Malaysia Airlines to cut 6,000 staff

29 August 2014 Last updated at 11:31

Malaysia Airlines is to cut 6,000 staff as part of recovery plan after being hit by two disasters this year.

The reduction in staff numbers represents around 30% of its workforce of 20,000.

The airline will become completely state owned, and a new chief executive will eventually be put in place.

Investigators continue to hunt for flight MH370, the Kuala Lumpur to Beijing flight which went missing in March.

The MH17 air crash in eastern Ukraine is also under investigation. The plane was shot down on 17 July, with the loss of all 298 people on board.

The recovery plan will cost about 6 billion Malaysian ringgit (£1.1bn, $1.9bn).

Khazanah Nasional, the state investment company that owns a 69% stake in the troubled firm, will take 100% ownership.

"The combination of measures announced today will enable our national airline to be revived," said Khazanah's managing director Azman Mokhtar.

"Success is by no means guaranteed - while it is imperative that MAS [Malaysia Airlines] as a critical enabler in national development is revived, public accountability for the use of the funds mean that it cannot be renewed at any cost," he added.

Recovery plan

Long-haul routes will be slashed, and the airline aims to return to profitability by 2018.

Malaysia Airlines warned on Thursday that it had seen a sharp decline in weekly bookings following the two air disasters.

However, the company has been in trouble over the past few years, and has lost billions of ringgit in that time.

The firm will be completely delisted from the Bursa Malaysia stock exchange by the end of 2014.

Relevant assets, operations and liabilities of Malaysia Airlines will be transferred to a new company by 1 July 2015.

The current chief executive, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, will continue to lead the firm until the new company is formed next year.

Travel expert Simon Calder said that the staff cuts and business reorganisation should allow the company to turn its fortunes around.

"There is a slice of business to have, but nothing like the scale and dominance it once enjoyed," he said.

Competition from low-cost airlines for short-haul flights, coupled with the expansion of long-haul Gulf carriers, had eaten into the firm's profitability in the past, he added.

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More than 3m have fled Syria - UN

29 August 2014 Last updated at 09:02

More than three million Syrians are now registered as refugees and the desperate crisis is only getting worse, the UN's refugee agency says.

The UNHCR says Syria is now "the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era" with almost half of all Syrians forced to flee their homes.

The majority of refugees have fled to countries neighbouring Syria, with most now seeking shelter in Lebanon.

More than 190,000 have been killed in Syria's three-year civil war.

Opposition groups in Syria have been fighting forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad since his government violently suppressed protests against his rule in March 2011.

The situation has been worsened in recent months by the formation and advance of the Islamic State group, which now controls large swathes of Syria and Iraq.

'Exhausted and scared'

The UNHCR says one in every eight Syrians has fled across the border and a further 6.5 million are displaced within Syria. It says more than half of those uprooted are children.

The number of registered Syrian refugees has soared from two million just under a year ago.

Families arriving at refugee camps in neighbouring countries are exhausted and scared, with some having spent a year or more fleeing from village to village inside Syria.

The UN agency says the journey out of Syria is also becoming tougher, with many people forced to pay bribes to armed gangs.

Where Syrian refugees are

1,175,504 in Lebanon

832,508 in Turkey

613,252 in Jordan

215,369 in Iraq

139,090 in Egypt

23,367 in North Africa

6.5 million others are displaced within Syria

Source: UNHCR

In addition to the registered refugees, Syria's neighbours estimate that hundreds of thousands more Syrians have sought sanctuary in their countries - causing enormous strain.

"The Syrian crisis has become the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era, yet the world is failing to meet the needs of refugees and the countries hosting them," said Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

"The response to the Syrian crisis has been generous, but the bitter truth is that it falls far short of what's needed."

Continue reading the main story

The response to the Syrian crisis has been generous, but the bitter truth is that it falls far short of what's needed"

End Quote Antonio Guterres UN High Commissioner for Refugees

'Violence at a new level'

On Thursday, French President Francois Hollande voiced his regret that the West had failed "to find a solution for the situation in Syria," saying the consequences were clear to all.

"Bashar al-Assad's regime continues without restraint its policy of repression. Refugees continue to gather, their numbers increasing every day, in the neighbouring countries. And terrorist groups are winning more territory - that's the result," he said.

The UN's deputy humanitarian chief, Kyung-wha Kang, said Islamic State was taking violence against civilians in Syria "to a new level" and threatening aid operations in the country.

But US President Barack Obama insisted Thursday that the West would not contemplate working with President Assad against the extremist group.

"I don't think there's a situation where we have to choose between Assad or the kinds of people who carry on the incredible violence that we've been seeing there," he told reporters at the White House.

Have you been affected by this story? Are you working or living in one of the refugee camps? Contact us and tell us your story at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

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Ukraine 'to seek Nato membership'

29 August 2014 Last updated at 11:39

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Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen news conference

Ukraine's prime minister has said he will ask parliament to put the country on a path towards Nato membership.

Arseny Yatsenyuk said the government was sending a bill to MPs urging that Ukraine's non-bloc status be cancelled.

The remarks come as Nato holds an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis in eastern Ukraine.

The West has stepped up its accusations of direct Russian involvement in the conflict, following advances by pro-Russian rebels.

On Thursday Nato released satellite images it said showed Russian forces inside Ukraine. and said more than 1,000 troops were operating there.

Russia denies sending troops.

Nearly 2,600 people have been killed since April, the UN says, when Russia's annexation of Crimea prompted the rebels to take control of large parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the far east of the country.

Non-aligned status

"The government is entering a bill to Verkhovna Rada [parliament] about the cancellation of Ukraine's non-bloc status and resumption of Ukraine's course for Nato membership," Mr Yatsenyuk said.

Ukraine's previous President Viktor Yanukovich, ousted earlier this year, enshrined the country's non-aligned status in the constitution in 2008.

At a government meeting, Mr Yatsenyuk said Ukraine's main aim remained membership of the European Union.

He said the bill that was being presented would also prevent Ukraine from joining any bloc that would stand in the way of this, meaning any economic union involving Russia.

Heavy fighting is continuing near Ukraine's strategic port of Mariupol, on the Azov Sea. Rebel forces are trying to capture the city but Ukrainian government troops are digging in.

On Thursday the separatists seized the nearby town of Novoazovsk.

The advance has raised fears that the Kremlin might seek to create a land corridor between Russia and Crimea - a territory annexed by Russia from Ukraine in March.

Rebels are also reported to have surrounded government soldiers in several places further north, near the city of Donetsk.

Ukrainian forces near the town of Ilovaysk say they are cut off and have been urgently asking for supplies and reinforcements.

Overnight, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on the rebels to open a "humanitarian corridor" to allow encircled Ukrainian troops to leave without unnecessary casualties, though he did not specify the location.

Rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko later told Russian TV that his fighters had agreed to the request, on condition that the Ukrainians hand over heavy weapons and ammunition.

Ukraine security officials said in a statement that the proposal demonstrated that the rebels "are led and controlled directly from the Kremlin".

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Human Rights Watch: "Abduction and torture cases are becoming more numerous"

At least 2,593 people had been killed in the conflict between mid-April and 27 August, the UN said in its latest report.

Human rights violations like abduction and torture were "committed primarily by the armed groups", referring to the rebels, it said.

Separately, Human Rights Watch said in a report that the rebels were subjecting civilians to torture, degrading treatment and forced labour.

'Not home-grown'

The reports of Russian troops fighting with rebels prompted renewed Western criticism of Moscow's role in the conflict.

US President Barack Obama blamed Russia for the escalation but stopped short of saying its troops had invaded Ukraine.

"There is no doubt that this is not a home-grown, indigenous uprising in eastern Ukraine," he said.

"The separatists are trained by Russia, they are armed by Russia, they are funded by Russia."

Mr Obama is due to discuss the crisis with European leaders at a Nato summit in the UK next week.

Nato released satellite images it said showed columns of Russian armed forces inside Ukrainian territory.

Nato Brigadier General Niko Tak said more than 1,000 Russian troops were operating inside Ukraine, both supporting the separatists and fighting on their side.

He told the BBC there had been a "significant escalation in the level and sophistication of Russia's military interference in Ukraine" over the past two weeks.

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The Ukrainian and Russian ambassadors addressed an emergency session at the UN

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said no proof had been provided that Russia was directly involved.

"We're hearing various conjectures, not for the first time, but not once have any facts been presented to us," he told journalists.

At Thursday's emergency session of the UN Security Council, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin accepted that there were Russian volunteers in eastern parts of Ukraine, but accused the Ukrainian government of "waging war against its own people".

War in eastern Ukraine: The human cost

• At least 2,119 people had been killed and 5,043 wounded since mid-April, a UN report on 7 August said
• 951 civilians have been killed in Donetsk region alone, the official regional authorities said on 20 August
• Official casualty counts only record certified deaths while in some particularly dangerous parts of the war zone, such as Luhansk region, victims are said to have been buried informally, for instance in gardens
• Rebels (and some military sources) accuse the government of concealing the true numbers of soldiers killed
• 155,800 people have fled elsewhere in Ukraine while at least 188,000 have gone to Russia.

Have you been affected by what's going on in Ukraine? Tell us your story by emailing us at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

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Iceland eruption triggers red alert

29 August 2014 Last updated at 12:13

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Bardarbunga is part of a large volcano system hidden beneath the Vatnajokull ice cap in central Iceland

The Icelandic Met Office has raised its aviation warning level near the Bardarbunga volcano to red after an eruption began overnight.

Scientists said a fissure eruption 1km (0.6 miles) long started in a lava field north of the Vatnajokull glacier.

Civil protection officials said Icelandic Air Traffic Control had closed the airspace above the eruption up to a height of 5,000ft (1,500m).

The volcano has been hit by several recent tremors.

The fissure eruption took place between Dyngjujokull Glacier and the Askja caldera, a statement from the Department of Civil Protection said.

"Scientists who have been at work close to the eruption monitor the event at a safe distance," the statement added.

It said that no volcanic ash had so far been detected but a coast guard aircraft was due to take off later to survey the site.

Until now the Icelandic Met Office has kept its aviation warning level - indicating the potential threat of volcanic activity to air travel - at orange, its second-highest.

On Friday morning, the UK Met Office advised that the Bardarbunga eruption was a lava blast, with no ash being emitted into the atmosphere.

Noting current wind patterns, it added that even if ash were emitted it would be unlikely to affect UK airspace for the next couple of days. However, it was monitoring the situation and liaising with airlines and airports.

Bjorn Oddsson, a geophysicist from Iceland's Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management, said the eruption was currently not affecting air travel.

"It's mostly effusive; there's no ash in the air, and not even in the vicinity," he said.

"So mostly lava is pouring out of the craters right now and the only flight restriction is over the area. All airports are open, and things are quite in control."

BBC transport correspondent Richard Westcott says that even if a big cloud of volcanic ash were emitted, it would not cause the same level of disruption to flights that brought Europe to a halt in 2010.

He says new equipment that airliners and engine makers have been testing would allow planes to identity and fly around ash clouds.

Analysis by BBC science correspondent Rebecca Morelle

Scientists around the world have been watching Bardarbunga to see what would happen. After swarms of intensifying earthquakes - caused by molten rock moving beneath the ground - an eruption has finally begun.

Initial fears that this might trigger a scenario just like the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull volcano have been put aside - at least for now. The worry was that the magma might erupt beneath a thick ice glacier, triggering an explosive ash cloud. Instead, the molten rock has moved north, where the ice is less thick, and we have a fissure eruption, emanating from a 1km-long crack in the ground.

At the moment, scientists say it's not explosive, instead a mixture of lava and steam is slowly coming out of the vent. Only small spurts of ash have been spotted and they are not jetting up into the sorts of altitudes that would cause disruption to flights. There are still concerns about flooding - the water level in one lake is thought to have risen by 5-10m in the past few days.

This could be a repeat of Iceland's "Krafla fires", which for 10 years produced spectacular fountains of lava that were more of a tourist attraction than a threat. However, there is also a chance the magma could start to move towards another large volcano called Askja, where it could trigger a much larger blast.

Cauldrons

On Thursday, scientists said they were examining several "cauldrons" found near Bardarbunga volcano that could potentially be a sign of an eruption.

The cauldrons, depressions in the volcano's surface, each between 10-15m (49ft) deep and 1km (0.6 miles) wide, were seen during a flight on Wednesday.

Bardarbunga is part of a large volcano system hidden beneath the 500m-thick (1,600ft) Vatnajokull ice cap in central Iceland.

Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted in 2010, producing ash that disrupted air travel across Europe.

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US girl, nine, kills gun instructor

27 August 2014 Last updated at 09:54

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Video released by the Mojave County Sheriff's Department shows Charles Vacca teaching the nine-year-old shortly before the accident happened

A nine year-old girl in the US has killed her shooting instructor by accident while being shown how to use a high-powered submachine gun.

The instructor was giving the girl a lesson at a shooting range in Arizona when the recoil from the automatic fire caused her to lose control of the Uzi.

Charles Vacca, 39, was shot in the head and died after being airlifted to a hospital in Las Vegas.

The girl was at the shooting range with her parents, who filmed the lesson.

The footage shows the instructor coaching her as she fires a single shot at a target at the Last Stop shooting range in White Hills, Arizona.

The Uzi then appears to be switched to automatic as the girl pulls the trigger and loses her grip of the weapon.

The video, edited and released by the Mojave County Sheriff's office, ends abruptly before the instructor is shot.

Correspondents say it is common in parts of the US for children to be taught how to use firearms.

Many firing ranges have strict safety rules on instructing children. It is not clear what age limits the range has.

Uzis

• Submachine gun designed in 1950s for Israel's army
• Exported to many countries and used in many conflicts
• Capable of automatic or semi-automatic fire
• Standard rate of fire 600 rounds per minute

Are you a parent in the US? Has your child had shooting lessons? You can email your reactions to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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Nigeria closes schools over Ebola

27 August 2014 Last updated at 10:58

All schools in Nigeria have been ordered to remain shut until 13 October as part of measures to prevent the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.

The new academic year was due to start on Monday.

But the education minister ordered the closures to allow staff to be trained on how to handle suspected Ebola cases.

Five people have died of Ebola in Nigeria. The West Africa outbreak has centred on Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, killing more than 1,400 people.

It is the largest ever outbreak and has infected an estimated 2,615 people. About half of those infected have died.

The virus is spread between humans through direct contact with infected bodily fluids.

There is no cure for Ebola but with intensive care treatment and proper hydration, patients have a chance of survival.

It spread to Nigeria - Africa's most populous country - in July, when a person infected with Ebola flew from Liberia to Lagos.

Protective clothing 'shortages'

The Nigerian government says it hopes its efforts to contain the virus are working, as there is only one confirmed case of Ebola remaining.

"All state ministries of education are to immediately organise and ensure that at least two staff in each school, both private and public, are trained by appropriate health workers no later than 15 September 2014 on how to handle any suspected case of Ebola," said Education Minister Ibrahim Shekarau.

"And also embark on immediate sensitisation of all teaching and non-teaching staff in all schools on preventive measures," he said.

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The current outbreak is the deadliest since Ebola was discovered in 1976

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has temporarily shut an Ebola testing laboratory in Kailahun in eastern Sierra Leone after a Senegalese health worker became infected with the virus.

There have been 392 Ebola deaths in Sierra Leone, according to the latest UN figures released on 22 August. Kailahun is one of the worst-affected districts and is currently under blockade.

"It's a temporary measure to take care of the welfare of our remaining workers," a WHO spokesman is quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying.

On Tuesday, the WHO said an "unprecedented" number of doctors and nurses had been infected with Ebola which was further impeding control efforts.

Infections were due to a shortage of protective equipment and staff, it said.

Only one or two doctors are available for 100,000 patients in some of the affected countries.

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)

• Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
• Fatality rate can reach 90% - but current outbreak has mortality rate of about 55%
• Incubation period is two to 21 days
• There is no vaccine or cure
• Supportive care such as rehydrating patients who have diarrhoea and vomiting can help recovery
• Fruit bats, a delicacy for some West Africans, are considered to be virus's natural host

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IMF's Lagarde 'under investigation'

27 August 2014 Last updated at 11:26

IMF head Christine Lagarde says she has been placed under formal investigation for negligence in a French fraud case but has not been charged.

She has been questioned several times about her role in a 400m euro (£318m; $527m) compensation payout to businessman Bernard Tapie in 2008.

Ms Lagarde, 58, was finance minister in President Nicolas Sarkozy's government at the time of the award.

Mr Tapie supported Mr Sarkozy in the 2007 presidential election.

He was once a majority shareholder in sports goods company Adidas but sold it in 1993 in order to become a cabinet minister in Francois Mitterrand's Socialist government. He later spent eight months in jail over a football match-rigging scandal.

Mr Tapie sued Credit Lyonnais over its handling of the 1993 sale, alleging the partly state-owned bank had defrauded him by deliberately undervaluing the company.

His case was later referred by Ms Lagarde to a three-member arbitration panel which awarded the compensation.

Investigators suspect he was granted a deal in return for his support of Nicolas Sarkozy.

Ms Lagarde, who took over the role of director of the International Monetary Fund in July 2011, said last year that her decision to refer Mr Tapie's long-running dispute with Credit Lyonnais to a panel of judges was "the best solution at the time".

Although being placed under formal investigation does not necessarily lead to trial, the development could raise questions about the rest of her term at the IMF which is due to end in 2016.

She told AFP news agency she had no intention of resigning from the IMF and said she was due to return to New York later on Wednesday.

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IS accused of Syria mass atrocities

27 August 2014 Last updated at 11:37

Islamic State militants have committed "mass atrocities" in Syria, including the recruitment of children as fighters, the United Nations says.

Investigators have also accused the Syrian government of using chemical agents in eight separate incidents in western Syria this year.

Islamic State (IS), which now controls areas of Syria, is one of the groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad.

Some 200,000 have died since the conflict began in early 2011.

The findings are the result of six months of interviews and evidence collected between January and July this year as part of an inquiry into human rights violations inside Syria.

The period covered in the report coincides with the growth of the IS group in Syria, which seeks to create an independent Islamic State in an area that stretches across Syria and Iraq.

The group's extremist ideology has attracted jihadists from across the region including fighters from Western countries including the UK and the US.

Investigators says IS is waging a campaign of fear in northern Syria, including carrying out amputations, public executions and whippings.

"Bodies of those killed are placed on display for several days, terrorising the local population," the report said.

"Women have been lashed for not abiding by IS's dress code. In Raqqa, children as young as 10 are being recruited and trained at IS camps."

Paulo Pinheiro, the chairman of the commission, warned of grave implications for the entire region.

"The international community's failure in its most elemental duties - to protect civilians, halt and prevent atrocities and create a path toward accountability - has been matched on the ground by an abandonment of even the pretence of an adherence to norms of international law," he said.

The investigators warned of a continued spread of violence form Syria's borders to neighbouring countries.

One of the investigators, Carla del Ponte, has urged world powers to refer Syria's war crimes to the International Criminal Court, calling it an important first step as it was in Rwanda and the Balkans.

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Big earthquake near Iceland volcano

26 August 2014 Last updated at 11:19

Iceland's Bardarbunga volcano was hit by a magnitude 5.7 earthquake on Tuesday morning, the largest since tremors began in the area last week.

The country's Met Office said despite the shock - the fourth magnitude five quake in 48 hours - there is still no sign of a volcanic eruption.

On Sunday, Iceland lowered the aviation risk to its second highest level.

Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted in 2010, producing ash that disrupted air travel across Europe.

Bardarbunga is in a different range to Eyjafjallajokull, but the intense seismic activity has raised fears that an eruption could cause similar travel chaos.

No surface movement

"There was one event during the night. It was a magnitude 5.7 [earthquake], the largest in this series," Palni Erlendsson, a geologist at Iceland's Met Office told Reuters news agency.

The activity was still deep below ground, Mr Erlendsson said, adding there had been no signs of movement close to the surface.

"We still can't say whether [the activity] will cease, continue like this for a while or erupt. It's impossible to say," he said.

The magnitude five earthquakes are the strongest to hit the Bardarbunga region since 1996.

The Met Office said the latest large tremor occurred at 01:26 GMT to the north of Bardarbunga, 6km (3.7 miles) below the surface, near the rim of Dyngjujokull, another nearby volcano.

Bardarbunga and Dyngjujokull are part of a large volcano system hidden beneath the 500m-thick (1,600ft) Vatnajokull glacier in central Iceland.

The region, more than 300km (190 miles) from the capital Reykjavik, has no permanent residents but sits within a national park popular with tourists. Several hundred people have been evacuated from the area.

Authorities have previously warned that any eruption could result in flooding north of the glacier.

But experts said the activity was migrating north, with the tip of the movement already 10km (6 miles) outside the glacier.

Scientists believe the earthquakes are a result of magma flowing out from beneath the volcano, causing a change in pressure.

This movement could stop, reducing the seismic activity, or the magma could reach the surface and lead to an eruption.

On Sunday, Iceland lowered its level of alert to the aviation industry from red, warning of an imminent eruption, to its second-highest level, orange.

Airspace over the site has been closed, but all Icelandic airports currently remain open, authorities say.

The Eyjafjallajokull eruption in April 2010 caused the largest closure of European airspace since World War Two, with losses estimated at between 1.5bn and 2.5bn euros (£1.3bn-2.2bn).

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Australia tycoon makes China apology

26 August 2014 Last updated at 07:58

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Clive Palmer called the Chinese government "mongrels"

Australian billionaire Clive Palmer has apologised for calling the Chinese government "mongrels" in televised comments that drew widespread criticism.

In a letter to China's ambassador to Australia, the mining tycoon apologised for "any insult to the Chinese people caused by any of the language I used".

Strong ties between Australia and China were in everyone's interests, he said.

Mr Palmer is an MP and his party holds the balance of power in the Senate.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott does not have a majority in the upper chamber and so must rely on support from independents and minority party lawmakers, including the Palmer United Party, to pass legislation.

In a statement, the Chinese embassy acknowledged that Mr Palmer's remarks did not represent the views of the Australian government, parliament and people.

But it added: "The Chinese people are never to be insulted. Any remarks attacking or slandering China would not gain support and were doomed to failure."

'Unfriendly attitude'

Mr Palmer made his comments in an interview last week with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

He also said the Chinese government "shoot their own people" and suggested "they want to take over this country".

Amid a strong backlash, Mr Palmer then clarified that his comments were aimed at a Chinese company with whom he is locked in a legal dispute.

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Trade Minister Andrew Robb explains what he is doing to calm the row

Several Australian cabinet ministers spoke out strongly against Mr Palmer's comments, with Mr Abbott calling them "over the top, shrill and wrong".

"Really it's very hard to understand why someone who wants to be influential in our nation's life would be so simplistic and counterproductive," he said.

Mr Palmer's comments also attracted attention in Chinese media, with state-run daily Global Times saying the tycoon's "rampant rascality serves as a symbol that Australian society has an unfriendly attitude toward China".

In his letter to the Chinese ambassador, Mr Palmer said he "most sincerely" apologised for his comments.

"I regret any hurt or anguish such comments may have caused any party and I look forward to greater peace and understanding in the future," he said.

China is Australia's top trading partner.

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US sanctions Syria air surveillance

26 August 2014 Last updated at 11:53

US President Barack Obama has authorised surveillance flights over Syria in order to gain intelligence on the activities of Islamic State (IS).

Correspondents say the move could mark the first step towards US air strikes inside Syria, where the jihadist group controls vast swathes of territory.

The US is already carrying out strikes against IS in neighbouring Iraq.

On Monday, the Syrian government said it would work with the international community in the fight against IS.

Western governments have so far rejected suggestions that they collaborate with President Bashar al-Assad in an attempt to counter the growing regional threat posed by IS.

They have repeatedly called on Mr Assad to step down since the beginning of the three-and-a-half year uprising against his rule, in which more than 191,000 people are believed to have been killed.

'Preparing options'

On Monday evening, US officials said Mr Obama had approved over the weekend reconnaissance flights by unmanned and manned aircraft, including drones and possibly U2 spy planes.

One official later told the Associated Press that they had already begun.

The US military has been carrying out aerial surveillance of IS - an al-Qaeda breakaway formerly known as Isis - in Iraq for months and launched air strikes on 8 August.

The president cited the threat to US diplomats and military personnel and the humanitarian crisis in the north, where hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes since June as IS fighters and allied Sunni rebels have taken control of dozens of cities, towns and villages.

Mr Obama has long resisted taking military action in Syria, but Pentagon officials are said to have advised him that the only way the threat from IS can be fully eliminated is to go after the group there.

A spokesman for Gen Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Pentagon was "preparing options to address Isis both in Iraq and Syria with a variety of military tools including air strikes".

The options reportedly include targeting IS leaders in and around their stronghold of the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, as well as in the east near the Iraqi border.

Last week, IS published a video showing it killing the American journalist James Foley, who was abducted in Syria in 2012. The group threatened to kill other US citizens it was holding in retaliation for US air strikes.

It later emerged that US special forces had attempted to rescue the hostages earlier in July, but that they were not at the location in Syria where the military thought they were being held.

'Ready for co-operation'

One Obama administration official told the New York Times that the US did not intend to collaborate with the Assad government or inform him in advance of any operation.

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"Syria is ready to cooperate and coordinate all efforts, whether regional or international, to combat terrorism" - Walid Muallem, Syrian Foreign Minister

"It is not the case that the enemy of my enemy is my friend," said Benjamin Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser. "Joining forces with Assad would essentially permanently alienate the Sunni population in both Syria and Iraq, who are necessary to dislodging [IS]."

On Monday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said his government was "ready for co-operation and co-ordination at the regional and international level to fight terrorism".

But Mr Muallem warned the White House that it would view any unilateral military action as a breach of sovereignty and an "act of aggression".

The Western-backed rebel Free Syrian Army, which is fighting IS across northern Syria, meanwhile said its commanders on the ground were ready to co-ordinate with the US.

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Russians in Ukraine 'by accident'

26 August 2014 Last updated at 12:14

A group of Russian soldiers captured in eastern Ukraine had crossed the border "by accident", Russian military sources are quoted as saying.

Ukraine said 10 paratroopers had been captured and has released video interviews of some of the men. One is quoted as saying "this is not our war".

The incident comes ahead of a key meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian presidents.

Petro Poroshenko and Vladimir Putin are at a summit in Minsk in Belarus.

More than 2,000 people have died in months of fighting between Ukrainian forces and separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

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Steve Rosenberg says there's little optimism ahead of the talks in Belarus

The two regions declared independence from Kiev following Russia's annexation of the southern Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in March.

'Cannon fodder'

A Russian defence ministry source was quoted by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti as saying: "The soldiers really did participate in a patrol of a section of the Russian-Ukrainian border, crossed it by accident on an unmarked section, and as far as we understand showed no resistance to the armed forces of Ukraine when they were detained."

The source also said that some 500 Ukrainian servicemen had crossed the border at various times, adding: "We did not give much publicity to that. We just returned all those willing to return to Ukrainian territory at safe places."

Ukraine's security service said its military had captured the 10 Russian paratroopers near the village of Dzerkalne, about 50km (30 miles) south-east of the rebel-held city of Donetsk and about 20km from the Russian border.

Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said: "This wasn't a mistake, but a special mission they were carrying out."

A Ukrainian television report that carried the interviews with the men said they were from the 331st regiment of the 98th Svirsk airborne division.

It quoted one man, named as Sgt Andrei Generalov, as saying: "Stop sending in our boys. Why? This is not our war. And if we weren't here, none of this would have happened."

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Unverified video purports to show Ukrainians and militants fighting near Mariupol

Another man, named as Ivan Milchakov, says he is based in the Russian town of Kostroma.

"I did not see where we crossed the border. They just told us we were going on a 70km march over three days," he said.

"Everything is different here, not like they show it on television. We've come as cannon fodder."

Russia has repeatedly denied Ukrainian and Western accusations that it is supporting the rebels.

On Monday, Ukraine said an armoured column had crossed the border into south-eastern Ukraine, sparking clashes near Novoazovsk.

Mr Lysenko said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces had destroyed 12 armoured infantry carriers there. He said 12 Ukrainian military personnel had been killed in the past 24 hours.

Mr Lysenko said four border guards had been killed by fire from Russian Mi-24 helicopters.

'No magic solution'

The BBC's David Stern in Kiev says Tuesday's talks in Minsk are under the auspices of the Moscow-led Eurasian Customs Union, which also includes Belarus and Kazakhstan, and that it is still unclear whether Mr Putin and Mr Poroshenko will meet separately.

Analysis: The BBC's Oleg Boldyrev in Minsk

The gulf between the positions of Ukraine and Russia is huge. Russia wants an unconditional ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. But Ukraine has the upper hand against the rebels there and does not want to simply stop and let them regroup.

Russia stresses that Ukraine must talk to the rebels, but Ukraine says the rebels are not a force of their own - rather an extension of Russia's hostilities, and it is Russia that must talk to the rebels and persuade them to lay down their weapons.

What will bridge this gulf after so many months of fighting remains unclear.

The pair last met briefly in June at the D-Day commemorations.

The summit in Minsk is also being attended by senior officials from the European Union which, along with the US, has imposed sanctions on Russia for failing to rein in the separatists.

Are you in eastern Ukraine, have you been affected by the story? Share your experiences with us by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

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Peace urged for Michael Brown burial

25 August 2014 Last updated at 09:03

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Michael Brown Snr: "All I want is peace while my son is laid to rest"

The father of an unarmed black teenager who was shot dead by a policeman in Ferguson, Missouri, has called for calm ahead of his son's funeral.

"Tomorrow all I want is peace," Michael Brown Snr told hundreds of people at a rally in St Louis on Sunday.

The killing of his son sparked protests and violent clashes, but tensions appear to have eased in recent days.

Michael Brown, 18, was killed on 9 August after being stopped by a police officer for walking in the street.

The National Guard, which was deployed to deal with violent clashes in Ferguson last week, started to withdraw from the area on Saturday as tensions showed signs of easing.

But there are concerns violence may flare up again when Mr Brown is buried in St Louis at 10:00 local time (15:00 GMT) on Monday.

There will be a heavy security presence around the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist church, where thousands are expected to gather to pay their respects.

'No rage'

Michael Brown's father made a plea for calm on Sunday to a crowd gathered at the Peace Fest 2014 festival, a rally against police violence in St Louis.

"All I want tomorrow is peace while we lay our son to rest. Please, that's all I ask," he said.

Rev Al Sharpton also addressed the crowd, telling them the day of the funeral was not for "rage" but "about the legacy and memory of his [Michael Brown Snr's] son".

"We don't want anything tomorrow to happen that might defile the name of Michael Brown," the reverend added.

Michael Brown's mother, Lesley McSpadden took the microphone to thank the crowd.

She said she had seen her son's body at the morgue for the first time on Sunday since the day of the shooting.

The family of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old who was shot and killed by a Florida neighbourhood watch organiser who was later acquitted of murder charges, was present at the rally.

"We're going to stand tall with you all,'' Trayvon Martin's father, Tracy Martin, said.

Three White House officials and Governor Jay Nixon are due to attend the funeral on Monday.

Ferguson was relatively calm on Sunday, with the main street open to traffic and fewer police officers around compared to previous days, Reuters reports.

The officer who killed Michael Brown, Darren Wilson, has been suspended with pay. Mr Brown's family and supporters have called for him to be prosecuted.

A grand jury panel of residents has begun hearing evidence in the case, though officials have not said when it will reach a decision.

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French PM resigns amid economy row

25 August 2014 Last updated at 10:14

French PM Manuel Valls has submitted the government's resignation to President Francois Hollande and has been asked to form a new cabinet.

The government was badly shaken on Sunday by criticism over its handling of the economy by economy minister Arnaud Montebourg.

Moments after Mr Valls's resignation Mr Hollande issued a statement.

He asked Mr Valls to set up a new cabinet "consistent with the direction [Mr Hollande] has set for the country".

The prime minister had accused Mr Montebourg of "crossing a yellow line" after the economy minister had attacked austerity measures which he said were strangling France's growth.

Mr Montebourg told a meeting of Socialists in eastern France that the time had come to put up a "just and sane resistance" to the "excessive obsessions of Germany's conservatives".

Hollande purges rebels - Lucy Williamson, BBC News, Paris

Francois Hollande is sending a clear message: that dissenters within the party will not be tolerated at this difficult economic moment.

But the decision to dissolve the government is also a sign of how much is at stake for him.

With unemployment running at more than 10%, growth stagnant, and polls suggesting that less than 20% of voters think he can turn the economy around, Mr Hollande is facing a difficult autumn.

His plan has been to cut spending in order to fund tax cuts for business, in the hope of boosting the economy, but there are those in his party who disagree.

They want less focus on austerity, and more money funnelled direct to households. Purging the rebels is an eye-catching move, but with his popularity at an all-time low, Mr Hollande cannot afford to look weak.

On Saturday, Mr Montebourg told Le Monde newspaper that Germany was trapped in an austerity policy that it imposed across Europe".

He was backed up by education minister Benoit Hamon and appeared to have the support of culture minister Aurelie Filippetti, too.

Mr Hamon called on Sunday for a revival in demand and for an end to German Chancellor Angela Merkel setting Europe's direction: "You can't sell anything to the French if they don't have enough income," he said.

Manuel Valls became prime minister in March after a poor performance by President Hollande's Socialist party in local elections.

Earlier this month, the French government admitted it would be impossible to reach a previous growth forecast of 1%. Germany saw its economy shrink by 0.2% between April and June.

Mr Montebourg told French radio shortly before Mr Valls announced the government's resignation that he had no regrets about his remarks, "first of all because there's no anger".

There was no debate about authority, he told Europe 1 radio, but a "debate about economic direction".

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Russia 'to send new Ukraine convoy'

25 August 2014 Last updated at 10:27

Russia plans to send another humanitarian convoy into eastern Ukraine "in the next few days", Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.

Mr Lavrov said the humanitarian situation there was "deteriorating".

Ukraine did not authorise the first convoy, which returned to Russia at the weekend, fearing it carried military equipment for pro-Russia separatists.

Ukrainian officials said a column of armoured vehicles crossed from Russia on Monday, sparking heavy clashes.

The crossing was reported close to the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

"The Ukrainian border has been breached by a convoy of several dozen tanks and armoured vehicles," security spokesman Leonid Matyukhin told Agence France-Presse.

"The convoy has been stopped by border guards... The battle is ongoing."

More than 2,000 people have died in recent months in fighting between Ukrainian government forces and the separatists. Some 330,00 people have been displaced.

The Russian and Ukrainian presidents are scheduled to meet in Minsk, Belarus, on Tuesday for talks on the crisis.

'Armoured column'

Mr Lavrov said he had sent a note to the Ukrainian foreign ministry on Sunday informing it of the new convoy.

He told a news conference on Monday: "The humanitarian situation is not improving but deteriorating.

"We want to reach an agreement on all conditions for delivering a second convoy by the same route... in the coming days."

Russia said the first convoy had delivered generators, food and drink.

Ukrainian sources said a column of about 30 armoured vehicles had entered from Russia close to the port city of Mariupol on Monday, bearing symbols of the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic.

Mariupol is in the hands of Ukrainian government forces, who ousted rebels in May.

When asked about the column, Mr Lavrov said: "I have not heard of this, but there is plenty of disinformation out there about our 'incursions'."

Ukraine and Western powers have accused Russia of arming the rebels, charges Moscow has denied.

There have been several previous reports of armoured vehicles crossing the border.

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The BBC's David Stern describes how the captured soldiers were marched through Donetsk

Asked about Tuesday's presidential meeting, Mr Lavrov said: "We are ready... for any format as long as there is a result," adding that Russia wanted "to help Ukrainians agree among themselves".

Mr Lavrov also commented on the parading of captured Ukrainian government soldiers by rebels through the centre of Donetsk on Sunday.

Crowds lined the streets chanting "fascists" as the dishevelled-looking prisoners walked by.

Mr Lavrov said this was "nowhere near mistreatment" and that Ukrainian fighters' actions often amounted to "war crimes".

"I saw images of that parade and I didn't see anything close to what could be considered as humiliating," he said.

The violence in east Ukraine erupted in April when pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions declared independence from Kiev. This followed Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in March.

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Boko Haram declares 'Islamic state'

25 August 2014 Last updated at 11:10

Militant group Boko Haram has said it has set up an Islamic state in the towns and villages it has seized in north-eastern Nigeria.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau was speaking in a video released to congratulate his fighters for seizing the town of Gwoza earlier this month.

It is not clear if Mr Shekau has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, which controls parts of Iraq and Syria.

Nigeria's army has rejected the claim as "empty".

Thousands of people have been killed in north-eastern Nigeria since 2009, when Boko Haram began its insurgency.

Gwoza, which had 265,000 residents in the last census, is the biggest town under Boko Haram control.

It has raised its flags over the palace of the Emir of Gwoza, the town's traditional ruler, residents say.

Who are Boko Haram?

• Founded in 2002
• Initially focused on opposing Western education - Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language
• Launched military operations in 2009 to create an Islamic state
• Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria - but also attacks on police and UN headquarters in capital, Abuja
• Some three million people affected
• Declared terrorist group by US in 2013

Who are Boko Haram?

Profile: Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau

Gwoza is not far from Chibok, where Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls in April.

It his previous video, released in July, Mr Shekau congratulated Islamic State but did not go any further.

Nigeria's police say it is still looking for 35 police officers who went missing after Boko Haram attacked a police academy in Liman Kara, near Gwoza last week.

Residents say the militants seized the college but it is unclear who now controls it.

Nigeria declared a state of emergency in three north-eastern states in 2013 but the insurgency has continued and even intensified.

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Tension high as Libya airport seized

24 August 2014 Last updated at 08:37

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The BBC's Rana Jawad says the airport has exchanged hands between militias

An armed militia alliance in Libya has captured Tripoli's international airport after a battle lasting nearly a month.

Islamist-affiliated forces from Misrata and other cities took over the airport from the Zintan militia, which has held it for three years.

Libya's new parliament, largely opposed to the Islamists, condemned the move.

Violence in Libya has surged recently between the rival groups who overthrew Muammar Gaddafi in the 2011 uprising.

The airport, Libya's largest, has been closed for over a month because of the fighting.

Hundreds have died since fighting broke out in Tripoli in July. Millions of dollars in damage has been caused to the airport.

'Sovereignty' at stake

Libya's new parliament, the House of Representatives, said the groups now in control of the airport were "terrorist organisations".

The new parliament, which is based in Tobruk because of violence in Libya's main cities, has repeatedly called for the militia groups wielding power in the country to disband the join the nascent national army.

But so far, few have shown a willingness to disarm.

Analysis by the BBC's Rana Jawad in Tripoli

The significance of one militia seizing Tripoli's airport from another is difficult for many civilians in the capital to grasp - especially those displaced by the fighting, and families who have had to bury their dead after stray rockets hit their homes.

Libya's main airport is a wreck, but it didn't stop those who overran it taking pictures of each other celebrating what they see as a victory.

It's a symbolic win for them and their backers. However, as long as Libya's airports, oil terminals, ports and other key institutions are run by militias on either side of the divide, nothing has really changed on the ground.

It won't until the state takes control, and it is nowhere near doing so.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Misratan-led militia alliance called for the previous Islamist-dominated parliament to reconvene.

Umar Humaydan, who was himself a spokesman for the previous parliament, said that the move was necessary to "save the country's sovereignty".

It follows claims by the Misratan-led forces that they were targeted by mystery airstrikes for a second time this week.

However, correspondents say the call is likely to fall on deaf ears.

Explosions in capital

Our correspondent in Tripoli says there were unconfirmed reports of battles continuing between rival armed groups on the outskirts of the city on Saturday evening. Explosions could also be heard in the capital.

The capture of the airport is a setback for Zintani forces, who are loosely allied to Gen Khalifa Haftar.

The ex-army chief, whose forces mainly operate in the east of the country, launched a campaign earlier this year against what he termed the "Islamist-dominated" government.

The country's militias and political parties alike have had shifting alliances over the last two years.

Our correspondent says that the struggle is not a clear-cut Islamist versus nationalist battle because some militias are essentially fighting for their continued existence and empowerment.

Thousands have fled their homes to escape the violence.

More than three years after Gaddafi was overthrown and killed, Libya's police and army remain weak in comparison with the militias who control large parts of the country.

Are you in Tripoli or Benghazi? Are you affected by the recent events in Tripoli Airport? You can email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

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China executes Tiananmen attackers

24 August 2014 Last updated at 09:46

China has executed eight people in the north-western region of Xinjiang, for what it calls "terrorist" attacks, reports the state news agency Xinhua.

Three of those executed had been convicted of an attack in Tiananmen Square in Beijing last October, in which five people died, Xinhua said.

The others were found guilty of crimes including bomb-making and arson.

The government has accused separatist militants based in Xinjiang of carrying out a string of recent attacks.

Xinjiang is the traditional home of Muslim Uighurs, who speak a distinct language and have different customs to the majority Han population elsewhere in China.

'Masterminds'

Huseyin Guxur, Yusup Wherniyas and Yusup Ehmet were "deprived of political rights for life" because of their role in the deadly car crash on Tiananmen Square in October 2013, Xinhua said.

"They masterminded the terrorist attack," the news agency added.

In the incident, a car rammed into bystanders on the politically important Beijing square before bursting into flames.

Two tourists died, along with three of the attackers.

Xinhua named some of the other men who were executed along with the Tiananmen attack perpetrators:

• Rozi Eziz, convicted of an attack on police in 2013
• Abdusalam Elim, found guilty of leading a terrorism organisation
• Memet Tohtiyusup, who was found to have killed someone and watched videos on religious extremism
• Abdumomin Imin, described as a "terrorist ringleader"

Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uighur Congress exile group, called the executions "a typical case of the law serving political ends".

Chinese officials often attribute attacks in Xinjiang to Uighur separatists, accusing them of seeking to establish an independent state called East Turkestan.

Beijing has recently blamed them for an attack in May at a market in Urumqi, that left at least 31 people dead.

It also accused them of being behind a mass knife attack in the southern province of Yunnan in March, in which 29 were killed and more than 130 injured.

Uighur leaders deny they are co-ordinating a terrorist campaign.

They say the government's repressive policies in Xinjiang have provoked the unrest.

Uighurs and Xinjiang

• Uighurs are ethnically Turkic Muslims
• They make up about 45% of the region's population; 40% are Han Chinese
• China re-established control in 1949 after crushing short-lived state of East Turkestan
• Since then, there has been large-scale immigration of Han Chinese
• Uighurs fear erosion of traditional culture

Who are the Uighurs?

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Ukraine in $3bn military investment

24 August 2014 Last updated at 10:51

Ukraine's president has announced that almost $3bn will be spent on re-equipping the army after an "exhausting" campaign against pro-Russian rebels.

Petro Poroshenko said that a "constant military threat will hang over Ukraine" for the foreseeable future.

He was speaking ahead of a large military parade in the capital Kiev.

Meanwhile, fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, where more than 2,000 people have died in recent months.

Mr Poroshenko said the investment would be spread out over two years, from 2015-2017.

"The events of the last months have for us turned into a real war, albeit an undeclared one," he said in a televised speech on Ukrainian independence day.

"Over the last six months, a new Ukrainian army has been born in heavy and exhausting fighting," he said.

The military parade featured hundreds of marching servicemen and military hardware. Critics said it was inappropriate when Ukraine was at war.

Continued fighting

Pro-Russian rebels in the eastern city of Donetsk - the scene of the heaviest fighting - say they will hold their own parade and display captured soldiers.

More than 330,000 people have fled their homes because of fighting in eastern Ukraine.

The bodies of six civilians, including a child, were seen by an AFP correspondent in Donetsk on Saturday.

Prayers and wreaths

On Saturday Kiev marked the Day of the National Flag. Sunday's independence events include a parade involving military hardware and several hundred service personnel.

A naval parade is also being held in the port of Odessa.

These are the first military parades since 2009, when the previous pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, abolished them.

Prayers were said and wreaths laid for those who fought on the Ukrainian government side, including those killed during protests against Mr Yanukovych in Kiev last winter.

Meanwhile, security officials quoted by Ukrainian media said that five people accused of planning attacks on bases for pro-government volunteers in the Kiev area, timed to coincide with the celebrations, had been arrested.

The events come a day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged both sides in the conflict to strive for a new ceasefire.

She cautioned that Russia - already subjected to heavy EU and US sanctions over its alleged interference in Ukraine - could face further punitive measures.

Her visit to Kiev took place as lorries from an unauthorised Russian aid convoy which had crossed into eastern Ukraine returned to Russia.

Western officials fear the trucks may have held military equipment to help the rebels, but Russia said they had delivered generators, food and drink.

The violence in the east erupted when pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions declared independence from Kiev, after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in March.

Key negotiations between President Poroshenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin and EU officials are due to take place in Minsk on Tuesday.

Are you in Ukraine? Have you been affected by the unrest? You can email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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Earthquake rocks northern California

24 August 2014 Last updated at 12:06

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 has shaken northern California, reports the US Geological Survey.

The USGS said it struck at 03:20 local time (1020 GMT) four miles (6km) north-west of American Canyon, at a depth of 6.7 miles.

The site is 51 miles from Sacramento and about 30 miles north-east of San Francisco, where many Twitter users say it woke them up.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage.

Twitter users contacted the BBC to share their experiences.

Sarah McLellan tweeted: "On 6th floor entire building swaying, shaking", while Matt Dyar said: "Major shaker. Stuff off shelfs. Broken glass. No house damage that is obvious."

Another Twitter user said: "I haven't felt one that big since the Northridge quake in the early 90s."

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MH370 search faces tough next phase

23 August 2014 Last updated at 08:01 By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News

The next phase of the hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet MH370 will be very challenging in places.

Detailed information being gathered about the shape of the ocean floor west of Australia confirms the seabed in some locations to be extremely rugged.

Two vessels - the Fugro Equator and the Zhu Kezhen - are currently mapping an area covering 60,000 sq km.

This survey will guide a metre-by-metre search using towed instruments and submersibles.

This is likely to get under way towards the end of September.

The Australian authorities have warned that this could take a year to complete.

The Dutch-owned Fugro Equator and the Chinese naval vessel Zhu Kezhen are presently assembling a bathymetric (depth) map.

It covers the general location in the southern Indian Ocean where investigators believe MH370 is most likely to have come down.

The map is akin to a broad canvas - a first-ever proper look at a terrain about which there is the slimmest of knowledge.

It is essential work. Without this map, which has a resolution of roughly 25m in the deepest depths, it would not be safe to put down submersibles, as there is a high risk these vehicles would be lost.

Continue reading the main story

The biggest heave we've had so far is 13m. That's a big wave"

End Quote Paul Kennedy Fugro Survey Pty Ltd

"There are volcanoes down there we've found which were unknown before," says Paul Kennedy from Fugro Survey Pty Ltd.

"There are all sorts of new features that are appearing," the company's project director for the MH370 search told BBC News.

The Fugro Equator is equipped with a state-of-the-art multibeam echosounder.

The vast majority of the area it is covering has never been sampled before.

It has recorded depths near to 6,000m. Even the shallow regions are more than 1,000m down.

But it is the craggy nature of the seabed that will prompt extreme caution to be exercised in the next phase of operations.

Fugro has been contracted by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to conduct this part of the search as well.

It will involve the Equator and another ship, the Fugro Discovery. Both ships will pull a deep-tow instrument very close to the sea floor using a 10,000m armoured fibre-optic cable.

"There are areas that are benign and are going to be fairly straightforward. But then there are some areas that we know are going to be really hard work," explained Mr Kennedy.

"There are some huge valleys between big mountains, and it's going to be really hard to tow our device through those areas. We can do it; it's just going to take a bit longer."

Mr Kennedy likens the deep-tow's capabilities to human senses.

Echosounders are its ears; cameras represent its eyes; and a chemical sensor works like a nose.

This nose will "sniff" for the presence of any jet fuel in the water, down to a few parts per billion in concentration.

Assembling the bathymetric map has been a tough job in itself.

The Equator has had to contend with some terrible winter weather.

"Heave is the vertical displacement of a vessel - that's how you measure the size of the waves," Mr Kennedy said.

"We record it, and you correct for it when computing the bathymetric depth. The biggest heave we've had so far is 13m. That's a big wave.

"Fortunately, the vessel has anti-roll tanks, which push water from side to side inside the ship with great big pumps, and that helps tremendously.

"To get a clean map of the sea floor, we must know the attitude of the ship very accurately, to 0.02 of a degree."

The Malaysian plane was lost on 8 March as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, carrying 239 people.

Its disappearance has become one the biggest mysteries in aviation history.

The best information investigators have for its whereabouts come for a series of brief satellite communications with the jet during its flight.

The last of these connections suggests MH370 crashed into the water inside the "high priority" search zone now being surveyed by the Dutch and Chinese vessels.

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos

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Galileo satellites on wrong orbit

23 August 2014 Last updated at 09:56

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The Soyuz blasts off with two Galileo sat-nav spacecraft on Friday

The European Space Agency (Esa) says the latest two satellites for Europe's version of the American GPS satellite navigation system have not gone into the correct orbit.

However, it says the fifth and sixth satellites launched from French Guiana on Friday are under control.

The agency is examining the implications of the anomaly.

The satellites Doresa and Milena went up on a Soyuz rocket after a 24-hour delay because of bad weather.

"Observations taken after the separation of the satellites from the Soyuz VS09 (rocket) for the Galileo Mission show a gap between the orbit achieved and that which was planned," said launch service provider Arianespace, in a statement.

"They have been placed on a lower orbit than expected. Teams are studying the impact this could have on the satellites," it added.

Arianespace declined to comment on whether their trajectories could be corrected, the AFP news agency reports.

After years of delay, Galileo is now finally moving towards full deployment.

Esa, which is building the system on behalf of the EU, expects to have a 26-satellite constellation in orbit by 2017.

The EU is investing billions in its sat-nav project.

It believes Galileo will bring significant returns to European economies in the form of new businesses that can exploit precise timing and location data delivered from orbit.

Europe's Galileo system under construction

A project of the European Commission and the European Space Agency

30 satellites are likely to be launched in batches in the coming years

Galileo will work alongside GPS and the Russian Glonass systems

Full system promises real-time positioning down to a metre or less

It should deepen and extend high-value markets already initiated by GPS

Cost to date: 6bn euros (£4.8bn); budget set aside to 2020: 7bn euros

European GDP reliant now on GPS applications: 800bn euros per annum

Source: EC/Esa

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Russian convoy leaves Ukraine

23 August 2014 Last updated at 11:18

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The BBC's David Stern in Kiev: There are a lot of questions about this convoy

About 100 lorries from an unauthorised Russian aid convoy have crossed back over the border from rebel-held eastern Ukraine, officials say.

The convoy was returning from the city of Luhansk, which is held by pro-Russian separatists who have been battling Ukrainian government forces.

Meanwhile German Chancellor Angela Merkel has arrived in the Ukrainian capital Kiev for talks.

On Friday she described the convoy as a "dangerous escalation".

Western officials fear the convoy could be part of a military intervention.

But Kremlin officials say the vehicles are only carrying generators, food and drink.

The lorries had already been waiting at the border for a week, while Russia, the Ukrainian government and the Red Cross tried to come to an agreement on their passage.

The Russians said they could not wait any longer, owing to the worsening humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine, which is held by pro-Russian separatists.

Four months of fighting in the region have left more than 2,000 people dead. More than 330,000 people have fled flee their homes.

'Violation of soveignty'

At least 220 trucks drove into Ukraine on Friday, headed for the rebel-held city of Luhansk, which has been affected by weeks of fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels.

International monitors based in the border region say that some of the vehicles have now crossed back into Russia, a development confirmed by Russian news agencies.

According to the Associated Press, journalists could see that about 40 of these returning lorries were empty - but it is unclear whether all of them are, and it also unclear what the convoy delivered.

The White House and the Ukrainian government both described the deployment of the convoy as a flagrant violation of Ukraine's sovereignty.

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As Daniel Sandford reports, Russia says its patience ran out

In a phone call, US President Barack Obama and Mrs Merkel said the conflict "has continued to deteriorate" since a Malaysian airliner was downed last month over rebel-held territory, with the loss of all 298 people on board.

Ukraine called the Russian convoy a "direct invasion" of Ukraine.

Nato and the European Union have also criticised what they said was a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty.

Nato officials have accused Russia of building up troops on its border, saying significant numbers of Russian forces are operating within Ukraine, using artillery.

But speaking to the UN Security Council, Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin accused Western powers of distorting reality.

"Sometimes it reminded me of the kingdom of crooked mirrors because some members of the Council were not concerned about the fact hundreds of civilians are dying."

He said Russia had to act to save perishable goods and that he hoped the Red Cross would help distribute the aid.

"We waited long enough. And it was time to move, and this is what we did," he said.

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UN call to 'prevent Iraq massacre'

23 August 2014 Last updated at 11:46

The UN has called for action to prevent what it says may be a possible massacre in the northern Iraqi town of Amerli.

Special representative Nickolay Mladenov says he is "seriously alarmed" by reports regarding the conditions in which the town's residents live.

The town, under siege by Islamic State for two months, has no electricity or drinking water, and is running out of food and medical supplies.

The majority of its residents are Turkmen Shia, seen as apostates by IS.

"The situation of the people in Amerli is desperate and demands immediate action to prevent the possible massacre of its citizens," Mr Mladenov said in a statement.

"I urge the Iraqi government to do all it can to relieve the siege and to ensure that the residents receive life-saving humanitarian assistance or are evacuated in a dignified manner."

On Friday, the most influential Shia cleric in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, expressed concern over the plight of the town's inhabitants.

Residents say they have had to organise their own resistance to the militants and no foreign aid has reached the town since the siege began.

Who are Islamic State (IS)?

• Formed out of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in 2013, IS first captured Raqqa in eastern Syria
• By early 2014, it controlled Falluja in western Iraq
• Has since captured broad swathes of Iraq, seizing the northern city of Mosul in June
• Fighting has displaced at least 1.2 million Iraqis
• Pursuing an extreme form of Sunni Islam, IS has persecuted non-Muslims such as Yazidis and Christians, as well as Shia Muslims, whom it regards as heretics
• In July alone, IS expanded dramatically, recruiting some 6,300 new fighters largely in Raqqa, an activist monitoring group said

Fate of refugees

IS has seized large swathes of Iraq and Syria in recent months. Since 8 August, the US has carried out air strikes to support Iraqi and Kurdish troops tackling the insurgents.

On Thursday, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel described the group as an imminent threat to the US.

Gen Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said IS was "an organisation that has an apocalyptic, end-of-days strategic vision and which will eventually have to be defeated".

He also said that IS fighters could not be defeated without attacking their bases in Syria. The militants, he said, should be confronted "on both sides of what is essentially at this point a non-existent border".

The Shia-dominated Iraqi government has been trying to secure backing from Sunni groups in its battle against IS jihadists.

Prime Minister designate Haider al-Abadi, a moderate Shia, is trying to form a more inclusive government - following international criticism of outgoing PM Nouri Maliki, who was widely seen as a divisive figure.

The rise of the IS has sparked widespread violence. An attack by suspected Shia militiamen on a Sunni mosque in Iraq's Diyala province killed at least 68 people on Friday.

On Saturday, a suicide bomber blew up a car in central Baghdad, killing at least nine people and injuring several others.

The IS campaign has displaced an estimated 1.2 million people in Iraq, many of them minority Christians and Yazidis.

Refugees say the hardline Islamists have demanded that Christians and Yazidis convert to Islam, threatening them with death if they refuse.

France welcomed about 40 Iraqi Christian refugees on Friday.

But Germany's Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere opposed granting sanctuary to large numbers of refugees from Iraq.

This would give militants "an intolerable victory", Mr de Maiziere told Germany's most popular newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

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