Gibraltar: Spain Envoy Summoned Over 'Incursion'

Britain has summoned the Spanish ambassador after Spain sent a ship into Gibraltar's waters in a move that has reignited tensions over the territory.

In what is being seen as a clearly inflammatory move Spain sent a state research vessel accompanied by a police boat to the waters off the British territory on Tuesday.

Europe Minister David Lidington said the activities of the vessels were both "unlawful" and some of the manoeuvres made by the Guardia Civil boat were dangerous.

He vowed to take "whatever action necessary" to safeguard the interests of Gibraltar.

A Spanish ship refused to leave Gibraltar's waters in November

The Spanish Ambassador Federico Trillo was summoned to the Foreign Office on Wednesday to explain the "serious incursion".

It is the fourth time he has been publicly summoned by Britain over Gibraltar since December 2011, when the current Spanish Government took office.

Sky's Diplomatic Editor Tim Marshall said the move by the Spanish suggested they had "fully intended to provoke the British."

He added: "This is not to say who is right and who is wrong in law. The British are extraordinarily confident that in law these are British territorial waters and the Spanish have got no rights there in that they are supported by most of the European Union."

Mr Lidington said: "Not only were the actions of the survey vessel unlawful, but it was accompanied by a Spanish Guardia Civil vessel whose dangerous manoeuvring presented a significant safety concern on the waters.

Travellers faced lengthy queues at the Gibraltar border in the summer

"I strongly condemn this provocative incursion and urge the Spanish government to ensure that it is not repeated. Her Majesty's Government will continue to take whatever action we consider necessary to uphold British sovereignty and the interests of Gibraltar, its people, its security and economy."

The Prime Minister's spokesman said: "(We) raise very clearly our concerns with the Spanish government. We will continue to do that if we need to. We would strongly urge the Spanish authorities to desist."

It is the latest incident in a long-running row between Spain and the British territory.

In November Mr Trillo was summoned after a Spanish ship refused to leave Gibraltar's waters for 20 hours.

In the summer Spain tightened up its checks on travellers crossing the border to Gibraltar leading to delays of several hours following a diplomatic row over an artificial reef built by Gibraltar provoking anger from Spanish fisherman.

David Cameron asked the European Commission to investigate claiming the checks were "politically motivated" and potentially in breach of EU law on free movement of people.

However, the commission said the checks were not unlawful and ordered the UK and Spain to work together.

In August Spanish mayor Francisco Perez Trigueros provoked anger in Gibraltar after posting a mock-up picture of Spain invading The Rock on Facebook.

Spain lays claim to Gibraltar, which has a population of just 30,000 and was ceded to Britain 300 years ago.

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Malaysia Plane Probe Focuses On Crew And Pilots

Full Transcript Of Last Contact With MH370

Updated: 12:36pm UK, Tuesday 01 April 2014

A transcript of the final conversations between the control tower and Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been released.

MAS 370 (Kuala Lumpur to Beijing)

PILOT-ATC RADIOTELEPHONY TRANSCRIPT

Departure from KLIA: 8 March 2014

ATC DELIVERY

12:25:53 MAS 370 Delivery MAS 370 Good Morning

12:26:02 ATC MAS 370 Standby and Malaysia Six is cleared to Frankfurt via AGOSA Alpha Departure six thousand feet squawk two one zero six

12:26:19 ATC ... MAS 370 request level

12:26:21 MAS 370 MAS 370 we are ready requesting flight level three five zero to Beijing

12:26:39 ATC MAS 370 is cleared to Beijing via PIBOS A Departure Six Thousand Feet squawk two one five seven

12:26:45 MAS 370 Beijing PIBOS A Six Thousand Squawk two one five seven, MAS 370 Thank You

12:26:53 ATC MAS 370 Welcome over to ground

12:26:55 MAS 370 Good Day

LUMPUR GROUND

12:27:27 MAS 370 Ground MAS370 Good morning Charlie One Requesting push and start

12:27:34 ATC MAS370 Lumpur Ground Morning Push back and start approved Runway 32 Right Exit via Sierra 4.

12:27:40 MAS 370 Push back and start approved 32 Right Exit via Sierra 4 POB 239 Mike Romeo Oscar

12:27:45 ATC Copied

12:32:13 MAS 370 MAS377 request taxi.

12:32:26 ATC MAS37..... (garbled) ... standard route. Hold short Bravo

12:32:30 MAS 370 Ground, MAS370. You are unreadable. Say again.

12:32:38 ATC MAS370 taxi to holding point Alfa 11 Runway 32 Right via standard route. Hold short of Bravo.

12:32:42 MAS 370 Alfa 11 Standard route Hold short Bravo MAS370.

12:35:53 ATC MAS 370 Tower

12:36:19 ATC (garbled) ... Tower ... (garbled)

MAS 370 1188 MAS370 Thank you

LUMPUR TOWER

12:36:30 MAS 370 Tower MAS370 Morning

12:36:38 ATC MAS370 good morning. Lumpur Tower. Holding point..[garbled]..10 32 Right

12:36:50 MAS 370 Alfa 10 MAS370

12:38:43 ATC 370 line up 32 Right Alfa 10. MAS 370 Line up 32 Right Alfa 10 MAS370.

12:40:38 ATC 370 32 Right Cleared for take-off. Good night.

MAS 370 32 Right Cleared for take-off MAS370. Thank you Bye.

LUMPUR APPROACH

12:42:05 MAS 370 Departure Malaysian Three Seven Zero

12:42:10 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero selamat pagi identified. Climb flight level one eight zero cancel SID turn right direct to IGARI

12:42:48 MAS 370 Okay level one eight zero direct IGARI Malaysian one err Three Seven Zero

12:42:52 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero contact Lumpur Radar One Three Two Six good night MAS 370 Night One Three Two Six Malaysian Three Seven Zero

LUMPUR RADAR (AREA)

12:46:51 MAS 370 Lumpur Control Malaysian Three Seven Zero

12:46:51 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero Lumpur radar Good Morning climb flight level two five zero

12:46:54 MAS370 Morning level two five zero Malaysian Three Seven Zero

12:50:06 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero climb flight level three five zero

12:50:09 MAS370 Flight level three five zero Malaysian Three Seven Zero

01:01:14 MAS370 Malaysian Three Seven Zero maintaining level three five zero

01:01:19 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero

01:07:55 MAS370 Malaysian...Three Seven Zero maintaining level three five zero

01:08:00 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero

01:19:24 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero contact Ho Chi Minh 120 decimal 9 Good Night

01:19:29 MAS370 Good Night Malaysian Three Seven Zero

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Japan's Yakuza Gangsters Launch Website

Japan's biggest organised criminal gang has launched its own website to boost its ailing membership.

Numbers are down so the country's largest yakuza syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi, has also written a corporate song in a traditional folk-style extolling the yakuza spirit of chivalry to attract potential recruits.

The website - Banish Drugs and Purify the Nation League - also offers an anti-drugs message.

Another video shows men pounding sticky rice for a New Year festival, and there are galleries of pictures showing members involved in the clean-ups following the 1995 earthquake in Kobe and the 2011 tsunami.

It is not the first time the group has taken action to increase its appeal.

Yakuza like this man can be recognised by the loss of their little finger

Last year it launched its own magazine including a poetry page and fishing diaries.

The number of yakuza has fallen in recent years, slipping below 60,000 - an all-time low - in 2013.

Like the Italian Mafia or Chinese triads, the yakuza engages in activities ranging from gambling, drugs and prostitution to loan sharking, protection rackets, white-collar crime and business conducted through "front" companies.

The gangs, which are not illegal, have historically been tolerated by the authorities, although there are periodic clampdowns on some of their less savoury activities.

The yakuza are heavily mythologised in Japan, with films, television dramas and fan magazines glamourising lives of stylised violence that are governed by a samurai code of honour.

One ritual in the group involves the severing of fingers of members who have broken the group's rules in some way.

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Russia Scraps Ukraine's Large Gas Discount

Ukraine has lost a discount on its supply from Russian gas firm Gazprom, meaning it will have to pay as much as 40% more for its supplies.

It came after Kiev upset Moscow by approving the holding of joint military exercises with Nato close to Russia's newly annexed region of Crimea.

Alexei Miller, the head of state-owned Gazprom, said the price for the second quarter of the year would be $385.50 per 1,000 cubic metres, up from $268.50 per 1,000 cubic metres.

The Russian discount was part of a financial lifeline Russian President Vladimir Putin offered Ukraine's previous president, Viktor Yanukovych, after his decision to ditch a pact with the European Union in favour of closer ties with Moscow. 

The loss of the discount is expected to eventually hit Ukrainian consumers hard. Household gas prices in Ukraine are set to rise 50% from May 1.

The Russian parliament has also moved to annul agreements with Ukraine to rent Russia's Black Sea Fleet's base in Crimea until 2042 for $98m (£59m) a year and discounts for Russian natural gas.

Ukrainian prime minister Arseny Yatseniuk has said the country will need energy from the EU to protect it from the repercussions of its standoff with Moscow, on which it depends for over half its oil and gas. 

Russia also warned Ukraine against integrating with Nato, reminding Kiev on Tuesday that its previous attempts to move closer to Nato had unwelcome consequences.

But Nato foreign ministers meeting in Brussels used the gathering to reinforce the message that Russia's annexation of Crimea will not be condoned.

NATO general secretary Rasmussen speaks to FMs of other countries

They unanimously agreed to suspend Nato's military and civilian cooperation with Russia, describing its move on Crimea as a "flagrant breach of Russia's international commitments."

Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen called it the "greatest threat to European security in a generation."

Mr Putin ordered a partial withdrawal of forces from the Ukrainian border region on Monday, but US officials have said they believe there are still tens of thousands of troops on the eastern side of the country.

The Nato chief and German Chancellor Angela Merkel both said they could not confirm whether Russian troops had withdrawn from the Ukrainian border.

The Ukrainian parliament has also voted to order police to disarm all illegal armed units. 

It came after a police raid on the central Kiev hotel headquarters of a far right nationalist organisation that was instrumental in the February rise to power of Ukraine's new pro-European leaders.

Balaclava-clad members of Pravy Sector (Right Sector) are regularly seen roaming around Kiev - a presence Russia has used to delegitimise Ukraine's new authorities.

But there are fears that attempts to clamp down on a sizable nationalist component in Ukrainian politics could provoke a further uprising.

Last week one of the leaders of Right Sector was shot dead while resisting police.

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Six Possible Answers To Missing Plane Mystery

The mystery of what made flight MH370 crash thousands of miles off route in the middle of the southern Indian Ocean has filled news websites and TV bulletins for the past three weeks.

But despite the huge interest and speculation, are we any nearer to finding out what happened to the doomed Boeing 777 now than when it vanished from radar on March 8?

What we do know is both the plane's transponder and Aircraft Communication Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), an in-flight digital system that helps track planes after they have gone out of radar coverage, were disabled or stopped working less than an hour into the flight.

The Malaysia Airlines jet carrying 239 people then flew west for at least five hours before crashing somewhere in the Indian Ocean.

Six theories remain for why the plane disappeared - cabin depressurisation, toxic fumes, fire, a hijacking, a pilot murder-suicide or simultaneous failures.

The homes of the two pilots have been searched by police

A panel of experts - including pilots, airline bosses, manufacturers and regulators - met in central London on Tuesday and tried to throw light on the mystery.

The event, organised by the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS), came up with this analysis:

1. The aircraft depressurised, but continued to fly

This would explain the initial change in altitude and heading, as well as subsequent lack of communication, but not why the ACARS and transponder were turned off.

The transponder can be turned off from the cockpit and is done routinely when an aircraft lands.

Turning off the ACARS is more complicated, though, and would need someone with systems knowledge going into the aircraft's avionics bay - but this should have been prevented if security was adequate.

If the plane was depressurised, it would continue to fly automatically until the fuel ran out.

The effect on passengers would vary depending on the altitude. If the aircraft was above 35,000ft, it would take about one minute before everyone was incapacitated.

Oxygen masks should have descended automatically which would work for around 15 minutes.

The flight crew could have lasted longer using their oxygen masks, depending on whether they used pure oxygen or an oxygen mix.

SUMMARY: Possible.

The transcript reveals the last words of one of the pilots to ATC

2. The aircraft was overcome by toxic fumes

The pilots should have been able to send out a distress call and, again, it does not explain why the ACARS and transponder were turned off.

SUMMARY: Unlikely.

3. There was an onboard fire which damaged the communications systems

This would explain the lack of communication, but it is unlikely the aircraft would have then continued to fly as long as it did if the fire continued to burn.

The aircraft's communication systems could have also been disabled by power failure or sabotage.

Birdstrike is possible, but is unlikely to have caused such damage.

SUMMARY: Unlikely.

A pinger locator is being carried to the search area by ADV Ocean Shield

4. The aircraft was hijacked

The aircraft was not flown to another destination, nor was it used as a weapon for a suicide terrorist attack.

If it was an individual hijacker, then no one person or motive has been established and, if it was a group, no organisation has claimed responsibility.

SUMMARY: Possible.

5. The aircraft was deliberately diverted by the pilot/co-pilot

No reason for this has been identified. If it was a suicide attempt then why did the aircraft continue to fly for so long?

Another question is why there were no mobile phone calls or texts from passengers or cabin crew, given the in-flight entertainment (IFE) map would have shown the aircraft going off course.

One explanation is the IFE system was turned off.

The second is most passengers were asleep or did not realise anything was wrong until it was too late to do anything. If they tried to phone later, the aircraft would have been in a remote area over the ocean where there was no signal.

The third is passengers and cabin crew may have been incapacitated in some way, such as by hypoxia due to cabin depressurisation.

SUMMARY: Possible.

Despite a massive air and sea search, no debris from the jet has been found

6. Simultaneous failures

One technical expert pointed out that for every plausible scenario, there is at least one contradictory statement.

"If it was hypoxia, then who turned the aircraft?" he asked.

"If it was a fire, then how did it continue flying? If it was the flight crew, then why did the cabin crew not intervene?"

He suggested that, perhaps, more than one scenario occurred simultaneously - such as a wiring fire and depressurisation.

OVERALL SUMMARY: Until more evidence is found, nothing can be proved.

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Venezuela Ministry Torched By Protesters

Several people, including a young girl, have been rescued from Venezuela's Housing Ministry after it was set on fire by anti-government protesters.

The building in Caracas was engulfed in flames after the attack by opposition supporters angered when an opposition leader was tear-gassed as she tried to enter parliament.

Maria Corina Machado tried to march to the National Assembly to retake her seat after she was expelled for trying to speak before the Organisation of American States (OAS) about her country's political crisis.

President Nicolas Maduro's government has faced a wave of street protests, which have seen 39 people killed as the public vents anger over soaring crime, high inflation and shortages of essential goods.

Ms Machado - draped in a Venezuelan flag and holding a white rose to symbolise peace - got to within a street of the parliament and waved her ID card, but her path was blocked by police.

Backed by 22 opposition deputies, she shouted: "You will not break us! You will make us stronger! You will give us more reasons to fight!" and claimed that the block on her taking her seat was "proof that there is a dictatorship in Venezuela".

As police lobbed tear gas to break up the crowd, some protesters wearing gas masks threw the canisters back, while Ms Machado was led away with tears running down her face.

Venezuela's Supreme Court has backed assembly speaker Diosdado Cabello's decision to strip Ms Machado of her seat and immunity after she was accredited to Panama's delegation at the OAS - a Washington-based pan-American bloc.

In response to Ms Machado's vow to defy the order, Cabello said: "She is not going to enter. She is not a deputy."

Backing the decision, government supporters delivered a complaint to the attorney general Tuesday accusing Machado of "treason of the homeland."

Mr Maduro, the heir to Venezuela's long-term leader Hugo Chavez who died in 2013, has branded the recent protests a "fascist" US-backed plot to overthrow his government.

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Ebola: Guinea Facing 'Unprecedented Epidemic'

Doctors Without Borders has said a deadly Ebola outbreak in Guinea has become an "unprecedented epidemic", as neighbouring Liberia confirms its first cases.

In a statement, the charity, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said the geographic scale of the epidemic was unmatched.

MSF coordinator Mariano Lugli said: "We are facing an epidemic of a magnitude never before seen in terms of the distribution of cases in the country."

Mr Lugli said previous outbreaks handled by MSF were "much more geographically contained and involved more remote locations."

He added: "This geographical spread is worrisome because it will greatly complicate the tasks of the organisations working to control the epidemic."

Medics must wear sealed biohazard suits when caring for the victims

Guinea's health ministry has reported 122 suspected cases, with at least 78 deaths linked to the virus. Of those there are 22 laboratory confirmed cases.

Some of the cases are in Guinea's capital Conakry. Liberia also confirmed its first cases overnight on Sunday.

One of two women who tested positive for the virus has died, while the other, her sister, has been isolated in a medical centre outside the capital Monrovia.

Sierra Leone is investigating five suspected cases, although none have yet been confirmed.

Macenta was one of the first towns in Guinea to report the virus

It is not only the geographic scale which makes this outbreak more severe.

There are five recognised strains of Ebola - four of which are deadly to humans.

The Guinean government says the strain it is currently observing is the 'Zaire' strain - the most aggressive of the five. It kills roughly 90% of its victims.

There is no known treatment or vaccine.

Ben Neuman, a virologist with the University of Reading, told Sky News: "The real worry is that this virus has been found in Conakry.

"This is a city where the population density is getting close to 10,000 per square kilometre and setting one of these at least mildly contagious viruses loose in that kind of population centre really has the makings of a humanitarian disaster."

Aid workers are transporting tons of medical equipment to affected areas

The outbreak has also spread panic among other countries in the region. 

Senegal has closed its border with Guinea and suspended weekly markets near the border to prevent the virus travelling further.

Sierra Leone has introduced a screening process on its border with Guinea, while regional airline Gambia Bird has delayed the launch of services to Guinea's capital. 

MSF has sent dozens of aid workers into Guinea in an attempt to prevent a further spread.

It said a total of 60 people, experienced in working on haemorrhagic fever, will be in the country by the end of the week.

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Nato Chief: Russia Ready To Invade Ukraine

Nato's top military commander says Russia is ready to invade Ukraine and could "accomplish its objectives" in three to five days.

Nato's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, US Air Force General Philip Breedlove, said the organisation had spotted signs of movement by a very small part of the Russian force overnight but no indication that it was returning to barracks.

Gen Breedlove said the situation is "incredibly concerning" as Russia has all the forces it needs on Ukraine's border if it decides to carry out an "incursion" into the country.

Nato foreign ministers meeting in Brussels have asked the general to draw up a package including land, air and sea reinforcements to reassure nervous allies in eastern Europe by April 15.

His comments came as Nato suspended all practical cooperation with Moscow in protest at its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

Russia has responded by accusing the alliance of reverting to the language of the Cold War and said neither side would gain from the move.

A Russian soldier directs a tank after its arrival in Crimea

"The language of the statements rather resembles the verbal jousting of the Cold War era," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement.

He said the move sparked a sense of deja vu - referring to Russia's five-day war with Georgia in 2008, when Nato withdrew cooperation but later resumed it of its own accord.

Mr Lukashevich said: "It is hard to imagine who will gain from the suspension of cooperation between Russia and Nato on countering modern threats and challenges to international and European security, in particular in areas such as the fight against terrorism, piracy and natural and man-made disasters.

"In any case, it will certainly not be Russia or Nato member states."

The diplomatic row comes a day after Russia signalled it would pull back some troops massing on the Ukraine border.

The German government said President Vladimir Putin had assured Chancellor Angela Merkel that he had "ordered a partial withdrawal" of military forces.

Western fears of a new incursion into eastern or southern Ukraine by Moscow have been growing since last week, when a build-up of Russian troops along the border was seen.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Russian troops gathering on the border were concealing their positions and establishing supply lines that could be used in a prolonged deployment, according to officials briefed on the latest US intelligence.

The assessments prompted concerns that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine without warning, rather than carrying out military exercises as it has claimed.

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Fourth Foreign Student Murdered In Brisbane

A Frenchwoman has become the fourth foreign student to be murdered in Brisbane, Australia, in almost as many months.

The battered and naked body of Sophie Collombet, 21, was found in a park near her apartment after what police called a "brutal attack".

Detective Inspector Rod Kemp told reporters: "We believe the cause of death is a brain injury from blunt trauma. It's a particularly aggressive attack."

Police admit the spate of student murders is 'a concern'

The business student was found with no possessions apart from some jewellery. Police divers have been searching a nearby river for her clothes and bag.

Queensland police said on Tuesday they have no suspects but have spoken to a number of people and are reviewing CCTV footage.

Det Insp Kemp said Ms Collombet's family, who have been liaising with the French Consulate in Brisbane are "just in shock".

Masters student Meena Narayanan was stabbed to death

The exchange student's death follows the stabbing of 27-year-old Singaporean masters student Meena Narayanan in the city last week.

South Korean Eunji Ban, 23, was found battered to death in a central Brisbane park on November 24, 2013 and Min Tae Kim, 28 - also South Korean and the only male victim - was found in a shallow grave on December 19.

There is no suggestion that the deaths are linked and charges have been brought in the three previous cases, but police have admitted that the spate of killings is a worry.

Eunji Ban was found battered to death in a central Brisbane park.

Det Insp Kemp said: "We are a safe society, I believe. But now this is the (fourth) international student (to be killed), and of course it's a concern to us."

Police said the victims were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Last year 30 people were murdered in Brisbane.

Queensland state Premier Campbell Newman has insisted visitors from overseas had nothing to fear.

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North Korean Marathon Open To Fast Foreigners

The normally secretive city of Pyongyang has agreed to open its streets to tourists by allowing foreign runners to compete in its annual marathon.

However, amateur athletes taking on the 26-mile tour of North Korea's capital must cross the finish line within four hours, or face being led back to the 70,000-seater stadium where the race begins.

Despite the threat, tourism companies say they have been inundated with foreigners seeking a place in the April 13 event, which will offer a rare glimpse into life in the North Korean capital.

Kim Il Sung Stadium is used to mark major anniversaries in North Korea

The Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon has previously only been open to a select group of elite runners, with men and women required to finish within two hours 27 minutes and two hours 38 minutes respectively.

Simon Cockerell, a Beijing-based travel agent, said: "I think a lot of the attraction is the Pyongyang part rather than the marathon part.

"A lot of the people going along to take part are interested in simply doing something a bit unusual, something that would cause a bit of (discomfort) among friends of theirs when they tell them they ran a marathon in North Korea."

Runners will lap many famous landmarks, including Pyongyang's Taedong River

The marathon will start at the stadium named after North Korea's first leader, Kim Il Sung, before passing the Monument to Chinese Soldiers and Kim Il Sung University, crossing over the Taedong River and returning to the stadium - a lap of the city that must be completed four times.

The gruelling race coincides with commemorations to mark the 102nd anniversary of Mr Kim's birth on April 15.

North Korea's government recently announced plans to boost tourism, opening a luxury ski resort aimed at winter sports enthusiasts from abroad among other initiatives.

Kim Jong Un and Dennis Rodman watch a basketball game in Pyongyang

Sport is also being given a higher profile in the country, with leader Kim Jong Un famously meeting US basketball star Dennis Rodman earlier this year.

The retired sportsman sang Happy Birthday to the 31-year-old, before declaring: "I love the guy. He's my friend, forever and ever and ever."

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