Apple Stock Soars As Icahn Buys 'Large' Stake

Activist investor Carl Icahn has bought a large stake in Apple and says the world's most valuable company should be doing more to revive its stock price.

The often outspoken billionaire, renowned for pouncing on out-of-favour shares, signalled he had Apple in his sights in messages posted on his Twitter account.

The posts announced he had acquired a big but unspecified stake in Apple and that he had just had a "nice conversation" with Apple CEO Tim Cook about his belief that the maker of the iPhone and iPad should be using even more of its $147bn (£95.2bn) cash pile to buy back its own stock as soon as possible.

Just buying a 1% stake in Apple would cost more than $4bn, based on the current price of Apple's stock.

Apple spokesman Steve Dowling described Icahn's discussion with Cook as positive, but declined to elaborate.

Carl Icahn announced his interest in Apple on Twitter

"We appreciate the interest and investment of all our shareholders," Dowling said.

News of Icahn's investment helped Apple's market value rise by about $13bn (£8.4bn).

Apple had already been trying to lift its stock price under a programme it adopted earlier this year under pressure from another activist shareholder, hedge fund manager David Einhorn.

Apple boss Tim Cook began a share buy-back earlier this year

In April, Apple pledged to spend $60bn (£39bn) buying back its stock by the end of 2015 as a way to return some of its cash to shareholders.

About $18bn of that has already been completed.

Icahn thinks Apple should be pouring even more money into its stock because he believes the shares are worth more than most investors currently believe, according to his tweets.

Despite a recent upturn that has re-established Apple as the world's most valuable company, its stock remains 30% below its peak of $705.07 nearly 11 months ago.

The price slump is blamed on the slowdown in growth at Apple as earnings are squeezed by tougher competition in the smartphone and tablet computer markets.

Icahn, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes magazine at $20bn, has a string of high profile investments, including stakes collectively worth billions of dollars in Dell and Netflix, the internet video service.                 

He is currently embroiled in a row with Dell over its future by attempting to block founder Michael Dell's $25bn effort to take the computer firm private.

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Peru Drugs Bust: Pair's 'Families Threatened'

Two women who say they were ordered at gunpoint to smuggle £1.5m worth of cocaine out of Peru claim their families were threatened too.

Melissa Reid, 19, from Kirkintilloch in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, and Michaella McCollum Connolly, 20, from Dungannon in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, are being held in Lima after 11kg (24.2lbs) of cocaine was found in their luggage.

The pair, who deny drug trafficking allegations, were arrested while trying to board a flight from the Peruvian capital to Spain last week.

They were due to appear in court later, but the hearing has been put back until next week because they have still not seen an interpreter.

McCollum Connolly is a former nightclub hostess

They claim they were forced to carry the bags at gunpoint by Colombian gangsters and were unaware they contained narcotics.

Reid has insisted they were not smuggling for financial gain but to save their lives.

She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "We were given no option. If we didn't do as we were told we would be dead. We were not smuggling for money, we were smuggling for our lives.

"We have no doubt they would have killed us both without hesitation if we didn't do as we were told.

"Ever since I was arrested I have played out what has happened in my mind over and over again, asking myself how could we have gotten out of it. But each time I think it wasn't even an option.

"We both had loaded guns put to our heads. They were more than prepared to use them. If we didn't do it we were told we would die."

An official weighs and tests the drugs hidden inside food packets

The paper's US editor Chris Buckton told Sky News: "They also said that the safety of their families was in jeopardy as well, threats were made to them.

"Melissa was actually told details of her own family, she says, given names of her parents and also their friends. They made it clear they knew where their parents lived."

The women say they were befriended by a man in London, who put them in the hands of South Americans before they were taken to safe houses in Madrid, Ibiza and Majorca.

Reid was the first to be sent to Lima, on August 1, where she was joined by photography student and former nightclub hostess McCollum Connolly a day later.

They are said to be frustrated at the way the investigation is being carried out.

"They have cried themselves to sleep several times," said Mr Buckton.

Reid is due to spend her 20th birthday on Friday in prison

Both are being held at the same jail but in separate cells, McCollum Connolly by herself and Reid in a shared cell where she will mark her 20th birthday on Friday.

"They are very resolute - determined to get themselves back to the UK ... but they are also very aware of what they could face," added Mr Buckton.

Relatives of both women have spoken of the anguish of their ordeal.

McCollum Connolly's lawyer said her family were confident she will be cleared of any wrongdoing.

The family are making arrangements to travel to Peru and are also arranging legal representation.

Reid's father William has said he believes his daughter was "groomed".

If convicted the women could face lengthy sentences in an overcrowded Peruvian prison where they will have to pay for everything including food and bedding.

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Israel Starts 'Peace Move' Prisoner Release

Israel has released 26 Palestinian prisoners in a move that is a precondition for restarting Middle East peace talks.

The Israeli prison service said buses carrying the inmates left a jail in central Israel late on Tuesday.

Celebrations are planned in the West Bank and Gaza where they are viewed as heroes.

But their release is painful for some Israelis who view them as terrorists.

Palestinians in Ramallah celebrate the release of the prisoners

Israel released them late at night to prevent a spectacle. Some were taken to the West Bank. Others went to Gaza.

Several of the prisoners were said to have been members of Palestinian political groups Fatah and Hamas. Others were violent criminals who carried out offences including murder and robbery more than 20 years ago.

Among the most controversial of the prisoners to be released is 40-year-old Atiyeh Salem Abu Musa, who was arrested in 1994 for the murder of Holocaust survivor Issac Rotenberg.

A Palestinian prisoner is hugged by a relative up his arrival in Ramallah

A member of Fatah, Abu Musa attacked Rotenberg with an axe during Passover.

Another, Khaled Mohamed Asakreh, was convicted in 1991 of the murder of French tourist Annie Ley. Ms Ley was dining at a restaurant where Asakreh was employed when he stabbed her to death.

Israelis and Palestinians are due to launch talks in Jerusalem on Wednesday, following a preparatory talks which took place two weeks ago in Washington.

The prisoner release was part of an agreement to restart the direct talks, which have been suspended for more than three years.

Buses carrying Palestinian prisoners leave the jail in Israel

The Palestinians had refused to resume negotiations with Israel unless it halted settlement construction. Israel has refused.

Hours after the release, Israeli housing minister Uri Ariel stated Israel will build "thousands" of new homes in settlements in the West Bank.

"We will build thousands of homes in the coming year in Judaea and Samaria," he told public radio, using the biblical term for the West Bank.

"No-one dictates where we can build," he added.

Protesters try to prevent buses leaving the Israeli prison

His remarks added to already soaring tensions over settlements following Israeli decisions this week to press ahead with 2,129 settler homes, most of them in annexed east Jerusalem.

Commentators said the timing of this week's announcements was aimed at appeasing hardliners in Netanyahu's rightwing coalition but was also something of a quid-pro quo for the Palestinian prisoner release.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army says it has struck rocket-launching devices in Gaza days after it claimed rockets were fired from the area.

After six trips to the region, US Secretary of State John Kerry managed to persuade Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to drop the settlement issue as a condition for negotiations to start.

A last ditch attempt by terrorism victims to stop the release failed

In exchange, Israel will release a total of 104 Palestinian prisoners serving long sentences. All of those released had been jailed before 1993.

Israel's Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by families who lost loved ones in Palestinian attacks to block the release.

Just before the release, Israel moved forward with a plan to build nearly 900 new homes in east Jerusalem - a decision that angered Palestinians.

It is not known yet whether the Israeli announcement will affect Wednesday's talks.

However, Mr Kerry insisted on Wednesday that the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas was committed to the talks despite the issues of Israeli settlement building.

A new housing project at the Jewish settlement of Gilo near east Jerusalem

The last round of talks collapsed in late 2008, and negotiations have remained stalled mainly over the issue of Israeli settlement construction on territories claimed by the Palestinians for their future state.

The Palestinians say the settlements, now home to more than 500,000 Israelis, are making it increasingly difficult to carve out their own state and that continued Israeli construction is a sign of bad faith.

The latest construction is to take place in Gilo, an area in east Jerusalem that Israel considers to be a neighbourhood of its capital.

Israel's annexation of east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim as their capital, is not internationally recognised.

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Dreamliner: Airline Detects Wiring Faults

The Japanese airline ANA says it has found an electrical wiring problem in fire extinguishers for engines of three Dreamliner jets.

The problem - the latest in a series of setbacks for Boeing's 787 - was first discovered during pre-flight maintenance of a jet at Tokyo airport, an ANA spokeswoman said.

The airline said it was investigating whether the faulty wiring would have caused the extinguisher to malfunction in case of an engine fire.

After ANA reported the fault, rival Japan Airlines turned back a 787 jet en route to Helsinki to check the fire extinguisher wiring.

JAL said it was now conducting checks on all 10 of its 787s.

A fire on a 787 in July forced Heathrow to ground flights temporarily

The 787, Boeing's most advanced aircraft which was designed with fuel efficiency in mind, has suffered a spate of problems since its first flight in December 2009.

In the latest incident, fire broke out on an Ethiopian Airlines 787 at London's Heathrow airport on July 12, triggering the inspection of the planes' beacons, used to locate the aircraft in the event of a crash.

Concerns over the so-called emergency locator transmitters are separate to the main electrical power supply battery faults which led to the grounding of 787 aircraft worldwide earlier this year after batteries overheated on two Japanese jets in quick succession in January.

The action led to delivery delays which caused Thomson Airways to scrap plans to use the ultra-green aircraft in May and June.

The carrier finally began Dreamliner services earlier this month.

British Airways has taken delivery of the first of its 24 Dreamliners, while Virgin Atlantic is due to receive the first of its 16 Dreamliners in September next year.

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Eurozone Out Of Recession As Economy Grows

The eurozone has moved out of recession as its economy grew by 0.3% in the second quarter.

It means the struggling area has finally emerged from its longest recession to date.

The eurozone saw slightly faster then expected growth, with its two largest economies leading the way.

Germany, Europe's biggest economy, expanded by 0.7% in the period from April to June, after GDP stagnated in the first quarter.

France saw its strongest quarterly growth in two years as its economy increased by 0.5%, while Portugal boasted a rapid rise of 1.1%.

The official figures confirmed expectations that a fragile recovery is underway, however some countries saw contraction.

In Spain GDP fell by 0.1%, while Italy and the Netherlands both dropped by 0.2%.

The data from Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office, showed that collectively the 17 EU countries saw the first quarterly growth since the eurozone slipped into recession in the final quarter of 2011.

Lasting six quarters, it was the longest recession to hit the eurozone following the launch of the single currency in 1999.

The quarterly improvement was slightly better than the 0.2% market expectations.

But despite the expansion, the eurozone economy remains 0.7% smaller than it was in the same period last year.

Following the news EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said: "A sustained recovery is now within reach but only if we persevere on all fronts of our crisis response."

The area now faces a recovery tainted by record high unemployment and severe austerity measures in countries such as Greece.

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US Mission To Mars Starts In Hawaii

Six researchers have spent the past four months living in a small dome on a barren Hawaii lava field 8,000 ft up a mountain to see how they might survive on a mission to Mars.

The scientists came down to earth on Tuesday, clutching recipes but without the space suits they had to wear each time they ventured onto the northern slope of Mauna Loa, an active volcano which last erupted in 1984.

The study area is isolated, yet accessible, and has no visible plant or animal life.

One of the first things they did when they came out of the habitat was to have a buffet breakfast which included lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.

"Based on this study we'll be able to offer a strategy that optimises everything and that is a good balance between, on the one hand not wasting too much time preparing your food and wasting too many resources, but on the other hand, keeping your crew fit and healthy," said Angelo Vermeulen, crew commander of the Mars simulation mission.

The six participants were selected by the University of Hawaii and Cornell University for the Nasa-funded study to prepare meals from a list of dehydrated, preserved foods that are not perishable.

They examined pre-prepared meals similar to what astronauts currently eat, and concocted meals themselves in an effort to combat malnourishment and food boredom.

Members did their cooking in a two-storey dome with small sleeping quarters, an exercise room and a kitchen.

The study - known as Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (Hi-Seas), included an open call for recipes that involved a lot of Spam.

The canned meat, popular in Hawaii households, was a common ingredient in suggested recipes because of its shelf-life.

Team members will spend several days in debriefings after emerging from the dome.

It will take several months to process all the data gathered.

The team hopes to present findings at the International Astronautical Congress later this year in Beijing.

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Sky News Cameraman Killed In Egypt

Sky News cameraman Mick Deane has been shot and killed in Egypt this morning.

Mick, 61, had worked for Sky for 15 years, based in Washington and then Jerusalem.

The married father of two was part of our team covering the violence in Cairo. The rest of the team are unhurt.

The Head of Sky News John Ryley described Mick as the very best of cameramen, a brilliant journalist and an inspiring mentor to many at Sky.

Mick Deane was described as an inspiring mentor

"Mick Deane was a really lovely, lovely guy," he said. "He was great fun to work with, he was an astonishingly good cameraman who took some brilliant pictures.

"But he also had a first class editorial brain. He had brilliant ideas.

"He was also good fun after the job was done. He was laid back, and I'm really going to miss him, like lots of people here."

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall called Mick "a friend, brave as a lion but what a heart… what a human being".

He added: "Micky was humorous in a dry way, he was wise and when you're on the road with small teams, people like that are diamonds to be with.

"Our hearts go out to his family. He died doing what he'd done so brilliantly for decades."

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "I am saddened to hear of the death of cameraman Mick Deane, covering Egyptian violence.

"My thoughts are with his family and the Sky News team."

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Boko Haram Commanders Die In Shootout

Two top commanders of a radical Islamist group have been killed by Nigerian soldiers during a four-hour gun battle, according to the country's military.

Army chiefs say Mohammad Bama and Abubakar Zakariya Yau died in a firefight in north-east Adamawa state after taking security forces to show them their Boko Haram hideout in Mubi.

The men, who had bounties on their heads, were recently arrested near the town and had reportedly confessed to be planning an attack.

Mubi Army Chief Beyidi Marcus Martins said several other insurgents were also killed.

The circumstances surrounding the men's deaths have not been independently verified, and there has been no comment from Boko Haram.

Attacks carried out by the militant group have claimed thousands of lives

Human rights groups have accused Nigerian soldiers of carrying out extra-judicial killings during their fight against the militants, although this is denied by the army.

Boko Haram is waging an armed campaign to establish an Islamic state in the West African nation's mainly Muslim north.

Together with other radical groups it has become the biggest threat to stability in Africa's top oil exporter.

Nigeria declared a state of emergency and launched a military offensive in three states earlier this year in response to militant attacks, which have claimed thousands of lives.

But while initially weakened, experts have cast doubt on these operations ending the insurgency.

Attacks blamed on Boko Haram have continued, including the recent killing of 44 people in a mosque.

A security source said: "Despite the numerous arrests of suspected terrorists and continuous reports of the success of military offensives, there are still legitimate concerns over whether the ongoing security operations could really result in the resolution of the insurgency."

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India Submarine: Navy Says 'No Life Detected'

Hopes of rescuing 18 sailors from an Indian navy submarine appear to be fading.

The fire was followed by several explosions

The INS Sindhurakshak sunk at its Mumbai base after a fire broke out - apparently caused when explosives on board the vessel detonated.

Divers have been trying to rescue any survivors but the navy said it had not yet found any signs of life.

Navy chief Admiral D.K. Joshi said divers had managed to pry open the main hatch of the submarine and were trying to find their way through the vessel.

"Whilst we hope for the best, we are prepared for the worst," he said.

"There is a possibility, however remote it could be, of an air pocket.

"There is a possibility, however remote it might be, of someone having grabbed a breathing set," he told a news conference.

The Indian navy has launched an investigation

The submarine is submerged at its berth in the naval dockyard with only a portion visible above the surface.

Admiral Joshi added: "Just short of midnight, there were two rapid and near-simultaneous major explosions on board the submarine, which resulted in a major and rapid spread of fire on board.

"It is some of the ordinance on board that seem to have exploded."

Sky's Neville Lazarus, reporting from Delhi, said there were unconfirmed reports of missile parts being found on the dockyard.

A number of sailors managed to jump off the submarine and some of those are now in a military hospital.

The blaze was put out after two hours, with more than a dozen fire engines tackling the fire.

The 16-year-old Russian-made sub is reported to have been completely loaded, either ready for a patrol or just back from one.

In February 2010, it also suffered a fire while docked in Visakhapatnam city in southern India, killing a 24-year-old sailor and leaving two others with burns.

Later that year, the Indian Defence Ministry and Russia's Zvezdochka shipyard signed a contract for an upgrade programme worth $80m (£52m), including a complete overhaul and upgrading of its weaponry.

The diesel-powered submarine - one of 14 owned by India - was handed back to the navy in early 2013.

It is still covered by a Russian warranty and eight Zvezdochka employees were at the Mumbai port when it sank.

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Egypt: 'Hundreds Die' In Raids On Morsi Camps

More than 140 people have been confirmed killed after Egyptian security forces opened fire as they tried to clear two protest camps loyal to deposed president Mohamed Morsi in Cairo.

A month-long state of emergency has been declared as violence spread from the capital to other parts of the country including the Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

A curfew from 7pm to 6am has been declared in Cairo, according to reports, as well as ten other provinces including Alexandria and Suez.

The health ministry put the number of dead in Cairo at 149, with hundreds more injured. But the Muslim Brotherhood claimed hundreds had been killed.

Egypt's vice president, Mohamed ElBaradei, has reportedly announced his resignation.

Sky's Middle East Correspondent Sam Kiley, reporting from inside the Rabaa al Adawiya camp in the capital, said it was "under very heavy gunfire" and was a "massive military assault on largely unarmed civilians in very large numbers".

He said government forces were using machine guns, snipers, AK-47 and M16 rifles and were firing into the crowd.

Kiley added: "There are machine gun rounds, and snipers on the roof, that are preventing people from getting any closer to the field hospital (in the camp).

Security forces at one of the camps in Cairo

"I haven't seen any evidence yet of any weapons on the side of the pro-Morsi camp. The camp is very full of women and children."

He said it was a scene of "extreme chaos and bloodshed" and "many hundreds of troops and interior ministry police and special forces are involved".

"The dead and dying are on the steps of an improvised field hospital. The scenes here are absolutely graphic.

"I have covered many wars and this is as severe a battlefield as I have witnessed, with the exception of scenes in Rwanda. There are dozens and dozens of people who have been shot in the head, neck and upper body."

Among those reported killed in the camp was Asmaa al Beltagui the 17-year-old daughter of senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed al Beltagui.

Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities have released video footage taken from a helicopter which it said showed gunmen in the camp firing at security forces.

Riot police fire tear gas at members of the Muslim Brotherhood

The unrest spread beyond the capital, as pro-Morsi supporters clashed with police in the Nile Delta cities of Minya and Assiut, as police stations, government buildings and churches were attacked or set ablaze.

In Alexandria, tear gas canisters rained down on a pro-Morsi march in the Sharq neighbourhood, amid repeated bursts of automatic gunfire.

Residents, armed with clubs, came out of their homes and shops to help the police, detaining Morsi supporters and handing them over to officers at the Sharq police station.

Morsi supporters, carrying Egyptian flags and pictures of the deposed leader, then clashed with his opponents on a road carpeted with rocks.

Earlier, riot officers in Cairo backed by armoured vehicles and bulldozers also fired tear gas in the camps at the demonstrators who are demanding Mr Morsi be reinstated as the country's leader.

The interior ministry, which is in charge of police, warned its security forces would deal firmly with protesters acting "irresponsibly" and said it would guarantee safe passage to those who want to leave the two sites.

Raids on the Rabaa al Adawiya and Nahda Square camp

The larger is the Rabaa al Adawiya camp described as a 'mini town' in Nasr City, while the other is in Al Nahda Square outside the main campus of Cairo University in Giza.

The interior ministry later said security forces had "total control" over the smaller camp and police have managed to remove most of the tents in the square.

The Muslim Brotherhood that backs ousted Islamist president Mr Morsi claimed over 250 people had been killed and 5,000 hurt in the crackdown, which is almost certain to deepen political turmoil in Egypt.

It urged Egyptians to take to the streets in their thousands to denounce the "massacre".

"This is not an attempt to disperse, but a bloody attempt to crush all voices of opposition to the military coup," Brotherhood spokesman Gehad al Haddad said on Twitter.

The Rabaa al Adawiya protest camp, where several Brotherhood leaders are staying, "is calling on Egyptians to take to the streets to stop the massacre," Haddad said.

A medic tends to a child at the scene

At least three members of the security forces were confirmed to have died in the crackdown, while the health ministry said nine protesters were killed and over 80 were injured.

The raids came after international efforts failed to mediate an end to a six-week political standoff between Morsi's supporters and the army-backed government which took power after he was ousted on July 3.

Regional television networks showed images of collapsed tents and burning tyres at both sites, as well as protesters being arrested and led away by troops.

A television feed by a pro-Morsi TV station showed thousands of protesters gathered at the centre of the Nasr City site, with many covering their faces to fend off the tear gas.

It said most of the protesters at the other camp fled to the nearby Orman botanical gardens and inside the sprawling university campus.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was "deeply concerned at the escalating violence in Egypt, and regret the loss of life on all sides".

He added: "I condemn the use of force in clearing protests and call on the security forces to act with restraint."

Qatar, Turkey and Iran were among the other countries criticising the deadly crackdown.

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