'Flash Raid' On World Cup Crowd Sparks Panic

Brazil In Hell, Germany In Seventh Heaven

Updated: 9:59am UK, Wednesday 09 July 2014

By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent, Rio de Janeiro

Brazil's coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said winning this World Cup would take "seven steps to reach paradise".

In Belo Horizonte, at the sixth step, with the summit in sight, they tripped and fell. Who knows when they will land.

The scale of their defeat to Germany was so shocking it needs spelling out. Seven-one is a Sunday morning scoreline, not one to be inked into the record books of football's greatest tournament.

For a team that has traded so deliberately on faith and emotion, this was a descent into hell. Judging by the public mood in the immediate aftermath, Brazilians may demand a long stay in purgatory before they can think of moving on.

It represents a deep humiliation for the five-times champions. It is their worst ever World Cup defeat and their heaviest since a 6-0 loss to Uruguay in 1920.

In the litany of national sporting disasters it ranks alongside the 3-0 defeat to France in the 1998 World Cup final, and more painfully the 1950 loss to Uruguay in the Maracana.

That loss earned an epithet, "Maracanaza", a shorthand for national shame. This tournament was meant to offer redemption for the sins of the last century. Instead, Brazil now has a "Mineiraozo", a fresh catastrophe to make Brazilian's shudder whenever the stadium in Belo Horizonte is mentioned.

If you think that sounds dramatic consider the headlines. "Shame of shames" said Globo's website. Lance! went for "The biggest shame in history".

To their credit - about the only thing that was on a traumatic night - Scolari and his players did not duck responsibility. Captain David Luiz, the poster boy for a derelict defensive display - only stopped crying long enough to apologise. And the coach, plain "Felipao" to the nation in happier times 24 hours earlier, accepted all responsibility.

And so he should. His attacking selection, featuring just two holding midfield players, was fatally exposed as reckless by a German side who outnumbered their opponents and then destroyed them.

Scolari's deeply melodramatic approach must also be questioned. They tried every emotional trick in the book, even holding up the missing Neymar's No 10 shirt during the national anthem to stir the stadium to its foundations.

But what Brazil needed in the face of a dazzling German display was clear heads, not misty eyes. Perhaps as a result, having conceded a dreadful opening goal to Thomas Muller, they froze, like perhaps no team before them in international football. Four more goals followed in six minutes, five in 19 minutes in total, and with not even half an hour played.

So good were Germany, and so complete was Brazil's loss of poise, it could have been 10.

The impact of Brazil's loss is compelling, but it should not detract from the German achievement here.

This is a side that has reached the semi-final in each of the last four major tournaments, and has only been denied a title by the brilliant Spanish side that gave up its world crown here.

They possess a wonderfully talented generation of players who combine a fluid, modern style with the focus and resilience of their forebears. They are a delight to watch, a surprise apparently even to themselves at times, and would be worthy winners of a dazzling World Cup.

Only a Dutch side marshalled by the formidable Louis Van Gaal or a Messi-inspired Argentina stand in their way. On this form, neither will be enough to stop Germany completing the seventh step to heaven.

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US Chopper Crash In Norfolk Blamed On Birds

A US military helicopter crash in Norfolk, in which four crew members died, was caused by geese hitting the aircraft.

The HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter was operating out of RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk when it crashed on January 7 at Cley next the Sea during a routine training exercise.

A report into the crash was compiled by the Accident Investigation Board.

Its report found: "A flock of geese took flight from Cley Marshes, likely startled by the noise of the approaching helicopters, and struck the MA (mishap aircraft).

US airmen Dale Matthews & Sean Ruane were among those who died

"At least three geese penetrated the windscreen, rendering the mishap pilot and mishap co-pilot unconscious, and at least one goose struck the mishap aerial gunner in the performance of special mission aviator duties, rendering the mishap aerial gunner unconscious.

"In addition, at least one goose hit the nose of the MA, disabling the trim and flight path stabilisation systems."

As a result of the pilot and co-pilot being unconscious and the stabilisation systems disabled, the helicopter's control stick would have moved randomly, the report added.

The crew were flying over marshland and a nature reserve

The helicopter banked to the left and, unable to lift vertically, hit the ground within about three seconds of being hit by the geese.

Captains Christopher S Stover and Sean M. Ruane, technical sergeant Dale E. Mathews and staff sergeant Afton M. Ponce, who served with 56th Rescue Squadron, 48th Fighter Wing on search and rescue operations, were all killed.

Local councillor Richard Kelham said residents had been worried for a long time about low-flying helicopters going over a Norfolk Wildlife Trust bird reserve.

"These findings strengthen our hand in the argument against low flying over nature reserves," he said.

"It is inherently dangerous to fly low over an area with a lot of birds and hopefully lessons can be learned from this tragedy."

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Israel Pounds Gaza As Hamas Fires Across Border

The Israeli military has said it has shot down more rockets fired by Palestinian militants as Israel's major air offensive over the Gaza Strip enters its second day.

A spokesperson for the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said at least eight rockets sent from Gaza were intercepted over Tel Aviv, Ashdod and Ashkelon on Wednesday.

Israel said a rocket hit the city of Zichron Yaakov on Wednesday afternoon, which is some 75 miles from Gaza, representing the longest-range rocket strike by Hamas on the state to date.

The IDF claims at least 48 missiles, sent by the Islamist militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, have "struck Israel" since midnight.

A wounded Palestinian is stretchered into hospital

Other locations targeted included Beersheva and Sderot in the south, Rishon Lezion, and Hadera in the north - 60 miles from Gaza.

In total, more than 300 rockets have been fired at Israel since the military launched Operation Protective Edge began on Monday night.

To date no fatalities have been reported in Israel.

The fatalities come after at least 43 people, including children, have been killed in the biggest Israeli assault on Gaza in nearly two years.

Officials in Gaza say that more than 300 people have also been injured since Monday.

The Israeli military said a total of 550 Hamas targets have been hit since the operation began, with 130 targets hit on Wednesday.

They included 60 suspected  rocket launch sites on the Gaza Strip from Beit Hanoun in the north, to Rafah near the Egyptian boarder.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has quoted him as saying he plans to "intensify the attacks on Hamas and the terrorist organisations in Gaza" even further.

A house in Gaza destroyed by an Israeli attack

At a crisis meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of committing atrocities in Gaza.

Mr Abbas said: "It's genocide - the killing of entire families is genocide by Israel against our Palestinian people."

The exchange of fire marks the heaviest fighting between Israel and Hamas since an eight-day battle in November 2012.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev told Sky News Israel's actions are "defensive" and designed to eliminate rocket fire.

The IDF says Hamas is firing from civilian areas. Pic: IDF/Twitter

The Israeli cabinet has warned it may also send in ground troops and has authorised the call-up of as many as 40,000 reservists.

On Tuesday, wedding guests in Holon, central Israel, were forced to run for shelter after sirens alerted them to incoming missiles.

Video footage shows Israel's 'Iron Dome' defence system intercept an incoming rocket.

The IDF said 80 rockets have been intercepted and neutralised by the defensive system.

Israeli tanks at the southern border with the Gaza Strip

It also posted an image on Twitter which it said shows rockets being sent from civilian areas in Gaza.

Israel and Hamas had, until recently, been observing a truce that ended the 2012 hostilities.

Tensions increased last month after three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and killed in the West Bank.

Israel blamed Hamas and launched a crackdown on the group's members and arrested hundreds of people.

The situation deteriorated further last week when a Palestinian teenager in Jerusalem was abducted and burned to death in what was viewed as a revenge attack.

According to news agency Reuters, a US official involved in the investigation into the deaths of the three Israeli youths has revealed they were shot at least 10 times with a silenced gun, indicating premeditated murder.

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Mother Who Killed Six Babies 'Was Drug Addict'

A Utah woman has told authorities she killed six of her newborns because she was a drug addict and did not want the responsibility of raising them.

It is the first time police have revealed the motive behind Megan Huntsman's killings, which shocked the nation.

"It was completely selfish," Pleasant Grove Police Captain Mike Roberts said.

"She was high on drugs and didn't want the babies, or the responsibility. That was her priority at the time."

Huntsman, 39, was heavily addicted to methamphetamine - known as meth - when she strangled or suffocated the infants between 1996 and 2006, Mr Roberts told the AP news agency.

Huntsman killed six babies immediately after they were born and then stuffed their bodies inside boxes in her garage in Pleasant Grove, 35 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Huntsman's former home, where the infants' bodies were found

Authorities think a seventh baby found in the garage was stillborn.

DNA results revealed this week showed that all seven babies were full-term and that five were girls and two were boys.

After her arrest in April, Huntsman confessed to the killings.

Huntsman is being held in Utah County Jail on $6m bail after a judge set it at $1m for each baby she is accused of killing.

She is due in court on July 21.

Police were alerted by Huntsman's estranged husband and father of the babies, Darren West, who spent about eight years in prison after pleading guilty to meth charges.

Mr West lived with Huntsman during the decade their children were killed, before he went to prison, but he is not a suspect in the case.

However, investigators have not explained how he could have been oblivious to the pregnancies or deaths.

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Aldrin: First Man On Mars 'Shouldn't Come Back'

Buzz Aldrin has said the first people to land on Mars should never return to Earth.

The second man to set foot on the Moon was asked about the possibility of a permanent human presence on the Red Planet during an online question and answer session.

He was asked specifically about SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who believes people could visit Mars within a decade.

Aldrin said: "I have considered whether a landing on Mars could be done by the private sector.

"It conflicts with my very strong idea, concept, conviction, that the first human beings to land on Mars should not come back to Earth.

"They should be the beginning of a build-up of a colony or settlement. I call it a permanence."

An image of Mars taken by Nasa's Curiosity rover (Nasa/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

He added: "To have an individual company, no matter how smart, send people to Mars and bring them back, it is very, very expensive. It delays the obtaining of permanence."

He said that some people would call it a "suicide mission", but he disagreed saying: "Not me! Not at all."

There would be no shortage of volunteers for a one-way trip to Mars.

Mars One - a non-profit organisation hoping to create a settlement on Mars by 2023 - received 200,000 applications for volunteers to travel to the Red Planet and never come back.

The 84-year-old was answering questions on Reddit to mark the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20.

He also told how impressed he was with the movie Gravity, describing it as "thrilling", and said he "doesn't waste very much time" on conspiracy theorists who believe the Moon landing was faked.

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Tweets Poke Fun At Brazil's Defeat By Germany

Brazil Coach: 'The Worst Day Of My Life'

Updated: 7:18am UK, Wednesday 09 July 2014

Luiz Felipe Scolari has said watching his side being crushed 7-1 by Germany was the worst day of his life.

And Brazil president Dilma Rousseff said she was sad and sorry.

Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella, whose side play the Netherlands in the other semi-final on Wednesday, said the result was "not normal" but showed "why (football) is beautiful".

Here is more of what they and others had to say about the "extraordinary" and "bewildering" game in Belo Horizonte:

BRAZIL COACH LUIZ FELIPE SCOLARI

"If I were to think of my life as a footballer, as a coach, as a physical education teacher, I think it was the worst day of my life.

"I'm going to be remembered probably because I lost 7-1, the worst defeat in Brazil's history, but that was a risk I knew I was running when I walked into this position.

"My message for the Brazilian people and fans is that we tried to do what we could, we lost to a great team who had the skill to end the game in just six or seven minutes with four goals."

BRAZIL STAND-IN CAPTAIN DAVID LUIZ

"I just wanted to make my people happy. Unfortunately, we couldn't. I'm sorry, I'm sorry to all Brazilians, I just wanted to see them smile, everyone knows how important it was."

BRAZIL GOALKEEPER JULIO CESAR

"It's very hard to explain the unexplainable."

BRAZIL PRESIDENT DILMA ROUSSEFF

"Like every Brazilian, I am very, very sad about this defeat. I am immensely sorry for all of us. But we won't let ourselves stay down. Brazil, get up, dust yourself off and move forward."

BRAZIL FAN RIBEIRO FRANCA AFTER GERMANY'S FIFTH GOAL

"Five-nil is so embarassing, we're not going to stay any longer. One-nil is fine, one-one, two-one, two-two, but five-nil is shameful for a country that has a tradition of football. Bye. Bye."

GERMAN COACH JOACHIM LOEW

"They were shocked and didn't expect to fall behind. And after that it was an easy match for us. I feel sorry for him (Scolari). I think I know how he feels."

ARGENTINA COACH ALEJANDRO SABELLA

"Seven-one is not a normal result between two world footballing powers. (But) football can be like that. Sometimes things happen that you don't expect, and that is why it is beautiful."

FORMER BRAZIL MIDFIELDER JUNINHO PAULISTA

"It will be difficult to recover. Some players I don't think will be back to wear the Brazilian shirt. It is wrong now to criticise the players. On the field, Germany taught us how to play football."

FORMER ENGLAND STRIKER GARY LINEKER

"In nigh on half a century of watching football, that's the most extraordinary, staggering, bewildering game I've ever witnessed."

FORMER GERMANY MIDFIELDER DIETMAR HAMANN

"Master class from Germany. Clinical, organised, hard-working, unselfish and humble. Very proud of the team. One to go."

FORMER ENGLAND DEFENDER RIO FERDINAND                           

"I would worry that the Brazilian players might never recover from this. Some might not be able to come back."

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Boy Amputee Taking First Steps Says 'I Got It'

A little boy let out a cheery shout of "I got it" as he defied the odds and took his first steps despite having had his right foot and left leg amputated.

Kayden Elijah Kinckle is learning to walk with artificial limbs and a video posted online of his determined effort to successfully achieve his goal, has gone viral.

The two-year-old was born with omphalocele, a type of abdominal wall defect where the intestines, liver and sometimes other organs remain outside the body.

His mother, Nikki, said doctors had told her he would not survive, and suggested she terminate her pregnancy.

And she also found out while in the womb, Kayden had the umbilical cord wrapped around his feet, pinning them under her pelvic bone, causing a deformity.

But despite the warnings, Nikki continued with the pregnancy.

"God said everything would be alright," she said.

She gave birth early so the omphalocele would not be too severe. Kayden's spine and hip bones were fine, and there were no mental problems.

Nikki said: "So my husband and I stepped out on faith and though his right foot and left leg were amputated he now has prosthetics and is learning to walk.

Posting a video of his first steps, which has been viewed more than 280,000 times on YouTube, she said: "We celebrate his life as well and every step he takes will be to glorify God. We want the whole world to know his testimony.

"Thank you for all of your awesome responses, and my family is so happy that God used Kayden Elijah Knickle to encourage and inspire so many people."

The toddler's  family, in Englewood, New Jersey, are raising money to pay for additional physiotherapy, prosthetics and medical bills.

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Syria Fighter Admits Training British Teens

By Jason Farrell, Sky News Correspondent

A jihadi fighter in Syria has told Sky News he has been training British teenagers as young as 16 to fight in the war.

Yilmaz, a Dutch national who has been in the region for two years, said: "It's extremely easy to get here … People go on holiday, they end up in Syria."

Speaking via Skype, from the Idlib province of the war-torn country, the fighter insisted the majority of Britons did not pose a threat to their home country.

But he added: "There is always the chance of a loose cannon doing something stupid, doing something crazy."

Asked how young his trainees from Britain were he replied: "16, 17 ... Most are in their 20s."

Security services in the UK estimate 400 to 500 British jihadists are involved in the conflict in Syria or Iraq, and there are concerns some may wish to return and commit terrorist acts when they return.

Three Muslims from Cardiff have appeared in an ISIS video from Syria and last week a social media account in the name of one of them posted pictures of homemade bombs.

Three UK Muslims in Syria made a video calling for others to join them

Nasser Muthana, 20, appeared to warn that Britain should be afraid to allow him to return.

But Yilmaz, who was in the Dutch army and also worked in an old people's home in Holland, told Sky News: "We see this jihad in Syria as something holy.

"When I speak to the British fighters and the foreign fighters here, I just can't see them risking everything, coming home and committing crimes.

"It's funny, the British Government itself is funding and training, be it in Jordan or Syria, the Free Syrian Army. So the British Government is helping and I'm helping in my own way."

A video image purportedly showing Muslims forced to pray to President Assad

Yilmaz says he supports the goal of ISIS to overthrow the Syrian regime - but believes Iraq is a distraction.

On Sunday, it emerged that two 16-year-old twin sisters from Manchester had fled to Syria where it is feared they may have joined the ISIS fight.

Giving an insight into women's roles among his fighters, Yilmaz said: "Some brothers brought their wives or their sisters - but it's a supporting role, housework, washing, fixing clothes … there's no need for female fighters."

A British-born Londoner in the UK who converted to Islam six years ago told Sky News he believes it is his duty to go to Syria.

Londoner Suliman would like to go to Syria after being inspired by videos

Suliman, who says he has not gone for family reasons, said: "It is the best death. If you are to die out there on the battlefield, it is the best death - if I did die - I'd have done something good for people, and that would surely be written down as a good deed."

Both Suliman and Yilmaz say they were influenced in their views about Syria by YouTube videos and by social media.

Haras Rariq, of the anti-extremist organisation the Quilliam Foundation, said: "The overwhelming majority of Muslims will reject going out to fight ISIS and rightly so, they shouldn't go. It's not Islamic, it's not what the Prophet talked about.

"But the problem is a small number will go and they're the people that we need to worry about."

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World Cup: Brazil Defeat Sparked Unrest Fears

Brazil Coach: 'The Worst Day Of My Life'

Updated: 7:18am UK, Wednesday 09 July 2014

Luiz Felipe Scolari has said watching his side being crushed 7-1 by Germany was the worst day of his life.

And Brazil president Dilma Rousseff said she was sad and sorry.

Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella, whose side play the Netherlands in the other semi-final on Wednesday, said the result was "not normal" but showed "why (football) is beautiful".

Here is more of what they and others had to say about the "extraordinary" and "bewildering" game in Belo Horizonte:

BRAZIL COACH LUIZ FELIPE SCOLARI

"If I were to think of my life as a footballer, as a coach, as a physical education teacher, I think it was the worst day of my life.

"I'm going to be remembered probably because I lost 7-1, the worst defeat in Brazil's history, but that was a risk I knew I was running when I walked into this position.

"My message for the Brazilian people and fans is that we tried to do what we could, we lost to a great team who had the skill to end the game in just six or seven minutes with four goals."

BRAZIL STAND-IN CAPTAIN DAVID LUIZ

"I just wanted to make my people happy. Unfortunately, we couldn't. I'm sorry, I'm sorry to all Brazilians, I just wanted to see them smile, everyone knows how important it was."

BRAZIL GOALKEEPER JULIO CESAR

"It's very hard to explain the unexplainable."

BRAZIL PRESIDENT DILMA ROUSSEFF

"Like every Brazilian, I am very, very sad about this defeat. I am immensely sorry for all of us. But we won't let ourselves stay down. Brazil, get up, dust yourself off and move forward."

BRAZIL FAN RIBEIRO FRANCA AFTER GERMANY'S FIFTH GOAL

"Five-nil is so embarassing, we're not going to stay any longer. One-nil is fine, one-one, two-one, two-two, but five-nil is shameful for a country that has a tradition of football. Bye. Bye."

GERMAN COACH JOACHIM LOEW

"They were shocked and didn't expect to fall behind. And after that it was an easy match for us. I feel sorry for him (Scolari). I think I know how he feels."

ARGENTINA COACH ALEJANDRO SABELLA

"Seven-one is not a normal result between two world footballing powers. (But) football can be like that. Sometimes things happen that you don't expect, and that is why it is beautiful."

FORMER BRAZIL MIDFIELDER JUNINHO PAULISTA

"It will be difficult to recover. Some players I don't think will be back to wear the Brazilian shirt. It is wrong now to criticise the players. On the field, Germany taught us how to play football."

FORMER ENGLAND STRIKER GARY LINEKER

"In nigh on half a century of watching football, that's the most extraordinary, staggering, bewildering game I've ever witnessed."

FORMER GERMANY MIDFIELDER DIETMAR HAMANN

"Master class from Germany. Clinical, organised, hard-working, unselfish and humble. Very proud of the team. One to go."

FORMER ENGLAND DEFENDER RIO FERDINAND                           

"I would worry that the Brazilian players might never recover from this. Some might not be able to come back."

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Iraq PM Claims Kurds Harbouring ISIS Militants

Iraq's Prime Minister has accused the autonomous Iraqi Kurdish region of being a haven for the Islamic extremists and other Sunni militants.

Nouri al Maliki said the Kurdish capital of Arbil was being used as a headquarters for ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), the group that overran swathes of territory north and west of Baghdad last month.

He also claimed Iraqi Kurdistan was being used as a base for al Qaeda and the group that used to run the country when Saddam Hussein was in power, the Baaths.

Mr al Maliki's comments came as the bodies of 53 men were found near the central Iraqi province of Babil, near the city of Hilla.

Several attacks took place in Babil during the offensive by ISIS but the area where the bodies were found was not close to sites of recent violence and it is not known who killed the men.

Thousands of refugees from northern Iraq have fled to Iraqi Kurdistan

His claims are likely to inflame an already unstable situation in Iraq as Kurdish security forces are among those who have been battling ISIS fighters.

The Prime Minister did not elaborate on his allegations or provide any evidence to back them up.

In his weekly TV address, he said: "Honestly, we cannot be silent over this and we cannot be silent over Arbil being a headquarters for Daash, Baath, al Qaeda and terrorist operations."

"They (militant groups) will lose and so will their hosts because they failed to provide an example of patriotic partnership," he added.

Daash is the former Arabic acronym for ISIS, which is now referring to itself in English as Islamic State.

Kurds have held protests calling for independence

Tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have fled to Kurdish-controlled areas to escape the militant onslaught.

Mr al Maliki's comments are thought to have been prompted by a Kurdish announcement last week that plans were being sped up to hold a referendum on self-determination.

Kurdish forces have recently moved into areas on the edge of their autonomous region that have been disputed by both sides.

As ISIS fighters swept east and south from Mosul, the Kurds took control of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, creating a buffer zone against the militants.

Observers have claimed the developments of the past month have brought the break-up of the country nearer.

Although Iraqi Kurdistan is considered a sovereign part of Iraq, it has its own government and is not protected by Iraq's internal security forces.

However, it is not officially responsible for dealing with international affairs.

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