Remote-Control Model Plane Attack 'Foiled'

Two aeronautics students planned to use remote-controlled model planes packed with explosives to carry out terrorist attacks in Germany, according to prosecutors.

German authorities are holding two men of Tunisian origin who they say are facing possible charges for the "preparation of a serious, state-threatening act of violence".

Prosecutors say the men are suspected of "procuring information and objects to commit Islamic extremist explosive attacks with remote-controlled model airplanes," prosecutors added.

Police investigating the terror plot on Tuesday launched a series of raids in Stuttgart and Munich in southern Germany and Saxony in the east. They also carried out one raid in Belgium. No-one was arrested.

The suspects had been under surveillance for more than a year and authorities had recently detected "an increased interest in explosives and model aircraft", according to an unnamed security source quoted by a German news agency.

Remoted-controlled planes were to be used in a US-based terror attack

Prosecutors did not mention membership of any specific terrorist organisation and gave no further details about the men under investigation.

However, public broadcaster SWF quoted unnamed sources as saying that the two were studying aeronautics in Stuttgart and were suspected of trying to develop techniques for remotely piloting model planes using GPS technology.

Authorities added that the national terror threat had not been raised, suggesting police believe the alleged plan was in its early stages.

Among the locations raided were the apartments of four acquaintances of the two men who were suspected of financing Islamic extremism, officials said.

The investigation also targeted another acquaintance suspected of money laundering. None of the suspects were identified.

Last November, American Rezwan Ferdaus was sentenced to 17 years in prison over a plot to fly remote-controlled model planes packed with explosives into the Pentagon.

Last year, Spanish police released a video they claimed showed suspected al Qaeda members training for a bombing raid using a model plane.

Germany has seen only one successful attack by an Islamic radical - the fatal shooting of two US  airmen at Frankfurt airport in 2011 by a Kosovo native who grew up in Germany and became radicalised by watching jihadist propaganda on the internet.

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Taliban: US Backs Talks Despite Kabul Attack

US President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai have backed peace talks with the Taliban just hours after an attack on a CIA building in Kabul.

The White House said in a statement the two leaders "reiterated their support for an office in Doha for the purpose of negotiations between the High Peace Council and authorised representatives of the Taliban".

On Tuesday morning suicide attackers fought security forces for around an hour and blew up a car bomb outside Afghanistan's presidential palace after infiltrating one of Kabul's most secure areas.

Fighting also took place nearby at the Afghan ministry of defence and the former Ariana hotel, which is used by the CIA.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack and suggested all three buildings had been targeted.

Police said up to four gunmen jumped out of a car and opened fire after being stopped by security forces trying to use fake documents to get through a checkpoint.

The Taliban attacked the presidential palace on Tuesday

They were reportedly wearing military uniforms and the car was fitted with radio antennae to make it look like an ISAF vehicle.

All the assailants were killed in the gunfight, and one palace security guard was wounded, according to a police spokesman.

A car bomb also exploded outside the palace and there were reports of more than one vehicle device.

Talks between the US officials and the Taliban had been set to take place last Thursday in Qatar.

But Afghan government anger at the fanfare surrounding the opening of the Taliban office in the Gulf state threw preparations into confusion.

The opening of the Taliban office was ostensibly a practical step to pave the way for peace talks to end Afghanistan's 12-year-old war.

But the official-looking protocol surrounding the event raised angry protests in Kabul that the office would develop into a Taliban government-in-exile.

The militants have indicated they are willing to open peace talks with the US and the Afghan government.

However, at the same time they have not renounced violence and attacks have continued across Afghanistan.

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China: US Factory Boss Describes 'Insane' Dispute

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent in Qiaozi, China

An American businessman who has been held hostage in his Chinese factory for six days over an industrial dispute has described his situation as "absolutely insane".

Chip Starnes spoke to Sky News through a barred window from his medical supply plant on the outskirts of Beijing.

He said: "I keep telling myself that I am in a movie or a book.

"But it's playing out live. It's real and it's surreal."

Workers at the plant have been blocking exits around the clock and initially deprived him of sleep by shining bright lights on his office.

According to Chinese Union officials, Mr Starnes, 42, has failed to pay wages for two months, and staff at the factory fear the business is about to close without any promise of severance packages.

Sky's Mark Stone talks to Chip Starnes through a window in the factory

Mr Starnes denied the workers' allegations of unpaid wages and put it down to a "miscommunication".

He said: "The issue is this. People who already had jobs also wanted to be paid severance."

Mr Starnes explained that he is downsizing the factory and moving some work to a cheaper labour market in India.

"We were downsizing it. That was no secret," he explained.

He said that the workers knew about these plans and that those who will be made redundant would receive severance packages.

But he said that even those workers who were not being laid off were demanding a pay-off.

"Having to pay to rebuild confidence in them for a job that they already have. It just doesn't add up," he told Sky News.

Workers block journalists from entering the compound in Qiaozi

Looking relatively relaxed through the bars of his office window, Mr Starnes said that his treatment was now "fine".

He said: "The first few nights were very, very hectic. Since then, no. They are making me wait it out; wear me down.

"For the past three days, no issues at all but I am still not allowed to leave.

"It is classified as a civil dispute. This is how they can hold you up until you come to some sort of common bond."

Mr Starnes, who manages the Florida-based firm Speciality Medical Supplies, said the dispute was disappointing but that he was keen to resolve it internally.

One worker, Gao Ping, speaking to reporters on Tuesday said she wanted to quit because she had not been paid for two months.

Chu Lixiang, a local union official representing the workers, said they were demanding the portion of their salaries yet to be paid and a "reasonable" level of compensation before leaving their jobs.

The dispute is over unpaid wages and fears of factory closure

Similar disputes have happened at other businesses in China after a history of workers sometimes being unprotected when factories close.

There is increasing evidence of a trend of foreign-owned factories across China closing as workers demanded ever higher salaries.

Foreign companies are re-locating their operations to cheaper markets in South-East Asia.

Last month, Sky News visited a clothing factory in Burma. The factory, owned by Japanese firm Famoso, was once located in China.

That company is closing its three factories near Shanghai and Ningbo and moving their entire operation to Burma.

Experts acknowledge that the trend is a worry for the Chinese market but say that China is still more attractive than other Asian markets because of its better infrastructure and domestic sales market.

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China Riots: Mobs Attack Police In Xinjiang

By Sky News Beijing Bureau

At least 27 people have been killed and three others injured after knife-wielding gangs went on the rampage through a town in far western China, according to state media.

The Xinhua news agency said mobs attacked police stations, a local government building and a construction site in the Turpan Oasis in the Turkic-speaking Xinjiang region.

Nine police officers and security guards, as well as eight civilians, were killed before police shot dead 10 of the attackers.

The death toll from the unrest was the worst in the restive region since July 2009, when nearly 200 people were killed in riots in the regional capital Urumqi, involving local predominantly Muslim Uighurs and ethnic Han Chinese.

Xinhua said Wednesday's unrest erupted at about 6am in the remote township of Lukqun, about 120 miles southeast of Urumqi.

Gangs attacked officials and civilians, stabbing people and setting fire to police vehicles, Xinhua reported.

Residents told Sky News there was a heavy police presence in the township. Search results for the words Xinjiang and Lukqun, in both English and Chinese, were unavailable on Chinese search engines.

A map showing to location of the Turpan Oasis in Xinjiang

The reasons for the attacks were not immediately clear, but Xinjiang has been the scene of numerous violent incidents in recent years.

The region is home to a large population of Uighurs, and the influx of China's Han majority has led to unrest.

Many Uighurs, who have ethnic links to central Asia, accuse the Chinese government of placing restrictions on their culture, language and religion.

They also claim Beijing has encouraged the numbers of Han Chinese to rise in order to reduce the Uighurs' dominance.

China says it grants Uighurs wide-ranging freedoms and is fighting separatist terrorists in the region. It also claims to be modernising the region, which has for many years been seen as a backwater.

In 2011, the China National Petroleum Corp announced it had started large scale exploration of an oil field around Lukqun, which is thought to be the world's deepest heavy oil reserve.

In that same year, 113 oil wells were opened. Local people claim the water level has dropped in the last few years.

The report also said three rioters had been seized, and the police pursued fleeing suspects, although it did not say how many.

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Gibraltar Jetski Shooting: UK Protests To Spain

A diplomatic row has broken out after a Spanish police patrol boat apparently fired shots at a British jetskier off Gibraltar.

Minister for Europe David Lidington said he had protested to Spain after the Guardia Civil boat reportedly made an "illegal incursion" into Gibraltar's territorial waters.

The jetskier said he was left "shaken" by the shooting.

"There were three policemen on the boat and I actually saw one of them with a gun in his hand," Dale Villa, 32, told English language news website the Olive Press.

Jetskier Dale Villa

"I was just about to drop my friend off at West Beach when I heard the first shot. I don't really think we took it seriously or believed it could be a gun, but clearly it was.

"Anyway I jumped back on again and whizzed off before realising the boat was chasing after me and had soon fired three more shots at me.

"I was very shaken and furious. When a huge boat is hurtling after you and you hear gunshots it is very scary."

Onlookers claimed to have seen large rubber or plastic baton rounds being fired from the Guardia Civil boat and splashing into the water.

In a statement, Mr Lidington said: "I spoke today with Spanish minister for the European Union, Inigo Mendez de Vigo, in order to protest in the strongest terms following an incident on Sunday in British Gibraltar territorial waters.

"During an illegal incursion by a Guardia Civil vessel, a Guardia Civil officer fired a weapon. I made clear that the discharge of a weapon in or near Gibraltar is completely unacceptable.

"I urged Senor Mendez de Vigo to investigate urgently and to take action to ensure that this will not happen again."

A Guardia boat like the one from which shots were fired pic: David Merrett

Mr Lidington said he has also instructed the British charge d'affaires in Madrid to protest in person to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and to demand a full explanation.

Gibraltar has been a British colony since 1713, but Spain publicly disputes Gibraltar's sovereignty and insists it has the right to fish in Gibraltan waters.

The confrontation is the latest skirmish between Britain and Spain involving the territory.

In May 2012, four police vessels and Royal Navy patrol boat intercepted a Spanish trawler which was fishing off the rock after it ignored warnings to stop.

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Nelson Mandela: Tribal Leaders Prepare For End

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent, In South Africa

Nelson Mandela's tribal leaders have been told to prepare for the death of the former president, who remains in hospital unable to breathe without support.

The advice comes after meetings with the family over the past two days.

Senior tribal leaders - including Mr Mandela's tribal heir, grandson Mandla Mandela - are expected to visit the hospital for further talks with family members.

Nelson Mandela remains in critical condition, according to the South African government, and multiple sources have confirmed to Sky News that he is no longer able to breathe unassisted.

In the Eastern Cape, where Mr Mandela will be buried, a member of the tribal authority confirmed that the clan had been told that he is extremely ill and although it is against Xhosa tradition to even discuss the death of a living person, they should prepare for the worst.

There are a series of tribal rituals that will be observed by the family and the nation throughout this period and during the funeral,  although Mr Mandela, a Methodist, will be given a Christian burial.

A car carrying Mandela family elders arrives at the ex-leader's Qunu home

Outside the Pretoria hospital where Mr Mandela has been treated for the past 19 days, well-wishers continue to lay flowers and cards supporting this national and world icon.

Police have increased security and blocked the road to traffic outside the rear entrance to the hospital.

An officer said this was to allow the free passage of family and VIPs who have been visiting the hospital throughout Mr Mandela's stay.

For the first time the South African people appear to be accepting that the end of this remarkable life is approaching.

"He has done so much for this country, it is terribly sad but we have to accept it however hard it may seem," said a lady reading messages pinned to the hospital wall.

The office of President Jacob Zuma says that Mr Mandela remains critical but the President, asking the nation to pray, added that  South Africa had to accept that "Madiba is old".

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India Floods: Disease Fears As Bodies Decay

By Neville Lazarus, Asia Producer

Doctors have braced themselves for an outbreak of disease following the Indian floods that have killed hundreds and left towns and villages devastated.

Numerous unrecovered dead bodies have started to decay in inaccessible areas, the authorities have said.

More than 1,000 people died and thousands of homes, roads and bridges were washed away after heavy monsoon rains in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.

About 92,000 people from hundreds of villages and towns hit by the floods have been rescued, many of who were in the area to attend a pilgrimage to a holy Hindu site.

An earlier plan for a mass cremation of bodies had to be stalled as incessant rain prevented it.

A number of people are reporting in sick at various medical camps set up by the relief agencies.

Badrinath was one of the areas badly affected

In one small village alone, Guptakashi, 128 people are being treated for fever, diarrhoea and vomiting.

Officials fear an epidemic could break out as most of the drinking water in the region comes from the streams and river.

The government is providing a million chlorine tablets and specialised equipment such as cutters and pulleys to help remove bodies from under debris, but they are being prevented by the weather and vast terrain.

Adding to the difficulties faced by rescuers has been the downing of an air force Mi-17 helicopter.

The death toll from the crash has now reached 19 people, including five airmen and others from paramilitary agencies.

Only 12 bodies have been recovered so far as the terrain and bad weather has hampered the search.

Speaking to Sky News, Indian army spokesperson Brigadier Uma Maheshwar said: "Helicopters have been put into operation in four areas today but there are still some places where they cannot fly due to bad weather.

Volunteers load wood on an air force helicopter for a mass cremation

"Ground rescue is continuing by the army to try and reach the 5,000 people stranded in Badrinath and about 900 in some other remote places."

Badrinath, on the Alaknanda River, is the site of an important Hindu temple that is visited by up to 600,000 people annually, as part of the Char Dham circuit, many doing so between June and September

Questions are now being raised about why so many pilgrims were allowed to congregate in the hills when the warnings were so dire.

The region received more than five times the rainfall it normally gets. About 380mm of rain fell, compared to an average of 71mm at this time of the year. 

A report published two months ago by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, a constitutional body that audits the Government, stated that the area was a "disaster was waiting to happen".

Aid heading to the disaster area hit by the floods

It added that the government of Uttarakhand had a dysfunctional disaster management system with no concrete plan and an inadequate communication system, even though the region has a history of natural calamities.

Blasting of the hills to construct dams and hydro projects has loosened the soil, unchecked construction and deforestation has made the region vulnerable to landslides and flash floods, it said.

The state government of Uttarakhand and the central government have come under intense scrutiny and criticism for having failed to heed early warnings of previous calamities.

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Australia: PM Gillard Forced Out By Rudd

Julia Gillard is stepping down as Australia's first female prime minister after losing a party leadership fight with Kevin Rudd.

Mr Rudd faces becoming the country's new leader with just months until a general election after he won a Labor Party ballot by 57 votes to 45.

The defeated leader made no comment to reporters as she left the voting chamber flanked by supporters, but she later congratulated Mr Rudd and confirmed an earlier pledge that she would quit politics after the elections if she lost the ballot.

She said it had been a "humbling" privilege to have been prime minister, adding: "I thank the Australian Labor Party for that privilege and I thank the Australian people for their support."

Mr Rudd, who had made a string of unsuccessful attempts at winning back the reins since being ousted by Ms Gillard in a similar 2010 showdown, praised Ms Gillard's achievements in power and called her a "remarkable reformer".

But he said "negative, destructive personal politics" had dishonoured parliament and had done nothing good for the country. "In fact it's been holding our country back," he said. "All this must stop."

Welsh-born Ms Gillard called the party ballot earlier amid reports that her bitter rival's supporters were gearing up for a fresh leadership challenge.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott

Opinion polls had shown that the party could face huge losses in the September elections, but that Mr Rudd would be the more popular leader.

Mr Rudd must now demonstrate that he can command a majority of the House of Representatives before the governor-general makes him prime minister.

If he cannot, opposition leader Tony Abbott could be asked to form a government, or the elections could be moved from September to August.

The power struggles between Ms Gillard and Mr Rudd had been well documented over the past three years.

In March, she managed to retain the leadership of the party after she was urged to hold a ballot. Mr Rudd admitted at the time he did not have enough support to defeat her.

During a similar battle in 2012, a video emerged of the Mandarin-speaking former diplomat Mr Rudd slamming his fist in an expletive-ridden tirade about a Chinese interpreter. Ms Gillard's office was forced to deny leaking the footage.

As Ms Gillard called the latest ballot with just hours of notice, she appeared frustrated over the petition for a vote that was circulating within the party.

She said: "Call me old-fashioned, but the way in which these things are normally done is a challenger approaches the leader of the Labor Party and asks them to call a ballot for the leadership, who shake hands and then a ballot is held.

"That hasn't happened but in these circumstances I do think it is in the best interests of the nation and in the best interests of the Labor Party for this matter to be resolved ... "

Mr Rudd, who first swept to power in 2007, had said Labor was facing a "catastrophic defeat" at the next election unless there was "change".

The 55-year-old has promised tighter control of public spending, a speedier return to surplus budgets, and stronger economic growth.

He said he would resume the job "with humility, with honour and with an important sense of energy and purpose".

The blow to Ms Gillard has surprised people in her native Wales as well as her adopted homeland.

Born in Barry, in the Vale of Glamorgan, in 1961, she lived there before her family emigrated to Australia when she was a girl.

Vale of Glamorgan county councillor Ian Johnson said she remained popular, adding: "She has done a fantastic job and broken a glass ceiling in politics.

"Regardless of what you think about her politics she's been an inspiration - not just in Australia but also back here in Wales."

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Plane Crashes On To Road Outside Chicago

A private aircraft has crashed as it tried to land at a small airport outside Chicago, narrowly missing an apartment complex.

The pilot of the twin-engine Beechcraft suffered minor injuries when the aircraft slammed into the ground.

The plane was not carrying any passengers.

Photo courtesy of Reddit user Wootens

The crash happened as the Beech Super King Air 200 turbo-prop aircraft approached Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling, about 30 miles north of downtown Chicago.

No-one on the ground was reported injured.

The Federal Aviation Administration says the cause of the crash in under investigation.

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Japan:Talking Robot To Be Sent Into Space

Japan is to send a talking robot into space to see how machines that communicate are able to work with humans.

The robot has been developed by scientists from the Kirobo project - named after "kibo" or hope in Japanese - and is capable of holding a conversation with people.

It is scheduled to be launched from the Tanegashima Space Center on August 4.

The spacecraft it will be carried on will dock with the International Space Station (ISS) where it will stay until the arrival in November of Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata.

Wakata is the first Japanese commander of an ISS mission and, on arrival in orbit, he will converse with the robot in the first experiment of its kind.

The experiment is designed to test whether an autonomous robot can provide assistance to humans on space missions by communicating directly with them.

Yorichika Nishijima, manager in charge of the project to create the robots, said: "Russia was the first to go outer space; the US was the first to go to the moon; we want Japan to be the first to send a robot-astronaut to space that can communicate with humans."

The experiment is a collaboration between the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, the University of Tokyo, Robo Garage, advertising and PR company Dentsu Inc. and Toyota Motor Corp.

During a demonstration, Fuminori Kataoka, project general manager from Toyota, asked Kirobo what its dream was.

"I want to create a future where humans and robots can live together and get along," it answered.

Because Kirobo does not need to perform physical activities, as it is only an experimental project, it is smaller than most robots that go into space.

Kirobo is about 34cm tall (13ins) and weighs about 1kg (2.2lbs).

Its land-based counterpart Mirata looks almost identical but is not designed to go into outer space. Instead, it has the ability to learn through the conversations it has.

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