Britons Who Fought IS Freed From Iraqi Jail

Two Britons and an Irishman jailed in northern Iraq after joining the fight against Islamic State have been freed.

Joe Akerman, a former soldier from Halifax, and Jac Holmes, an IT worker from Dorset, were incarcerated along with ex-Royal Irish Regiment soldier Joshua Molloy, from Co Laois, after crossing from Syria.

It is understood they had been with the Kurdish People's Protection Units, a force of up to 50,000 fighters trying to fend off IS.

But after leaving the frontline to come home they were jailed by the Kurdish Regional Government, who reputedly demanded £10,400 in fines to be paid.

The trio were released after 10 days following diplomatic efforts from the UK and Ireland.

Mr Molloy's father said it felt like Christmas when he heard the news.

"We are all delighted here," said Declan Molloy. "We are jumping with joy to know that he is out.

"You know that Christmas morning feeling, it's a bit like that, when you find your most sought-after present under the tree, the dream present. That's how we feel."

Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan welcomed the news of Mr Molloy's release with a Tweet wishing him a safe journey home.

It is understood the three spent months fighting IS.

Mr Holmes, who had no military experience before travelling to Syria, was shot in one arm in a gun battle with IS forces last May.

His mother Angie described the three as "heroes".

"Jack's family and friends are grateful for all the help and support they've received during this difficult time," she said.

"(We) would like to thank everyone including the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Kurdish Regional Government for their assistance in securing his release."

A Foreign and Commonwealth spokeswoman said: "We are helping two British men make arrangements to leave Kurdistan after they were released from custody."

It is understood Mr Molloy is in a hotel in Kurdistan and is considering spending time in Europe with fellow foreign fighters before he returns to Ireland.

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Obama To Send 250 Extra US Troops To Syria

Barack Obama is planning to send up to 250 extra American troops to Syria to fight Islamic State, bringing the total US deployment on the ground to 300.

The plan was announced by US officials ahead of a meeting in Germany today attended by Mr Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister David Cameron.

French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi will also join the talks in Hanover, which will consider the war in Syria and other foreign policy issues.

The additional deployment aims to accelerate recent gains against IS and reflects renewed confidence in the ability of US-backed forces inside Syria and Iraq to claw back territory from the militants.

Mr Obama has resisted sending US troops into Syria, where a five-year civil war has killed more than 250,000 people.

Last year he sent 50 US special operations forces into Syria in what was described as a "counterterrorism" mission.

Commenting on the further deployment, one US official said: "He (Mr Obama) intends to put in more ... forces to the tune of 250 in Syria."

A second official added: "The president has authorised a series of steps to increase support for our partners in the region, including Iraqi security forces as well as local Syrian forces who are taking the fight to ISIL."

The deployment is expected to be officially announced during remarks by the US President at the Hanover Messe fairgrounds later today.

Speaking at a news conference with Ms Merkel on Sunday, Mr Obama said he was "deeply concerned" by a recent surge in violence in Syria.

Airstrikes and shelling pounded the city of Aleppo for the third straight day on Sunday, killing two young siblings and at least 24 others.

The northern city has been bitterly contested between insurgents and government forces since 2012.

At least 10 people were killed by rebel shelling on government-held areas in the city, according to activists and Syria's state news agency SANA.

Mr Obama said it is difficult to see how a so-called safe zone would work in Syria without a large military presence.

"The issue surrounding a safe zone in Syrian territory is not a matter of an ideological objection on my part," he said.

"It's not a matter of me not wishing I could help and protect a whole bunch of people. It’s a very practical about how do you do it?"

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North Korean Spy Chief Defects To The South

A North Korean spy chief has fled Kim Jong-Un's secretive state and defected to the South, officials in Seoul have said.

The army colonel had handled spy operations targeting South Korea at the North's General Bureau of Reconnaissance and is the highest level military official ever to defect, a Seoul government official told the Yonhap news agency.

Unification and defence ministry spokesmen confirmed the report to AFP but declined to elaborate on details including the official's name.

He is already believed to have passed on valuable intelligence about North Korea's spying operation against the South.

The latest blow to dictator Kim Jong-Un's authority comes days after the mass defection of 13 workers in a state-run restaurant in China.

The group switched sides after watching TV and surfing the internet alerted them to Pyongyang's propaganda.

The defections come at a time of elevated military tensions on the divided Korean peninsula.

North Korea has defied the international community with a series of missile tests in 2016 - and last week claimed to have successfully tested an engine for an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Meanwhile, Pyongyang has condemned Seoul and Washington for a sanctions drive at the UN over its nuclear and missile programmes, while also lashing out at the annual US-South Korea military war games.

Nearly 30,000 North Koreans have fled poverty and repression, despite risk of imprisonment and torture if caught, and settled in the South.

But the number of defectors - who once numbered more than 2,000 a year - has nearly halved since leader Kim Jong-Un took power after the death of his father and longtime ruler Kim Jong-Il in December 2011.

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Al Qaeda Digs In As Dust Settles On Yemen War

Among the ruins of ancient treasured buildings, the twisted remains of the victims of air strikes and the soiled reputation of international relations, it's often hard to find a winner in any civil war.

But as the dust begins to settle on Yemen's year-long conflict, the glint of white can be discerned through the fog of bloodshed – the white teeth of al Qaeda fighters.

A Saudi-led coalition of fellow Sunni Arab states launched air strikes and later a land campaign against Shia Houthi rebels in March last year.

They were officially coming to the aid of the internationally-recognised president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

The Houthis sided with his (Sunni) predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and were seen as having the backing of Iran, the Shia theocracy and arch rival of the Sunni Arab dynasties.

The coalition saw the fight against the Houthis as essential.

Making up 35% of Yemen's population, the Houthis were seen as a potential threat along Saudi Arabia's southern border - much like the Hezbollah along Israel's northern frontier.

A new confidence among younger members of the Gulf Co-operation Council fed a belligerent mood and pride that (at last) Arab nations were taking control of their own destinies and not asking Americans to do their fighting for them.

But a year in, things have not gone so well.

The coalition has been blooded. The military performance of some units, led occasionally by Gulf royals, have gone some way to shaking off the caricature of the overweight and idle "Gulfie".

But human rights groups have been outraged by that they say has been the profligate disregard for civilian life shown by coalition war planes.

On top of that, Gulf allies, notable the UK and the US, have come in for bitter criticism for supplying bombs to the coalition.

British officials have been squirming about trying to come up with a credible moral explanation for the "six to ten" personnel the military have working in the Saudi targeting cell.

The Whitehall line is that they're there to train Saudi targeteers but have no access to battle damage assessments - without which no training would be possible.

This has all been awkward for governments keen to flog munitions to the Saudis.

Britain sold £1.75bn-worth in the first six months of last year. Western governments continue to stick to the notion (publicly anyway) that human rights matter.

More problematic, though, is that the war in Yemen has created more space for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to operate.

This, remember, is the group behind the Charlie Hebdo massacres and numerous bomb plots.

Al Qaeda now has a significant presence across at least a quarter of central Yemen, and control of Makallah Port which generates $2m a day in revenues.

It controls about 370 miles of Yemen's coastline and has begun raising taxes to fill coffers already gorged with $100m in looted bank cash.

This is the first time al Qaeda has controlled and administered territory on this scale – a victory delivered thanks to a war against someone else.

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Panama Papers: Poroshenko Denies Tax Avoidance

The President of Ukraine, whose name was mentioned in the Panama Papers, has denied trying to minimise his taxes.

Petro Poroshenko was among dozens of politicians named in millions of files leaked from an offshore law firm, Mossack Fonseca, to a German newspaper earlier this week.  

Mr Poroshenko told reporters in Tokyo that he set up a blind trust offshore to separate his business and political interests when he became president in 2014. 

"This is absolutely normal procedure, and I think this is the main difference from the naming of all the political figures in this Panama list," he said.

"If we have anything to be investigated, I am happy to do that," he added. 

"But this is absolutely transparent from the very beginning.

"No hidden account, no associated management, no nothing."

Mr Poroshenko – nicknamed the 'chocolate king' – made a large amount of money from his confectionery company, Roshen.

When reporters asked him why he had not kept a campaign promise to sell his business if elected, Poroshenko said there were no buyers when his country was "in a state of war".

Ukraine’s fiscal service is to examine documents detailing his offshore assets.

Mr Poroshenko said he could not access those assets until the end of his presidency.

Iceland's Prime Minister became the first casualty of the Panama Papers when he resigned on Tuesday.

The leaked documents are said to show that Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson and his wife owned a firm in the British Virgin Islands which held investments in Iceland's collapsed banks.

David Cameron has also been caught up in the controversy, after his late father Ian was named in the papers.

Meanwhile the top actor in Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan, has denied any connection to four shipping companies registered in tax havens.

Responding to a story in the Indian Express based on the Panama Papers, he said: "It is possible that my name has been misused."

He insisted he was unaware of any of the companies he’d allegedly been linked with.

In a statement, he said: "I have paid all my taxes including on monies spent by me overseas … In any event the news report in the Indian Express doesn't even suggest any illegality on my part."

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Brussels Bomber Worked As EU Parliament Cleaner

One of the suicide bombers who attacked the Brussels airport had previously worked as a cleaner at the European Parliament.

According to a parliamentary spokesman, Najim Laachraoui did not have a criminal record at the time of his employment.

"As a student, he held a summer holiday job cleaning at the parliament for one month in 2009 and one month in 2010,” the spokesman said in a statement.

"Those were the only instances he worked at the parliament."

Najim Laachraoui blew himself up at the Brussels airport, and is also suspected of making suicide vests for last November’s Paris attack.

The revelation came as Belgium’s prime minister admitted the country had made mistakes in how it tackled violent extremism.

"In the fight against terrorism, in all countries in the world and in Europe, there have been successes and there have been failures," Prime Minister Charles Michel said.

But he rejected suggestions Belgium had become a "weak link" in Europe’s war on terrorism.

"If we were weak, then we would not have been able to convict 100 persons," he said, arguing that Belgian authorities had prevented many attacks.

He made the comments to an audience of largely foreign journalists following last month’s attack on the Brussels airport and metro.

The attacks killed 32 people, along with the three bombers.

Mr Michel says Belgium is determined to learn from its mistakes and improve information sharing between various security agencies.

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Greece Begins Sending Migrants Back To Turkey

The first boats carrying migrants from Greece have arrived in Turkey as part of an EU deal to deport those who have failed to gain asylum.

Ships carrying around 200 migrants and refugees - more than 130 from Lesbos and over 60 from Chios - set off across the Aegean Sea from the islands on Monday.

The first boat with several dozen passengers on board arrived at Dikili on the Turkish coast at around 9.20am (local time), accompanied by two Turkish coastguard vessels and a police helicopter.

They were taken to a small white tent on the quayside, behind security fencing, where they were met by immigration officials.

"All of the migrants returned are from Pakistan except for two migrants from Syria who returned voluntarily," Giorgos Kyritsis, a spokesman for a government refugee crisis committee, told state television.

He said there was "no timetable" for further deportations, adding the examination of asylum applications "will take some time".

Sky's Michelle Clifford in Lesbos said: "The whole idea about this scheme is to deter people from making that dangerous sea crossing from Turkey here to Greece.

"But as those ferries left here we filmed 58 migrants being brought to shore by the coastguard - so half as many almost as were taken away to Turkey - arrived from Turkey. Clearly the message they will be sent back is not deterring people at the moment."

Clifford earlier spoke to charity workers from Save The Children who have been talking to migrants, mainly Syrians, at a detention centre on the Greek island. Some were said to have threatened to jump overboard if they were sent back to Turkey.

Human rights groups argue the deportations break international law and mark a dark time in Europe's history.

Lucy Carrigan, from the International Rescue Committee, said: "What is missing is the focus on what the legal alternatives are - how can desperate people seeking sanctuary, who are fleeing war, find a way to Europe safely."

As each migrant was led aboard a ship, a small group of protesters outside the port in Lesbos shouted "shame on you!"

Riot police officers also boarded the boats.

Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala said 500 people were expected to arrive on the first day, but Greece had only provided the names of 400.

For each migrant sent back to Turkey, officials have said a legitimate refugee will be resettled in Europe.

As the deportation process started, the first group of 16 Syrian asylum seekers arrived in Hanover, Germany, on a flight from Istanbul.

Although the first migrants to be sent back are expected to be from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran, Syrians who have illegally crossed will also be expelled if they have arrived since 20 March.

Europe's politicians want expulsions to act as a deterrent from boarding the smugglers boats, but already there are signs it is not working.

In Dikili, migrants are still arriving hoping to connect with the smugglers and get to Europe.

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EU Deal With Turkey Failing To Stem Migrant Flow

The first boats arrived earlier than expected.

Hundreds of press waited at the port to capture the pictures of the first deportees.

The EU is desperate to solve the migrant crisis and has so far come up short - it hopes its controversial deal with Turkey will stop the seemingly endless tide of desperate people appearing on Europe's shores.

But it has appeared over the last few days that both sides were unprepared for this day - tents were hastily erected on the dockside at Dikili to create a makeshift reception centre.

The first arrivals were mostly from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq.

Among their number there were a couple of Syrians, who the authorities claim decided to leave Greece voluntarily.

Under the deal the non-Syrians will be taken to a detention centre and will most likely eventually be deported to their country of origin.

The Syrians will be found places in refugee camps on the Turkey/Syrian border.

We watched as the deportees were marched down the dock.

Each one of them had a security guard or a policeman by their side.

The minder had travelled with them from Lesbos.

The first pictures of the failed asylum seekers being kicked out of Europe are symbolically important to the EU and for the success of the deal.

It hopes that other migrants thinking of crossing illegally will be deterred if they know they'll be deported as soon as they've reached dry land.

But there are already signs it's not having that effect.

We filmed 50 or so migrants from Bangladesh, who'd tried to cross illegally this morning.

They were intercepted and arrested by the Turkish coastguard.

But we have spoken to many other migrants in Turkey, who say they will continue to try to reach Europe for what they hope will be a better life.

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'Ceasefire' After Dozens Killed In Caucasus

A ceasefire has been announced after at least 30 soldiers were killed in clashes between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region.

News agency AFP reported that Azerbaijan announced the "unilateral" ceasefire in Karabakh on Sunday morning.

The country's defence ministry said: "Azerbaijan, showing good will, has decided to unilaterally cease hostilities."

It added, however, that it would "liberate all (Armenian) occupied territories" if Armenian forces "do not stop provocations".

But David Babayan, spokesman of the Armenia-backed separatist presidency in Karabakh, said fighting was continuing.

Armenian defence ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan also dismissed the the ceasefire claim as a "trap that does not mean a truce".

Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian had earlier described the bloodshed as the "largest-scale hostilities" since a 1994 truce ended a war in which Armenian-backed fighters seized the territory from Azerbaijan.

He said 18 Armenian troops were killed and some 35 wounded in the fighting.

Azerbaijan said 12 of its soldiers were killed and one of its military helicopters was shot down.

Moscow and Western leaders had been among those calling for the ceasefire.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had urged the two former Soviet states to "exercise restraint in order to prevent further casualties", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the reports of heavy fighting were "deeply worrying".

Armenia accused Azerbaijan of launching a "massive attack along the Karabakh frontline using tanks, artillery, and helicopters" on Friday night.

Azerbaijan, however, said it defended itself after coming under fire from "large-calibre artillery and grenade-launchers".

Armenian separatists, backed by the capital Yerevan, seized control of the mountainous Nagorny Karabakh region in the early 1990s war that killed 30,000 people.

The two nations have never signed a peace deal despite the 1994 ceasefire and the region is still internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan.

Moscow has supplied weapons to both sides, but is much closer to Armenia.

Energy-rich Azerbaijan had repeatedly threatened to take back the breakaway region by force if negotiations fail to yield results but Armenia had promised it could crush any offensive.

The last flare-up took place in November 2014 when Azerbaijan shot down an Armenian military helicopter.

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Offshore Accounts Of World Leaders Revealed

The hidden wealth of some of the world's most prominent leaders, politicians and celebrities - including three former Tory MPs and six peers - has been revealed in a massive leak.

Millions of documents leaked to a number of media organisations across Europe apparently show the ways the rich and famous can exploit secretive offshore tax regimes.

It is reported that journalists from more than 80 countries have been reviewing 11.5 million files leaked from the database of Mossack Fonseca, the world's fourth biggest offshore law firm.

According to The Guardian, one of the media organisations receiving the leaked documents - the so-called 'Panama Papers' - reveal:

:: Six members of the House of Lords, three former Conservative MPs and dozens of donors to UK political parties have had offshore assets.

:: A key member of FIFA's powerful ethics committee, which is supposed to be spearheading reform at world football's scandal-hit governing body, acted as a lawyer for individuals and companies recently charged with bribery and corruption.

:: Twelve national leaders are among 143 politicians, their families and close associates from around the world known to have been using offshore tax havens.

:: Among national leaders with offshore wealth are Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan's prime minister; Ayad Allawi, ex-interim prime minister and former vice-president of Iraq; Petro Poroshenko, president of Ukraine; Alaa Mubarak, son of Egypt's former president; and the prime minister of Iceland, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson.

:: The families of at least eight current and former members of China's supreme ruling body, the politburo, have been found to have hidden wealth offshore.

:: Twenty-three individuals who have had sanctions imposed on them for supporting the regimes in North Korea, Zimbabwe, Russia, Iran and Syria have been clients of Panama-based Mossack Fonseca. Their companies were harboured by the Seychelles, the British Virgin Islands, Panama and other jurisdictions.

One leaked memo from a partner of Mossack Fonseca said: "Ninety-five per cent of our work coincidentally consists in selling vehicles to avoid taxes."

The company has denied any wrongdoing. It says it has acted beyond reproach for 40 years and that it has had robust due diligence procedures.

The document leak comes from the records of the firm, which was founded in 1977.

The information is near live, with the most recent records dating from December 2015.

Around 370 reporters from 100 media organisations have spent a year analysing and verifying the documents.

David Cameron has promised to "sweep away" tax secrecy - but his political opponents claim little has been done.

He is planning a summit of world leaders next month, which will focus on the conduct of tax havens.

The Prime Minister set out his line in 2011 when he said: "We need to shine a spotlight on who owns what and where the money is really flowing."

Oxfam's head of UK policy, Richard Pyle, said: "This leak highlights the key role that UK-linked tax havens like the British Virgin Islands play in allowing a privileged elite to dodge paying their fair share of tax.

"People in the world's poorest countries pay the highest price for the billions of lost tax money when their governments are unable to fund life-saving healthcare such as midwives and vaccinations for children.

"The UK is in a unique position to help clean up the murky world of tax havens - starting by ensuring that the real beneficiaries of shell companies registered in the UK's Crown dependencies and overseas territories, such as the British Virgin Islands, are revealed ahead of May's Anti-Corruption Summit in London."

Campaign group Global Witness said: "This investigation shows how secretly-owned companies, many of them based in the UK's tax havens, can act as getaway cars for terrorists, dictators, money launderers and tax evaders all over the world.

"The time has clearly come to take away the keys, by requiring the collection and publication of information on who really owns and controls these companies.

"This would make it much harder to launder dirty money and leave the rest of us safer as a result."

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Five Held Over Deadly India Flyover Collapse

Five officials involved in the building of a flyover which collapsed in India killing at least 24 people have been arrested.

Indian police have said the suspects, who work for a company called IVRCL Infrastructure Co, are being questioned about how the partially built structure came to collapse in the city of Kolkata.

It left a huge pile of concrete slabs and twisted metal rods lying across a busy neighbourhood.

At least 80 people were injured in the incident and police have said they are investigating IVRCL officials over possible homicide and criminal breach of trust.

Sky News producer Neville Lazarus, said the company was currently "brazening it out" and denied any technical or human error in the building of the flyover.

He said: "The company says all the material used in all the 59 other pillars were absolutely fine - it was the 60th pillar which collapsed.

"They are waiting for the results of the investigation.

"The company bizarrely described the collapse as an 'act of God'.

"No-one understood what they meant and there's a lot of anger and grief."

Cranes have been brought in to move the wreckage but the work is progressing slowly.  

A number of those rescued after Thursday's collapse are still receiving treatment in hospital, according to an official.

The contract for the flyover was signed in 2007 and, reports suggest, work was due to be finished some years ago. 

India is undergoing a building boom and fatal accidents are becoming more common.

Experts suggest some projects are marred by poor quality materials and inadequate supervision while others are hit by delays and corruption allegations.

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North Korea: Peninsula In A State Of 'Semi-War'

North Korea has said it will continue its nuclear and ballistic missile programme in defiance of the United States and its allies.

The country's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, So Se Pyong, said a state of "semi-war" now existed in the divided peninsula.

He said military exercises involving South Korea and the US were aimed at "decapitation of the supreme leadership of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)".

"If the United States continues, then we have to make the counter-measures also. So we have to develop, and we have to make more deterrence, nuclear deterrence," he said.

The diplomat added: "The de-nuclearisation of the peninsula has gone."

His comments came after North Korea fired a missile into the sea just hours after South Korea, Japan and the US warned Pyongyang to end its provocations.

The surface-to-air missile was fired from a region close to the North's eastern coast, according to a South Korean military official.

Yonhap news agency reported it flew a distance of around 100km (62 miles).

Tensions have heightened on the Pyongyang-Seoul border since the North's nuclear test in January and long-range rocket launch in February.

Friday's drill is the fourth missile launch by Kim Jong-Un's regime in recent weeks - and the second in four days - amid military exercises involving South Korea and the US, the largest ever carried out by the two nations.

It comes as President Barack Obama, his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to pressure the secretive state over its nuclear programme.

The three leaders met on the sidelines of a global nuclear summit in Washington aimed at reducing the risk caused by the proliferation of nuclear technology.

Mr Obama said: "We are united in our efforts to deter and defend against North Korean provocations. We have to work together to meet this challenge."

Mr Obama also held separate talks with President Xi Jinping of China, the closest North Korea has to an ally,

Both said they wanted to see "full implementation" of the latest United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang.

Existing UN sanctions ban North Korea from conducting any ballistic missile test.

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Riot Police Confront Mob In Brussels Square

Riot police have been deployed following angry scenes at the Brussels square where tributes have been left to Tuesday's terror victims.

Police fired water cannon to disperse hundreds of suspected far-right protesters who disrupted a peaceful gathering at the Place De La Bourse.

The protesters, many of them dressed in black and wearing balaclavas, chanted nationalist and anti-immigrants slogans as they made their way into the square. 

"This is our home" and "The state, Daesh accomplice," they shouted in unison, referring to the so-called Islamic State group which said it carried out for Tuesday's twin attacks.

Several members of the crowd unfurled a large banner with an anti-IS message on the steps of the Brussels Stock Exchange.

A number of the protesters then set off firecrackers and threw signs as they were confronted by police.

Around 10 people were arrested at the scene, police said.

A March Against Fear had been due to take place at the square, which has become a shrine to the 28 victims of the attacks.

It was called off by the event organisers after Belgium's interior minister urged protesters not to attend, saying police were too stretched.

Hundreds of people were nevertheless gathered to pay their final respects when the protesters invaded.

Sky's Enda Brady, who is in the Place De La Bourse, said protesters have now been cleared out of the area and the atmosphere is calm.

Police in Brussels carried out 13 new raids on Sunday, taking nine people into custody for questioning and releasing a further five.

Authorities also charged another man - who was shot by police at a tram stop on Saturday - with membership of a terror group.

It comes a day after a man identified as Faycal Cheffou was charged with terrorist murder, participation in a terrorist group and attempted terrorist killings.

Reports suggesting he may be the so-called "man in white", who fled the airport in Brussels after his bomb failed to detonate, have not been confirmed.

Two other men, pictured on CCTV moments before the attack, blew themselves up in the airport departure lounge.

An hour later another bomb exploded on a subway train as it was pulling out of the Maalbeek metro station.

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Pakistan: 70 Dead In Taliban Suicide Bombing

A suicide bomber linked to the Taliban has killed at least 70 people and wounded more than 300 others outside a park in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore.

The explosion took place in the parking area of Gulshan Iqbal Park, just a few feet away from some children's swings.

The area was crowded at the time because Christians were gathering to celebrate the Easter holiday.

The Taliban faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar said it carried out the attack, adding that it was targeting Pakistan's Christian minority.

Prime Minister David Cameron has promised British help for Pakistan after the bombing, while Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said British nationals were advised to avoid the area and monitor local travel advice and local media.

Many families were leaving the park when the blast happened.

Muhammad Usman, an administration official in Lahore, said more than 50 children were among the injured.

Eyewitnesses said they saw body parts strewn across the car park in the wake of the attack.

Television footage shows children and women crying as rescue officials, police and bystanders carry the injured to ambulances.

Javed Ali, a 35-year-old resident who lives opposite the park, said the force of the blast shattered his home's windows.

"Everything was shaking - there were cries and dust everywhere," he said.

"After 10 minutes I went outside. There was human flesh on the walls of our house. People were crying, I could hear ambulances."

Superintendent Mustansar Feroz said most of the dead are women and children.

Lahore is the capital of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's political heartland of Punjab, the biggest and wealthiest province in Pakistan.

The country is currently battling a Taliban insurgency, criminal gangs and sectarian violence.

In 2014, Pakistan launched an offensive against Taliban and affiliated jihadist fighters in North Waziristan, seeking to deprive them of safe havens from which to attack both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Sunday's blast came as the army was also deployed on the streets of Islamabad after thousands of protesters clashed with police in chaotic scenes, throwing stones and setting a container on fire.

The demonstrators were supporters of Islamist assassin Mumtaz Qadri, who was hanged on 29 February for killing a Punjab governor over his call for blasphemy reform.

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North Korea Nukes US In Propaganda Video

North Korea has threatened to lay waste to Washington with a submarine-launched nuclear missile in a menacing propaganda video.

The four-minute film - titled Last Chance - runs through the history of US-Korea relations, including images of US prisoners of war on Korean soil.

It ends with a digitally-enhanced sequence showing a missile emerging from the clouds and slamming into the road in front of the Lincoln Memorial - sending a wave of destruction across Washington.

As the US Capitol building burns, a message flashes up on the screen in Korea: "If US imperialists budge an inch toward us, we will immediately hit them with nuclear (weapons)."

The video, published on North Korea's propaganda website DPRK Today, shows the capture of the US spy ship Pueblo in 1968 and the first crisis over North Korea's nuclear programme in the 1990s.

Pyongyang has upped the ante with its threatening propaganda in recent weeks - and Kim Jong-Un watched an artillery drill simulating a strike on the official residence of his South Korean counterpart Park Guen-hye on Friday.

Tensions have been on the rise since North Korea carried out its fourth nuclear test in January, followed by a series of apparent ballistic missile tests.

Meanwhile, a Korean-American man who is being held in North Korea has confessed to stealing military secrets and plotting subversion with South Korea.

Kim Dong Chul was arrested in Pyongyang in October.

His confession was similar to that made by another American, Otto Warmbier, who was sentenced to 15 years of hard labour earlier this month for trying to steal a propaganda banner.

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Syrian Troops Make Gains Against IS In Palmyra

Syrian government forces and allied militiamen, backed by airstrikes, have made further advances into Palmyra, the ancient city that fell to Islamic State (IS) last May.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said they had taken up positions in three neighbourhoods in the modern town.

State-run television also said the army was advancing inside Palmyra.

It broadcast footage from the slopes of the medieval citadel, which was seized by the army on Friday, showing tanks and armoured vehicles firing at IS targets.

Waves of explosions hit buildings, and smoke could be seen rising from a number of locations.

Palmyra's recapture would mark the biggest reversal for IS since Russia's intervention in the five-year conflict.

The city, affectionately known as the "bride of the desert," used to attract tens of thousands of tourists every year.

After taking it over IS demolished some of the best-known monuments at the UNESCO world heritage site.

The extremist group believes the ancient ruins promote idolatry.

The fate of the archaeological site was not immediately clear.on Saturday.

Some reports said there was still fighting in the area, while the Observatory said government forces had retaken it.

The head of the antiquities authority has meanwhile promised to restore the ancient Roman temples and triumphal arch dynamited by IS.

Mamoun Abdelkarim told Reuters work would begin once IS had been driven from Palmyra, hopefully within days.

He said it would act "as a message against terrorism".

He added: "We will rebuild (the monuments) with the stones that remain, and with the remaining columns. (We will) bring life back to Palmyra."

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Nuclear Staff Lose Access After Brussels Attacks

The entry badges of some workers at Belgium's nuclear sites have been withdrawn amid reports the suicide bombers who attacked Brussels may have originally planned to target a nuclear power plant.
Nuclear control agency spokeswoman Nele Scheerlinck confirmed that "in recent days, several people have been refused access to the nuclear sites".

The El Bakraoui brothers, who blew themselves up at the airport and metro station on Tuesday, had secretly filmed the home of the head of Belgium's nuclear research and development programme, it has been reported.

The footage recorded the nuclear chief's routine and caused investigators to conclude the terrorists "could have put national security in danger like never before", according to Belgian media.

However, the arrest of Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam forced them to switch to targets, said reports.

A police source is quoted as saying: "There is no doubt that they rushed their operations because they felt under pressure.

"Even if one couldn't prevent these (Brussels) attacks, one can say that their magnitude could have been much bigger if the terrorists had been able to implement their original plan and not opted for easier targets."

In the immediate aftermath of Tuesday's attacks at the airport and subway, security was boosted around Belgium's nuclear sites and hundreds of staff were evacuated.

Belgian media reports said 11 staff had their badges withdrawn at the Tihange plant.

Ms Scheerlinck said the move is "not necessarily linked with the terrorist attacks".

However, she added that the decision usually takes weeks and is based on information from the intelligence services and police, as well as a person's criminal record.

The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog warned of Friday that countries need to do more to prevent "nuclear terrorism".

Yukiya Amano, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that it was not impossible that militants could manufacture a "primitive" device. 

"It is now an old technology and nowadays terrorists have the means, the knowledge and the information," he said.

Mr Amano also warned about the dangers of a "dirty bomb".

"Dirty bombs will be enough to (drive) any big city in the world into panic," he said. "And the psychological, economic and political implications would be enormous."

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Syria Army Retakes Palmyra Citadel - State TV

Syrian government troops have defeated Islamic State militants to recapture the citadel in the town of Palmyra, according to Syrian state media.

State television quoted a military source as saying: "Our armed forces, in co-ordination with the popular defence forces, have taken control of the ancient Palmyra citadel after inflicting many losses in the ranks of the terrorist group Daesh."

The same report said the army has also cut off the main Palmyra-Deir Ezzor highway leading to the Iraqi border.

Earlier on Friday, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency had quoted an unnamed military source as saying that a government army unit, in co-operation with the "popular defence groups", had established control over the Syriatel hill, near Palmyra Castle.

Several other hills around the town have also been captured by the government forces.

A Syrian military source was quoted by AFP as saying the army had entered Palmyra from the northwest after taking control of part of the Valley of the Tombs.

"The clashes - which are ongoing - are fierce," he said.

Russian aircraft have continued to support the Syrian military in the area despite Moscow pulling some of its forces out of the country.

And Russia's Interfax news agency reported a Russian special forces soldier was killed near Palmyra last week.

The town is the site of UNESCO-listed temples and relics that dated back thousands of years but many of these have been blown up or damaged by IS since it took over in May.

Only about 15,000 civilians remain - from an original population of 70,000. IS urged them on Thursday to flee in advance of the battle.

The recapture of the town would be a major symbolic victory for Syrian president Bashar al Assad.

It would also be strategically helpful as whoever holds the town also controls the vast desert that stretches from central Syria to its border with Iraq.

For those dedicated to the town's historic value, however, the possible victory raises hopes that some of its monuments can be rebuilt.

Syria’s antiquities chief Maamoun Abdel-Karim is one of these people and he spoke during an interview as the Syrian government forces approached the town, saying: "We are determined to bring Palmyra back to life.

"Palmyra is not just Syria’s heritage - it is the world’s heritage and must be shared."

As the army captured the citadel, he said they were also 600 metres from the famous Temple of Bel, but advancing slowly because of mines in the area.

Sky's Diplomatic Editor Dominic Waghorn said that, despite news of the citadel, he had not seen pictures from the centre of the town itself, adding that recapturing the entire town would be "a major strategic blow" for IS, which has lost up to 40% of the territory it had last year.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry has agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin to work towards a political settlement in Syria, but the future of Mr Assad, who is backed by Moscow, remains an obstacle.

There are fears the Syrian opposition could pull out of peace talks in Geneva unless Mr Assad agrees to step down.

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura said he was aiming to restart talks on 9 April.

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Brussels Exposes Airport Security 'Weakness'

Australia has accused European leaders of failing to protect their citizens from terrorism. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull waded into the debate about protecting borders, blaming lax security across Europe for the attacks.

He said: "Our domestic security arrangements are much stronger than they are in Europe, where regrettably they allowed things to slip.

"That weakness in European security is not unrelated to the problems they've been having in recent times."

Security has been boosted at airports around the world since the Brussels attacks.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for explosions in the departure hall of Zaventem airport, which killed at least 30 people and are believed to have been caused by suicide bombers.

Authorities in European cities including London, Paris and Frankfurt have responded by increasing the number of police on patrol at airports and transport hubs.

America's largest cities have been placed on high alert and the National Guard has been brought in to boost security at New York City's two airports.

The relative openness of public airport areas, particularly in Western Europe, contrasts with some in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, where travellers' documents and belongings are checked before they are allowed to enter the airport building.

In India, only passengers with a valid flight ticket and passports are allowed to enter the terminal building and since the Brussels attacks checks have been carried out on some bags brought into the airport.

But the head of the country's Central Industrial Security Force said it would not be possible to check every bag.

Surender Singh said: "With hundreds of passengers lined up at Delhi airport, 100% checking of everybody... it would come to a standstill."

In Turkey, passengers and bags are screened on entering the terminal and again after check-in.

Moscow also checks people at terminal entrances.

Israel's Ben Gurion Airport is known for its tough security, including passenger profiling to identify those viewed as suspicious, bomb sniffing devices and questioning of each individual traveller.

In the Kenyan capital Nairobi, where authorities are on high alert for attacks by Somali-based al Shabaab militants, passengers have to get out of their cars, which are then searched, at a checkpoint a kilometre from the main terminal.

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Brussels Bomb Suspect Captured - Reports

Brussels Airport bomb suspect Najim Laachraoui has been captured, according to Belgian media reports.

The 25-year-old was arrested in the city's Anderlecht district, according to the DH newspaper's website.

He had been named in Belgian media reports as the third man filmed on CCTV at the airport, alongside two other bombers - brothers Khalid and Ibrahim El Bakraoui, both of whom killed themselves in the attacks.

At least 14 other people were also killed when the twin blasts ripped through the airport's departure hall but Laachraoui was reported to have fled the scene after his bomb failed to detonate.

The circumstances of his arrest were not revealed but the federal prosecutor is preparing a press briefing for later this morning.

Laachraoui, previously known as Soufiane Kayal, is also suspected of making the bombs used in November's Paris massacres, after his DNA was allegedly found on suicide belts used in the Bataclan Theatre and the Stade de France.

Prosecutors had said on Monday - the day before the Brussels attacks - that he had travelled to Hungary in September with Salah Abdeslam, the prime suspect in the Paris attacks, who was captured by police last week.

Laachraoui is also believed to have travelled to Syria in February 2013.

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Sam Kiley says that capturing Laachraoui alive, if confirmed, would be a "major breakthrough".

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