AirAsia Flight's Altitude Request Was Refused

Putin Critic Alexei Navalny Arrested At Rally

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 31 Desember 2014 | 12.15

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has been detained by police after tweeting he was breaking his house arrest to join a protest.

The opposition activist - who ran for mayor of Moscow in 2013 - had been convicted of fraud alongside his brother Oleg earlier on Tuesday.

Although Alexei Navalny received a three-and-a-half-year suspended sentence, Oleg Navalny, a father-of-two who has no role in the opposition movement, was jailed for the same period.

Navalny said on Twitter that he planned to join protesters in Moscow and posted a picture of himself on what appeared to be a metro train.

"I may be under house arrest, but today I really want to be with you. That's why I am going too," he wrote.

The blogger's supporters called for a mass protest near the Kremlin, with at least 18,000 pledging on Facebook to attend.

Moscow officials warned that "all unsanctioned actions will be prevented by the security forces".

TV footage showed several thousand anti-Kremlin demonstrators gathered in the dark near Red Square and ringed by police or soldiers with riot shields.

Navalny was taken into custody as he approached the rally, but he tweeted urging others to stay and protest.

"I was detained, but they won't be able to detain everyone," he wrote.

He was then driven home and prevented from leaving his apartment again.

The protesters who gathered on the square chanted: "We are the power!" and "You won't be able to jail us all!"

About 100 other people were arrested but the rally was allowed to continue for two hours before it was broken up by security forces.

The verdict in the brothers' case was scheduled for next month, but was abruptly moved forward to the day before New Year's Eve, the main holiday in Russia, leading to speculation that authorities wanted to head off planned protests.

The trial - which saw the pair accused of stealing 30 million roubles, around $500,000 (£372,000) at the current exchange rate, from two firms - was viewed by many critics as part of a campaign to stifle dissent.

Alexei Navalny reacted angrily to the jailing of his brother, shouting out: "Aren't you ashamed of what you're doing? You want to punish me even harder?"

He briefly entered the metal cage that his brother was put into after the verdict and appeared to be holding back tears.

The European Union said the verdict appeared to be "politically motivated" but called for protesters to show restraint.

The US State Department said it was a "disturbing development designed to punish and deter political activism".

12.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

UN Push For Palestinian Statehood Blocked

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.

12.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

AirAsia Flight's Altitude Request Was Refused

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 30 Desember 2014 | 12.15

AirAsia Flight's Altitude Request Was Refused

We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

Pilots of the AirAsia plane thought to have crashed in the Java Sea were refused permission to climb higher to avoid a storm, according to Indonesia's air travel chief.

Joko Muryo Atmodjo said Flight QZ8501 had asked to ascend from 32,000ft (9,753m) to 38,000ft (11,582m) but controllers denied the request because of heavy air traffic.

Five minutes later the plane fell off the radar without sending any distress signal.

The aircraft had been on its way from Surabaya, on the Indonesian island of Java, to Singapore.

The search team's grim prediction is that the Airbus A320 is now "likely at the bottom of the sea".

Data from Flightradar24.com showed several other planes were between 34,000 to 36,000ft when it disappeared on Sunday morning.

Unconfirmed secondary radar from Malaysia suggests it was climbing at 100 knots too slow.

Pilot Ray Karam Singh, who is familiar with the route, told Sky News icy conditions at high altitudes might have caused the plane to stall.

He said: "As you climb higher the temperature gets colder ... the speed comes down – your margin of error is less."

Search teams have found "suspicious" objects 700 miles from where the plane disappeared but no link has been confirmed.

1/8

Gallery: The Search For Missing AirAsia Plane

Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) personnel survey the waters, on board a C-130 Hercules, during a Search and Locate operation for the missing AirAsia QZ8501 aircraft

The jet carrying 162 people could be at the bottom of the sea after it was presumed to have crashed off the Indonesian coast, an official said

]]>

Countries around Asia sent ships and planes to help in the search effort. According to the RSAF, two C-130 aircraft were deployed on Monday to join in the search

]]>

Navy soldiers prepare food on the KRI Sultan Hasanuddin-366 warship before joining search operations at Batuampar port in Batam

]]>

Indonesia's vice-president Jusuf Kalla (L) monitors progress during a visit to the National Search and Rescue Agency in Jakarta

]]>

One Briton, Hull-born Chi Man Choi, and his two-year-old daughter Zoe, are understood to have been among the 162 people on board.

Mr Choi's wife and their other child had travelled back to Singapore on an earlier flight, according to Channel News Asia.

However, nearly all of the 162 passengers and crew on board were from Indonesia.

The daughter of the captain – named as Iryanto by the AP news agency - posted an emotional message on social media site Path.

"Papa, come home, I still need you …Bring back my papa. Papa, please come home," said 22-year-old Angela Anggi Ranastianis.

Dozens of people have gathered at the home of the former F-16 fighter pilot in the town of Sidoarjo.

"He is a good man. That's why people here appointed him as our neighbourhood chief for the last two years," said neighbour Bagianto Djoyonegoro.

Relatives of passengers have also been gathering at Indonesia's Surabaya airport, where a family crisis has been set up.

One man described how his daughter, Ruth Natalia Puspitasari, had showed concern for the families of people on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

She was on her way to Singapore with her fiance and future in-laws for a New Year's holiday and was set to celebrate her 26th birthday on Monday.

"Now she is gone in the missing plane, and we should face this sorrow, I can't believe it!" said Ms Puspitasari's father, Suyanto.

"I don't want to experience the same thing with what was happened with Malaysia Airlines. It could be a long suffering."

Recommended by Outbrain Recommended by Outbrain

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 25 Desember 2014 | 12.15

Police have released CCTV showing the moment a black teenager appears to draw a gun before he is shot dead by a white officer in a killing that sparked more violent protests in Missouri.

Antonio Martin, 18, was killed at a petrol station in the St Louis suburb of Berkeley on Tuesday night.

Authorities said the officer was responding to a shop-lifting call at around 11.15pm when he saw two men and approached them.

CCTV video appears to show one of the men drawing and pointing a handgun at the officer.

St Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said the officer stumbled backwards and fired three shots, one of which struck the teenager.

Martin was dead when paramedics arrived, the chief said.

Detectives said they recovered Martin's 9mm pistol at the scene.

Following the shooting, a crowd of up to 300 people gathered around the cordoned off forecourt.

A wall of police officers, some wearing riot helmets, guarded the scene with bystanders shouting at them in a tense standoff.

Footage showed fireworks being let off and some officers were injured after bricks were thrown.

On Wednesday, Berkeley's mayor attempted to ease tensions by distancing the shooting from the killing of Michael Brown Jr in nearby Ferguson, in August.

"This is not the same as Ferguson," Theodore Hoskins said.

"There is this jump to conclusion that all policemen are guilty. Jumping to conclusion before investigation is not acceptable."

He added: "Some people die because the policeman initiates it. Some people die because they initiate it.

"At this point, our review indicates that the police did not initiate this."

Chief Belmar said he understood the emotions of the community but that "bad choices were made" by the victim.

"This individual could have complied with the officer, he could have run away, he could have dropped the gun.

"All sorts of things could have happened. It didn't have to end with him approaching the officer with a 9mm pistol in his hand," he said.

Martin's mother, Toni Martin, was at the scene overnight. She was heard crying "that's my baby" when she found out her son was dead.

She told the St Louis Post-Dispatch that Martin had been out with his girlfriend, adding: "His girlfriend told me the police was messing with him. He was trying to get up and run and they started shooting."

1/12

Gallery: Shooting Is Close To Where The Michael Brown Killing Sparked Protests

CCTV shows the moment before an officer fatally shoots Antonio Martin in Missouri

The black teenager is shot by a police officer at a petrol station in Berkeley, St Louis

]]>

12.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

US: Captured Pilot's Plane Not Downed By IS

We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

The US has dismissed claims that Islamic State fighters shot down a Jordanian warplane before capturing its pilot.

IS supporters claimed the plane, which was flying with US-led coalition forces, was hit by a heat-seeking missile near Raqqa city in northern Syria.

Jordan initially said the F-16 fighter was shot down during a "military mission against the hideouts of the terrorist group" - but later said it was unclear how the plane came to crash.

Now the US Central Command has said: "Evidence clearly indicates that ISIL (IS) did not down the aircraft as the terrorist organisation is claiming."

A Washington official added that the allies were investigating whether the plane suffered a mechanical fault.

1/6

Gallery: Militants Claim To Have Captured Jordanian Pilot In Syria

The plane was said to have been brought down near Raqqa city, a stronghold of Islamic State fighters in northern Syria

Several photographs were released, including one showing the pilot, wearing only a white shirt, being carried from water by four men

]]>

The photos were published on IS websites

]]>

The crash site where the jet was brought down

]]>

Fragments from the aircraft were retrieved

]]>

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged IS captors to treat the pilot "in accordance with international humanitarian law".

An army statement read on Jordanian state television said: "Jordan holds the group and its supporters responsible for the safety of the pilot and his life."

IS in Raqqa published photographs on jihadist websites purporting to show its fighters holding the captured pilot and showed a military card identifying him.

Several photographs were released, including one showing the captive, wearing only a white shirt, being carried from water by four men.

Another showed him on land, surrounded by about a dozen armed men.

The images were verified by two relatives contacted by the Reuters news agency, who said they had been notified by the head of the Jordanian air force that the pilot was First Lieutenant Muath al Kasaesbeh, aged 27.

The army separately confirmed his name.

A friend said Mr Kasaesbeh, who is from a prominent Jordanian family, was passionate about his mission and felt it was a religious duty to fight extremist groups such as IS that were "distorting the true spirit of Islam".

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond tweeted that he was "concerned" for the pilot.

Jordan is among a number of countries that have joined the US-led alliance carrying out airstrikes against IS after the jihadis seized large areas of Syria and Iraq.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Bahrain are taking part in airstrikes alongside the US.

Recommended by Outbrain Recommended by Outbrain

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 21 Desember 2014 | 12.14

A woman has been charged with the murder of eight children at a house in Cairns, northern Australia, police have said.

Mersane Warria, 37, is the mother of seven of the children, who had all been found stabbed to death. The eighth child was her niece.

The youngsters - four girls and four boys - were aged between two and 14 years, police said.

Warria was formally charged following a bedside hearing at Cairns Base Hospital where she appeared before a magistrate.

She remains under police guard in the hospital.

Officers were called to the home in the suburb of Manoora on Friday morning after reports of a woman suffering from stab wounds.

The children's bodies were discovered during a search of the house.

Police have not said how the children died, but Queensland Police Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar said they are examining several knives in the home that may have been the weapon used to kill them.

Suffocation was also a possible cause of death.

Det Ins Asnicar said: "We are considering that and that's why it's taking a bit of time.

"It could be a range of things, from suffocation to 1,000 other things."

Police are not looking for any other suspects.

Residents have held a church service, candlelit vigil and laid flowers and toys for the children outside the home.

The family were members of the Torres Strait Islander community, a group of indigenous Australians viewed as distinct from the broader Aboriginal community due to their origins on islands off the Queensland coast.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott described the deaths as "heartbreaking".

He added: "All parents would feel a gut-wrenching sadness at what has happened. This is an unspeakable crime.

"These are trying days for our country."

The deaths came as Australia was reeling from a deadly siege in a Sydney cafe.

12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

Two New York Cops 'Assassinated' In Ambush

By Sky News US Team

Two New York City police officers have been killed by a lone gunman as they sat in their parked patrol car in broad daylight.

Both officers were shot in the head in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighbourhood of Brooklyn by the suspect, who has been named as Ismaaiyl Brinsley.

Police Commissioner William Bratton identified the two officers as Liu Wenjin, 32 and Raphael Ramos, 40.

He said they were shot and killed "with no warning, no provocation".

"They were quite simply assassinated," Mr Bratton said.

Mr Liu, a seven-year veteran who got married two months ago, and Mr Ramos, father to a 13-year-old son, were "ambushed and murdered", officials said.

Mr Bratton added that Brinsley had published posts on Instagram that were "very anti-police".

Authorities have not revealed the contents, but two officials told the Associated Press that Brinsley posted about shooting two "pigs" in retaliation for the death of Eric Garner, who died after a New York police officer used a chokehold during an arrest.

An image later emerged of an Instagram post that has been attributed to Brinsley.

Part of the caption with it reads: "I'm Putting Wings On Pigs Today. They Take 1 Of Ours ... Let's Take 2 of Theirs."

Brinsley shot and seriously injured his ex-girlfriend earlier on Saturday in Baltimore, Maryland, before travelling to New York.

He fired through the passenger side of the officers' vehicle with a silver semi-automatic handgun just before 3pm local time (8pm UK time).

The 28-year-old then ran inside a subway station and fatally shot himself in the head as responding officers pursued him.

The shooting occurred around the same time New York police were receiving a warning fax from authorities in Baltimore.

Attorney General Eric Holder called the deaths an "unspeakable act of barbarism".

Local resident Derrick Thompson said the shooting happened across from the Tompkins Houses public housing development.

"I was watching TV, and then I heard the helicopters," he said. "I walked out, and all of a sudden - this."

The shooting comes amid heightened tensions in New York and across the United States over police tactics following the death of Mr Garner and the shooting dead of Michael Brown in Missouri.

Several officers have been assaulted at protests in New York during demonstrations that have largely been peaceful.

Mr Bratton said they were looking at whether the suspect had attended any rallies or demonstrations.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, a civil rights leader who has supported the families of Mr Brown and Mr Garner, said Mr Garner's family has no connection to the suspect and denounced the shootings.

He said: "Any use of the names of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, in connection with any violence or killing of police, is reprehensible and against the pursuit of justice in both cases."

The city's mayor, Bill de Blasio, said: "When a police officer is murdered, it tears at the foundation of our society. It is an attack on all of us.

"Our entire city was attacked by this heinous individual."

12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stigma Of Sierra Leone's 'Ebola Orphans' Remains

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 20 Desember 2014 | 12.15

By David Bowden, Senior News Correspondent

Sierra Leone is now at the forefront of the fight against Ebola in West Africa, with more than 8,000 reported cases than any other country and a rising number of deaths.

But the impact of the disease goes far beyond the victims themselves.

There are thousands of so-called "Ebola orphans", young children who have lost one or both parents to the disease and many have seen their close family wiped out by the virus too.

In Sierra Leone there are estimated to be more than 4,500 children in this situation and caring for them is a growing problem.

Before the Ebola outbreak the St George Foundation - founded by Unicef just outside Freetown after the civil war in Sierra Leone a decade ago - cared for street urchins and child prostitutes, but not anymore.

Now the youngsters here, aged from just one and a half to 17 years old, are without their loved ones because of Ebola.

For founder Justina Conteh and her staff it is heartbreaking to have to explain to ones so young that they are alone in the world. All deal with it differently.

She said: "For the boys, give them one week and they are ok, but for the girls you really see them in the corners in a sulky way sitting down thinking, holding their heads.

"For the girls it really takes time for them to get over the psychological problems."

There are 35 children being looked after at St George's, but as the others tuck into their lunch, two remain apart behind a sagging nylon rope marking the boundary of the quarantined area.

This is where Haja and Fatima live for now. Haja, who is 17, has lost 10 members of her family to Ebola including her mother, seven of her sisters and two brothers. Her father died five years ago.

Haja, too, was infected but survived.

She explained what happened in hospital: "So two to three days and I didn't die. After I don't die they transferred me to Hastings (an Ebola treatment centre). I stay there for about two weeks and they discharge me."

She has been at the orphanage ever since, acting as an unpaid nanny to other orphans who are suspected of having Ebola.

Her survival has given her hope for immunity from the virus a second time.

At the moment she only has one charge, nine-year-old Fatima, whose mother died from the disease, but who so far is showing no signs of being infected herself.

An 11-month-old baby boy who had been in quarantine has just died from Ebola, though Kadija, 10, recently left Haja's care after she tested negative for the virus.

The ordeal for these youngsters is not over yet, finding them new homes is proving very difficult because of the stigma of Ebola.

No one, not even extended family, seems to want anything to do with a child who has been so close to the killer virus.

12.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sony: 'We Had No Choice' But To Pull Film

Sony has defended its decision to cancel a film mocking the North Korean regime after the studio suffered a damaging cyber-attack.

In a statement, the company said it had "no choice" but to pull The Interview, because cinema chains across the US had backed away from showing the film, which depicts a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

The decision was made after the group claiming responsibility for the cyber-attack made terrorist threats against US cinemas if they showed the movie, which stars Seth Rogen and James Franco.

President Barack Obama strongly criticised the move, saying he believed the studio had "made a mistake".

Celebrities and film-makers have also slammed the decision, which was made earlier this week.

Mr Obama said: "I wish they had spoken to me first.

"We cannot have a society in which some dictatorship someplace can start imposing censorship."

"Without theaters, we could not release it in the theaters on Christmas Day," Sony said in response.

"We had no choice."

It insists it has only cancelled the Christmas Day release and it has been "actively surveying alternatives" to release the film on another platform.

"It is still our hope that anyone who wants to see this movie will get the opportunity to do so," Sony said.

Sony's chief executive, Michael Lynton, has also defended the company's actions, telling CNN: "We experienced the worst cyber-attack in American history.

"We have not caved, we have not given in, we have persevered and we have not backed down.

"We have always had every desire to have the American public see this movie."

Mr Lynton said the President, the media and the public "are mistaken as to what actually happened" and added he had personally talked to senior advisers at the White House, who were "certainly aware of the situation".

The FBI revealed on Friday it believed North Korea was behind the cyber-attack on Sony, something Pyongyang has denied.

However, a North Korean diplomat did say the film "defamed the image of our country".

1/12

Gallery: 'The Interview' Film Pulled: Hollywood Takes to Twitter

]]>

12.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Russia's Crumbling Economy Faces Fresh Sanctions

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 19 Desember 2014 | 12.15

Russia's crumbling economy could be hit further after the EU agreed on more santions over its intervention in Ukraine.

Fresh punitive measures - banning investment in Crimea to target Russian Black Sea oil and gas exploration - were agreed at the end of the European Council summit in Brussels.

New EU president Donald Tusk said they needed to create a long-term strategy to stop Russia President Vladimir Putin's defiance of the West.

"We need to be realistic, we have to treat this as a long-term game. We must go beyond being reactive and defensive."

He called on Europeans to "regain our self-confidence and realise our own strength" when dealing with Russia.

David Cameron warned Mr Putin that Russia's economy was in "serious" trouble after being hit by a slump in oil prices and sanctions from the EU and US.

"I think that something very important is being made clear here, which is that if you want to have full access to the international capital markets you cannot behave in a way that flies in the face of the international rules and how to behave towards other countries.

"If it takes Russian troops out of Ukraine, and it obeys all the strictures of the Minsk agreement, these sanctions can go.

"But until that happens these sanctions should not go and there was a very clear and unanimous and unified view in the EU tonight."

Speaking at his annual end-of-year media conference, Mr Putin hit back saying the sanctions have not had a big effect and accused the West of behaving like "an empire".

He also accused the West of trying to "chain" the Russian bear.

"Probably our bear should just relax and sit quietly and just eat honey instead of hunting animals. Maybe then they will leave the bear in peace.

"But they will not. What they are trying to do is chain the bear and when they manage to chain the bear they will just take out its fangs and claws."

12.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Eight Children Stabbed To Death In Cairns

Eight children have been found stabbed to death at a house in Cairns, Australia.

The children are reportedly aged between 18 months and 15 years.

Police were called to a property in the suburb of Manoora following reports of a woman with serious injuries.

During the search of the house the bodies of the children were discovered.

The 34-year-old woman, reportedly the children's mother, has received treatment for her wounds.

She is said to be in a stable condition at a hospital where she is being questioned by police.

Queensland Police Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar said: "As it stands at the moment, there's no need for the public to be concerned about this other than the fact that it's a tragic, tragic event.

"The situation is well controlled."

He said detectives had not yet determined the relationship between all of the children and the woman.

But Lisa Thaiday, who said she was the woman's cousin, said the children were all siblings and that the woman was their mother.

Ms Thaiday said another sibling, a 20-year-old man, came home and found his brothers and sisters dead inside the house.

She said. "We're a big family... I just can't believe it."

Cairns Post reporter Scott Forbes, at the scene, told Sky News: "I've spoken to some of the family members and they say the woman, who is the biological mother, actually has more children but the other kids weren't at home at the time so of the children she does have eight of them are now dead.

"Many of the people here are actually connected to the family or relatives of the family. They are very shocked. They said they were a happy family and were enthusiastic about Christmas.

"They've said she was a very proud mother who was very protective of her children, so everyone lining the streets here are reeling right now."

The street is in lock down and a crime scene will remain in place for at least another day, police said.

Cairns MP Michael Trout told Sky News the close-knit community was in shock over the "dreadful tragedy".

"How can anyone harm innocent children is on everyone's lips at this moment," he said. "It has hit the community like a shockwave."

The deaths come as Australia is still feeling the shock of the deadly siege in a Sydney cafe earlier this week.

Police stormed the building early on Tuesday morning to end a 16-hour hostage standoff in which three people were killed, including the hostage-taker.

More follows...

12.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Terrorists 'Plotting To Bomb School Buses'

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 18 Desember 2014 | 12.14

Pakistani police have issued a warning that terrorists are planning to plant magnetic bombs on school buses.

Authorities in Islamabad issued a letter calling on schools to increase security and to check underneath buses and other vehicles.

It comes after seven Taliban gunmen burst into an army-run school in Peshawar and massacred more than 130 children and nine teachers on Tuesday.

The country's army chief General Raheel Sharif and the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) have flown to Afghanistan to meet Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to discuss tackling Taliban militants in both countries.

Army spokesman Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa said: "We are hoping that we will see strong action from the Afghan side in the coming days."

Relations between the two countries have been tense, with both sides blaming the other for covertly supporting anti-government insurgents.

And as the country began three days of mourning in the wake of the school attack, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reinstated the death penalty in terrorism cases.

Government spokesman Mohiuddin Wan said: "It was decided that this moratorium should be lifted. The prime minister approved.

1/23

Gallery: Bloody Aftermath Of School Attack

A Taliban massacre that killed 141 teachers and children at an army-run school in Pakistan has left a scene of heart-wrenching devastation

Blood is seen still splattered on the floor and the stairs as local media are allowed inside the school a day after the attack

]]>

12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sierra Leone Braced For Increase In Ebola Cases

By David Bowden, Senior Correspondent, In Freetown

Sierra Leone, caught in the grip of the Ebola crisis, is bracing itself for a sharp increase in cases of the killer disease over the Christmas period.

The Government is so worried about the situation it has outlawed any seasonal public celebrations and will be putting soldiers on the street to make sure no one disobeys the directive.

The outbreak of the virus, which began a year ago in neighbouring Guinea and quickly spread to Liberia, is now dominating the lives of everyone in Sierra Leone.

The western part of the country, including the capital Freetown where around a third of the population of more than six million lives, is bearing the brunt of the current upturn in cases.

Authorities have instigated what they call the "Western Surge" to redouble efforts to try to keep the virus at bay.

Eunice Peacock, of the District Ebola Response Centre (DERC), admits they are "running to catch up" with the rate of the spread of the disease and would not be drawn on when it would be brought under control.

One of the biggest problems is a refusal by what some claim is up to 80% of the population, a figure disputed by the government, to even acknowledge Ebola is real.

One of the scores of operators at the UK-funded 117 Ebola telephone reporting line said many of the calls she takes are pranks or abusive.

"They will use abusive language on you, they'll say Ebola is lie, lie, you're just taking money, most of them that is what they say," she said.

"They don't believe. Most of the people they don't believe in the Ebola stuff."

The genuine calls get pushed on to the DERC where they are followed up either as live cases or burials.

One of the burial units is run by the Red Cross and again funded by the UK.

It aims to get everybody reported to it collected and buried in the central Ebola cemetery within 24 hours.

Even those who have not died from the virus are collected and treated as if they had the disease - which means getting accurate figures for the number of Ebola deaths is difficult.

We went out with Burial Team 7 into the Wellington area of Freetown - up steep, winding tracks where even four wheel drive vehicles struggled to pass.

There we went to the home of Alie Kamara, a 63-year-old father of 16, who had died on the morning we arrived. He had been ill for some time.

His family said they had a certificate saying he was free of Ebola - but the body retrieval team still put on their protective suits to salvage Alie's remains before disinfecting the house.

His body was put into two sealed bags after a short Muslim blessing before being lifted on to the back of a truck to be taken to the graveyard.

The team moved on to the next body. Here the daughter of 70-year old Allieu Koroma, Marie, was hysterically throwing herself to the ground.

Again there was no suggestion of Ebola, though there were raised eyebrows when the dead man's wife suggested he too had a medical certificate proving he was free of Ebola, but that "rats had eaten it".

As with Alie, Allieu's body was swabbed, double bagged and put on to the back of the truck.

The bodies of two confirmed Ebola victims were then picked up from a hospital before the team travelled on to a graveyard.

The World War II cemetery has been disused for years, but is now Freetown's central Ebola burial site.

There is row after row of freshly filled graves, side by side with row after row of empty ones awaiting a body.

No sooner had Burial Team 7 placed Alie and Allieu into their respective final resting places, another group from a different aid organisation turned up to do the same for their Ebola dead.

Moments later the graves were covered by a team of grubby, well-muscled diggers who are never short of work at the moment.

12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistan Taliban's History Of Bloody Attacks

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 17 Desember 2014 | 12.15

Described as a "national tragedy" by prime minister Nawaz Sharif, the Pakistani Taliban's massacre at a Peshawar school is the group's latest brutal attack.

The organisation said the killings at the military-run school were "revenge" for a widespread military operation in the North Waziristan tribal area earlier this year.

The group, called Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was formed in 2007, in the aftermath of the siege of the Red Mosque in Islamabad.

The group's first leader Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US missile attack in August 2009.

TTP is an umbrella for militant groups, united in fighting the Pakistani military.

It aims to impose a strict interpretation of the Koran throughout the country.

Here are just some of the attacks they have been linked to in recent years:

:: Benazir Bhutto Assassination 2007

Pakistan's government accused TTP of involvement in the assassination of the former prime minister in December 2007, although the group denies it.

:: Marriott Hotel Bombing 2008

A Taliban-linked group claimed responsibility for the September 2008 truck bomb attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, which killed 53 people.

:: Times Square Plot 2010

Baitullah Mehsud was succeeded by Hakimullah Mehsud, who pledged to use suicide bombers in the US. He was behind the failed truck bomb attack in New York's Times Square in May 2010.

The US Department of State formally declared the group a terrorist organisation in September 2010, with the UK and Canada following suit in 2011.

:: Malala Yousafzai Shooting 2012

In October 2012 the Taliban shot the schoolgirl in the head outside her school in Swat Valley for daring to speak about girls' rights.

She survived, and went on the win the Nobel Peace Prize.

:: Karachi Airport Attack 2014

After peace talks with the Pakistan government in June 2014 failed, the Taliban attacked Karachi Airport, killing 26 people.

A week later the Pakistan military began a major military offensive, Operation Zarb e Azb in the Waziristan region, which has seen hundreds of militants killed.

12.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Days Of Mourning Begin Over Deadliest Attack

We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

Three days of mourning have begun after Taliban gunmen killed 132 children and nine teachers at a school in Peshawar.

The country suffered its deadliest terror attack as nine men stormed the army-run school while around 500 children and teachers were believed to be inside.

Tehreek-e-Taliban insurgents moved from room to room during the eight hour attack in what is believed to have been an act of revenge for a major military offensive in the region.

Funerals of many of the victims have already taken place with the rest to follow later.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif described the attack as a "national tragedy unleashed by savages".

1/12

Gallery: Taliban Gunmen Kill 132 Children In Northern Pakistan City

Militants from the Pakistani Taliban attacked an army-run school in Peshawar on Wednesday

They killed 141 people, 132 of whom were children

]]>

Students told stories of gunmen entering classrooms and firing at random

]]>

Swipe through for more pictures..

]]>

"These were my children. This is my loss. This is the nation's loss."

Teenage survivor Shahrukh Khan, who ducked below his desk with classmates when four gunmen burst into their room, described how he played dead after being shot in both legs, stuffing his tie into his mouth to stifle his screams.

"I saw a pair of big black boots coming towards me, this guy was probably hunting for students hiding beneath the benches," the 15-year-old said.

"The man with big boots kept on looking for students and pumping bullets into their bodies. I lay as still as I could and closed my eyes, waiting to get shot again.

"My body was shivering. I saw death so close and I will never forget the black boots approaching me - I felt as though it was death that was approaching me."

Chief military spokesman General Asim Bajwa that 125 people had been wounded in the assault.

Gen Bajwa said the attackers, equipped with enough ammunition and food to last for a number of days, only wanted to kill.

"The terrorists started indiscriminate firing as they entered the auditorium so they had no intention of taking any hostages," he said.

Recommended by Outbrain Recommended by Outbrain

Muke Nyerate

Mengenai Saya

Popular Posts Today

Putin Critic Alexei Navalny Arrested At Rally

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 31 Desember 2014 | 12.15

UN Push For Palestinian Statehood Blocked

AirAsia Flight's Altitude Request Was Refused

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 30 Desember 2014 | 12.15

Top Stories

Top Stories

Objects Spotted In Sea In Missing Plane Search

Top Stories

Top Stories

CCTV Shows Moment Before Officer Shot Teen

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 25 Desember 2014 | 12.15

US: Captured Pilot's Plane Not Downed By IS

Top Stories

Top Stories

Mother Charged Over Deaths Of Eight Children

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 21 Desember 2014 | 12.14

Two New York Cops 'Assassinated' In Ambush

Stigma Of Sierra Leone's 'Ebola Orphans' Remains

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 20 Desember 2014 | 12.15

Sony: 'We Had No Choice' But To Pull Film

Russia's Crumbling Economy Faces Fresh Sanctions

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 19 Desember 2014 | 12.15

Eight Children Stabbed To Death In Cairns

Terrorists 'Plotting To Bomb School Buses'

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 18 Desember 2014 | 12.14

Sierra Leone Braced For Increase In Ebola Cases

Pakistan Taliban's History Of Bloody Attacks

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 17 Desember 2014 | 12.15

Days Of Mourning Begin Over Deadliest Attack

Top Stories

Top Stories

Links

Arsip Blog