aircraft.

Ingesting ash dust can cause partial or total engine power loss, and even power loss in all engines.

The ash can also damage aircraft ventilation, hydraulic, electronic and air data systems along with the plane's paint, windscreens and power plants.

Former British Airways pilot Eric Moody has first-hand experience of flying through an ash cloud.

In June 1982 he was piloting a Jumbo 747 from Kuala Lumpur to Perth, Australia when he hit an ash cloud just off Java.

"It was very frightening, all the engines stopped for 14 to 15 minutes and we didn't know what was happening," he told Sky News.

"It was dark and the effect was of St Elmo's fire around the aircraft. We were looking for the cloud that had caused it but didn't know it was a volcanic ash cloud.

"We glided the aircraft about 80 nautical miles and went down 37,000ft to about 12,000ft.

"That was when we must have come out of the bottom of the ash cloud. It was a dark old night."

As a result of Mr Moody's flight experience research into the effects of volcanic ash clouds on aircraft increased and Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres were established around the world.

"Flying into volcanic ash is as deadly as flying with ice on your aircraft," said Mr Moody.

"And everyone knows how dangerous that is."

There was huge disruption in the UK in 2010 after a massive cloud of ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland drifted into UK airspace.

A number of airports were closed and hundreds of flights cancelled.

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraqi Militants Threaten Revenge Attacks On US

Crucial Battle For World's Most Dangerous Dam

Updated: 5:36pm UK, Monday 18 August 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

Recapturing the Mosul Dam from Islamic State (IS) militants isn't just a military and political necessity - it's an engineering imperative.

It's got feet of clay. More accurately, gypsum and limestone.

It holds 12 billion cubic metres (425 billion cubic feet) of water.

If it broke it would unleash a liquid bulldozer 10 metres (65 feet) high that would engulf Mosul downstream on the Tigris before racing south and flooding Baghdad.

Some experts have said around 500,000 people could be killed if the dam were to fail.

Because it's been built on gypsum and limestone, which are water soluble, the dam's base gets regular injections of "grout" - a messy mix of concrete and earth.

Some 200 tonnes of the emergency engineering porridge has to be poured into the base every year but sinkholes are appearing.

Iraq's government had earmarked billions to repair the dam, which is also the source of electricity for about a million people and clean water for much of northern Iraq.

And while IS has pretentions to establishing a "caliphate" over much of Syria and Iraq, it is unlikely the ranks of its militants include advanced construction engineers capable of keeping the dam from collapsing.

In 2007, the US Army Corps of Engineers surveyed the structure and concluded the dam was "the most dangerous in the world".

Kurdish peshmerga fighters, with the support of airstrikes by US warplanes, are battling for control of the dam.

It's a ginger process.

The IS fighters are battle hardened. They are also demolitions experts and have unleashed a tide of bloody religious slaughter across a third of Iraq and Syria.

They have sown the countryside around the dam with improvised explosive devices and mines.

There are fears they might have also rigged the dam for destruction.

This may be an exaggerated concern. The IS is violent and extreme but there are no signs it is idiotic.

Its recent tactical successes have been carefully orchestrated as part of a wider strategy to create a caliphate not even al Qaeda managed to establish.

Sending a wall of water crashing down the Tigris valley and drowning mostly fellow Sunni Muslims would rob the caliphate of potential supporters and guarantee the survivors would turn against its brutal interpretation of Islam.

But this doesn't mean the dam may be damaged in fighting.

Nor that it would be able to survive intact if the IS manages to hang on, or in tit-for-tat-operations the dam's relentless need for reinforcement was fatally interrupted.

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraq Conflict: Fighting Resumes At Mosul Dam

Fighting has resumed at Mosul Dam in northern Iraq with US jets spotted flying overhead, according to Sky sources.

Islamic State (IS) militants seized the strategically important site, which supplies water and power to millions of people down the Tigris river valley, nearly two weeks ago.

But US President Barack Obama announced on Monday that Iraqi and Kurdish forces had regained control of the hydro-electric facility with the help of American airstrikes.

However, as the Kurds were celebrating their victory at the dam, it appears there are still remnants of IS in the area who are putting up resistance.

Sky's Alex Crawford, at Mosul Dam, said: "We heard firing behind us about 1km away. The president's son said he suspected some hardened IS fighters were in the south of the dam who had not been cleared from the area."

Mosul Dam. Pic: File

She added: "They are still clearly holding out and putting up some sort of defence."

Crawford said she heard heavy machine gun fire and possibly mortar shelling as well as jets overhead.

US fighter jets and drones have been attacking IS targets as they try to help push back the Sunni extremists who have taken over large parts of the north and west since June as Iraqi troops fled.

There is also fierce fighting near the centre of Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

The dam and the city of Mosul are in the north of the country

Tikrit was seized by IS earlier in the year but Iraqi forces as well as Shia militias are trying to drive the insurgents out.

The violence was taking place near the main hospital, more than two miles from the town centre.

"Helicopters are pounding the bases of the terrorists to prevent them from regrouping," said an army major.

Iraqi forces were pushing from the south and also advancing slowly from the west due to landmines and roadside bombs planted by the militants, he added.

Meanwhile, the insurgents, who also seized control of the second city of Mosul in June, have threatened to respond to US airstrikes by attacking American targets, posting a video in which they warn: "We will drown all of you in blood".

The message was accompanied by photographs of beheadings.

Unlike al Qaeda, IS has, to date, focused on seizing land in Iraq and Syria for its self-proclaimed caliphate, rather than attacking Western targets.

Earlier, the group denied losing control of Mosul Dam.

More follows...

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraq: Kurdish Forces Fight To Retake Mosul Dam

'Corpses Everywhere' After Jihadist 'Massacre'

Updated: 10:15am UK, Monday 18 August 2014

Dead bodies were found "everywhere" when Yazidi fighters arrived at a village where jihadists have been accused of carrying out a massacre, witnesses have said.

Officials believe Islamic State (IS) fighters killed around 80 people, mostly Yazidis, after arriving in the northern Iraq village of Kocho and demanding they abandon their beliefs and convert to Islam.

The militants also kidnapped women from the village in Nineveh province and took them to prisons they control, according to a senior Kurdish official.

Yazidi fighter Mohsen Tawwal told AFP by telephone that he saw a large number of bodies in the village.

"We made it into a part of Kocho village, where residents were under siege, but we were too late," he said.

"There were corpses everywhere. We only managed to get two people out alive. The rest had all been killed."

A man from a neighbouring village, who had been told what happened, added: "The Islamic State had spent five days trying to persuade villagers to convert to Islam and ... a long lecture was delivered about the subject today."

"The men were gathered and shot dead.

"The women and girls were probably taken to Tal Afar because that is where the foreign fighters are."

Senior Iraqi official Hoshyar Zebari said: "We have information from multiple sources, in the region and through intelligence, that (on Friday) afternoon, a convoy of (IS) armed men entered this village. 

"They took their revenge on its inhabitants, who happened to be mostly Yazidis who did not flee their homes.

"They committed a massacre against the people. Around 80 of them have been killed."

Thousands of Yazidis - people from a minority sect with an ancient religion - have been forced to flee their homes by the IS advance.

The extremist group, previously called ISIS, has swept across a large part of northern and central Iraq, taking Mosul and threatening Baghdad and Kurdish capital Irbil.

On Saturday, airstrikes targeted the group around Mosul Dam. It was not immediately clear if they were carried out by the Iraqi air force of the US. 

The IS seized Iraq's largest dam on August 7.

Iraq's human rights minister has said that Islamic State militants have killed at least 500 members of the Yazidi community during their offensive in the north.

Some of the victims, including women and children, were buried alive, Mohammed Shia al Sudani said.

The United Nations Security Council on Friday blacklisted six Islamist militants and threatened sanctions against anyone who helped arm or supply them.

Five members of the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which operates in Syria, and Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad al Adnani were included on the British-drafted resolution, which also condemned all aspects of IS's activities and beliefs.

Earlier, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels agreed to arm Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq.

The meeting of foreign ministers from the 28 EU nations was called by EU foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton and came after several European countries, including France and Germany, said they were prepared to supply weapons to the peshmerga forces.

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cameron: 'We Are Not Going To War In Iraq'

David Cameron has insisted that Britain will not be getting involved in another war in Iraq.

He spoke out after reports Britain had briefly sent some ground troops to Irbil, to prepare the way for a rescue mission to help displaced Yazidi people.

His comments came amid reports on Iraqi state TV that Kurdish troops have retaken the strategic Mosul dam from Islamic militants.

The UK is considering arming peshmerga troops fighting IS extremists

Peshmerga fighters have been battling Islamic State fighters, with the aid of US airstrikes, after the dam was seized by the militants 10 days ago.

The Islamic State group denied they had lost control of the dam and there were reports of fierce fighting on the southern side of the facility.

Mr Cameron made his strongly worded statement this morning amid confusion over the UK's involvement in Iraq after a series of media interviews by senior ministers. 

He said: "I want to be absolutely clear to you and to families watching at home. Britain is not going to get involved in another war in Iraq.

A US airstrike against an IS position near Mosul Dam

"We are not going to be putting boots on the ground. We are not going to be sending in the British Army."

Mr Cameron has previously conceded that Britain's role will go beyond humanitarian aid and involve limited action to prevent violence spreading to British streets.

But he said: "So we are helping the Kurds, we are working with the Iraqi government to make sure it is more representative of the whole country.

"And, of course, we are working with neighbours and allies to put the maximum amount of pressure on IS and make sure it is properly dealt with.

Michael Fallon says Britain's involvement could last 'weeks and months'

"We have said that if the Kurds, the peshmerga, want to have arms from us, that is something we would consider favourably."

Mr Cameron appeared on television after Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said the UK's Iraq mission would likely last "weeks and months".

Mr Fallon was addressing British troops in Cyprus as it emerged that UK soldiers have been back on the ground in Iraq for the first time since 2009.

The soldiers, from the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire regiment, were briefly sent to Irbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region, to prepare the way for a Yazidi rescue mission.

Sheikh Khalah Sheikh Alyas: 'IS killed our young people'

It is understood the rescue operation would involve Chinook helicopters and the ground troops remained in the country for only 24 hours.

Sky News Political Correspondent Anushka Asthana said the UK's position on Iraq was "a little confusing" after various newspaper and TV interviews by the PM and Mr Fallon.

Asthana said some had interpreted the PM's commitment to providing more than humanitarian aid in Iraq as meaning there would be military action.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said discussions with the Kurdish regional government were focusing on what weapons to supply Kurdish troops.

Kurdish officials, will also take part in negotiations on forming a new Iraqi government, outgoing foreign minister Hoshiyar Zebari said.

It paves the way for improved ties between Kurds and the central administration.

The retaking of Mosul Dam - the country's largest dam - would be considered a major victory in the fight against militants.

Army spokesman Lt Gen Qassim al-Moussawi said the dam itself was secured by peshmerga troops and Iraqi security forces.

But he said that the southern side of the complex remains contested and that fierce fighting is underway to free that area.

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Israel Blows Up Homes Of Teen Murder Suspects

Israeli troops have demolished the homes of two Palestinians accused of abducting and killing three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank in June.

Hussam Qawasmeh and Amar Abu Eisha's houses were blown up before dawn on Monday.

Police say there were 250 policemen and dozens of Israeli soldiers at the scene.

The home of a third suspect, Marwan Qawasmeh, was sealed off, the military said.

Last month, homes in the West Bank linked to Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Eisheh were also blown up.

Israel destroyed the home of Hussam Qawasmeh before dawn

Israel said the demolitions were in accordance with procedures used to deal with militants suspected of major crimes.

All three are suspected of murdering Eyal Yifrach, 19, Gilad Shaar and Naftali Frenkel, both 16, who went missing on June 12.

Israel launched a major operation in the West Bank in order to locate the teenagers - one of whom, Naftali, had American citizenship.

Their bodies were discovered by soldiers beneath a pile of rocks on June 30.

Israel has held Hamas responsible, but the militant political group has denied any involvement.

Hussam Kawasma has been in Israeli custody since July. The other two suspects remain at large.

Gilad Shaar, Naftali Frenkel, Eyal Yifrach were murdered in June

The deaths of the Israeli teens and the subsequent murder of 16-year-old Palestinian Mohammed Abu Khadair heightened tensions the lead-up to the current conflict in Gaza.

Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians over the month-long war in Gaza continued on Monday as the end of a five-day truce nears.

Both sides had until 10pm (UK time) to conclude a deal before the ceasefire was due to expire.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in the Egypt-mediated talks appeared to be hardening their positions, with the Gaza blockade remaining the key stumbling block.

The mother of Arab teen Mohammed holds a photo of her son

Meanwhile, Norwegian foreign minister Boerge Brende said Norway and Egypt were planning to co-host a conference in Cairo to discuss the reconstruction of Gaza once there was an agreement in the ceasefire talks.

The Gaza conflict has killed more than 1,900 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, according to Palestinian and UN officials.

Israel said it lost 64 soldiers in combat. Three Israeli civilians have been killed.

Meanwhile, the UN has helped three couples wed in Gaza on Sunday as protests broke out during a wedding in Israel between a Muslim man and a Jewish-born woman who converted to Islam.

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Foreign Tourists Missing In Indonesia Sinking

Fifteen foreign tourists are missing after a boat sank while travelling between holiday islands in Indonesia.

The tourists were on a boat travelling from Lombok island to the Komodo Islands and are believed to have hit stormy weather, reports said.

Ten people have been rescued - including one Briton - but the fate of 15 people, understood to be of mixed nationalities, is not known. 

The journey between Lombok and Komodo can take three days by boat

A Foreign Office spokesman said "British nationals" may be involved in the accident.

"We are in touch with the local authorities and stand ready to offer consular assistance," the spokesman said.

An Indonesian search and rescue official said the boat was carrying 20 foreigners and five locals in total.

The boat sank at 7pm on Saturday, but the alarm was only raised with rescue teams at 8am on Sunday due to "poor communication",  the official said.

Local fishermen rescued a number of people before the rescue team arrived, he said.

The official said that of the 10 rescued people, the nationalities were known for five - two each from New Zealand and Spain, and one from Britain.

Tajudin Sam, who runs the tour company operating the boat, said it likely encountered stormy weather.

A boat ride from Lombok to Komodo can take three days.

More follows...

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Missouri Shooting: Tear Gas Fired At Crowd

Police have fired smoke bombs and tear gas at protesters defying a curfew imposed in a suburb where a black teenager was shot dead by an officer.

Police in Ferguson, Missouri, were forced to admit using tear gas after initially claiming only smoke was used to disperse the crowd - many of whom complained of a burning sensation in their throats.

One man was taken to hospital and police said he "may lose his life" after he was hit by a bullet fired by someone in the crowd.

Captain Ronald Johnson said officers initially responded to concerns about people who had broken into a barbecue restaurant and taken up position on a roof overlooking police. 

The shooting of Michael Brown sparked protests across the US

He said tear gas was first used after shots were fired, including at a police car, as officers tried to get to the gun victim.

Speaking at a news conference in the early hours of the morning, he said use of the gas was a "proper response to maintain officer safety and public safety".

Seven protesters were arrested for failing to disperse, he said.

Hundreds of demonstrators had left peacefully before the midnight to 5am deadline took effect on Sunday morning.

But the remaining protesters - chanting "No justice! No curfew!" - refused to leave the area.

A protester throws a gas canister back towards police

As five armoured tactical vehicles approached the crowd, officers said through a loudspeaker: "You are in violation of a state-imposed curfew. You must disperse immediately. Failure to comply may result in arrest."

Officers put on gas masks as some of the crowd shouted back: "We have the right to assemble peacefully."

Moments later, police began firing smoke canisters into the crowd of protesters.

Speaking from the scene in Ferguson, Sky News US Correspondent Greg Milam said: "There was a hard core of about 150-200 who had said they would defy the curfew and did.

"At the time that curfew came into effect there were long lines of police with riot equipment - shields, helmets, masks and batons.

A demonstrator overcome by the effects of gas is carried away

"They stepped back, allowing SWAT teams to move in with armoured vehicles."

Michael Brown, 18, was unarmed and it has been claimed he was trying to surrender before he was shot dead by white officer Darren Wilson on August 9.

His death sparked protests across the US and scenes of armoured tanks and officers in riot gear firing tear gas on crowds in Ferguson were broadcast around the world last week as tensions in the St Louis suburb boiled over.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon imposed a state of emergency and curfew on Saturday after looters targeted a shop which police say Michael Brown may have robbed before he was killed.

The release of CCTV footage of an individual police said they believed was the 18-year-old walking out of the convenience store with a box of cigars and assaulting the owner had fuelled the anger felt by his family and protesters in the area.

It is understood Officer Wilson stopped Mr Brown for jaywalking before opening fire and had no knowledge the teen was a robbery suspect.

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Russian Missile Launchers 'Cross Into Ukraine'

A convoy of Russian military equipment, including at least three missile launchers, has crossed into Ukraine, according to officials in Kiev, as a fighter jet was shot down by pro-Moscow rebels.

A Ukrainian military spokesman said at least three Grad missile systems were among the weapons being sent to the separatists in the east of the country, who are battling a Ukrainian government offensive.

Andriy Lysenko also told journalists that Russian drones had violated Ukrainian air space on 10 occasions.

The fighter jet MiG-29 plane was shot down in the Luhansk area, where Ukrainian forces recaptured a police station on Sunday after more than three months under the control of the separatists.

Russian vehicles with containers for BUK-M1 missiles in Rostov on Saturday

The pilot ejected from the MiG-29 plane and has been found after a search, spokesman Oleksiy Dmytrashkivsky said.

Mr Dmytrashkivsky said the plane was shot after launching an attack on rebels.

The shooting down of the plane came after Kiev and Moscow reached agreement on the passage of a Russian aid convoy into the east.

There are reports that 16 of the aid trucks left the parking lot in western Russia where the convoy has been waiting and headed for the Ukrainian border.

The plane was shot down in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine

Ukraine had been concerned the convoy of 280 white trucks could be a 'Trojan horse', allowing Russia to set up a permanent presence in rebel-held territory.

But Russia "guaranteed" the US that no military personnel were in the vehicles, which have been stuck near the border for the past few days.

Moscow says the trucks are carrying water, food and medicine for people displaced by fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Red Cross officials have been examining the contents of the lorries.

Several lorries from a Russian aid convoy are moving to the border

They say they need security guarantees from both sides before the convoy can start moving across the border.

Fighting in Ukraine has escalated since the insurgency arose in April, with government troops steadily taking back rebel-held territory in the east.

Luhansk is reportedly suffering from severe electrical outages and shortages of food and medicine.

Donetsk, the largest rebel-held city, is also suffering through frequent shelling.

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Russia Assures US Over 'Humanitarian Convoy'

Russia has "guaranteed" that no military personnel are on a convoy waiting at the border with Ukraine to deliver aid to the conflict-hit east of the country.

Ukraine has been concerned the convoy of about 260 white trucks could be a 'Trojan horse', which will allow Russia to set up a permanent presence in rebel-held territory.

Officials from the Red Cross have been examining the contents of the trucks on the Russian side of the border to make sure they contain nothing other than aid.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said he spoke with his Russia counterpart on Friday night and requested clarification on the convoy.

Russian truck drivers check their vehicles, which are said to contain aid

A statement released by the Pentagon, about the phone call between Mr Hagel and Sergey Shoygo, said: "Minister Shoygu 'guaranteed' that there were no Russian military personnel involved in the humanitarian convoy, nor was the convoy to be used as a pretext to further intervene in Ukraine.

"He acknowledged that the goods would be delivered and distributed under the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"Minister Shoygu assured Secretary Hagel that Russia was meeting Ukraine's conditions."

Russian officials allowed journalists to see the contents of some trucks

It came after Russia angrily denied it had sent a separate armed convoy into Ukrainian territory that Ukraine claims it partially destroyed.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said his forces had destroyed part of the convoy adding: "We won't tolerate any invasion."

Officials in Kiev said they tracked the vehicles, including armoured personnel carriers, from the border and then attacked with artillery.

Ukrainian guards check people suspected of crossing the border illegally

The claim was partially verfied by journalists from the Guardian and Daily Telegraph newspapers who said they saw around 23 Russian military vehicles crossing the border near the town of Donetsk on Thursday night.

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Sam Kiley said any attack would mark "a very serious development" in the four-month conflict, and "could be the beginnings of something much more dangerous".

The US later said it was not able to confirm whether Kiev's forces had attacked the convoy, but said Russia had no right to send vehicles into Ukraine.

White House spokesperson Caitlin Hayden said: "Russia has no right to send vehicles, persons, or cargo of any kind into Ukraine, under any pretext, without the Government of Ukraine's permission."

Moscow's Defence Ministry dismissed Kiev's claim that it had sent a convoy into Ukraine as "some kind of fantasy".

Spokesman Igor Konashenkov told Ria Novosti agency: "There was no Russian military column, which allegedly crossed Russian-Ukrainian border, not in the night, not during the day, it just doesn't exist."

The European Union said it would consider any Russian incursion as "a blatant violation of international law".

Fighting continued on Friday with 11 civilians killed and eight more wounded by shelling in the besieged stronghold of Donetsk in 24 hours.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin is due to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Berlin on Sunday to discuss the crisis.

18.46 | 0 komentar | Read More