Separatists Set To Defy Putin On Ukraine Vote

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

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

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

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

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

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

President Putin wants the independence vote postponed

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

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

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

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

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

Nato and the US said they had seen no signs of this.

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

Pro-Russia activists stand guard during a rally in Luhansk

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

The West has accused Russia of orchestrating violence in eastern Ukraine in order to justify a military intervention, something which Moscow has strenuously denied. 

The European Union and United States have imposed a series of sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian individuals and companies.

Russia hit back on Thursday by expanding its list of American and Canadian individuals barred from Russia. The foreign ministry declined to name those affected.

It's defence ministry also warned that Ukraine had assembled 15,000 troops on its border with Russia.

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Oscar Pistorius 'Is Not Putting On A Show'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anaesthetist Professor Christina Lundgren cast doubt on prosecution claims that Oscar Pistorius had a late-night argument with Ms Steenkamp before he shot her.

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

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

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

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

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

But she said some ingredients in a chicken stir-fry Ms Steenkamp ate, such as vegetables and fatty foods, could take longer to digest, while her yoga session before going to bed could also delay the process.

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

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

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

Forensic and ballistics expert Thomas Wolmarans said he found a bullet fragment in the toilet bowl in Pistorius' bathroom that police had missed during their examination.

He told the court about the devastating nature of the bullets fired by Pistorius - describing how they "mushroom" when they hit soft flesh, causing "a permanent cavity".

Mr Wolmarans gave reasons why assumptions about the trajectory of the bullets that killed Ms Steenkamp may not be accurate, suggesting the wooden toilet door could have changed their course by several centimetres.

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

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Boko Haram 'Kill Hundreds' In Nigeria Attack

Up to 300 people are reported to have been killed in the latest attack blamed on an Islamist group that abducted more than 200 schoolgirls and threatened to sell them at market.

Borno state senator Ahmed Khalifa Zanna told Sky News hundreds of people were reported to have been killed in the northeastern Nigerian town of Gamboru Ngala by armed men believed to be from Boko Haram.

He said the suspected militants opened fire on residents, before burning down numerous shops and businesses in the town near the Cameroon border.

Mr Zanna is also reported as saying the town was left unguarded after soldiers were moved to join the hunt for the 276 girls who went missing from a boarding school in the village of Chibok in Borno state, north Nigeria, on April 14.

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

Michelle Obama has joined the Twitter campaign for the missing girls

Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau claimed responsibility for the mass abduction in a video, in which he also threatened to sell the girls "on the market".

It was not immediately clear whether the video was recorded before or after reports emerged that some girls had been trafficked into neighbouring Chad and Cameroon.

Mr Zanna told Sky News he did not believe any of the girls have yet been sold, but had heard information that some have been passed to Cameroon for marriage.

Relatives and campaigners have staged regular protests and launched a social media appeal, under the banner "Bring Back Our Girls," which calls on the government to do more.

The British Government said it would send a small team of experts, possibly including military officers, to assist with the search.

Most of the girls were taken from the village of Chibok

The group will concentrate on planning, co-ordination and advice rather than taking in part in operations to free the girls on the ground. 

Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman said the team would be in the country as soon as possible, although did not specify how many people it would involve.

In a speech to parliament Mr Cameron earlier condemned the kidnapping as "an act of pure evil."

He said: "This is not just a Nigerian issue; it is a global issue.

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

Abubakar Shekau threatened to sell the girls "on the market"

The UK team will join fewer than 10 US military troops due to be sent to the country over the next few days.The Pentagon said they would be part of a larger US assistance team, including State Department and Justice Department personnel, who would help with intelligence, communications and logistics.

Spokesman Col. Steve Warren made clear the US had no plans to launch a military operation.

US President Barack Obama has pledged to do "everything we can" to help rescue the youngsters.

Boko Haram, whose name means 'Western education is sinful,' has fought a five-year insurgency against the Nigerian government and hopes to carve out an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.

Nigerian police have announced a 50m Nigerian naira (£182,000) reward for credible information leading to the location and rescue of the female students.

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Ukraine: 'No Sign' Russians Leaving Border

The US and Nato have said there is no evidence Russia has moved its forces back from the Ukrainian border despite the president saying his forces are "not on the Ukrainian border".

Russia's Vladimir Putin said: "We're always being told that our forces on the Ukrainian border are a concern. We have withdrawn them.

"They are in places where they conduct their regular tasks on training grounds."

However, the White House and the Pentagon said there was no indication Russia had moved the up to 40,000 troops - backed by heavy armour and fighter planes - believed to be deployed in the area.

"We would certainly welcome a meaningful and transparent withdrawal" White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters travelling with President Barack Obama to Arkansas and California.

"To date, there has been no evidence that such a withdrawal has taken place."

He also demanded that Russia go further than merely calling for a planned referendum on independence for eastern Ukraine to be postponed.

Ukrainian forces outside the rebel held stronghold of Slavyansk

Mr Putin has called on pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine to delay a poll in the mostly Russian-speaking region until after Sunday, but the US wants it cancelled completely.

Several towns and cities in east Ukraine have come under the control of separatists, who are seeking independence from Kiev.

They had been due to vote on whether to leave the rest of Ukraine on May 11, in a referendum that was not supported by Kiev or the West.

One of the separatist leaders said they would consider the Russian leader's call to postpone the referendum.

But Sky's Katie Stallard, who is in Donetsk, said there were doubts about whether Mr Putin had been completely frank when making his statements.

"Taken at face value this is a real about turn. There are a couple of reasons to be sceptical," she said.

A flag burns outside Mariupol city hall, which is back under rebel control

"First, Russia did sign up to the Geneva accord ... all of which had zero effect. Second there are real logistical issues with whether they would be able to hold that referendum ... so it may be rather convenient if they were to postpone (it).

"The third reason to bear in mind when you hear Mr Putin speak is, all the way through the situation in Crimea, he denied any Russian troops were involved. It was only after the event that he admitted that there were.

"I think you have to … believe when you see it."

Meanwhile, European Union governments pressed ahead with plans to target Russian people and companies as a way of putting pressure on the Kremlin.

Foreign Secretary William Hague, who is holding talks in Kiev with the country's leaders, told Sky News the rebels' referendum was an attempt to "disrupt" national elections that are being held in Ukraine on May 25.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces withdrew from Mariupol city hall after a night of heavy fighting saw them recapture the rebel-held building.

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Nigerian Girl 'Ran And Ran' To Escape Kidnap

A Nigerian girl who staged a remarkable escape when gunmen took her and more than 200 others hostage has described how she was told: "Don't worry, we're soldiers. Nothing is going to happen to you."

The 16-year-old was snatched from her boarding school in Chibok by members of the Islamic group Boko Haram. She was herded into a pick-up truck and driven away but fled when one of the vehicles in the convoy broke down.

She and her friends jumped down from the truck and darted into a nearby forest to hide when the stranded car behind them suddenly started up, illuminating the road ahead.

"We ran and ran, so fast," said the girl. "That's how I saved myself. I had no time to be scared. I was just running."

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau is wanted by Nigerian police

Some of the children clung to low-hanging branches as the kidnappers' convoy sped off into the night.

When the girls eventually made their way back to the road, they were met by a man on a bicycle who accompanied them back to the village.

The teenager described the end of her ordeal as an emotional experience.

"I'm the only girl in my family, so I hold a special place and everyone was so happy," she said. "But that didn't last long."

Remembering the siege on April 14, the girl said she knew the men were not who they claimed to be when they started shouting: "Allahu Akhbar (God is great)."

The girls were taken from the village of Chibok in northeast Nigeria

She said there were too many attackers to count, adding that she and her friends had no choice but to sit and watch as their classrooms were set alight before they were herded onto three trucks.

The kidnapping has been condemned by both the UK and the US, who have offered to help find the girls.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau appeared in a video alongside two militants brandishing AK-47s saying: "I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah.

"Allah has instructed me to sell them. They are his property and I will carry out his instructions."

The kidnappers are thought to be hiding out in a remote area on the Nigeria-Cameroon border.

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Obama: We'll Do Everything To Find Nigeria Girls

Nigerian Kidnaps: What Can Really Be Done?

Updated: 2:46pm UK, Tuesday 06 May 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

The temptation to "do something" is almost overwhelming. Some 270 school girls abducted, many already raped, dragged into the bush and now threatened with being sold into slavery.

Of course the "do something" instinct comes to the fore.

In fact it's only really become an international cry since the leader of Boko Haram, which means Western education is sinful, delivered a 57-minute diatribe in Hausa, Arabic and English, threatening the girls with slavery this week.

Inside Nigeria, the government has been under growing pressure to "do something".

Dr Sakyimah Akilu, a presidential adviser and spokeswoman on national security, told Sky News that it was true that there was a general impression that the Nigerian government had failed to react to the mass abductions.

"The truth is that we are pursuing every lead we have had. But you have to understand that they have been taken into the Sambisa forest and perhaps into the mountains in Cameroon - there are many places to hide," she said.

This fatalism may explain why the Nigerian administration of Goodluck Jonathan appears to have been flat footed in hunting down the radical Islamist group which is now threatening the girls with a most un-Islamic torment.

William Hague said: "Using girls as the spoils of war and the spoils of terrorism is disgusting and immoral. It should show everybody across the world that they should not give any support for such a vile organisation …

"Britain is offering assistance, but of course the primary responsibility will rest with the Nigerians, and I hope they will do what is necessary to reunite these girls with their families."

The British Foreign Secretary is vague on what that "assistance" could be.

In all likelihood, it would take the form of Special Force advice on how to track the girls. Perhaps some help, too, with surveillance.

But both would be limited. More of a gesture than anything else.

Special Forces from South Africa, Britain, the United States and other Western nations have been on the trail of the similarly horrible Lord's Resistance Army in the Central African Republic for decades.

Their analysis has been that while they could probably kill the leadership of the LRA, a capture operation would be almost impossible.

A similar military analysis would emerge on Boko Haram - finding and saving the missing girls would be almost impossible - slaughtering elements of Boko Haram would not.

But killing won't solve the problem.

The sad truth is that Nigeria's missing children are likely to stay that way.

Efforts to negotiate a peace deal with Boko Haram's leader Abdulbakar Shekau over the last four years - while 4,000 Nigerians died - have come to nought.

Now he has the attention of the whole world, he won't want to give up on the limelight the missing girls have given him.

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Oscar Pistorius Trial: Defence In Critical Phase

By Special Cprrespondent Alex Crawford in Pretoria

The next two weeks are expected to be crucial for athlete Oscar Pistorius as his team of lawyers battles to shore up his defence in the murder trial.

The trial resumes this morning in Court GD of the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria after a fortnight's recess - and over the coming days, the defence is likely to call ballistics, audio and psychological experts.

The range of experts are expected to reinforce the double amputee's claim that he shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp after mistaking her for an intruder.

One of the first witnesses to be called is likely to be Tom Wolmarans, a ballistics expert with more than four decades experience.

The defence has got to counter several prosecution claims - not least that there was a pause between shots which crucially would have given Ms Steenkamp time to shout out in anguish before the fatal head shot.

A number of neighbours have also testified they heard shouting before the shots.

The prosecution's ballistics expert also testified the model was standing up and facing the toilet door when she was first hit in the hip.

The State's case is that the couple were having a heated row and the athlete shouted "get the **** out of my house" to his girlfriend before shooting her four times as she remonstrated with him from behind the toilet door where she had fled.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel verbally mauled the athlete during five days of cross examination which was marked by repeated interruptions as the runner broke down in tears.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel's cross examination of Pistorius was intense

Under the relentless aggressive interrogation of Mr Nel, the runner appeared to change his explanation of his actions from self defence to involuntary action, to accidental discharge of his gun.

The prosecutor had to be reprimanded by the judge after repeatedly accusing the runner of lying and tailoring his evidence.

Mr Nel prosecutor went on to tear into the next witness too.

Forensic expert Roger Dixon was forced to apologise to the court for unintentionally misleading it - and his credibility and expertise were repeatedly called into question.

The defence will be hoping its next set of witnesses will fare better under the intense scrutiny and cross examination of Mr Nel.

The defence has indicated it may call another 10 to 15 witnesses but that it expects to wrap up the case by mid-May.

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Nigeria's Leader Pledges To Find Kidnapped Girls

Nigeria's president has vowed to ensure the release of 276 schoolgirls abducted by suspected Islamists.

Goodluck Jonathan has been under fire for his handling of the armed attack in the town of Chibok in the northeastern Borno state - and for not speaking about the mass abduction earlier.

In a live radio and television broadcast, he said: "We promise that anywhere the girls are, we will surely get them out."

He also pleaded for the parents of the missing girls and their local communities to co-operate with the rescue efforts during what he described as a "trying" and "painful" time.

The president also revealed he had asked President Barack Obama for US help to counter the activities of the Islamic terror group Boko Haram.

The attack happened in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state

He said he had also approached other western powers - including France, Britain and China for assistance.

Nigerians were "justified" in their anger over the government's perceived response, he said, but assured families the girl's "disappearance" would not be another global "mystery".

And he dismissed claims his government was negotiating with Boko Haram.

But parents of the abducted girls held an emotional rally in the capital Abuja and said he had not done enough to rescue their loved ones since gunmen - believed to be Boko Haram extremists - stormed the girls' boarding school on April 14.

"They've been promising us that this girls would be found but up until today, up until this moment I'm talking, nothing has been done," said one mother, Martha Yarama Ndirpaya.

The 16 to 18-year-olds were forced from their dormitories onto trucks and driven away by their captors.

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Ukraine Observers Freed Amid New Offensive

Military observers kept prisoner in Ukraine for more than a week have been released as bloody clashes in the country show no sign of letting up.

The seven observers and their five assistants, from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, were seized in Slavyansk on April 25.

The separatists had previously accused the observers of being "Nato spies" and said they were to be used as human shields.

Colonel Axel Schneider, the head of the observers, said the group had shown "strength" and that the captivity was "unforgettable for us".

Scuffles broke out outside the burned building in Odessa on Saturday

The last two nights had been "really tough", he said.

Mark Etherington, deputy chief monitor of the OSCE special monitoring mission to Ukraine, said: "The hostages, we think, were treated adequately. There were some exceptions there."

He added: "The important question now is how the detainees who remain in Slovyansk and elsewhere are treated."

Two of the observers pictured while they were being held in Slavyansk

Mr Etherington said dozens more hostages could still be held.

His comments were echoed by Foreign Secretary William Hague who called for the release of all hostages held by illegal armed groups.

The release of the observers comes as Ukraine launched a dawn military operation against separatists in the east of the country.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said troops had seized control of a television tower in Kramatorsk, near the rebel stronghold of Slavyansk.

Police are guarding the charred trade union building in Odessa

The violence comes hours after 31 people died after a building in Odessa was set on fire during clashes between protesters.

Police said some people inside the trade union building were overcome by smoke and others were killed jumping from windows as they tried to escape.

Pro-Russian and pro-Kiev activists fought running battles as the southern city saw some of its worst violence since President Victor Yanukovych was ousted in February.

The Interior Ministry said a total of 42 people had died.

A protester throws a petrol bomb at the building during Friday's clashes

Moscow said it was "outraged" and denounced the "criminal irresponsibility" of the pro-Western authorities in Kiev.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has asked his US counterpart John Kerry to press Ukraine to halt its military operation in the east of the country.

At an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council, the UK accused Moscow of "breathtaking" hypocrisy over the latest clashes.

People wait for rescue on an upper-storey ledge during the fire

The UK's ambassador to the UN, Sir Mark Lyall Grant, said Russia had "funded, equipped and directed" some of those involved in the insurgency.

The European Union has urged "utmost restraint" in the Ukraine conflict.

"Many" pro-Russian separatists were also said to have been killed on Friday as the Ukrainian army took control of checkpoints around Slavyansk.

Two Ukrainian soldiers were also killed as two helicopters were shot down in the city, acting president Oleksandr Turchynov said.

The Ukrainian Security Service said one was shot down with a surface-to-air missile, adding that the sophisticated weapon undermined Russia's claims that Slavyansk was simply under the control of armed locals.

Russia has tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine's border, and Kiev claims its neighbouring country is preparing to invade and that it is stoking the unrest in the east.

Moscow denies the allegations, but has warned Russia would respond to attacks on Russian citizens or interests in the east, where insurgents have seized government buildings in around a dozen cities.

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Mombasa Hit By Bus And Beach Resort Blasts

At least three people have been killed and several others injured in twin bomb blasts in Mombasa, Kenya, officials say.

One blast happened at a busy bus station in Mwembe Tayari, near the city centre, when a grenade was thrown into a crowded minibus killing at least three people, and wounding more than 20.

At the bus terminus, victims were sprawled in a pool of blood and the road was littered with shattered glass from a bus.

"I didn't see who threw the object, but I heard a loud explosion before I fell to the ground. I then felt my legs go numb," Halima Sidi, 26, who works at a local supermarket, told Reuters at a hospital as nurses bandaged her wounded legs.

Mombasa county commissioner Nelson Marwa said: "What happened is a grenade was thrown at passengers.

The bombings happened at a bus station and the Reef Hotel

"The attackers were riding on a motorbike, and lobbed the grenade at the crowd of people at the bus terminus."

Another explosion occurred at a well-known beach resort hotel, the Reef Hotel, in the Nyali area of the city, although no casualties have been reported.

An unattended bag had been found on the beach, which was abandoned at the gate of the hotel after it was found to contain what turned out to be an explosive device, which subsequently went off.

One of the bombing victims is put on a stretcher. Pic: Daily Nation

Hotelier Mohammed Hersi told Sky News there had been no injuries and all the guests were safe.

A police official said: "We had two incidents. One at the bus station where three people have lost their lives. In the second incident that occurred near a hotel in Nyali there were no casualties."

While no one has immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts, Kenya has been targeted in the past by gun and grenade attacks in Mombasa and central Nairobi, which the government has blamed on the al Qaeda-linked Somali group al Shabaab.

Blood stains are visible on the side of a bus at one of the blast sites

Last year, a terrorist attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi left at least 67 people dead.

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Sam Kiley said the bombings bore the hallmarks of an attack by Islamic militants.

He said: "This could be seen as a counter-attack by radical al Qaeda-related groups against the body politic and the economy of Kenya by targeting an environment where tourists are likely to be."

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