PM Fails To Block Juncker From Top EU Job

The nomination of arch-federalist Jean-Claude Juncker as the new president of the Brussels Commission is a "bad day for Europe", David Cameron has said.

The Prime Minister - who was defeated in his attempt to block Mr Juncker's candidacy - said his fellow EU leaders had made a "serious mistake" in allowing the European Parliament to choose the presidency.

"This is a bad day for Europe. It risks undermining the position of national governments, it risks undermining the power of national parliaments and it hands new power to the European Parliament," he said.

Mr Cameron had campaigned against the appointment of Mr Juncker, arguing he would block reform of the EU.

He also warned it could fuel Euroscepticism in the UK and make it more likely that Britons will vote to quit the EU in the referendum he is planning for 2017.

In forcing a vote on the nomination, Mr Cameron broke with tradition that the Commission chief is approved by consensus of the EU's national heads of government.

In the end, only Hungary joined Britain in voting against Mr Juncker's appointment, which was approved by a margin of 26-2.

The PM argued Mr Juncker was not the "right person" for the post

His nomination, which must be confirmed by a vote in the European Parliament, was announced by European Council president Herman van Rompuy on Twitter.

He wrote: "Decision made. The European Council proposes Jean-Claude Juncker as the next President of the European Commission."

A delighted Mr Juncker tweeted: "I am proud and honoured to have received the support of the European Council." 

At the end of the Brussels summit, Mr Cameron said that he had insisted on a vote as a matter of principle.

"If the European Council, the elected heads of government, are going to allow the European Parliament to choose the next president of the European Commission in this way I wanted it on the record that Britain opposed that," he said.

The Prime Minister said that while Europe had taken "one big step backwards" Britain had "made some small steps forward".

The Council had "broken new ground" in two areas during their discussions, he said.

This included an agreement that ever-closer union allows for different paths of integration and respects the wishes of countries such as Britain that do not want a closer relationship.

Former Luxembourg premier Mr Juncker was backed by Germany's Angela Merkel

The leaders had also "agreed explicitly that they need to address Britain's concerns about the EU", he told a news conference.

"While Europe has taken one big step backwards today with their choice of Commission president, I have made some small steps forward, securing a new relationship for Britain in the EU," he said.

Labour leader Ed Miliband commented: "On Europe, David Cameron has now become a toxic Prime Minister. He cannot stand up for Britain's national interest because when he supports something, he drives our allies away."

UKIP leader Nigel Farage said: "I think what's clear is that any cards that Mr Cameron may have had to play have been spent, and have been lost over a futile battle that he was bound to lose from the beginning.

"(Any) renegotiation now doesn't look very likely. He has been humiliated today but worse than that, he actually looks very isolated."

But Eurosceptic Conservative backbencher John Redwood did not view Mr Cameron's isolation in Brussels as a problem.

Writing on his blog, the former Cabinet minister said: "The battle over Mr Juncker was but the first skirmish in a long negotiation of a new relationship for the UK with the rest of the EU."

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Missing Elvis Impersonator: Man Arrested

Police hunting an Elvis impersonator wanted in connection with a firearms alert that closed a Cornish school have arrested a man.

Police detained a 60-year-old man on land in Widegates, Looe, and recovered two firearms.

The man was arrested on suspicion of firearms offences and was being taken into custody at Launceston police station.

Police tweeted a version of this photo of Derrel Weaver

He was first taken to a local hospital for a medical assessment as a precaution. Police are not seeking anyone else in connection with the investigation.

Armed officers were called after a domestic-related alert at 60-year-old Derrel Weaver's home in Widegates at 9.30pm on Thursday.

The nearby Trenode Church of England Primary School was closed. Devon and Cornwall Police tweeted a photo of Mr Weaver of Higher Widlake Farm.

Police maintained a "high presence" at the scene near Looe

The caption read: "Have you seen this man, Derrel Weaver, 60, #widegates Looe, if you see him please ring 999 and do not approach."

Another tweet added: "Police are doing everything possible to maintain public safety, but we ask local people to be patient during this time."

Mr Weaver's Google+ page says he owns a tree surgery business and is also a "rock n roll singer".

Local resident Ann Chudleigha said Mr Weaver was a well-known member of the community.

The decision to close the school was made by its headteacher in consultation with police.

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Suarez Bite Suspension: Uruguay FA To Appeal

Life And Times Of Luis Suarez: Factfile

Updated: 4:26pm UK, Thursday 26 June 2014

From humble origins the controversial Uruguayan has risen steadily up the football ladder to become one of the best players in the world.

1987: Born January 24 in Salto, Uruguay.

2005: Makes professional debut with Montevideo club Nacional, scoring 12 goals in 29 games in his one and only season in South America.

2006: Signs for Dutch side FC Groningen and fires 10 goals in 29 appearances for the club.

2007: February 8 - Makes debut for Uruguay against Colombia and is sent off in the 85th minute.

August - Joins Ajax in a deal reportedly worth 7.5m euros (£6m).

2010: May - Enjoys his most prolific season in Holland, with 35 goals in 33 Eredivisie matches.

June - Scores three goals to help Uruguay reach the World Cup quarter-finals but is then sent off for a goal-line handball against Ghana in the last eight. Ghana miss the resulting penalty before Uruguay go on to triumph in a shoot-out.

November - Banned for seven matches after being found guilty of biting PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal.

2011: January 28 - Liverpool agree a deal worth up to £22.8m with Ajax for Suarez.

February 2 - Scores on his Liverpool debut in a 2-0 victory over Stoke at Anfield.

July - Scores four goals and is named player of the tournament as Uruguay win Copa America.

October 15 - Manchester United defender Patrice Evra claims Suarez racially abused him during the 1-1 draw between Liverpool and United.

November 17 - Suarez is charged by the Football Association with racially abusing Evra following a month-long investigation.

December 7 - Charged with improper conduct following a gesture to fans as he left the pitch following the 1-0 defeat at Fulham.

December 20 - The FA bans Suarez for eight matches and fines him £40,000 for the Evra incident. Liverpool issue a strongly-worded statement in defence of the player.

December 28 - Suarez banned for one match and fined £20,000 after admitting improper conduct charge relating to his gesture towards Fulham fans.

2012: February 11 - On his return to the first XI, refuses to shake Evra's hand before going on to score in Liverpool's 2-1 loss to Manchester United. Afterwards, Sir Alex Ferguson says he is "a disgrace to Liverpool Football Club", adding: "I would get rid of him if I were them."

February 12 - Apologises for his refusing to shake Evra's hand.

August 7 - Signs new long-term contract with Liverpool.

2013: April 21 - Bites Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic on the arm before going on to score equaliser in 2-2 draw at Anfield. Apologises for his "inexcusable behaviour" soon after the match.

April 22 - Fined by club and charged by the FA with violent conduct for Ivanovic incident. Pledges to donate money to Hillsborough Family Support Group. Managing director Ian Ayre issues statement saying the club want Suarez to see out his contract, which runs until summer 2016.

April 24 - Handed 10-game ban by an independent regulatory commission for biting Ivanovic, confirmed by the FA.

May 31 - Signals his intentions to leave Liverpool.

August 6 - Repeats his desire to leave after a bid from Arsenal of £40,000,001 is turned down. Made to train away from the first team.

August 14 - Returns to first-team training and apologies for trying to leave.

September 25 - Makes his return from suspension.

December 20 - After scoring 17 goals since his return, signs a new long-term contract with the Reds.

2014: April 20 - Scores the second goal in a 3-2 win over Norwich to become the first Liverpool player to score 30 league goals in a season since Ian Rush in

1987. April 27 - Wins the Professional Footballers' Association's Player of the Year award.

June 24 - Finds himself at the centre of further controversy, and the subject of Fifa disciplinary proceedings, when footage shows him appearing to bite Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini while playing for Uruguay in a World Cup Group D match.

June 26 - Fifa announces Suarez has been suspended for nine international matches and banned from all football activity for four months. He is also fined 100,000 Swiss francs (just under £66,000) for the incident.

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PM Warns Juncker Vote Is 'Bad For All Of Europe'

The Reason Dave Does Not Want Jean-Claude

Updated: 4:03pm UK, Thursday 26 June 2014

By Anushka Asthana, Political Correspondent

Why is David Cameron preparing to make an almighty fuss in Brussels tomorrow? Arguably it is all about this man:

Nigel Farage, the UKIP leader, whose "political earthquake" in May left the Prime Minister and those around him with jangled nerves. Downing Street sources say the European election tells the story of an electorate that wants to loosen the binds of the EU.

Mr Cameron wants to lead that effort. In fact, he has staked his political credibility on a promise to reform Britain's relationship with the EU and then put the country's membership to a public vote in 2017.

The Prime Minister wants to campaign for the UK to stay a part of the European project - but he can only do that he if he achieves a substantive renegotiation.

And that is why he is so desperate to stand in the way of Jean-Claude Juncker from becoming the most powerful EU politician. He fears that the elevation of the former Luxembourg Prime Minister to the presidency of the European Commission could hinder his plans because he considers him an arch-federalist who represents a Europe of the past.

Sources say Mr Cameron was buoyed in his opposition of Mr Juncker by the belief (a belief that may have come from a conversation) - that he had the support of the German Chancellor.

Observers say Angela Merkel is no fan of Mr Juncker's. But it's felt the Prime Minister overplayed his hand by so publicly and viscerally opposing the candidate.

That forced Ms Merkel into a corner. After all her government is part of the EPP centre-right grouping in Europe - which had publicly stated that Mr Juncker was its candidate before the May elections.

Proponents argue that EPP parties dominated in May after naming their European Commission. Democracy, they therefore add, means not interpreting those elections as the British have but in fact placing Mr Juncker in the top job.

Ms Merkel has been under pressure from her country's equivalent of the Sun- the Bild Zeitung which ran an editorial warning "Juncker must become president".

Under pressure at home Mrs Merkel chose a boat trip on a Swedish lake to tell Mr Cameron to back off.

By then it looked like support was fading away although he was still hopeful that other countries such as France, Italy or Sweden could come behind him. It wasn't to be.

Next a group of nine centre-left governments swung behind Mr Juncker, arguing that the EPP result in the elections was enough to mean he ought to succeed. Francoise Hollande delivered the conclusion in a public statement that was humiliating for Mr Cameron. With Italy gone too, next Sweden appeared to back off. 

Isolated, Mr Cameron decided he wouldn't concede. No 10 sources indicated that he was angry, pointing out that the world leaders of the European council had always agreed on a consensual candidate.

They pointed out that in 2004 the UK backed down on pushing the candidacy of Chris Patten because France wasn't keen. To make a point the Prime Minister is preparing to force an unprecedented vote of the Council. It is a vote he is widely expected to lose. So why do it?

Sources say it is to lay out the fact that this is no consensus and to force leaders to justify their own support for Mr Juncker. Commentators ask if it is really a play designed to please his own domestic audience – UKIP supporters who might think it makes him more likely to back the Tories.

Some criticise Mr Cameron's decision – promised before the last election to pull his own party out of the EPP grouping. He argued it was too federalist on EU running contrary to the Conservatives own view. But if he had been part of it – perhaps he might have influenced the choice of candidate that he now so vehemently opposes.

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Brazil: Fifa Ponders Luis Suarez Biting Claim

Fifa officials are examiing the evidence against Luis Suarez as calls mount for the Uruguayan to be kicked out of the World Cup for allegedly biting an opponent.

The Liverpool striker shocked the footballing world when he apparently sank his teeth into Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during their sides Group D game on Tuesday.

Suarez, banned twice before for biting opposing players, could be expelled from the tournament if found guilty.

He and Uruguayan officials had until 9pm UK time to submit evidence to a disciplinary panel set up by Fifa, football's world governing body.

Sky' football correspondent Paul Kelso, in Rio de Janeiro, said the panel will have to make a decision quickly.

"There is a chance we could hear this evening or they may want to sleep on it and make a decision tomorrow," he said

"But whatever happens time is pretty short. Uruguay's next game is against Columbia here in Rio on Saturday .

"They will need a decision and time for an appeal by Suarez and the Uruguayan FA."

The Uruguay striker has previous after biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic

Earlier a senior Fifa official told Sky News Suarez "must face a severe sanction" if found 'guilty' of biting Chiellini. "If we allow this where will it stop?" he asked.

Uruguay trained in Natal on Wednesday morning, but Suarez and his teammates who played against Italy were given a day off to rest.

Suarez has already commented on the incident, declaring: "These things happen on the pitch."

The striker clashed with Chiellini in the 79th minute of Tuesday's match, which Uruguay won 1-0 to advance to the last 16.

Television replays show Suarez moving his head towards Chiellini and apparently sinking his teeth into his shoulder, with Chiellini responding by swinging his arm.

Defending the alleged attack, Suarez said: "We were both just inside the area, he struck me in the chest with his shoulder and he hit me in the eye as well.

"These are things that happen on the pitch and you shouldn't attach so much importance to them."

Speaking to Rai TV after the game, Chiellini said: "It was ridiculous not to send Suarez off.

Suarez was sent off for a notorious handball in South Africa in 2010

"It is clear, clear-cut and then there was the obvious dive afterwards because he knew very well that he did something that he shouldn't have done."

Article 77 of Fifa's disciplinary code allows it to hit players with retrospective bans of up to two years if it decides there is a case to answer.

Both Adidas and betting firm 888poker - two of Suarez's key sponsors - have announced they are reviewing their relationship with the player following the alleged bite.

Suarez served a 10-match ban last year for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.

Before his move to Liverpool in 2011, he was suspended for seven matches by the Netherlands football federation after biting PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal when he played for Ajax.

The latest incident has been condemned by football professionals around the world, with many stating Suarez needs help.

"This is behaviour that's happened two times (before). You cannot justify it. I seriously think he needs help," said Everton manager Roberto Martinez.

Former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler said he was "flummoxed" by the case and the Anfield club should now try to sell Suarez.

"You can't defend him," Fowler said. "I love him as a player, but you cannot condone what he has done."

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Jimmy Savile Hospitals Sex Abuse Report Due

By Gerard Tubb, North of England Correspondent

Reports by 28 hospitals into their involvement with the disgraced entertainer and fundraiser Jimmy Savile will be published this morning.

The investigations were announced by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt last year after the hospitals were identified by the Metropolitan Police.

It is thought Savile, who died in October 2011, abused hundreds of patients in hospitals, principally at Broadmoor psychiatric hospital in Berkshire, Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire, and Leeds General Infirmary.

Only last month the NSPCC said its research showed Savile had abused at least 500 girls and boys, one just two years old, making him one of the UK's most prolific sex offenders.

He had a bedroom at Broadmoor and was eventually put in charge of management there.

He also had an office and staff at Stoke Mandeville hospital where he raised millions of pounds to build a spinal injuries unit, and an office at Leeds General infirmary.

Although conducted by the health trusts concerned, the hospital reports have been overseen by barrister Kate Lampard and some are expected to include criticism of staff and officials who failed to act on allegations of abuse.

But according to Liz Dux, a lawyer for Slater and Gordon representing 176 victims of Savile, the reports will not lead to prosecutions.

"What is so disturbing is that those who were complicit in the abuse, those who failed to act upon the reports that were being given to them by children, cannot be prosecuted today.

"We have to ensure that the Government introduces a law of mandatory reporting whereby those in regulatory authorities such as hospitals who are aware of reports of abuse are under a duty now to pass those reports on to the authorities."

Terry Pratt, a night porter at Leeds General Infirmary in the early 1990s, told Sky News Savile could do what he wanted and staff felt unable to challenge him.

"You can see what would have happened if we'd have reported him, we'd have got sacked," he said.

The report into his abuse at Stoke Mandeville Hospital has been delayed to allow new evidence to be gathered, with the hospital saying last week that investigators wanted to question further witnesses.

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PM Has 'Serious' Questions To Answer On Coulson

By Sophy Ridge, Political Correspondent

David Cameron is likely to face difficult questions about his former spindoctor Andy Coulson at Prime Minister's Questions.

Labour Leader Ed Miliband has said the Prime Minister's apology is not enough and he has "very, very serious questions to answer".

He said: "This was not some small or accidental mistake. He stuck with Coulson over a long period of time and it wasn't like there wasn't information out there to arouse his suspicions.

"He was warned by the Deputy PM; he saw front page stories; he was warned by newspaper editors and yet still he refused to act and even today, defending some of the conduct of Coulson when he worked for him," Mr Miliband said.

"I think Cameron must do much more than an apology - he must give the country an explanation as to why he did not act, why he did not act on these allegations against Andy Coulson."

Mr Cameron has already apologised for employing Mr Coulson as his Director of Communications, saying it was "the wrong decision".

Coulson was employed by David Cameron in 2010

On Tuesday the former News of the World editor was convicted of phone hacking while working for the newspaper.

However, Mr Cameron's judgement is now under scrutiny. The Prime Minister employed Mr Coulson as his top communications chief in May 2010, after he had resigned from the News of the World.

Mr Cameron said the former editor had given him "false assurances" he had no involvement in phone hacking and he had wanted to give him a "second chance".

The Prime Minister said he was given "undertakings by him on phone hacking and I always said if they turned out to be wrong I would make a full and frank apology and I do that today".

He said: "I am extremely sorry that I employed him. It was the wrong decision and I am very clear about that."

Some insiders believe David Cameron's judgement was affected by his relationship with Mr Coulson.

Sean Kemp, a former adviser to Nick Clegg in Downing Street, told Sky News: "I think they genuinely believed his denials, you could argue that maybe they wanted to believe his denials because they liked him and because he was an impressive performer.

"Obviously with hindsight they wish they hadn't done it. But hindsight is always easy."

Mr Cameron has said employing Coulson was 'a mistake'

Mr Cameron insisted there had never been any complaints about the work Coulson did for him as leader of the opposition before he became Prime Minister or while he was working at Downing Street.

He said he and his chief of staff, Ed Llewellyn, had questioned Coulson on "whether he knew about phone hacking" but had been assured he had not.

Mr Cameron said: "But knowing what I now know, and know that the assurances were not right, it was obviously wrong to employ him. I gave someone a second chance and it turned out to be a bad decision."

Coulson resigned from his £140,000-a-year role at No 10 in January 2011 after the NOTW allegations intensified, insisting he was not involved in the scandal but saying: "When the spokesman needs a spokesman it's time to move on."

In July 2011, Mr Cameron told the House of Commons that if it "turns out I have been lied to, that would be the moment for a profound apology. And, in that event, I can tell you I will not fall short".

Chancellor George Osborne, who recommended Coulson to Mr Cameron, also apologised and said: "We gave him a second chance but, knowing what we now know, it's clear that we made the wrong decision."

A jury at the Old Bailey found Coulson guilty of phone hacking between 2000 and 2006, however, it is still considering its verdicts on conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office.

Rebekah Brooks, former chief executive of News International and ex News of the World editor, was cleared of all charges against her, as was her husband, the racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks.

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Ex-Defence Chief Warns Over Jihadist Threat

By Lisa Holland, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

Britain faces an increasing threat from home grown jihadists as the conflict in Iraq risks spreading into Afghanistan once UK troops withdraw, the former head of the Armed Forces has warned.

In an exclusive interview with Sky News, Lord Richards of Herstmonceux said the current fighting in the Middle East should serve as a "wake up call" to the West.

Lord Richards – who stepped down as Chief of the Defence Staff last year – described the Allied invasion of Iraq in 2003 as a "strategic error", the full consequences of which are only being experienced today.

And he warned increasing numbers of British Muslims could be radicalised if conflicts like Syria and Iraq are not brought to a halt.

"We're not communicating very well," he said. "A lot of young people feel alienated. I think you have to take positive action to assist them to stay on the path most want to.

"But the real key is to make sure things going on in other parts of the world don't become flag bearers for just a few people to start causing trouble here.

"If we don't deal with it then there's a threat here which could grow and it is growing."

Lord Richards was head of Britain's armed forces

The Government estimates around 400 British-born fighters are currently in Syria and Iraq.

Three men – two from Cardiff and one from Aberdeen – featured in a recent promotional video made for ISIS insurgents released last week.

The threat posed by jihadists returning from such conflicts to Britain may increase, Lord Richards said.

"It could get bigger. So you need to snuff out a problem like this at the source, not just put up the barriers as they come back into this country."

In the interview, Lord Richards said in hindsight the invasion of Iraq was a mistake.

"No doubt Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator but it liberated a whole load of other forces and we're seeing that play through today."

British troops are due to withdraw from Afghanistan at the end of this year and Lord Richards said he feared a similar situation could arise.

"It's a wake up call. I fear what we are seeing in Iraq could happen in Afghanistan next year and the thing we should be focusing on now is containing this."

British jihadists are among those fighting in Syria

He suggested the influence of social media meant a small minority of insurgents could start a major conflict.

"You only need a few hotheads and suddenly the law of unintended consequence can start taking control.

"It's not going to be an old fashioned war this - this is a generational struggle.

"With modern means of communication only half a dozen people can start to corrode a country from within. Then states over-react and that fires up more people. So it's a very clever and difficult form of warfare."

Lord Richards said the Afghan armed forces needed better equipment and better training.

Without international support, Lord Richards said he feared "we will see what is happening in Iraq happen there in nine months time and that will be a tragic waste".

He added that as a result of the rise of jihadists, the Coalition needed to re-examine defence cuts otherwise "we could be caught out".

"I'm worried the armed forces will not be in a position to do everything that might be asked of them if we don't address that question now."

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Two Brits Die In Turkish Jeep Safari Accident

Two Britons have been killed in a jeep safari accident near Fethiye in Turkey, the Foreign Office has confirmed.

Two other Britons were injured in the accident and taken to hospital.

Local reports suggested the open-top vehicle crashed into a telegraph pole near the village of Korubuk as it returned to a resort.

The jeep had visited a gorge, reports said. Pic: haberler.com

Three Turkish nationals were also hurt in the accident, they added.

The group had reportedly been to Saklikent Gorge, about 25 miles from the popular resort of Fethiye.

The accident happened in the popular resort area of Fethiye

The gorge is 1,000ft deep and 12 miles long, making it one of the longest and deepest in the world.

Jeep safaris are a popular expedition for tourists staying in the main resorts of southwest Turkey and offer a chance to see the countryside beyond the beach.

Southwest Turkey is a popular tourist spot. Pic: Creative Commons

Similar crashes have occurred in recent years with 12 passengers hurt in August 2012 when a vehicle hit a lamp-post.

An FCO spokesman said: "We are aware of a jeep safari incident near Fethiye in Turkey involving four British nationals, two of whom have died, two of whom have been hospitalised. We are providing consular assistance."

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Militant Leader Vows To Stop PM 'Burning Iraq'

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent, in Irbil

A senior Iraqi Sunni leader has told Sky News that his men will continue to fight Iraqi government forces until the current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki steps down.

"If Maliki stays in power Iraq will end," Sheikh Ali Al-Salmam told us.

"We will never allow that to happen, whatever it costs us. He is using the same policies as Saddam. He is burning Iraq to stay in power."

Sheikh Al-Salman heads a militant group of fighters which now number in the thousands. His army is growing daily.

"I think Iraq is facing two choices: either a white civil war or a divided Iraq," he predicts.

"The international community is to blame. The US administration should not leave Iraq like this. They should not walk away from Iraq."

Sheikh Al-Salman (L) wants Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to stand down

His Military Council for the Revolutionary Tribes' is based in Ramadi but controls large parts of Anbar Province to the west of Baghdad, the scene of recent insurgent fighting.

Al-Salman's men are currently fighting alongside ISIS against the Iraqi military.

But whilst they have a mutual cause, he warns that ISIS has no future in Iraq.

"ISIS came after our revolution and they tried to benefit from it. ISIS has tried to open Iraq up to international interference. Will we fight ISIS? Yes, but not for the time being."

Before ISIS captured headlines in Europe and America, Sheikh Al-Salman was the first person to take arms against Nouri Al-Maliki's government six months ago. They laid the ground for ISIS to join the fight.

Sheikh Al-Salman has been contacted by the US government but he hasn't held direct meetings with them although he told us he is willing to work with them to find a solution.

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'Spread Of Terror' Fears As ISIS Tightens Grip

Barack Obama and John Kerry have said ISIS, which is carrying out a lightning offensive in Iraq, could grow in power, destabilise the region and pose a threat to the US.

The US president spoke hours after the Islamist militants made dramatic gains by capturing four towns in western Iraq on Sunday.

Haditha, Anah, Rawa, Rotba - along with a number of villages - were taken as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) swept east from the Syrian border, where it captured a border crossing on Saturday, in its latest offensive.

The group was also reported to have seized two more border crossings - the Turaibil crossing with Jordan and the al Walid crossing with Syria.

"We're going to have to be vigilant generally," Mr Obama said.

"Right now the problem with ISIS is the fact that they're destabilising the country. That could spill over into some of our allies like Jordan."

Sky's Sam Kiley says Irai forces 'folded-up without a fight'

But he said that was just one of an array of threats the US must guard against, citing the group Boko Haram in north Africa and al Qaeda groups in Yemen.

"What we can't do is think that we're just going to play whack-a-mole and send US troops occupying various countries wherever these organisations pop up," Mr Obama said on CBS Face The Nation.

"We're going to have to have a more focused, more targeted strategy and we're going to have to partner and train local law enforcement and military to do their jobs as well."

John Kerry warned of the 'spread of terror' while speaking in Cairo

Secretary of State John Kerry, on a diplomatic tour of the Middle East and Europe, said: "ISIL is a threat to all of the countries in the region and no country is safe from that kind of spread of terror."

Speaking from Baghdad, Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Sam Kiley said the militants' rapid grab of power "is very significant as it appears the Iraqi army has folded-up without a fight".

"These are major strategic prizes, not necessarily big towns but all of them on the main route to Syria and on the Euphrates river."

He added: "This is is rackling the international community because they are very fearful that if this landscape of ungoverned space becomes established as an Islamist heartland it will attract jihadis from all over the world."

Satellite image of Iraqi forces bombing a suspected ISIS target

Kiley said the big prize appears to be Haditha, which contains an important power-generating plant for Baghdad.

Dozens of Iraqi tanks, armoured vehicles and special forces troops were being sent to Haditha in an attempt to regain control and protect a dam across the Euphrates, according to Sky sources.

ISIS had already taken control of the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi in predominantly Sunni Anbar province before it seized Iraq's second city Mosul, and Baiji, home to the country's largest oil refinery, in an aggressive offensive in the north.

Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith has said the UK could provide logistical support if the US were to begin its own bombing raids.

Young Iraqis have been flocking to recruitment centres at the weekend to join the counter-offensive against ISIS. According to official records, some two million young men have volunteered in the past seven days.

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Jihadist's Mother Pleads For Him To Return Home

Faith Lost In Iraq PM Amid Political Limbo

Updated: 5:46pm UK, Friday 20 June 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor, in Baghdad

The US President, Shia politicians, Sunni chieftans and none other than the Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani has joined the clamour for Iraq's Prime Minister to move fast and form a government.

The nation has languished since elections on April 30 in a political limbo that arguably undermined faith in the central government, even among the Shia-dominated armed forces.

That might, partly, explain their rapid collapse in the face of far fewer forces from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) plus their allies.

But now that Iraq's supreme court has ratified the results of the elections what possible reason could Nouri al Maliki have for delay?

One explanation may simply be political.

His stewardship over previous years has entrenched sectarian divisions and seen an explosion in corruption.

His party bloc won 92 of the 328 seats in Iraq's parliament and he'll need 165 to form a coalition administration.

He, therefore, has to get involved in some serious horse trading with other Shia parties to build his coalition.

But they are now losing faith in him. Particularly in his apparent refusal to reach out to Sunni parties and offer them stakes in the central government - such as a security portfolio and a ministry which would give them access to patronage systems such as an education or public works - so that they feel both secure and that they have an investment in the future political structures.

A more conspiratorial thesis, fuelled by the conspiratorial utterances of lame duck ministers left over from the previous administration, is that Iraq's latest travails are the fault of external forces.

Jordan, Saudi Arabia (both Sunni countries), the US and others are being blamed for manipulating the Middle East and somehow creating ISIS.

There is evidence of Saudi individual, and possible state funding, for extremist militant groups in Syria, which may include ISIS.

And Jordan has played a significant role in trying to boost the fortunes of the non-extremist Free Syrian Army.

But Mr al Maliki may have calculated that he can either weather the latest storm - or let ISIS form an impoverished caliphate in the desert north of his country which would leave the Shia with Baghdad and the south.

It's the south, after all, that holds the lion's share of the world's second largest oil reserves.

It can ship its oil out through the Gulf, via Kuwait, or via Iran.

A Shia state or semi-state would not only be self-sufficient - it would be spared the burden of sharing Iraq's spoils with other sectarian groups like the Sunni and the Kurds (who already have their own autonomy and oil industry).

Such a move, or allowing events to drift to this reality, would place the south of Iraq firmly inside Iran's imperial embrace.

That is not something that Saudi Arabia would be able to tolerate in the long term as it vies with Iran for influence in the Middle East.

Nor is it anything that a rump Sunni 'caliphate' would be able to live with - the extremists within it would forever plot how to steal it back by force.

10.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Colchester Murder Police Seek 'Running Man'

Police have said they want to speak to a man seen running close to where Saudi student Nahid Almanea was killed.

The white man, aged between 18 and 25, of medium build and with dark hair was spotted to coming out of an alleyway which indirectly links to to the Salary Brook Trail, where the 31-year-old was stabbed.

He was wearing a long sleeved, plain hooded top that is described as London bus red and dark trousers.

Ms Almanea was stabbed 16 times while walking along a path on Tuesday morning.

Nadia Almanea was attacked on her way to university

In a statement, Detective Chief Superintendent Steve Worron said police also wanted to hear from anyone who could help identify a man wanted for questioning over an attack on a woman in Peache Road, Colchester, at around 10pm on June 19.

"The location of this attack, and some aspects of it, including reports that a knife was seen and the victim was a woman, mean that this suspect is also of interest to the Almanea investigation," he said.

The attacker was described as white, in his early 20s, and around 5ft 7in to 5ft 8in tall. He was of medium build and had a narrow face, appeared unwell, and possibly had fair hair.

Police have been searching the area where Ms Almanea was stabbed

Ms Almanea had been taking an English language course at the University of Essex as part of her studies for a life sciences PhD.

Police released a CCTV picture of the 31-year-old taken moments before her death and a map of her likely route from the home she shared with her brother to the spot on the Salary Brook trail where her body was found.

Police have previously said the fact that Ms Almanea was stabbed multiple times bore "obvious similarities" to the murder of James Attfield, a vulnerable man with brain damage who was stabbed more than 100 times in a park in Colchester in March.

Police released a map showing Ms Almanea's route

In the statement on Saturday, police said it was still not clear whether the two killings had been carried out by the same person.

"A criminal profiler from the National Crime Agency has carried out a thorough assessment of all the evidence in connection with both murders," Detective Chief Superintendent Worron said.

"A decision has been taken that they remain separate but parallel investigations at this time.

"However the circumstances of both crimes mean that we must consider the possibility that the same killer or killers are responsible."

James Attfield was stabbed more than 100 times in March

Police have urged people to remain vigilant and be careful about going out alone following the attacks.

Superintendent Steve Ditchburn said extra patrols were being carried out across the town.

"Our advice to people is that we have now had two knife murders in Colchester in less than three months where the motive for the attacks remains unknown," he said.

"Both of these attacks were on lone people who were in locations where it appears no one else was nearby at the time.

"For that reason we would remind people to take sensible precautions to stay safe. This includes avoiding any situations in which you could find yourself isolated and alone in a public area."

:: Anyone with information is asked to contact the Major Investigation Team on 01245 282103, Essex Police on 101 or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

10.03 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fifa Bosses 'Secretly Doubled Their Salaries'

Blood On Dancefloor As Sepp Faces European Critics

Updated: 4:00am UK, Wednesday 11 June 2014

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent, Rio de Janeiro

When Sepp Blatter shimmied onto stage at the Fifa Congress alongside Brazilian model Fernanda Lima he did not look much like a man under pressure.

As he jigged about like a man at his granddaughter's wedding, Blatter was in his element, playing to type at the opening ceremony of an event he has long choreographed to his own ends.

You certainly would not have guessed this was a man who started the day facing an open challenge to his leadership from inside the "football family" of which he imagines himself patriarch.

Blatter is well used to criticism from beyond the gates. This is a man, after all, who has not been able to risk a speech at a World Cup finals since he was booed at the 2002 Japan-South Korea World Cup.

But he is certainly not used to being criticised so openly and directly on his own turf as he was on Tuesday.

FA chairman Greg Dyke is new to "Fifaland" and had little to lose, and much to gain domestically, from taking Blatter on. But his message was unarguable.

The allegations against Qatar are not the result of a conspiracy, or racism. Rather they are the product of a competitive, engaged media worrying away at a questionable decision made by a demonstrably flawed organisation.

To suggest otherwise is to admit, as many within Uefa believe, that Blatter does not really believe in cleaning up Fifa or the work of US attorney Michael Garcia, commissioned to investigate the Qatar allegations.

Dyke's Dutch counterpart Michael Van Praag, meanwhile, said plainly what many have long believed; Fifa cannot be credibly reformed with Blatter at the helm because the scandals of the last decade occurred on his watch.

And yet Fifa being Fifa, there is always a political dance going on, and so it was here.

Uefa's opposition at least makes them look like they speak for the interests of players, clubs and the fans they ultimately represent.

But Dyke and Van Praag, no matter how well-intentioned, were really doing someone else's dirty work. Michel Platini, Uefa President, one-time advisor to Blatter and for a while his most credible opponent, was silent. Uefa wants change - and many support them - but their leader kept his head down.

Perhaps it is because he is compromised over Qatar having openly voted for them. Or perhaps he believes that no matter how uncomfortable Uefa made one afternoon for Blatter, their opposition is unlikely to prevent him winning another term as president.

That is the reality of Blatter's grip over Fifa. He commands a majority of the 209 member nations, and his announcement this week of increased bonuses from World Cup profits to all of them will ensure he keeps it.

Uefa has six months to change the music by finding a candidate capable of taking him on and winning. If they don't, Blatter will waltz on to a fifth term.

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