Twin Explosions Kill 18 Near Iraqi Capital

Two bomb blasts have killed 18 people and wounded dozens more in Iraq as the country suffers its worst violence in years.

The first explosion took place when a car bomb was detonated near the office of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's PUK party in Jalawla, north of Baghdad.

A suicide bomber detonated a second bomb as emergency workers arrived at the scene.

At least 18 people died in the blasts, and another 67 were wounded. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the explosions.

Damaged cars in the street after the twin explosions

Attacks are running at their highest levels in Iraq since 2006 and 2007, when tens of thousands died in clashes between Iraq's Shiite majority and Sunni Arab minority.

Some 900 people were killed in Iraq last month alone.

Security forces have also battled militants in heavy clashes around the northern city of Mosul in recent days.

On Sunday, eight people died and three others were wounded when they were hit by shelling in the city.

Kurdish security forces inspect the scene of the attacks

In Sargaran, near the city of Kirkuk, three roadside bombs also killed a civilian and wounded three soldiers.

Sunday's violence followed a series of major operations by jihadists in recent days that have killed dozens of people.

Militants took hundreds of hostages at Anbar University in Ramadi on Saturday. A series of blasts in Baghdad on Saturday night also killed at least 25 people.

Officials blame external factors for the rising bloodshed in Iraq, particularly the civil war in neighbouring Syria.

Analysts say widespread Sunni Arab anger with the Shiite-led government has also been a major factor.

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Al Sisi Sworn In As President Of Egypt

Egypt's former army chief Abdel Fattah al Sisi has been sworn in as president for a four-year term.

The inauguration comes less than a year after the army ousted Mohammed Morsi, the Islamist who was the country's first freely-elected leader.

Al Sisi, 59, took his oath live on television at the headquarters of the Supreme Constitutional Court in a suburb south of Cairo. 

Al Sissi supporters celebrated outside the court

Police stood guard outside the court as helicopters dropped posters of al Sisi on his supporters.

Sunday has been declared a national holiday but tight security is in place across the Egyptian capital, with scores of police and soldiers keeping watch.

Al Sisi said: "I swear by almighty God to preserve the republican system, and to respect the constitution and the law and to care for the interests of the people; and to preserve the independence of the nation and its territorial integrity."

Security was tight in case of any protests

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, Arab royals and African leaders are among the guests at a reception being held at Cairo's presidential palace.

Al Sisi was named president after a landslide election victory at the end of May when he won 96.9% of the vote. However, turnout was low with many boycotting the poll.

Al Sissi swept to victory in elections last month

The retired field marshal ousted Mohammed Morsi following mass protests against his regime in June last year.

Mr Morsi, who is now on trial for charges that carry the death penalty, was in power for only a year after the 2011 revolution which ousted former president Hosni Mubarak.

The last year has seen repeated violent clashes between the army regime and supporters of Mr Morsi.

More than 1,400 people are thought to have died in the crackdown on the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood group. Thousands more have been arrested.

Mohammed Morsi is behind bars and his group has been banned

Opponents of al Sisi are worried he will bring in an another restrictive autocratic regime. In the run-up to the election he said "national security" took precedence over democracy.

Western leaders have sent low-level officials to the inauguration and are urging the new regime to safeguard human rights.

Sky's Middle East Correspondent Sherine Tadros said that while many had been holding parties to celebrate the inauguration, for al Sisi's opponents it is a "return to the past", with one man wielding all the power.

"(He) doesn't just hold executive power at the moment, he holds legislative power because there is no parliament, and he very much controls the judiciary.

"The institutions of the state are all in line with him, be it the state media or indeed the very powerful army."

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Adidas: Qatar 2022 Claims Damaging Sponsors

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent, in Sao Paulo

Fifa sponsor adidas has said the latest allegations surrounding Qatar 2022 and the governing body are damaging for football and the company's reputation.

The sportswear manufacturer, Fifa's longest-standing commercial partner, issued a strongly-worded statement following a fresh set of allegations regarding the award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.

The company said that it believes Fifa's internal investigation will address the issues, but conceded that the issue could be damaging.

In a statement, it said: "A report is due to be submitted to the adjudicatory chamber of the Fifa Ethics Committee, with findings then released publicly in due course.

One of the stadia inspected by Fifa in 2010

"We are confident that the matter is being dealt with as a priority.

"adidas enjoys a long-term and successful partnership with Fifa that we are looking forward to continue.

"Having said that, the negative tenor of the public debate around Fifa at the moment is neither good for football nor for Fifa and its partners."

The company's statement follows a call by another Fifa sponsor, Sony, for the governing body to properly investigate the latest allegations regarding Qatar.

In a statement to The Sunday Times, it said: "As a Fifa partner, we expect these allegations to be investigated appropriately.

Qatar deny Bin Hammam was linked to the bid or worked on their behalf

"We continue to expect Fifa to adhere to its principles of integrity, ethics and fair play across all aspects of its operations."

Sony's contact with Fifa expires after the World Cup but adidas are signed up until 2030, making their intervention more significant.

Fifa expects to generate around $1.6bn in sponsorship revenue from the 2014 World Cup cycle, with around $720m coming from its six global partners, including adidas and Sony.

Qatar denied the latest allegations from The Sunday Times, which centre on former Fifa official Mohammed Bin Hammam's role in setting up meetings between senior political figures - including the Emir of Qatar -  and Fifa executives with a vote in the 2022 election.

He is alleged to have met Vladimir Putin, and allegedly helped to broker an energy deal with Thailand via its Fifa executive committee member.

In a statement the Qatar 2022 bid committee said: "Qatar won the bid on its merits and we are confident that at the end of the process the award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar will stand."

US attorney Michael Garcia is currently investigating allegations against Qatar that go back three years, and will conclude his evidence-gathering process on Monday after speaking to Fifa officials in Sao Paulo.

He will then deliver a report to Fifa's ethics committee after the World Cup.

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Ukraine: Poroshenko Promises To Bring Peace

Petro Poroshenko promised the Ukrainian people he would "bring them peace" after being sworn in as the country's fifth president.

Mr Poroshenko told parliament Ukrainians would "never feel the blessing of peace and security until we resolve our relations with Russia".

He pledged an amnesty to any insurgents in the east who had "no blood on their hands" but said he would not open dialogue with "gangsters and killers".

Ukrainian officials say some 200 people have died during troubles in eastern parts of the country.

Mr Poroshenko arrives for his inauguration

And the 48-year-old tycoon - dubbed the "chocolate king" for his popular brand of sweets - stated he would not accept Russia's seizure of Crimea nor attempts to divert his pro-European course.

"Crimea will remain a part of Ukraine," said Mr Poroshenko.

"Ukraine now returns to its natural European condition that so many generations have longed for."

The inauguration was attended by US Vice President Joe Biden and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.                 

The latter sent this message to Russia: "All neighbours ... need to respect (Ukraine's) sovereign choices, including stronger ties with the European Union and its territorial integrity."

Moscow was represented by its acting ambassador to Kiev, Mikhail Zurabov, who said the pledges "sound reassuring".

Mr Poroshenko met world leaders including Barack Obama in France this week

The Kremlin's only official response to Mr Poroshenko's comments was to call for him to act by "the principles of a democratic society" and release two Russian journalists detained in the east of the country.

Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin reportedly ordered his Federal Security Service to strengthen protection of the country's border with Ukraine to prevent people crossing illegally.

This came after talks with world leaders in France, where US President Barack Obama urged the Kremlin to cease support for separatists in eastern Ukraine - including stopping arms and materials crossing the border.

Insurgents in both Luhansk and Donetsk responded to Mr Poroshenko's pledge of an amnesty with scepticism.

"I don't believe it," said Valery Bolotov, the insurgent leader in the Luhansk region.                 

Insurgent leader Valery Bolotov

Mr Poroshenko is the first permanent successor to Russia-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled the country in February after months of street protests against him.

The new incumbent met Mr Putin at D-Day commemoration ceremonies in France on Friday and expressed his satisfaction that dialogue had begun.

Mr Putin added: "I can only welcome Mr Poroshenko's position that the bloodshed in eastern Ukraine must be stopped immediately."

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Women And Children Killed In DRC Massacre

At least 37 people, including 18 women and eight children, have been killed in an attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The massacre in the eastern province of South Kivu happened early on Saturday morning.

The victims, said to be ethnic Bafuliru, and including several pregnant women, had been shot, stabbed, or burned alive inside their homes, according to a witness.

The attack took place in the eastern province of South Kivu

Some bodies were seen inside a village church.

South Kivu governor Marcellin Cishambo confirmed the attack, but gave a lower estimate of 27 for the number killed.

He blamed the violence on a dispute over cattle.

"The problem is that everyone in this area carries a weapon," he said.

The Bafuliru people have been in conflict with the Barundi ethnic group for years over property and custom issues.

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MH370 Families Offer Whistleblower Reward

What Next In Search For Missing Flight MH370?

Updated: 10:50am UK, Friday 30 May 2014

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Correspondent

The news that teams searching for missing flight MH370 have finished combing the patch of Indian Ocean 1,000 miles off the coast of Western Australia is a huge setback.

The search focused on that area because four pings - or acoustic signals - were detected almost two months ago which were thought to have come from the plane's two flight recorders.

Nothing has been found and now it appears the noises did not come from the black box recorders at all.

It has been rumoured for some time they could have been caused by the search vessels themselves.

Now the US Navy's deputy director of ocean engineering has said much the same.

"Our best theory at this point is that (the pings were) likely some sound produced by the ship ... or within the electronics of the towed pinger locator," Michael Dean told CNN.

"Always your fear any time you put electronic equipment in the water is that if any water gets in and grounds or shorts something out, you could start producing sound."

The pings may have come from another source - sound plays strange tricks that deep in the ocean - and the US Navy has officially said the comments are "speculative".

Either way, it looks like the search is back to square one.

So now it moves to a new stage. 

All existing information and data will be re-examined and the whole of the 23,000 square mile 'southern arc' will again be in the frame.

A bathymetric survey will be carried out, essentially mapping out the sea floor.

It is work already partly underway by the crew of the Chinese ship Zhu Kezhen.

Commercial contractors will then be brought in to carry out the new deep sea search.

It's possible they won't start for a couple of months, and the job will be both long and expensive.

Australia has previously said this work could cost around £40m. It is not clear how expensive the search operation has been so far.

Scott Hamilton, managing director of US-based aerospace consultancy Leeham, said all the data will have to be re-examined "from start to finish".

However, he does not believe the search will be called off any time soon.

"I think it will be some time, perhaps years, before they completely throw in the towel," he said.

And for some, news the search has ended in the area which has been the focus so far is, in a way, welcome.

Sara Bacj, whose partner Philip Wood is among the missing passengers, told Sky News: "If they'd found the hull of the plane under the water then our loved ones would be dead for sure ... (but) most family members are not willing to accept that.

"They believe something else has happened to the plane so this is validation for them that keeping their hopes alive is not crazy."

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Freed US Soldier Was 'Held In Cage For Weeks'

Six Things To Know On Bowe Bergdahl

Updated: 11:11pm UK, Wednesday 04 June 2014

Everything you need to know about Sgt Bowe Bergdahl, the US prisoner of war released by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Bowe Bergdahl had a variety of hobbies including ballet and fencing

The 28-year-old grew up in the small mountain town of Hailey, Idaho, where he was home-schooled with his older sister, Sky.

His devout Calvinist parents, Bob and Jani, taught their children about ethics and religious thinkers.

By all accounts, Sgt Bergdahl was a bookish teenager with a number of pursuits from skiing to shooting. He performed ballet, took up fencing and studied foreign languages.

He also became interested in Buddhism and tarot cards.

Sgt Bergdahl once tried unsuccessfully to join the French Foreign Legion, according to his father. He worked as a barista in Idaho before joining the US Army in June 2008.

The soldier reportedly became disillusioned with the US role in Afghanistan

According to a report in a Rolling Stone magazine profile, Sgt Bergdahl wrote an email to his parents saying he was "ashamed" to be an American.

He wrote: "The horror that is America is disgusting."

Members of his unit said Sgt Bergdahl kept mainly to himself. The New York Times cites platoon members as saying he wrote Jason Bourne-type novels in which he made himself the lead character.

He is said to have learned Dari and Pashto in his spare time and was reportedly traumatised after seeing an Afghan child run over and killed by an American armoured vehicle.

Members of his platoon say he sent all his belongings, including a laptop, home before vanishing.

Members of his unit have accused him of desertion

According to soldiers in his platoon, Sgt Bergdahl abandoned his post while on guard duty, with only a compass, a knife, water, a digital camera, a diary and possibly also a phone.

The New York Times reports that he left a note in his tent saying he did not support the American mission in Afghanistan and was leaving to start a new life.

The Pentagon concluded in 2010 that Sgt Bergdahl had walked away from his unit before he was captured by the Taliban.

Sgt Bergdahl may have attempted to escape during his captivity

The Taliban released propaganda videos during Bergdahl's time in captivity in which the prisoner, looking under-fed, denounced US foreign policy.

In one clip, a bald and bearded Bergdahl said he was "scared" he would not be able to return home. In others, he was seen eating and exercising.

In one video, he shouted at the camera: "Release me, please! I'm begging you, bring me home!"

In 2011, he is thought to have escaped briefly. When he was recaptured, it reportedly took five militants to overpower him.

"He fought like a boxer," a Taliban fighter told Newsweek.

There are claims US soldiers were killed as a result of having to look for him

Former members of Sgt Bergdahl's battalion and military officials have claimed between six and 14 soldiers died in the search for him.

But the facts seem murky, as so often in the fog of war.

Two of the soldiers whose deaths have been blamed on Bergdahl's disappearance died inside a US military outpost that was under Taliban attack, not while out searching for him.

Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has said: "I don't know of any circumstances or details of US soldiers dying as a result of efforts to get Bergdahl."

He will likely face a court martial for desertion

Some have called for Sgt Bergdahl, who is said to be in stable condition at a military hospital in Germany, to be shot for desertion.

But that will not happen, according to Yale Law School professor Eugene Fidell, a specialist in military legal affairs.

He told Sky News the last US soldier to be killed for desertion, Eddie Slovik, was tied to a post and shot in 1945.

Prof Fidell thinks it more likely Sgt Bergdahl will face a court martial, a short sentence of confinement and a punitive discharge.

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Supercell Storm Produces Giant Hailstones

A supercell thunderstorm has produced hailstones up to four inches in diameter in New Mexico.

Tornado warnings were issued in the state this weekend but that did not stop amateur photographers and videographers setting out to capture the conditions on camera.

The pictures show close lightning strikes before the storm passes overhead.

Locals captured the storm passing overhead

The images were taken north-east of the city of Roswell.

Locals collected some of the bigger hailstones that were produced. Many of them measured between three and four inches.

A supercell is the most dangerous type of storm and features a large rotating updraft of air known as a mesocyclone and can produce torrential rain, hail, swirling winds and tornadoes.

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Remains Found After Australia Crocodile Attack

Police have found human remains inside a large crocodile that is believed to have snatched a man from his boat in front of his wife and son.

Officers in Australia's Kakadu National Park made the discovery after rangers shot dead two crocodiles as they searched for the 62-year-old.

The man was reportedly taken by the crocodile on Saturday afternoon, in a billabong at Cooinda, in the sprawling Northern Territory.

Police were told the man's wife, son and daughter-in-law witnessed the attack.

The attack took place in the Northern Territory's Kakadu National Park

Local media reports said the two women drove two hours to raise the alarm while the man's son stayed behind to search for his father. The family are said to be from the nearby city of Darwin.

The crocodile was "in excess of 4.7 metres", said Sergeant Andrew Hocking, of the Northern Territory Police.

Police scoured the water for the missing man

"I believe the son was involved in the initial search for his father, which is obviously traumatising and anyone's heart would go out to the family in that sort of incident," said Superintendent Bob Harrison.

The remains found inside the crocodile have not yet been formally identified

Crocodile expert Graeme Webb told the Sydney Morning Herald it was unusual for the reptiles to attack during the cooler months, when they tend to lay low.

"They tend to move around a lot more when it warms up... and that's when they're more dangerous," he said. "I don't know what has happened in this case but it sounds horrific."

Saltwater crocodiles can grow up to seven metres long

Saltwater crocodiles can grow up to seven metres (23 feet) long and weigh more than a ton.

The attack is the second crocodile fatality in Kakadu National Park this year after the death of a 12-year-old boy in January. Another boy was also attacked but managed to fight off the reptile.

People are warned not to swim in the area

Crocodile numbers have swelled in Australia since the species was protected by law in 1971. 

Government estimates put their numbers at between 75,000 and 100,000.

TheCrocBITE database of attacks at the country's Charles Darwin University says there have been 66 deaths globally so far in 2014.

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US And Iran Meet For 'Critical' Nuclear Talks

Official bilateral talks between the US and Iran over Tehran's nuclear programme are to take place for the first time in decades.

The US is sending two of its top diplomats to Geneva for the first full-scale negotiations between the two countries in many years.

Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns and White House adviser Jake Sullivan were part of a small team who engaged in secret talks in Oman last year.

These meetings brought Iran to the negotiating table, but the P5+1 of Britain, China, France, Russia, the US and Germany made no progress during talks with Iran last month - prompting fears progress is stalling.

Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns held secret talks last year

It is thought Iran will seek to discuss the lifting of sanctions during talks with the US on Monday and Tuesday.

Abbas Araqchi, a vice foreign minister who will lead the Iranian delegation, told the IRNA news agency the negotiations were now entering a "serious phase".

"We have always had bilateral discussions with the United States in the margin of the P5+1 group, but since the talks have entered a serious phase, we want to have separate consultations," he said.

"Most of the sanctions were imposed by the US, and other countries from the P5+1 group were not involved."

The P5+1 countries are due to meet Iranian politicians again between June 16-20.

Talks made little progress while Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was Iran's president

A senior US official told Reuters: "We're at a critical moment. We've always said that we would engage bilaterally with the Iranians if it can help advance our efforts, in active coordination with the P5+1."

The aim of the international discussions is to find an agreement on the future of Iran's nuclear programme.

The election of self-declared moderate Hassan Rouhani as Iranian president last June has been key to progress after decades of hostility.

An interim deal struck last November led the US and its partners to release $7bn (£4.2bn) from frozen funds in return for a slowdown in Iran's controversial uranium enrichment.

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