Suicide Bombers In Deadly Attack On Gas Plant

Eight suicide bombers have carried out an attack on a gas plant north of Baghdad killing at least 11 people, including police officers.

Around 21 others were wounded in the early morning raid on the facility 12 miles outside the Iraqi capital, that has been claimed by Islamic State.

Gas storage tanks caught fire during the raid on the facility in Taji

Officials said three gas tanks were set alight in the assault, sending huge plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky.

:: Real Madrid Mourn Fans Killed By IS In Cafe

A suicide car bomb went off at the entrance of the site in Taji at around 6am local time allowing another vehicle carrying the militants wearing explosive vests to enter the facility where they clashed with security forces, according to sources.

Reinforcements were called to the scene where a firefight lasted for around an hour.

The terror group has intensified its attacks on civilian targets in the face of losing ground to the Iraqi security forces in recent months.

According to the authorities, IS currently controls only 14% of Iraqi territory, down from the 40% it held in 2014.

"Daesh (IS) is turning to targeting civilian facilities in cities after losing the battle on the front," said Colonel Mohamed al Bidhani.

IS claimed responsibility for a spate of bombings in Baghdad last Wednesday that killed close to 100 people - the bloodiest day in the Iraqi capital this year.

In Yemen, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a police headquarters killing at least 10 recruits and injuring another 15.

The attack, which has also been claimed by IS, is the second deadly blast to hit the city of Mukalla, which had been a base for al Qaeda before the group was pushed out in a military offensive last month.

In a message on its online news agency Amaq, IS said the attacker was a "martrydom-seeker".

50 People Rescued From Boat Off Isles Of Scilly

The Coastguard has rescued 50 people from a vessel off the Isles of Scilly after it was reported to be taking on water.

Search and rescue helicopters and RNLI lifeboats were called just after 11.30am on Sunday.

The vessel has had a salvage pump put aboard, and it is currently being towed by lifeboat into St Mary's Harbour.

Old Trafford Evacuated - Match Abandoned

Two stands at Old Trafford have been evacuated over a "suspect package" - with Manchester United's final league game of the season abandoned just minutes before it was due to kick off.

The club tweeted: "Due to the discovery of a suspect package in the NW Quadrant of the ground, the match has been abandoned today on police advice."

Manchester United - who were due to play Bournemouth at 3pm - described it as "operation code red".

Army bomb disposal units and sniffer dogs are at the ground.

It was the Sir Alex Ferguson North Stand and the Stretford End that were evacuated at about 2.30pm - equating to more than half the 75,600-seater stadium.

Security personnel guided people from the scene as a helicopter hovered overhead.

Fan Alistair Carmichael told Sky News: "We got chaperoned out to the car park… and then we got told to get as far away from the ground as we could.

"It was a bit of pandemonium to start with … people generally didn't understand what was going on."

There are reports of confusion as the evacuation took place, with some stewards thinking it was a fire drill.

Assistant chief constable John O'Hare said: "We are doing everything we can to investigate this item as quickly as possible; however our priority is obviously to ensure the safety of everyone in the stadium and surrounding area."

Fans in the other two stands were initially told to remain in their seats but have now been cleared following the decision to call off the match.

Both sets of players were warming up when the evacuation began - and were subsequently called in and kept in the dressing rooms. They remain in a suite in the stadium.

Manchester United fan Rachel Blewitt told Sky News she arrived at the stadium at 2.20pm and shortly afterwards the evacuation started.

She said: "We weren't sure what was going on for a while … and then sniffer dogs came out from the North Stand and along the length of the North Stand and then it transpired that the suspect package was in the North West Quadrant."

The search of the ground will be complicated by people leaving bags as their made their way out in a rush.

Sky News Home Affairs Correspondent Mark White said: "There is a great deal of concern at the moment following the IS attack in Paris in which a football stadium, the Stade de France, was attacked.

"Security officials across Europe realise that sporting venues are a potential target. So you get them acting out of an abundance of caution.

"Having said that, they don't evacuate 75,000 people from a stadium lightly and clearly something triggered that decision."

Following the evacuation Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness revealed he and colleagues were searched at the ground for the first time amid heightened security.

Sky News Sports Correspondent Paul Kelso said: "I'm struggling to think of a similar incident - certainly in the Premier League in recent years.

"In sporting terms it is not done lightly on the last day of the football season when all 10 Premier League games kick off simultaneously at 3 o'clock to try to ensure sporting integrity."

United are embroiled in a battle for fourth place with Manchester City and they will now know their local rivals' result before their game with Bournemouth is played out.

The Premier League said it would rearrange the game as soon as is "practically possible" - though this will be made more difficult by Manchester United's participation in next weekend's FA Cup final.

Chili's Halt Gig As Kiedis Taken To Hospital

Singer Anthony Kiedis has been taken to hospital, forcing his band the Red Hot Chili Peppers to cancel a gig at the last minute.

It is not know why Kiedis needed medical treatment but the hospital visit seems to have been an unexpected emergency.

The band had been gearing up to headline a gig at KROQ's Weenie Roast in California when the remaining band members went on stage to tell the crowd.

A video of the announcement shows bass player Flea telling the audience: "Anthony is on his way to the hospital right now and we're unable to play this evening.

A video of the announcement shows bass player Flea telling the audience: "Anthony is on his way to the hospital right now and we're unable to play this evening.

Drummer Chad Smith tweeted: "NO one's more disappointed than us that we couldn't perform tonight. Sending love and a speedy recovery to my brother Anthony."

According to the Chili Peppers' website, they are next scheduled to play an intimate gig at the iHeartRadio Theater in California on Tuesday. The performance was only announced earlier this week.

The band also announced on Thursday the addition of another 13 dates to the European leg of their tour in September and October.

They have released a new single earlier this month and have a new album, The Getaway, due out on 17 June.

Sky News has contacted Red Hot Chili Peppers for a comment.

Three Dead In Russia Cemetery Mass Brawl

At least three people have been killed and 24 others injured in a mass brawl at Moscow's largest cemetery.

Two hundred people were involved in what police said may have been a dispute over jobs.

The clashes broke out at the Khovanskoye cemetery in southwest Moscow.

More than 90 people were arrested after officers intervened to break up the fighting crowds.

Many of those involved were armed with bats, sticks and metal bars.

Reports said police officers fired shots into the air in an attempt to quell the violence.

According to the police, fighting broke out during disputes between ethnic groups from ex-Soviet Central Asia and Russia's volatile North Caucasus, who were competing for some of the cemetery's lucrative services business.

Police spokeswoman Sofya Khotina said the victims died after being run over by others trying to escape the scene in their cars.

The cemetery covers a 500-acre site on Moscow's southwestern rim.

Ukraine's 'Unbelievable' Eurovision Victory

Ukrainian singer Jamala's song about Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatars has been crowned the winner of this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

The 32-year-old singer made a plea for "peace and love" as she collected her trophy after beating Australia - which competed for the second time after appearing as a guest last year - into second place and Russia into third.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko hailed Jamala's "unbelievable" victory with her song about Russian-annexed Crimea.

"Yes!!!" Poroshenko tweeted. "An unbelievable performance and victory! All of Ukraine gives you its heartfelt thanks, Jamala."

Jamala is a member of the Muslim Tatar minority of Crimea who saw her great-grandmother deported along with 240,000 others by Stalin in the penultimate year of World War II.

Russia had earlier protested Ukraine's entry in the contest because of its "political" subtext - a violation of the contest's rules.

But Eurovision ruled that Jamala was "historical" in nature and allowed her song to compete.

Boris Compares EU Ambitions To Those Of Hitler

Boris Johnson has been condemned for comparing EU ambitions to rule the continent with a single government to Hitler's attempt to dominate the continent.

The presumed head of the Vote Leave campaign said previous leaders such as Hitler and Napoleon attempted a similar goal, albeit using different methods.

"Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically. The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods," he said in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph.

"But fundamentally what is lacking is the eternal problem, which is that there is no underlying loyalty to the idea of Europe."

Labour former cabinet minister Yvette Cooper immediately rounded on London's former Mayor accusing him of playing a "nasty, nasty game".

"The more he flails around with this kind of hysterical claim, the more he exposes his shameful lack of judgement, his willingness to play the most divisive cynical politics, and the emptiness of his arguments," she said.

"One week it is dog whistle attacks on President Obama. Now he is trying to liken the institution that has kept peace on our continent for decades with Hitler, who pursued the genocide of millions of innocent people."

The row erupted as UKIP leader Nigel Farage backed Mr Johnson to succeed David Cameron if there is a vote to leave the EU in the 23 June referendum.

In an interview with The Mail On Sunday, Mr Farage said: "Boris goes on surprising people. They say he can't do this, he's a joker - it's like Ronnie Reagan. Could he do it? Yes. If you'd asked me six months ago I'd have said no but I've changed my mind."

In comments seen to stoke tensions within the Conservative Party over the referendum, Mr Farage said he could even envisage a situation in which he could work for Mr Johnson in government.

Mr Cameron has insisted that he will carry on regardless of the result, but many MPs believe he will have no choice but to resign if the country rejects his call to Remain.

Meanwhile, a new poll reveals Mr Johnson is trusted on Europe by twice as many voters as Mr Cameron.

ComRes asked 2,043 people who was "more likely to tell the truth about the EU" in a poll for The Independent and the Sunday Mirror.

Some 45% opted for Leave campaigner Mr Johnson, while 21% said Mr Cameron, who wants the UK to remain in the 28-nation bloc.

By a smaller margin, 39% to 24%, campaigners for Leave generally were considered "more likely to tell the truth" than campaigners for Remain.

The poll found 33% thought they would be personally better off if Britain stayed in the EU, whereas 29% believed they would be better off if we left and 38% said they did not know.

Speaking at an event in his Witney constituency in Oxfordshire on Saturday, Mr Cameron warned voters of an "immediate and sustained hit that we would suffer to our economy" if the UK left the EU.

But Mr Johnson said Britain could survive on its own because it was the fifth biggest economy in the world.

He said it was a "David and Goliath fight" with the "little platoons against the big battalions" but that Vote Leave had "passion and courage".

He said: "I am telling you that if we vote leave on 23 June and take back control of this country's democracy and economy we can can prosper and thrive as never before."

The Electoral Commission has announced an eight-page "impartial information booklet" is being sent to all 28 million households in the UK to help them participate in the referendum.