Romanian PM Warns UK: We're Not Second-Rate

Romania's Prime Minister has called on Britain not to treat Romanians as "second-rate citizens" when work restrictions for Romanian and Bulgarian workers are lifted in January.

It follows Prime Minister David Cameron's pledge to toughen welfare rules for migrants from the European Union, amid concern in the UK that people from Romania and Bulgaria will exploit the British welfare system.

Mr Cameron has said one million people from Central and Eastern Europe are living in Britain, with migration at a level not seen since wartime.

Some fear a rise of Romanian camps, like the 400 estimated sites in France

Romanian leader Victor Ponta said people should be punished for abusing Britain's welfare system, but restrictions should not be used to "generate or justify abuse or discrimination toward European citizens".

"We will not accept being treated as second-rate citizens," Mr Ponta said.

He added that research showed "there is no reason for concern regarding a migrant wave" from Romania to Britain.

Millions of Romanians had already chosen to work abroad in "southern Latin states", referring to Spain and Italy, which have a Latin-based language like Romanian.

Ford has closed facilities in the UK and moved some to Romania

He said he hoped Mr Cameron was not trying "to attack the fundamental principles of the EU, among which the freedom of movement is one of the most important values".

Mr Cameron's comments were criticised on Wednesday by European employment commissioner Laszlo Andor as an "unfortunate over-reaction".

00.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Thai PM Flees Building During Violent Protests

Thailand's Prime Minister has been moved to a secret location after protesters forced their way into a police sports club in Bangkok where she was staying.

The anti-government mob broke into the building where Yingluck Shinawatra had been during the morning, but she was able to leave the premises and go to an undisclosed location, an aide said.

In another area of the city, police have fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters near Government House, where Ms Yingluck's office is located.

It is the first time police have used force against protesters who have occupied government offices for the past week in an attempt to topple the PM.

The leader of the mass opposition protests said he has held crisis talks with the prime minister, but vowed to continue his fight to overthrow the government.

A Red Shirt is attacked by anti-government protesters

"I told Yingluck that this is the only and last time I see her until power is handed over to the people," Suthep Thaugsuban said in a televised speech.

"I told her the only solution is to hand over power to the people. There will be no bargaining and it must be finished in two days."

The violence flared near Bangkok's Rajamangala Stadium which was hosting a rally by thousands of Red Shirts, who support the embattled premier.

The Red Shirts - who also back Ms Yingluck's brother, ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra - had gathered en masse to ward off any coup attempt against the government.

Yingluck Shinawatra is accused of being a puppet for her brother

Police said a 21-year-old had been shot dead. At least five other people were also wounded by gunshots and five more were injured by knives or rocks, officials at the nearby Dr Panya General Hospital said.

It was not immediately known who fired the shots or whether the victims were supporters or opponents of the government.

Those seeking to topple the government also attacked several people they believed were going to the rally.

Two people were badly beaten and two buses attacked, their windows smashed.

One protester used an iron rod with a Thai flag wrapped around it to smash the driver's side window of one bus.

Protesters tear down barricades outside Government House

The buses and one taxi appeared to have been targeted because they carried people wearing red shirts.

Police claimed soon afterwards they had the situation under control, but attacks continued overnight on individual Red Shirts, and the crowds on both sides grew.

Police called for military backup to protect parliament and Ms Yingluck's office.

Protesters there tore down stone and razor-wire barriers ahead of a planned move to occupy it.

Demonstrators briefly occupied the headquarters of the army on Friday, urging it to join them in a complex power struggle centred on the enduring political influence of Ms Yingluck's billionaire brother.

The tension heightens a nearly decade-long conflict that broadly pits Thailand's traditional establishment of top generals, royalists and the urban middle class against the mostly rural, northern supporters of Mr Thaksin.

00.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sacred Shrines Become 'Ticking Time Bomb'

By Sam Kiley, Middle East Correspondent in Jerusalem

The supreme leader of the Palestinian Muslims and guardian of Islam's most sacred shrine in the Old City of Jerusalem has warned of an uprising and regional war if Jews attempt to take greater control of the al Aqsa Mosque complex.

The warning came amid advancing efforts in the Israeli parliament to try to take administrative control of the sacred Islamic site which Jews also lay claim to as it sits on the remains of their Second Temple.

For now "sovereignty" of the Haram al Sharif, as the complex is traditionally known, lies with Jordan.

But several Knesset members, led by deputy speaker Moshe Feiglin, a member of the Likud Party, are pressing for greater access to Jews for prayer on the site and administrative control of it.

"It is the hard core of our identity ... those places that represent the basis for our existence here altogether. Should we insist on [access to] these places or not?" Mr Feiglin told Sky News.

"Because if we cannot insist on our legitimacy on our basic rights to pray in the most holiest place for the Jews in the land of Israel -  under Israeli sovereignty in the middle of Jerusalem - then we're losing our legitimacy not just in Jerusalem, in Tel Aviv, but everywhere else."

The Dome of the Rock is part of the al Aqsa complex under Muslim control

The Knesset member is a forceful rejectionist of talks with the Palestinians aimed at establishing an independent state on the West Bank and in Gaza.

He believes that Israel is a threat to itself by ceding territory it captured in 1967 and has occupied since then. On the issue of what Jews call the Temple Mount, he is equally unbending.

"I don't need to prove anything, history says it all. Any honest person who learned a bit of history knows the truth - Jerusalem belongs to the Jews and to the Jews only, that's a fact. And by the way the Temple Mount never really interested Muslims before the Israelis came back."

The Mohammed Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, issued a stark warning against any attempts to replace the Muslim administration of the Haram al Shari/Temple Mount in an exclusive interview with Sky News.

The Grand Mufti says if Israelis push the issue the region will be at war

"If the Israelis come here it will be more than an intifada," he said.

What do you mean more than an intifada?

"The whole region will be engulfed by war," the Grand Mufti insisted.

Such threats are not idle.

In 2000, Ariel Sharon triggered the Second or "al Aqsa" Intifada which led to the deaths of 4,000 people and many more wounded over the next half decade by insisting on his right to visit the shrine.

He did so at a time of heightened tension when 10 years of talks aimed at ending the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza appeared to Palestinians to be going nowhere - and when they were also frustrated at the ineptitude and corruption of their own leadership.

In 2000, 4,000 people died in the Second or 'al Aqsa' Intifada

Today, peace talks are going nowhere. The Palestinians have been letting Jewish settlements chew into their lands on the West Bank. Their leadership remains corrupt and incompetent - and are increasingly being seen as collaborators.

The tinder box that Mr Sharon, then leader of the Israeli opposition, lit in 2000 is just as dry now.

"It's a huge and dangerous issue - taking the place from Muslims where they believe they have the right to pray is very dangerous," Grand Mufti Hussein said.

Jews are banned from praying on the holy site by the Israeli police, although the courts have found that they should be able to exercise this right.

They are also forbidden, when they do visit, from removing so much as a leaf or a grain of soil.

Sky News joined a small group who were escorted by an Israeli policeman, who monitored their progress on a pre-set route around the outer edge of the 35-acre complex.

Religious tensions are high

They prayed by talking to themselves as they walked, or by pretending to be in conversations and instead reciting invocations.

They were led by Rabbi Yitzchak Reuven, assistant director of The Temple Institute which is dedicated to restoring the temple to its third incarnation and is collecting the sacred vessels that one day it hopes will be used there.

A model of the Third Temple has pride of place in the Temple Institute Museum just 100 yards from the Western Wall - all that remains of the Second Temple since its destruction by Rome in 70AD.

Rabbi Reuven said: "It's not a fantasy at all because we have the instructions of what needs to be done, we have the information, we have the technology to achieve all these things.

"In terms of arriving at the moment that's a historical process, we don't expect a metaphysical change in the world, we don't expect a divine intervention that's going to set things right."

His ambition may have a purely theological intent, but it also poses an explosive political reality.

He is sanguine.

"We're hoping by increasing awareness we will be closer to achieving the dream of the Jewish people and one that we have for the entire world because as Isaiah says this shall be a house of prayer for all nations."

00.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

North Korea: Detained American 'Admits Crimes'

An American veteran of the Korean War who was detained for "hostile acts" against the communist North has released an apology supposedly confessing to his alleged crimes.

Merrill Newman, an 85-year-old from California, was held in October after entering North Korea "under the guise of a tourist", the country's official KCNA news agency said.

The alleged four-page confession with thumb prints

It is the first time the reclusive state has officially admitted holding Mr Newman, whose family said he was detained on October 26 shortly before take-off from Pyongyang following a 10-day tour.

KCNA said Mr Newman had committed crimes both as a tourist and during his participation in the Korean War six decades ago, and published an apology running to nearly 600 words in which the American allegedly confessed to his crimes.

Mr Newman reading the alleged apology

Pyongyang has been accused of previously coercing statements from detainees, but it was riddled with stilted English and grammatical errors, such as "I want not punish me".

Mr Newman, a retired financial executive who served three years during the war, has been accused of infringing upon the "dignity and sovereignty" of the secretive state and "slandering its socialist system, quite contrary to the purpose of the tour", the report said.

The American had also masterminded espionage and subversive activities during the 1950-53 Korean War and was involved in the killing of North Korean soldiers and innocent civilians, it said.

"I realise that I cannot be forgiven for my offensives but I beg for pardon on my knees by apologising for my offensives sincerely toward the (North Korean) government and the Korean people and I want not punish me," Mr Newman was quoted as saying by KCNA.

The Korean War veteran had intended to meet surviving soldiers and pray for the souls of the dead, KCNA said, adding he had asked his guide for help.

He had also criticised North Korea during his trip, it said.

North Korean released an undated photo of lleader Kim Jong Un on Saturday

"I will never commit the offensive act against the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) government and the Korean people again," Mr Newman said in his apology.

North Korea released video showing Mr Newman reading his apology, which was dated November 9.

Officials also showed an email printout dated April 19 which allegedly showed Mr Newman was formerly a military adviser to a special forces unit known as Donkey 6 who tried to meet survivors of the guerrilla United Nations Partisan Forces-Korea (UNPFK).

According to the US Special Operations Forces Handbook, the so-called Donkeys - nicknamed after the Korean word for liberty - operated behind enemy lines on missions that remained classified for 30 years.

North Korea issued an alleged email from Mr Newman dated April

It said: "From tiny islands off the Korean coast, the Donkeys conducted raids, rescued downed airmen and maintained electronic facilities.

"Under the guidance of the special forces and other US cadre, (UNPFK) eventually numbered 22,000 and claimed 69,000 enemy casualties."

According to Mr Newman's son Jeff, his father had been on an organised tour and was detained due to a "misunderstanding".

"My father is a veteran, and wanted to see the country and culture he has been interested in for years," he said.

North Korea is also holding US national Kenneth Bae, a 45-year-old tour operator arrested a year ago who was sentenced to 15 years' hard labour on charges of seeking to topple the government.

The State Department recently issued an updated travel advisory urging Americans to avoid North Korea, which was reportedly "arbitrarily detaining US citizens and not allowing them to depart the country".

00.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Trial Marine 'Had Mental Health Issues'

A former US Marine who died in hospital while awaiting trial over the deaths of six people had ingested Ajax in his prison cell, his lawyer has said.

Itzcoatl Ocampo, 25, apparently stockpiled the cleaning product while being held in custody, said Michael Molfetta.

The revelation raises questions over the level of supervision Orange County jail deputies were giving Ocampo, who had mental health issues.

He was found shaking and vomiting in his cell on Wednesday and was pronounced dead in hospital the following day.

No cause of death has been given, but an autopsy will be performed next week.

Mr Molfetta said: "If you spend three minutes with Ocampo, you are acutely aware of the fact that he has some mental issues.

"They were severe and they were obvious and they definitely were not contrived.

"With that being said, this was a guy who should have garnered the highest level of scrutiny ... and it wasn't done."

Prosecutors alleged that Ocampo, a native of Mexico, stabbed four homeless men in what they called a serial thrill-kill rampage in late 2011 and early 2012.

Ocampo targeted his homeless victims because they were vulnerable and because he felt they were a blight on the community, authorities said.

He was charged in January 2012 with four counts of murder, with special allegations of multiple murders, lying in wait and use of a deadly weapon. 

00.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Australia Shark Attack: Teen Bodyboarder Dies

A teenager has died after being attacked by a shark on Australia's east coast, just one week after a surfer was fatally mauled in Western Australia.

New South Wales police were called to a popular surf beach near Coffs Harbour, about 280 miles north of Sydney, after reports of the attack.

"A man, believed to be aged 18, was bodyboarding with friends around 100 metres offshore when he was bitten on the legs by what is believed to be a shark," police said in a statement.

Onlookers were stunned after the attack at a popular surfing spot

"His friends managed to get him to the beach where he was treated by paramedics. He was pronounced dead a short time later."

An ambulance spokeswoman said the victim had severe leg injuries, but he is understood to have died from a traumatic cardiac arrest following the attack.

Police said the boy had been sitting upright on his boogie board off the secluded Riecks Point when he was bitten on both legs.

"A struggle has taken place and he has managed to break free," Coffs Harbour police inspector Joanne Reid told Sky News.

The teen's body was taken away by rescue helicopter

"It has taken a bit of time to get him to shore and he lost a fair amount of blood on the way."

She commended his friends for going to his aid and bringing him to shore.

"It's just a tragic, tragic incident," she said.

Locals said the sharks were rarely seen in the area and incident had shocked the community.

The death comes a week after a 35-year-old surfer was killed by a shark near Gracetown, about 160 miles south of the Western Australian capital of Perth.

His friends witnessed the attack and were interviewed by police

Sharks are common in Australian waters, but deadly attacks are rare, with only one of the average 15 incidents a year typically proving fatal.

Until last week there had not been a fatality since July 2012 when a surfer was bitten in half off the coast of Western Australia, capping an unprecedented spate of five deadly attacks by the marine predators that sparked calls in that state for a cull.

00.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ukraine Anti-Government Demos Gain Strength

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have marched through the capital Kiev in defiance of a government ban, in protest at President Viktor Yankovych's failure to sign a deal with Brussels.

The rally is the biggest seen in the Ukraine since the Orange Revolution

The opposition rally, the biggest seen in the Ukraine since the pro-democracy Orange Revolution nine years ago, follows a violent police crackdown against protesters, with the use of stun grenades and batons.

Some demonstrators broke into Kiev's city hall and were occupying at least part of the building, while others used a digger to try to break through police lines at the presidential headquarters.

Police used tear gas to force back the crowd, and the interior minister warned that security forces would respond to any disorder.

People are angry after the president back-tracked on a deal with the EU

Protests have been gaining strength since Mr Yankovych back-tracked on a landmark agreement which would have established closer ties between the Ukraine and the European Union.                 

He justified the decision by saying that Ukraine could not afford to break trade ties with Russia.

Meanwhile, opposition leaders have continued to call for the president's resignation, including heavyweight boxing champion turned politician Vitaly Klitschko.

Heavyweight boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko is a leading critic

A likely challenger for the presidency in 2015, Mr Klitscko said the government  had "stolen" Ukraine's dream of European integration.

He told cheering crowds in Kiev's Independence Square: "If this government does not want to fulfill the will of the people, then there will be no such government, there will be no such president.

"There will be a new government and a new president."

Another opposition leader, Yarseniy Yatsenuyk, said: "I fully realise that as President Yanukovych rejected to sign an association agreement (with the EU), he has a plan B, and this plan B is not actually written by President Yanukovych.

"The author of this plan is (Russian) President Putin, and in order to reinstate the Soviet empire they will do everything."

Some protesters tried to use a digger to break through police lines

In an attempt to defuse tensions ahead of the rally, Mr Yanukovich issued a statement pledging he would "do everything in my power to accelerate the process of moving Ukraine closer to the European Union".

But he also repeated the need to balance this with the country's own national interests.

And Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said in a TV interview that Mr Yanukovich would travel to Moscow to work on a "roadmap" for new economic cooperation.

Sunday's rally also marked the anniversary of a 1991 referendum, which ushered in Ukraine's independence from the then-crumbling Soviet Union.

00.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

China: Cameron Leads Major Trade Delegation

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

The Prime Minister is travelling to China on one of the biggest ever British trade trips to the world's second-largest economy.

David Cameron is leading a delegation of six ministers and more than 100 business people on the three-day visit to Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu.

The visit is the first for Mr Cameron in three years, and is being seen as marking the end of a diplomatic spat between the UK and China.

The British Government has failed to secure an invitation for Mr Cameron since his meeting with the Dalai Lama in May 2012. A photograph of them together infuriated the Chinese government.

Mr Cameron's meeting with the Dalai Lama infuriated the Chinese government

Sky Sources understand that there will be a concerted effort on the part of the British delegation to put sensitive disagreements to one side and focus on economic cooperation.

"This visit is forward-looking, and about moving the UK-China relationship up a gear. We have turned a page on the Dalai Lama issue.

"The Prime Minister has said he's got no plans to meet the Dalai Lama," a Number 10 source said.

However, Mr Cameron will be forced to walk a fine line between the obvious need to engage economically with China, while at the same time not being seen to jettison British values on issues like human rights, and China's international responsibilities on issues like Syria.

Asked about human rights, the Number 10 source insisted a balance can be drawn: "We discuss a lot of issues, and nothing is off the table. Human rights is an issue we discuss."

British business is doing well in China despite the political disagreements.

Companies like Jaguar Land Rover now count China as being among their most important markets.

The positive knock-on from China sales for UK supply chains is significant.

Chinese consumers are growing increasingly wealthy. There is a love for luxury British items and the potential in many sectors is huge.

Jaguar Land Rover now counts China as among its most important markets

The inward and outward investment opportunities for the UK are significant as long as the governments cooperate.

"Senior ministerial level dialogues are obviously very helpful to UK business with China. We haven't had any of those really senior level visits for the last 12 to 18 months," Ralph Rogers from the China British Business Council told Sky News.

"I think the UK is ideally positioned to tap some of the growth potential here in China." he said.

"China is now focussing on domestic consumption. For the last 30 its been focussed on manufacturing for export but now the government are really promoting domestic consumption and so for British retailers and consumer products and for British service providers there is huge opportunity here."

But Mr Rogers concedes that dealing with China requires politicians to choose their words carefully.

"I think engagement is important and obviously we need to go about that in the right way and if we criticise over duly, if we are rude or discourteous then that doesn't help to build positive relations," he added.

George Osborne was in China on a smaller trade trip in October. Sky News travelled with his delegation and pressed him on Britain's position over China's human rights record. He refused to be drawn.

Human Rights Watch says Mr Cameron should reject this stance and stand up for British values.

"Given the deplorable state of rights in China, Cameron should pick up where he left off earlier this month in Sri Lanka, when he said he would 'shine a global spotlight' on abuses," the organisation said in a statement.

President Xi Jinping has made no secret of efforts to crack down on dissent

"The UK should have a consistent approach to human rights, which must include a forceful public condemnation of rights violations that can be heard by the people of China as well as the government."

Over the past six months, Sky News has seen evidence of widespread Human Rights abuses in China including an abortion forced upon a couple, houses forcibly demolished before owners could remove their belongings and individuals detained for expressing displeasure with their government.

Since President Xi Jinping took office in March, his government has made no secret of its widespread and concerted effort to crack down on dissent as it focuses on its overriding objective: Communist Party survival.

Activists, journalists, and well-established dissidents have been rounded up and detained in record numbers.

Mr Cameron will have meetings and separate dinners with President Xi and the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

Among the business executives travelling with the Prime Minister are Ralf Speth, chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover, George Weston, chief executive of Associated British Foods, Jorma Ollila, chairman of Royal Dutch Shell, Xavier Rolet, Chief Executive of the London Stock Exchange and Peter Sands, head of Standard Chartered bank.

As well as human rights issues, Mr Cameron may be forced to comment on China's increasingly assertive foreign policy.

A growing row between Japan and China over a set of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea is the latest example of Beijing's muscle-flexing.

"China is increasing its footprint around the world its using its economic muscle to advance its national interests", said Nicholas Bequelin from Human Rights Watch.

He told Sky News: "There is a naivety about China's goals... We see China as increasingly aggressive in Asia, pushing claims in the East China Sea, trying to mute and censor international media groups' coverage of China. We see China trying to undermine action at the  Security Council at the UN.

"The Syria crisis is a good example. China has been a roadblock to any solution there. As China grows, one of its objectives will be to make the world safe for dictatorships."

00.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mugger's Facebook Apology 35 Years After Crime

A man haunted after carrying out a mugging to impress a friend has apologised to his victim 35 years later, after spotting him on Facebook.

Michael Goodman, 53, was a teenager in the late 1970s when he targeted Claude Soffel, 52, on the steps of the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

He took Mr Soffel's bus pass during the mugging, but was quickly arrested and struggled to come to terms with his actions for the next three decades.

But while reading a post on the closing of H&H Bagels on New York's Upper East Side he recognised Mr Soffel's name in the comments and decided it was time to apologise.

He wrote: "For some reason there were undercover Police right there and I was arrested on the spot. My father had to leave work and come and get me and was not to (sic) happy with me to say the least!

"I have never forgotten the incident or your name (it has sort of haunted me a bit throughout my life) and then her I am on fb. reading about my favourite bagel store in the world closing down... my brain is blown!

"Finally I can say - I'M VERY SORRY that you had to go through that c*** that day long ago, I wish it had never happened but it did.

"Like I said I was trying to look tough to impress some guy who didn't believe I was in a gang, pretty f***** stupid huh?"

After a 10-day wait, Mr Soffel replied to Mr Goodman - who now lives in Hawaii - and accepted his heartfelt apology.

He wrote: "Michael A. Goodman, clearly you're a 'bigger man' today. Wow. Memory is a funny thing, I recognise your name now, as well.

"So, apology accepted."

00.00 | 0 komentar | Read More

Four People Killed As Train Derails In New York

Four people have been killed and 67 injured in a train crash north of New York city.

A seven-carriage passenger Metro-North train travelling from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central derailed at 7.20am, stopping just feet from the mouth of the Harlem River where it flows into the Hudson.

Three of the four people killed in the accident were found outside the train, which left the track 100 yards north of Spuyten Duyvil station in the Bronx.

There are "multiple injuries" at the scene. Pic: Naomi Fink

The Fire Department of New York (FDNY) said 135 firefighters were at the scene, with 11 of those injured said to be in a critical condition and another six in a serious condition.

The Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA) said five of the carriages on the diesel train had derailed on a curved section of track, but none entered the adjacent Hudson or Harlem rivers.

Spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said the accident occurred in a slow speed area. She added the train black box would reveal how fast the train was travelling.

The crash was reported by an engineer, but it was unclear if any of the train crew were injured.

Emergency workers examine one of the carriages

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said four people had been killed and 67 injured. Among the injured was the train operator.

He added that authorities believe everyone at the site has been accounted for and that the National Transportation Safety Board was on the way to carry out an investigation.

Witness Edwin Valero was in an apartment building above the scene when the train derailed.

He said at least one carriage stopped just feet from the edge of the water. Initial reports had suggested some of the carriages may have been submerged.

The crash occurred close to the Hudson and Harlem rivers

Footage of the crash scene showed divers in the water after some passengers were thrown clear of the train.

Eyewitness Rebecca Schwartz told Sky News: "I was walking in the park across the water from the train station, and I saw multiple-cars derailed, at least one very close to if not in the water, and many, many emergency vehicles pouring onto the scene."

Joel Zaritsky woke up as his carriage rolled off the track.

He said: "I was asleep and I woke up when the car started rolling several times. Then I saw the gravel coming at me, and I heard people screaming.

"There was smoke everywhere and debris. People were thrown to the other side of the train."

He added that passengers were taken off the train, with dozens bloodied and scratched and holding ice packs to their heads.

A statement from Metro-North said: "Rescuers are ascertaining the extent of injuries, and we will update information throughout the day."

President Barack Obama said his thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families of the victims of the fatal train derailment.

00.00 | 0 komentar | Read More