Abandoned Migrant Ship Reaches Italian Port

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 03 Januari 2015 | 18.46

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A dramatic rescue mission to bring an abandoned cargo ship carrying hundreds of migrants under control has been carried out by the Italian Air Force.

Six coastguard officers were airlifted aboard the ship after stormy seas made it impossible to reach the runaway vessel by boat.

They took control of the Sierra-Leone-flagged ship, the Ezadeen, which was abandoned by people traffickers as it headed towards the southern tip of Italy.

It is the second ship of its kind to be abandoned at sea in several days.

Rescue pilot Francesco Pastore told Sky News: "The mission was very difficult due to the conditions."

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Gallery: An Italian Coast Guard Patrol Plane Spotted The Vessel

The Ezadeen cargo ship was stopped by Italian authorities after smugglers sent it speeding toward the coast in rough seas with nobody at the helm

The Sierra Leone-flagged vessel was towed to the Italian port of Corigliano after coastguard officials were lowered onto the ship by helicopter to secure it.

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Around 450 migrants were on board the ship, which apparently set sail from Turkey

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The 197ft-long ship was rescued floating around 40 miles off Capo di Leuca

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Most of the migrants were believed to be from war-ravaged Syria, Italian Coast Guard Commander Filippo Marini said

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The ship was towed by an Icelandic Coast Guard ship to Italy and arrived at the port of Corigliano hours later.

The 197ft-long ship, which was carrying pregnant women and children, mostly thought to be fleeing Syria, was rescued floating around 40 miles off Capo di Leuca.

Coastguard Commander Filippo Marini said one of the migrants on board was able to operate the ship's radio and pleaded for help saying: "We're without crew, we're heading toward the Italian coast and we have no one to steer."

Before losing power, the ship had been moving at a brisk seven knots and had been spotted by a coastguard plane 80 miles offshore shortly after nightfall on Thursday.

The coastguard asked for assistance from Icelandic patrol boat Tyr, which was in the area on a mission with Frontex, the European Union's border agency.

The Tyr was able to draw alongside the runaway ship, but initially the weather conditions made boarding impossible.

The drama comes two days after Italian sailors intercepted an unmanned freighter carrying more than 700 mostly Syrian migrants that had been heading for the rocks in Italy's Puglia region.

The Moldovan-registered Blue Sky M cargo ship got to within five miles of a disaster before six navy officers were lowered on to the ship by helicopter and succeeded in bringing it under control.

The vessel's human cargo included 60 children and two pregnant women, one of whom gave birth on board, according to the Italian Red Cross.

Many of the migrants on the ship were treated for hypothermia and broken limbs.

More than 170,000 people have been rescued by Italy in the last 14 months and it is estimated that hundreds, possibly thousands, have perished trying to make the crossing.

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Written By Unknown on Jumat, 02 Januari 2015 | 18.46

A suspected suicide bomber has been held at Atocha railway station in Madrid after claiming to have left a bomb on a train.

According to reports in Spanish media, the man said he left a rucksack containing an explosive device on board.

The station was evacuated as security officials searched the trains, however, police have since confirmed that the incident was a false alarm.

Police sources told Europa Press the backpack was found to contain just a bottle of water and no explosives.

The railway station was the scene of the terror bombings in 2004, which saw an al Qaeda-inspired terror cell target packed morning commuter trains, killing 191 people and injuring 1,800.

The devices exploded almost simultaneously and the bombings occurred a few days before scheduled elections.

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Most Cancers Simply Down To Bad Luck - Study

The majority of cancers are down to bad luck more than anything else, according to scientists in the United States.

They say two-thirds of cancer types are down to random DNA mutations rather than heredity or bad habits such as smoking.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore looked at 31 cancer types and found that 22 could generally be explained in this way.

These included leukaemia and pancreatic, bone, testicular, ovarian and brain cancer,

The other nine types, including skin cancer known as basal cell carcinoma and smoking-related lung cancer, were more heavily influenced by heredity and environmental factors.

Overall, they attributed 65% of tumours to random mutations in genes that can spur cancer growth.

"When someone gets cancer, immediately people want to know why," said oncologist Dr Bert Vogelstein, who conducted the study with Johns Hopkins biomathematician Cristian Tomasetti.

"They like to believe there's a reason. And the real reason in many cases is not because you didn't behave well or were exposed to some bad environmental influence, it's just because that person was unlucky. It's losing the lottery."

Dr Vogelstein added that people who live a long time without getting cancer, despite being long-time smokers or being exposed heavily to sunshine, do not have "good genes".

"The truth is that most of them simply had good luck."

Mr Tomasetti said harmful mutations occur for "no particular reason other than randomness" as the body's master cells, called stem cells, divide in various tissues.

He said the study, published in the journal Science, indicates that changing one's lifestyle and habits like smoking to avoid cancer risks may help prevent certain cancers, but may not be as effective for others.

"Thus, we should focus more research and resources on finding ways to detect such cancers at early, curable stages," he added.

The researchers charted the cumulative number of lifetime divisions in the stem cells of a given tissue - for example, lungs or colon - and compared that to the lifetime cancer risk in that tissue.

Generally speaking, tissues that undergo more divisions - thus increasing the probability of random mutations - were more prone to tumours.

The study did not cover all cancer types. Breast and prostate cancer were excluded because the researchers were unable to ascertain reliable stem cell division rates.

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Abandoned Migrant Ship Rescue Mission Begins

A dramatic rescue mission to bring an abandoned cargo ship carrying hundreds of migrants under control is being carried out by the Italian Air Force.

Six coastguard officers have been airlifted aboard the ship after stormy seas made it impossible to reach the runaway vessel by boat.

They are now in control of the Sierra-Leone-flagged ship, the Ezadeen, which was abandoned by people traffickers as it headed towards the southern tip of Italy.

It is the second ship of its kind to be abandoned at sea in several days.

Rescue Pilot Francesco Pastore told Sky News: "The mission was very difficult due to the conditions."

He said the migrants would not be evacuated. The ship is now being towed by an Icelandic Coast Guard ship to Italy.

Three doctors are also expected to be winched aboard the ship, which is carrying pregnant women and children.

The 197ft-long ship was rescued floating around 40 miles off Capo di Leuca.

Before losing power, the ship had been moving at a brisk seven knots and had been spotted by a coastguard plane 80 miles offshore shortly after nightfall on Thursday.

The coastguard asked for assistance from Icelandic patrol boat Tyr, which was in the area on a mission with Frontex, the European Union's border agency.

The Tyr was able to draw alongside the runaway ship, but initially the weather conditions made boarding impossible.

The drama comes two days after Italian sailors intercepted an unmanned freighter carrying more than 700 mostly Syrian migrants which had been heading for the rocks in Italy's Puglia region.

The Moldovan-registered Blue Sky M cargo ship got to within five miles of a disaster before six navy officers were lowered on to the ship by helicopter and succeeded in bringing it under control.

The vessel's human cargo included 60 children and two pregnant women, one of whom gave birth on board, according to the Italian Red Cross.

Many of the migrants on the ship were treated for hypothermia and broken limbs.

More than 170,000 people have been rescued by Italy in the last 14 months and it is estimated that hundreds, possibly thousands, have perished trying to make the crossing.

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36 Killed In New Year's Stampede In China

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 01 Januari 2015 | 18.46

Thirty-six people have been killed in a stampede at a New Year's event in Shanghai, city officials have said.

A statement from the Shanghai government confirmed another 43 people were injured in the chaos.

The stampede happened at the city's riverfront Bund area, which is usually jammed with spectators for major events, at 11.35pm (local time), according to the Xinhua news agency.

Photographs on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, show one person doing chest compressions on a shirtless individual, while other people lay on the ground nearby.

Another image shows the area ringed by police.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the stampede, but state media and a witness said the incident was caused when people tried picking up fake money thrown from a building.

A man who brought one of the injured to a local hospital for treatment said fake money had been thrown down from a bar above the street as part of a New Year's celebration.

People rushed to pick up the money, triggering the stampede, said the man, who declined to be identified.

Angry family members clashed with security guards at a hospital where some of the victims were taken.

Authorities had shown some concern about crowd control in the days leading up to New Year's Eve.

They had cancelled an annual 3D laser show on the Bund that last year attracted around 300,000 people.

The historic riverfront strip runs along an area of narrow streets surrounded by restored old buildings, shops and tourist attractions.

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Retrial Ordered For Al Jazeera Journalists

Three Al Jazeera journalists jailed in Egypt are to face a retrial.

The decision, which was made by an appeals court after a hearing lasting a few minutes, has given families of the men fresh hope that they might be freed.

However, there were mixed emotions among relatives at Egypt's Court of Cassation after the trio were denied bail.

Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy, Australian Peter Greste and Egyptian Baher Mohamed have been held since December 2013 in a case that has provoked an international outcry and widespread calls for their freedom.

The arrests followed the ousting of Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Morsi and their original trial was dismissed as a sham by rights groups.

Fahmy and Greste each received a seven-year prison sentence, while Mohamed got 10 years.

Egyptian authorities had accused the Qatar-based Al Jazeera of acting as a mouthpiece for the Muslim Brotherhood, which had swept to power after the country's 2011 revolution.

Marwa Omara, the fiancee of Mohamed Fahmy, told Sky News the families were disappointed that the journalists had not been released before the retrial gets under way.

She said her fiance was in poor health with hepatitis B, but is in "high spirits".

"He's just a journalist who was doing his job," she said.

"They were accused of being members of the Muslim Brotherhood, fabricating news and harming national security, and calling for a civil war in Egypt.

"All these accusations are faulty and there is no evidence whatsoever - we don't understand why they are in prison."

Greste's mother, Lois, said: "We need some time to process. It's not as positive as we had hoped."

Defence lawyer Negad Al-Borai said after Thursday morning's hearing that he hoped for a "happy end" to the case. There has been speculation that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi could pardon or deport the men.

Sherine Tadros, Sky News' Middle East Correspondent, said a date for the retrial has not been set, but that lawyers could make a further request for bail on its first day.

She said: "There's another opportunity that they could be freed and wouldn't have to spend the next trial behind bars, but because these are very serious charges - belonging to a terrorist organisation is essentially what they're charged with - it's unlikely that this would be granted."

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North Korea's New Year Summit Offer To South

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has delivered a New Year's speech saying he is open to more talks with Seoul or even a summit with his South Korean counterpart.

But Kim stressed North Korea will continue to strengthen its military amid an atmosphere of distrust and tension while trying to diversify its economy and raise the national standard of living.

His call for improving inter-Korea relations comes as Pyongyang is facing heightened criticism over its human rights record.

North Korea also has souring ties with Washington over allegations it was involved in the massive hacking attack on Sony Pictures.

The allegation has caused major economic damage to the company and clouded the release of "The Interview," a dark comedy that portrayed an assassination attempt on Kim.

North Korea has denied involvement, but said the hack was a "righteous deed" and suggested it might have been carried out by sympathisers or supporters abroad.

"We believe we can resume suspended senior-level talks and hold other talks on specific issues if South Korea sincerely has a position that it wants to improve North-South relations through a dialogue," Kim said in the nationally televised speech.

"And there is no reason not to hold the highest-level talks if the atmosphere and conditions are met."

Meeting such conditions has proven to be virtually impossible in the past.

The two countries have not held a summit since 2007 and, despite Kim's remarks, the likelihood of one happening again soon is very low given the deep distrust that remains between the two countries.

However, the South responded positively to the news today.

"Our government hopes South and North Korea will hold dialogue without formality in the near future," Ryoo Kihl-Jae, the South's unification minister in charge of inter-Korean affairs, told a briefing.

"The government takes (Kim's message) as meaningful as it showed an advanced attitude towards inter-Korean dialogue and exchanges."

Seoul is waiting for the North to respond to its earlier proposal to hold talks this month to discuss a range of issues needed to prepare for the unification and other issues of mutual concern.

South Korea made the proposal earlier this week.

In his speech, Kim noted that this year is particularly significant because it marks the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule.

Both sides claim to hold reunification as a fundamental goal.

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Gallery: Sky News On China's North Korea Border

Sky News has filmed rare pictures across the Chinese border into North Korea. The images demonstrate the poverty inside the country and the degree to which China cooperates with its old ally

At the border town of Ji'an only a narrow river separates China with North Korea

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UN Push For Palestinian Statehood Blocked

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 31 Desember 2014 | 18.46

A resolution demanding Israel ends its occupation of the Palestinian territories in three years has been rejected by the UN Security Council.

The draft, put forward by the Palestinians, was one vote short of being adopted.

However, if the resolution had won enough support, the US would have exercised its right to veto, preventing the plan from being taken further.

Of the 15 nations in the council, eight voted "yes" - including China, France and Russia.

The US and Australia voted "no", while the five remaining countries - Britain among them - abstained.

Israel's closest ally, the US, had objected to the timetable imposed by the resolution - and warned the draft did not take Israel's security concerns into account.

"We voted against it because… peace must come from hard compromises that occur at the negotiating table," US ambassador Samantha Power added.

The Palestinians now have two options - to submit another resolution after five new member states join the UN Security Council on 1 January, or try and join the International Criminal Court, where they could accuse Israel of war crimes.

There have been months of tension between Israel and the Palestinians, who are seeking to become an independent state.

A 50-day war between militants from both sides broke out in the summer, killing more than 2,200 people, most of them Gaza residents.

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