Donald Trump has rolled back Barack Obama's record on climate change with a series of orders undermining America's commitment to tackle global warming.
In his first trip to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the President - who has called global warming "a hoax" created by China - has signed an Energy Independence Executive Order.
Kicking off what he called "the start of a new era in American energy", his instructions will allow regulators to rewrite key rules curbing US carbon emissions, lift a temporary ban on federal coal leasing and scrap a requirement for federal officials to consider the impact of climate change when making decisions.
Before signing the decree Mr Trump said: "My administration is putting an end to the war on coal.
"With today's executive action I am taking historic steps to lift the restrictions on American energy, to reverse government intrusion and to cancel job-killing regulations."
Central to the changes is a review of Barack Obama's clean power plan - a pledge to cut US emissions by 26-28% by 2025 - which paved the way for the Paris agreement on tackling climate change involving 195 countries.
A senior Trump administration official told the AFP news agency that the prospect of withdrawal from the Paris agreement was "still under discussion".
The White House said the measures will "help keep energy and electricity affordable, reliable, and clean in order to boost economic growth and job creation".
But environmentalists have warned that the White House's new measures will have serious consequences both at home and abroad.
Billionaire environmental activist and head of activist group NextGen Climate Tom Steyer said: "These actions are an assault on American values and they endanger the health, safety and prosperity of every American."
The president of green group Earthjustice, Trip Van Noppen, said: "This order ignores the law and scientific reality." The organisation has said it will be challenging the ruling in court.
Mr Trump's environmental views are very different to those of former president Obama, who said that climate change was "real and cannot be ignored".
The President has already vowed to slash EPA funding by a third and appointed Scott Pruitt - who previously sued the agency - as its head.
His pick of former Exxon chief executive Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State has also caused concern among environmental campaigners.
But Mr Trump's climate scepticism - and promises to bring back coal mining jobs to states such as Kentucky and West Virginia - appeared to strike a chord with Republican supporters on the campaign trail.
Around 68% of Americans believe climate change is caused by humans, but just 40% of Republicans say they worry about it, according to a Gallup poll.
Some experts have warned the economic benefit from ditching the clean power plan will be limited.
"In my view, it will have virtually no impact," said professor James Van Nostrand of West Virginia University, who said the decline of coal had more to do with higher mining costs and cheaper natural gas and renewables.
"Defunding or dismantling the EPA and repealing its regulations is not going to bring the coal industry back."
The US is the world's second largest polluter. Around 37% of domestic carbon dioxide emissions come from electricity generation.
Mr Trump has issued a series of executive orders since entering the Oval Office in January.
He would claim success for pulling the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership international trade agreement - which he saw as a "bad deal" for the country.
But his most controversial order - a travel ban on Muslim-majority countries - has twice been blocked by legal challenges.
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Goodbye? Adele says she may never tour again
She may have sold tens of millions of albums and filled arenas around the world, but Adele says she may never tour again.
The British singer told fans at a concert in Auckland that she was not good at touring - and even admitted she feels "vulnerable" on stage, according to the New Zealand Herald.
Her performance Down Under was the final international gig of her epic 15-month world tour.
She will next be on stage in London for four sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium from 28 June to 2 July which have been described as "The Finale".
The 28-year-old told her fans in New Zealand: "Touring isn't something I'm good at. Applause makes me feel a bit vulnerable.
"I don't know if I will ever tour again. The only reason I've toured is you. I'm not sure if touring is my bag."
Adele reportedly burst into tears as she described her latest tour as "the greatest accomplishment in her career" - and said it changed her life.
Her Auckland show on Sunday was outdoors, and she sang through torrential rain. Although she donned a plastic poncho, photographs show her dress was drenched.
"Just spent two hours in hair and make-up for nothing," she joked.
The Grammy award-winning artist will certainly be able to keep herself busy if she decides to leave her touring days behind.
She recently confirmed she has married her long-term partner Simon Konecki - and their son, Angelo, is now four years old.
The British singer told fans at a concert in Auckland that she was not good at touring - and even admitted she feels "vulnerable" on stage, according to the New Zealand Herald.
Her performance Down Under was the final international gig of her epic 15-month world tour.
She will next be on stage in London for four sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium from 28 June to 2 July which have been described as "The Finale".
The 28-year-old told her fans in New Zealand: "Touring isn't something I'm good at. Applause makes me feel a bit vulnerable.
"I don't know if I will ever tour again. The only reason I've toured is you. I'm not sure if touring is my bag."
Adele reportedly burst into tears as she described her latest tour as "the greatest accomplishment in her career" - and said it changed her life.
Her Auckland show on Sunday was outdoors, and she sang through torrential rain. Although she donned a plastic poncho, photographs show her dress was drenched.
"Just spent two hours in hair and make-up for nothing," she joked.
The Grammy award-winning artist will certainly be able to keep herself busy if she decides to leave her touring days behind.
She recently confirmed she has married her long-term partner Simon Konecki - and their son, Angelo, is now four years old.
More than 400 former jihadi fighters back in Britain, say security sources
UK authorities are facing an increased terror threat from battle-hardened fighters returning from Mosul and other conflict zones in Iraq and Syria.
Security sources have told Sky News more than 400 former fighters are now believed to be back in Britain.
The authorities believe there is a growing risk the UK could suffer the kind of mass gun and bomb attacks seen in France and Belgium recently, as many returning fighters will have been trained in the use of weapons and the construction of improvised explosive devices.
It is a serious, two-pronged challenge for the police and security services, who are already working flat-out to counter the threat from homegrown lone-wolf extremists, like Khalid Masood, who launched last week's deadly attack on Westminster.
:: The battle for Mosul: A timeline
Former Scotland Yard Specialist Firearms Officer and author Tony Long said combating an attack launched by a well-trained returning jihadist could be a tough prospect.
He said: "These are combat-hardened soldiers. They might not be trained in the way that NATO might train their soldiers but they've seen more close quarter conflict and more urban fighting than probably most members of the British Armed Forces and you have to respect that.
"Of course they're bringing that knowledge back with them to the UK and it's very very difficult because of the legal restrictions that are put on the security services and the police to actually monitor all of these people."
To date, only a fraction of those returning from the battlefields of Syria and Iraq have been prosecuted, as authorities need enough evidence to put before the courts and often returning fighters go to great lengths to cover up their overseas activities.
Imran Khawaja, 29, from west London, is currently serving 12 years in prison after he faked his own death in Syria in an attempt to sneak back into the UK undetected.
Khawaja had joined a militant group with links to so-called Islamic State while overseas.
He was pictured posing with the severed heads of Syrian soldiers during his six months in the country.
He was arrested as he tried to re-enter the UK through the port of Dover and later admitted preparing for acts of terrorism, attending a camp, receiving training and possessing firearms.
Security sources have told Sky News more than 400 former fighters are now believed to be back in Britain.
The authorities believe there is a growing risk the UK could suffer the kind of mass gun and bomb attacks seen in France and Belgium recently, as many returning fighters will have been trained in the use of weapons and the construction of improvised explosive devices.
It is a serious, two-pronged challenge for the police and security services, who are already working flat-out to counter the threat from homegrown lone-wolf extremists, like Khalid Masood, who launched last week's deadly attack on Westminster.
:: The battle for Mosul: A timeline
Former Scotland Yard Specialist Firearms Officer and author Tony Long said combating an attack launched by a well-trained returning jihadist could be a tough prospect.
He said: "These are combat-hardened soldiers. They might not be trained in the way that NATO might train their soldiers but they've seen more close quarter conflict and more urban fighting than probably most members of the British Armed Forces and you have to respect that.
"Of course they're bringing that knowledge back with them to the UK and it's very very difficult because of the legal restrictions that are put on the security services and the police to actually monitor all of these people."
To date, only a fraction of those returning from the battlefields of Syria and Iraq have been prosecuted, as authorities need enough evidence to put before the courts and often returning fighters go to great lengths to cover up their overseas activities.
Imran Khawaja, 29, from west London, is currently serving 12 years in prison after he faked his own death in Syria in an attempt to sneak back into the UK undetected.
Khawaja had joined a militant group with links to so-called Islamic State while overseas.
He was pictured posing with the severed heads of Syrian soldiers during his six months in the country.
He was arrested as he tried to re-enter the UK through the port of Dover and later admitted preparing for acts of terrorism, attending a camp, receiving training and possessing firearms.
WhatsApp feels the heat over Westminster terror attack
Technology giants will this week face more pressure to allow intelligence services access to encrypted messaging in the aftermath of the Westminster attack.
Khalid Masood is known to have used WhatsApp in the moments before the attack, but encryption has hampered investigators trying to access his messages.
The company has faced a barrage of criticism - not least from Home Secretary Amber Rudd - at a time when tech firms were already under pressure over extremist content.
They have been invited to a meeting with government officials later this week.
And the giants of Silicon Valley once again find themselves in the centre of the debate over privacy and security.
:: Messaging apps and terror: Seven key questions
Ian Sherr, executive editor of tech magazine CNET, said: "It is all about privacy. The concern the tech industry has is that if they allow anyone access once it is just going to snowball and suddenly the government is going to be able to pull in anything they want."
In some ways, he said, tech firms might relish the opportunity to show consumers how hard they fight to protect their data, a key selling point of what they offer.
And it is not clear what capabilities firms such as WhatsApp currently have to access data contained in communications.
But, as with Apple's clash with the FBI over the San Bernardino gunman's iPhone, it raises some uncomfortable questions.
"They said 'we can't build this programme and then pretend like it never happened'," said Mr Sherr. "So they don't want to make that opening for anybody."
It is the focus of much discussion on the streets of WhatsApp's hometown of Mountain View in Silicon Valley.
It was founded by Jan Koum and Brian Acton in 2009, using the Red Rock Coffee Company as a makeshift office.
Today the company, bought by Facebook for $19bn (£15bn) in 2014, occupies a stylish new office complex a hundred yards away.
No signs confirm that WhatsApp owns the headquarters - and when Sky News paid a visit to the building, security guards refused to confirm which company was based there.
Outside Red Rock, programmer John Voorhees told Sky News: "If you're looking for people who want to do harm to us you need to consider better ways of getting information that are not just broad collections of data.
"You need to use connections within communities and things like that. There are lots more intelligent ways to go about gathering information."
Some of Mountain View's more traditional industries have some sympathy for their neighbour.
Diana Tucker, who owns the West Valley Music store, said: "I tend to fall more on the tech side because once you open that box, that genie will not go back in."
WhatsApp says it is cooperating with law enforcement over the Westminster attack.
But it is evident that governments around the world want more than that.
Khalid Masood is known to have used WhatsApp in the moments before the attack, but encryption has hampered investigators trying to access his messages.
The company has faced a barrage of criticism - not least from Home Secretary Amber Rudd - at a time when tech firms were already under pressure over extremist content.
They have been invited to a meeting with government officials later this week.
And the giants of Silicon Valley once again find themselves in the centre of the debate over privacy and security.
:: Messaging apps and terror: Seven key questions
Ian Sherr, executive editor of tech magazine CNET, said: "It is all about privacy. The concern the tech industry has is that if they allow anyone access once it is just going to snowball and suddenly the government is going to be able to pull in anything they want."
In some ways, he said, tech firms might relish the opportunity to show consumers how hard they fight to protect their data, a key selling point of what they offer.
And it is not clear what capabilities firms such as WhatsApp currently have to access data contained in communications.
But, as with Apple's clash with the FBI over the San Bernardino gunman's iPhone, it raises some uncomfortable questions.
"They said 'we can't build this programme and then pretend like it never happened'," said Mr Sherr. "So they don't want to make that opening for anybody."
It is the focus of much discussion on the streets of WhatsApp's hometown of Mountain View in Silicon Valley.
It was founded by Jan Koum and Brian Acton in 2009, using the Red Rock Coffee Company as a makeshift office.
Today the company, bought by Facebook for $19bn (£15bn) in 2014, occupies a stylish new office complex a hundred yards away.
No signs confirm that WhatsApp owns the headquarters - and when Sky News paid a visit to the building, security guards refused to confirm which company was based there.
Outside Red Rock, programmer John Voorhees told Sky News: "If you're looking for people who want to do harm to us you need to consider better ways of getting information that are not just broad collections of data.
"You need to use connections within communities and things like that. There are lots more intelligent ways to go about gathering information."
Some of Mountain View's more traditional industries have some sympathy for their neighbour.
Diana Tucker, who owns the West Valley Music store, said: "I tend to fall more on the tech side because once you open that box, that genie will not go back in."
WhatsApp says it is cooperating with law enforcement over the Westminster attack.
But it is evident that governments around the world want more than that.
Monday, March 27, 2017
Thieves steal 100kg gold coin worth millions from Berlin museum
An oversized gold coin worth millions of pounds has been stolen from a museum in Germany.
The Big Maple Leaf weighs 100 kg (221lbs) and measures 53cm (21ins) across, and is thought to be the world's biggest coin.
Berlin police said it was taken by thieves who broke into the Bode museum in the city at around 3.30am on Monday.
Spokesman Stefen Petersen said they entered through a window and broke into a cabinet where the coin was kept.
A ladder found alongside nearby railway tracks is believed to have been used by the thieves and then dumped.
The coin has a face value of $1m (£790,000), but the gold in it makes it worth almost $4.5m (£3.9m) at today's market prices.
The museum says the Big Maple Leaf is in the Guinness Book of Records for its purity of 999.99/1000 gold.
It has a portrait of the Queen on one side and maple leaves on the other.
The three centimetre thick coin is a commemorative piece issued by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2007.
The Bode Museum houses one of the world's biggest collections of coins.
Exhibits include 102,000 coins from ancient Greece and about 50,000 Roman coins.
The Big Maple Leaf weighs 100 kg (221lbs) and measures 53cm (21ins) across, and is thought to be the world's biggest coin.
Berlin police said it was taken by thieves who broke into the Bode museum in the city at around 3.30am on Monday.
Spokesman Stefen Petersen said they entered through a window and broke into a cabinet where the coin was kept.
A ladder found alongside nearby railway tracks is believed to have been used by the thieves and then dumped.
The coin has a face value of $1m (£790,000), but the gold in it makes it worth almost $4.5m (£3.9m) at today's market prices.
The museum says the Big Maple Leaf is in the Guinness Book of Records for its purity of 999.99/1000 gold.
It has a portrait of the Queen on one side and maple leaves on the other.
The three centimetre thick coin is a commemorative piece issued by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2007.
The Bode Museum houses one of the world's biggest collections of coins.
Exhibits include 102,000 coins from ancient Greece and about 50,000 Roman coins.
Vogue Williams 'still recovering' from Jump injury
Vogue Williams has said she is still recovering from a knee injury she suffered while training for TV show The Jump.
The Irish presenter and model was the first person forced to pull out of the winter sports competition after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament while training.
Williams left the show one day before it aired, and was replaced by former Miss Britain Amy Willerton.
Speaking at Disneyland Paris on Sunday, more than one month after having undergone surgery, Williams said she was afraid she might have taken it "a bit too far".
The Irish presenter and model was the first person forced to pull out of the winter sports competition after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament while training.
Williams left the show one day before it aired, and was replaced by former Miss Britain Amy Willerton.
Speaking at Disneyland Paris on Sunday, more than one month after having undergone surgery, Williams said she was afraid she might have taken it "a bit too far".
Mosul's humanitarian crisis as important as battle for city
For the past 14 years, Iraq has lurched from one multi-ethnic, multi-religious conflict to another.
Some 10,000 to 12,000 refugees are fleeing the western part of Mosul every day - a great exodus from a city that once numbered five million.
Residents have been driven out by heavy shelling and street-to-street combat between the Iraqi Army and Islamic State - but they are also exhausted and desperately hungry.
Lisa Grande, the person leading the UN's humanitarian response in the country, has spent her career working in some of the largest humanitarian crises in the world and knows the next one lurks just around the corner in Iraq.
She said: "There's something that people do not realise.
"The successful protection and, if necessary, relocation of residents from west Mosul is just as important as the battle for the city itself."
With parts of IS-controlled west Mosul under siege by the Iraqis, the price of basic supplies has skyrocketed.
"It is a catastrophe," one woman told us as she boarded a bus for the refugee camps.
"There is famine, there is hunger. One kilo of onions costs 180,000 dinars (£122). One kilo of sugar is one million to 1.4 million dinars (£680-950). This is my neighbourhood."
Their requirements are straightforward and immediate - a place to stay, food and clean water, and health care to keep people alive.
Some 10,000 to 12,000 refugees are fleeing the western part of Mosul every day - a great exodus from a city that once numbered five million.
Residents have been driven out by heavy shelling and street-to-street combat between the Iraqi Army and Islamic State - but they are also exhausted and desperately hungry.
Lisa Grande, the person leading the UN's humanitarian response in the country, has spent her career working in some of the largest humanitarian crises in the world and knows the next one lurks just around the corner in Iraq.
She said: "There's something that people do not realise.
"The successful protection and, if necessary, relocation of residents from west Mosul is just as important as the battle for the city itself."
With parts of IS-controlled west Mosul under siege by the Iraqis, the price of basic supplies has skyrocketed.
"It is a catastrophe," one woman told us as she boarded a bus for the refugee camps.
"There is famine, there is hunger. One kilo of onions costs 180,000 dinars (£122). One kilo of sugar is one million to 1.4 million dinars (£680-950). This is my neighbourhood."
Their requirements are straightforward and immediate - a place to stay, food and clean water, and health care to keep people alive.
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