An Indonesian boat captain has been arrested after his vessel caught fire, leading to the deaths of at least 23 people.
Police in Indonesia are investigating reports he was the first to jump off the Zahro Express after it became engulfed in flames.
The boat was on its way from Jakarta to the resort of Tidung island on Sunday with at least 250 passengers celebrating New Year at the time.
Police said the captain, named in local reports as Muhammad Nali, was being questioned over suspected negligence.
Local media reported the captain had been the first to throw himself into the water, abandoning the tourists, and was found floating in the sea before being rescued.
Senior transport ministry official Tonny Budiono was quoted in local media as saying: "If the captain jumped first then he is not a real captain - the captain should be the last.
"If it is true we will revoke his licence, he will not be allowed to sail any more."
TV footage showed people in the water screaming "Ya Allah! Ya Allah!" or "Oh God! Oh God!" as the ferry burns in the background.
The manifest showed only 100 people were registered as passengers, along with six crewmen.
Mr Budiono said the boat was built in 2013 and was regarded as seaworthy, and the weather was good.
The ministry has said the fire might have been caused by a short circuit in the engine room.
Some officials said all passengers were now accounted for but some of the bodies have not yet been identified because they were badly burned.
Others said that 224 passengers were rescued, 23 bodies have been found and 17 people are still unaccounted for.
Several government vessels and divers are continuing to scour the waters in case anyone has been missed.
Tidung is part of the Thousand Islands, an archipelago that is a popular holiday spot for Jakarta's 10 million residents.
Monday, January 2, 2017
Firm denies sabotaging Mariah Carey's botched NYE performance
A production company has dismissed claims it sabotaged Mariah Carey's performance at a New Year's Eve concert in New York.
The pop star's live televised appearance in Times Square was disastrous from the outset and she failed to perform for most of it, despite a pre-recorded track of her songs continuing to play in the background.
With one million people in the audience and many more watching at home, she was visibly upset on the stage.
During her song Emotions she complained of being unable to hear properly and turned her microphone to the audience, before giving up entirely during a lip-synced performance of We Belong Together.
The 46-year-old wrote on Twitter afterwards "s*** happens", along with a clip of her shrugging her shoulders.
Carey's representative Nicole Perna blamed technical difficulties, and in an interview with Billboard said Dick Clark Productions had not helped.
"She was not winging this moment and took it very seriously," Ms Perna said.
"A shame that production set her up to fail."
Ms Perna said Carey's earpiece was not working and she had told the production team about the issue.
She was told it would be sorted by the time she went on stage, Ms Perna added.
"However, that was not the case, and they were again told that her earpiece was not working," Ms Perna said.
"Instead of endeavouring to fix the issue so that Mariah could perform, they went live."
But the production company said the claims were "absurd".
"As the premier producer of live television events for nearly 50 years, we pride ourselves on our reputation and long-standing relationships with artists," Dick Clark Productions said.
"To suggest that dcp (Dick Clark Productions), as producer of music shows including the American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, New Year's Rockin' Eve and Academy of Country Music Awards, would ever intentionally compromise the success of any artist is defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd."
In "very rare instances" there were technical errors in live television, the company said, but an initial investigation indicated it had no part in the problems Carey experienced.
A person familiar with the production of the show told the Associated Press all of the other performers turned up for rehearsals but Carey had a stand-in for hers, which is not normal.
The individual said no technical problems were found.
The pop star's live televised appearance in Times Square was disastrous from the outset and she failed to perform for most of it, despite a pre-recorded track of her songs continuing to play in the background.
With one million people in the audience and many more watching at home, she was visibly upset on the stage.
During her song Emotions she complained of being unable to hear properly and turned her microphone to the audience, before giving up entirely during a lip-synced performance of We Belong Together.
The 46-year-old wrote on Twitter afterwards "s*** happens", along with a clip of her shrugging her shoulders.
Carey's representative Nicole Perna blamed technical difficulties, and in an interview with Billboard said Dick Clark Productions had not helped.
"She was not winging this moment and took it very seriously," Ms Perna said.
"A shame that production set her up to fail."
Ms Perna said Carey's earpiece was not working and she had told the production team about the issue.
She was told it would be sorted by the time she went on stage, Ms Perna added.
"However, that was not the case, and they were again told that her earpiece was not working," Ms Perna said.
"Instead of endeavouring to fix the issue so that Mariah could perform, they went live."
But the production company said the claims were "absurd".
"As the premier producer of live television events for nearly 50 years, we pride ourselves on our reputation and long-standing relationships with artists," Dick Clark Productions said.
"To suggest that dcp (Dick Clark Productions), as producer of music shows including the American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, New Year's Rockin' Eve and Academy of Country Music Awards, would ever intentionally compromise the success of any artist is defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd."
In "very rare instances" there were technical errors in live television, the company said, but an initial investigation indicated it had no part in the problems Carey experienced.
A person familiar with the production of the show told the Associated Press all of the other performers turned up for rehearsals but Carey had a stand-in for hers, which is not normal.
The individual said no technical problems were found.
Cannabis ingredient to be classed as medicine in UK
Products that contain a cannabis-based ingredient called cannabidiol, or CBD, are to be classed as medicines by the UK medicines regulator from this year.
The Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it had looked at CBD because a number of manufacturing companies had been making "overt medicinal claims" about products.
Gerald Heddel, director of inspection and enforcement at the agency, told Sky News: "The change really came about with us offering an opinion that CBD is in fact a medicine, and that opinion was based on the fact that we noted that people were making some quite stark claims about serious diseases that could be treated with CBD."
He said that a review of the evidence showed that "it was clear that people are using this product with the understandable belief that it will actually help".
Cannabis has two key ingredients - THC and CBD. The THC gets you stoned, and it can also make you anxious and psychotic.
But, isolated, CBD has the opposite effect, often calming people down - which is why some people are using it in small doses as medicine.
Most people in the UK get their supplies online in an unregulated and potentially unsafe market, but the decision by the MHRA means manufacturers will now need to demonstrate their CBD products meet safety, quality and effectiveness standards.
:: Britons want cannabis legalised for medical purposes - Sky Data poll
While some users are pleased that CBDs are finally being recognised as medicine, others worry about their supply.
Louise Bostock's daughter Jayla has brain damage. Aged five, she cannot walk or talk and is unlikely to live beyond her childhood.
Ms Bostock turned to CBD to ease her daughter's symptoms after reading about studies in the US, where fits in children were cut by 50%.
She told Sky News Jayla no longer needs to be taken to hospital every three or four weeks because of seizures.
As CBDs are currently normally only prescribed to adults with multiple sclerosis, authorities stepped in, which Ms Bostock feels was due to a lack of understanding about CBDs.
She said: "They try and criminalise it if you even mention cannabis, but when you are dealing with people who are going to die, how can anyone not give it to these people who have no hope?"
But there are concerns that the move could send mixed messages about the safety and legality of cannabis.
Dr Hamed Khan, medical lecturer at St George's University Hospital, stressed the ruling "is only about CBDs, which is something very specific, and not cannabis and marijuana as a whole".
Cannabis is not recognised in the UK as having any therapeutic value, and anyone using it could be charged with possession.
Campaigners for its legalisation say classifying CBDs as a medicine opens up the medicinal marijuana debate.
The Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it had looked at CBD because a number of manufacturing companies had been making "overt medicinal claims" about products.
Gerald Heddel, director of inspection and enforcement at the agency, told Sky News: "The change really came about with us offering an opinion that CBD is in fact a medicine, and that opinion was based on the fact that we noted that people were making some quite stark claims about serious diseases that could be treated with CBD."
He said that a review of the evidence showed that "it was clear that people are using this product with the understandable belief that it will actually help".
Cannabis has two key ingredients - THC and CBD. The THC gets you stoned, and it can also make you anxious and psychotic.
But, isolated, CBD has the opposite effect, often calming people down - which is why some people are using it in small doses as medicine.
Most people in the UK get their supplies online in an unregulated and potentially unsafe market, but the decision by the MHRA means manufacturers will now need to demonstrate their CBD products meet safety, quality and effectiveness standards.
:: Britons want cannabis legalised for medical purposes - Sky Data poll
While some users are pleased that CBDs are finally being recognised as medicine, others worry about their supply.
Louise Bostock's daughter Jayla has brain damage. Aged five, she cannot walk or talk and is unlikely to live beyond her childhood.
Ms Bostock turned to CBD to ease her daughter's symptoms after reading about studies in the US, where fits in children were cut by 50%.
She told Sky News Jayla no longer needs to be taken to hospital every three or four weeks because of seizures.
As CBDs are currently normally only prescribed to adults with multiple sclerosis, authorities stepped in, which Ms Bostock feels was due to a lack of understanding about CBDs.
She said: "They try and criminalise it if you even mention cannabis, but when you are dealing with people who are going to die, how can anyone not give it to these people who have no hope?"
But there are concerns that the move could send mixed messages about the safety and legality of cannabis.
Dr Hamed Khan, medical lecturer at St George's University Hospital, stressed the ruling "is only about CBDs, which is something very specific, and not cannabis and marijuana as a whole".
Cannabis is not recognised in the UK as having any therapeutic value, and anyone using it could be charged with possession.
Campaigners for its legalisation say classifying CBDs as a medicine opens up the medicinal marijuana debate.
Istanbul: ISIL claims responsibility for Reina attack
ISIL has claimed responsibility for the attack on a nightclub in Istanbul that killed 39 people on New Year's Eve.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group released on Monday a statement claiming responsibility for the raid.
"In continuation of the blessed operations that Islamic State is conducting against the protector of the cross, Turkey, a heroic soldier of the caliphate struck one of the most famous nightclubs where the Christians celebrate their apostate holiday," the statement said.
The announcement came as a manhunt was under way in Turkey for at least one assailant who attacked those celebrating New Year at the Reina nightclub.
The Reina lies on the shore of the Bosphorus Strait and is one of Istanbul's best-known nightclubs, popular with locals and tourists alike. During the attack, some partygoers who managed to flee jumped into the freezing cold Bosphorus strait to escape harm.
Al Jazeera's Mohammed Jamjoom, reporting from Istanbul, said: "The ISIL statement doesn't say whether the attacker was trained by ISIL or simply pledged allegiance to the group and carried out the attack alone.
"There had been concensus emerging behind the scenes, and reports in Turkish media, indicating officialS believed ISIL was behind the attack."
He added that the mood in the busy Turkish city was "sombre and sad".
Turkey is currently in a state of emergency.
"People are very scared. This is the fourth attack to hit Turkey in less than a month ... There is a sense here in Istanbul of astonishment as to how this could have happened at a time when there were tens of thousands of officers on the streets to prevent an attack on New Year's Eve."
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group released on Monday a statement claiming responsibility for the raid.
"In continuation of the blessed operations that Islamic State is conducting against the protector of the cross, Turkey, a heroic soldier of the caliphate struck one of the most famous nightclubs where the Christians celebrate their apostate holiday," the statement said.
The announcement came as a manhunt was under way in Turkey for at least one assailant who attacked those celebrating New Year at the Reina nightclub.
The Reina lies on the shore of the Bosphorus Strait and is one of Istanbul's best-known nightclubs, popular with locals and tourists alike. During the attack, some partygoers who managed to flee jumped into the freezing cold Bosphorus strait to escape harm.
Al Jazeera's Mohammed Jamjoom, reporting from Istanbul, said: "The ISIL statement doesn't say whether the attacker was trained by ISIL or simply pledged allegiance to the group and carried out the attack alone.
"There had been concensus emerging behind the scenes, and reports in Turkish media, indicating officialS believed ISIL was behind the attack."
He added that the mood in the busy Turkish city was "sombre and sad".
Turkey is currently in a state of emergency.
"People are very scared. This is the fourth attack to hit Turkey in less than a month ... There is a sense here in Istanbul of astonishment as to how this could have happened at a time when there were tens of thousands of officers on the streets to prevent an attack on New Year's Eve."
Five men arrested over deadly hit-and-run in Oldham
Five men have been arrested after a hit-and-run driver killed a young girl and left her cousin seriously injured on New Year's Eve.
Helina Kotlarova, 12, died and her 11-year-old cousin, Zaneta Krokova, is critically ill in hospital after they were hit by a black VW Golf on Ashton Road in Oldham, Greater Manchester.
The pair were holding hands and crossing the road when they were hit by the car at around 7.15pm.
The five men - aged 59, 48, 38, 23 and 18 - have been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, Greater Manchester Police said.
Officers are appealing for anyone who saw a dark Peugeot 807 in the area at the time and the driver of a white van to come forward.
The girls had been to a shop to buy sweets and were on their way home with a larger group of family and friends.
Helina's sister Sylva, 19, rushed to the scene and described finding Helina covered in blood.
She said emergency services told her there was nothing they could do.
"She was too young to die. She was beautiful. She loved dancing and singing. She was a young lady who loved life," she said.
Helina's distraught mother, also called Sylva, wept and stroked her daughter's hair as she was confirmed dead.
Anyone with information should call the collision unit on 0161 856 4741 quoting incident number 1691 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Istanbul: Victims of Reina nightclub attack identified
Foreigners including many nationals of Arab countries were among the dead in the New Year's Eve shooting rampage at an Istanbul nightclub, officials said.
A total of 39 people were killed in the assault at the exclusive Reina club on the shores of the Bosphorus and 70 injured, officials said.
Thirty-eight victims have been identified, Turkish justice ministry sources said late on Sunday.
Eleven of the dead were Turkish nationals and one was a Turkish-Belgium dual-national, they said.
Seven victims were from Saudi Arabia and had travelled to Istanbul for New Year's Eve celebrations.
Three of the dead were from Lebanon and Iraq each.
Two nationals from Tunisia, India, Morocco and Jordan were killed, and Kuwait, Canada, Israel, Syria and Russia lost one citizen in the attack.
One victim remains unidentified.
A total of 39 people were killed in the assault at the exclusive Reina club on the shores of the Bosphorus and 70 injured, officials said.
Thirty-eight victims have been identified, Turkish justice ministry sources said late on Sunday.
Eleven of the dead were Turkish nationals and one was a Turkish-Belgium dual-national, they said.
Seven victims were from Saudi Arabia and had travelled to Istanbul for New Year's Eve celebrations.
Three of the dead were from Lebanon and Iraq each.
Two nationals from Tunisia, India, Morocco and Jordan were killed, and Kuwait, Canada, Israel, Syria and Russia lost one citizen in the attack.
One victim remains unidentified.
Rail fare increases a 'kick in the teeth' for passengers
Transport campaigners have slammed the annual rail fare increases across Britain as "another kick in the teeth" for passengers.
The average increase of 2.3% - the highest for three years - comes into effect this morning.
Lianna Etkind, of the Campaign for Better Transport, said: "Today's fare rises are another kick in the teeth for long-suffering rail passengers.
"Many experienced a less frequent and more overcrowded service last year, and now they are required to pay more for the same this year.
"The whole fares system is completely unfair and it's high time the Government overhauled it."
The Government uses the previous July's Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation to determine increases in regulated fares, which was 1.9%.
These are around 40% of all tickets and include season tickets on most commuter routes and some off-peak return tickets on long distance journeys.
Southern Rail customers have told Sky News of their anger at the price hikes, after a year that saw record delays and many journeys hit by strike action.
"I don't understand why we have to pay more, it makes me feel very angry and upset when I think about the poor service I have had from this train company," Rachel Martin, who commutes from Oxted in Surrey to central London, said.
"I can't think of any other walk of life where I pay the market rate and don't get what I pay for. It's disgusting."
Bruce Williamson, of independent campaign group Railfuture, said: "With the chaos on Southern, lacklustre performance in Scotland and stalled electrification on the Great Western main line, passengers are going to wonder what they are getting for their increased ticket price.
"Our walk-on rail fares are already the most eye-watering in Europe, and with fuel duty frozen for motorists for the fifth year on the trot, it can't be denied that people are being priced off the railways."
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling defended the rises. He said: "We are delivering the biggest rail modernisation programme for more than a century, providing more seats and services.
"We have always fairly balanced the cost of this investment between the taxpayer and the passenger."
The average increase of 2.3% - the highest for three years - comes into effect this morning.
Lianna Etkind, of the Campaign for Better Transport, said: "Today's fare rises are another kick in the teeth for long-suffering rail passengers.
"Many experienced a less frequent and more overcrowded service last year, and now they are required to pay more for the same this year.
"The whole fares system is completely unfair and it's high time the Government overhauled it."
The Government uses the previous July's Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation to determine increases in regulated fares, which was 1.9%.
These are around 40% of all tickets and include season tickets on most commuter routes and some off-peak return tickets on long distance journeys.
Southern Rail customers have told Sky News of their anger at the price hikes, after a year that saw record delays and many journeys hit by strike action.
"I don't understand why we have to pay more, it makes me feel very angry and upset when I think about the poor service I have had from this train company," Rachel Martin, who commutes from Oxted in Surrey to central London, said.
"I can't think of any other walk of life where I pay the market rate and don't get what I pay for. It's disgusting."
Bruce Williamson, of independent campaign group Railfuture, said: "With the chaos on Southern, lacklustre performance in Scotland and stalled electrification on the Great Western main line, passengers are going to wonder what they are getting for their increased ticket price.
"Our walk-on rail fares are already the most eye-watering in Europe, and with fuel duty frozen for motorists for the fifth year on the trot, it can't be denied that people are being priced off the railways."
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling defended the rises. He said: "We are delivering the biggest rail modernisation programme for more than a century, providing more seats and services.
"We have always fairly balanced the cost of this investment between the taxpayer and the passenger."
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