India: Second Gang Rape In Days Investigated

Another teenage girl has reportedly been gang-raped in northern India as police have launched an investigation into an alleged attack on the mother of another rape victim.

Police said four men attacked a 17-year-old girl in a field in Sarai Meer, Uttar Pradesh, on Wednesday.

One man has been arrested and a manhunt was underway for the other three alleged attackers, according to The Free Press Journal.

In a separate case, three men have been arrested in Uttar Pradesh for reportedly attacking the mother of an alleged rape victim after she refused to withdraw a police complaint.

Superintendent Dinesh Kumar said the men, allegedly including the father of a man accused of the rape on May 11, followed the woman into a field and beat her.

She was in a critical condition in a hospital in Etawah.

The two cases follow the gang rape and murder of teenage sisters whose bodies were discovered hanging from a mango tree in the state.

The gang-rapes have renewed outrage over sexual violence in India

Villagers in Katra found the bodies of the girls, aged 14 and 15, who disappeared from fields they had been using because their homes had no toilet.

Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the girls' rape and murder, and another is being hunted by police. Two police officers have also been arrested over failing to investigate their disappearance.

The case has renewed public outrage over sexual violence in India.

On Friday, Amnesty International called for the impartial investigation of gang rapes, murder and violence against young women of the Dalit caste in India.

Divya Iyer, senior researcher at Amnesty International India, said: "Despite the existence of constitutional safeguards and special laws, Dalits across India - and Dalit women in particular - face multiple levels of discrimination and violence.

"Members of dominant castes are known to use sexual violence against Dalit women and girls as a political tool for punishment, humiliation and assertion of power."

Crimes against Dalit people are often not properly registered or investigated and conviction rates are low, the organisation said.

Amnesty International added that the lack of adequate sanitation facilities across India posed a serious threat to the safety of women and girls.

India tightened its rape laws last year - introducing the death penalty for gang rape - following the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in New Delhi.

The case sparked nationwide protests.

Indian society is grouped into castes, known as Jati. These include Bhramin, Kshatryia, Viasya, Sudra and a lower caste known as "untouchables" which includes Dalit people.

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Hillary Clinton Tackles Benghazi Issue Head On

In a new memoir, Hillary Clinton is expected to offer her most detailed account yet of the deadly 2012 attack on Americans in Benghazi, Libya, which could become nettlesome should she run for president in two years' time.

The former secretary of state rebukes Republicans over the issue in her book, Hard Choices, part of which was leaked to a political website on Friday.

She says she will "not be part of a political slugfest on the backs of dead Americans", according to Politico, which obtained the chapter, entitled Benghazi: Under Attack.

"Those who exploit this tragedy over and over as a political tool minimize the sacrifice of those who served our country," she writes.

Bill and Chelsea Clinton have stayed tight-lipped on 'Hillary 2016'

Ms Clinton also says an anti-Islamic video that triggered protests in Egypt was "indeed a factor" in the Benghazi incident.

Conservatives accuse the Obama administration of misleading the public and Congress about the nature of the attack to avoid political backlash in the weeks before the presidential election.

The September 11 2012 assault on the US diplomatic compound killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Ms Clinton's memoir will be published on June 10.

A week later she will sit down for an interview with Fox News, which has extensively covered the Benghazi affair, it was announced on Thursday.

Hillary Clinton testified on Benghazi in January last year

Meanwhile, speculation has been swirling among Washington DC's political classes over a private lunch between President Barack Obama and Ms Clinton on Thursday.

The White House confirmed the two - rivals for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination - had dined alone.

But aides on both sides refused to say what they talked about.

Anticipating Ms Clinton's forthcoming memoir, the Republican National Committee said in a statement on Friday: "The more Americans learn about hard choices like these, the less likely they will be to choose Clinton in any future election. A book isn't going to change that."

Earlier this month, the House Republican leadership controversially launched a select committee to investigate Benghazi.

Ms Clinton has already taken responsibility for the assault, calling it the darkest hour of her career.

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India: Gang-Raped Sisters' Bodies Hung From Tree

Two police officers suspected of gang-raping and killing teenage sisters before hanging their bodies from a mango tree have been arrested in India.

A third man was also held, according to reports, after the discovery of two bodies renewed public outrage over sexual violence in the country.

Villagers in Katra found the bodies hours after the girls, aged 14 and 15, disappeared from fields they used because their homes had no toilet.

Hundreds of people spent Wednesday in silent protest over alleged police inaction in the case.

Indian TV channels filmed villagers sitting under the girls' hanging bodies, preventing authorities from removing them until the suspects were arrested.

Police responded by making three arrests - and four more suspects are being sought.

Police officers at the scene of the hanging

Autopsies confirmed the girls were gang-raped and strangled before being hanged, police Superintendent Atul Saxena reportedly told AP.

A police station chief has been suspended, according to the news agency, after allegedly ignoring a complaint the girls were missing.

India tightened its rape laws last year - introducing the death penalty for gang rape - following the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in New Delhi.

The case sparked nationwide protests.

A rape is committed every 22 minutes in India, a nation of 1.2 billion people - and activists say many more cases go unreported because of a culture of tolerance.

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Former Army Chief Wins Egyptian Elections

Egypt's Military Strongman: Saviour Or Dictator?

Updated: 3:25am UK, Tuesday 06 May 2014

By Sherine Tadros, Middle East Correspondent

For the past three years Egypt has seen constant surprises - this month's elections though are a foregone conclusion.

Presidential candidate and former army chief Abdel Fattah al Sisi is practically guaranteed a win, formally taking the reins of the Egyptian state.

That's why Monday's interview, his first interview since announcing his candidacy, was so important and offered the biggest indication yet of what Mr al Sisi's Egypt will look like. 

He appeared on privately owned channels ONTV and CBC simultaneously with the channels' main anchors co-interviewing him.

The presenters, both vocal supporters of last July's military coup, danced around important questions seemingly afraid to offend or push too hard.

In the two-hour interview there was no mention of the killing of hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Cairo following the coup, nor the thousands currently detained without charge after the recent crackdown.

Mr al Sisi assured the Egyptian public he had not planned the overthrow of elected President Mohamed Morsi nor did he plan to become president. Rather, he reluctantly answered a call of duty as Egypt was headed for disaster.

The referendum on the constitution earlier this year, he argued, showed him the people wanted him at the helm and so despite two assassination attempts, he decided to run.

The main theme of the interview was - 'I am running for president because someone has to save Egypt'. And in a climate of fear and rumours, this rhetoric is sure to resonate with the Egyptian public.

When pushed about his strong military background and the possibility of the country being run as a military regime, he argued the military has had no role in Egyptian politics in decades.

Unchallenged by the presenters (three Egyptian presidents since 1952 came from the army's ranks) he went on to profess his neutrality and independence from the very institution recent history has shown his survival in politics will depend on.

One of the interviewers, CBC's Lamis al Hadidyi, asked the presidential candidate about his family and where he grew up.

Mr al Sisi, for the first time, spoke emotionally about his wife and four children. This nicely crafted section of the interview was designed to show his human side.

So far the Egyptian public has seen the soldier. On Monday, they had to see the husband and father. 

On terrorism, Mr al Sisi compared what Egypt is facing to what US forces are fighting in Afghanistan. He spoke about "major progress" being made in the troubled Sinai (where a military operation has been ongoing for several months) saying 1,200 out of the 1,300 tunnels between Egypt and the besieged Gaza Strip had been destroyed. 

The security issue is his trump card and he didn't miss an opportunity to explain the serious threat facing Egypt. It justifies not only the need for a president with a military background (the only person standing against him in the election, Hamdeen Sabahi, is a civilian) but also the current crackdown on Brotherhood supporters and other forces of dissent.

Mr al Sisi made clear there was no room in his Egypt for the Muslim Brotherhood. No surprise there. Under his watch the group was declared a terrorist organisation and their members and supporters imprisoned and sentenced to death.

In the end this was never going to be a hard interview to test Mr al Sisi. He had everything to gain. In fact, at times he sounded more like the president than a candidate - using the same nationalist and paternal tone to address Egyptians while offering no details of his economic or social policies.

But then again, why should he campaign?  Egyptians weren't watching to find out the campaign pledges on offer but rather for a glimpse of his first unscripted comments.

I watched the interview at home with an Egyptian family and friends and the reaction was generally positive.

Mr al Sisi delivered a convincing performance to an Egyptian public that is exhausted and looking for a saviour.

But what he sees as saving Egypt appears to others as dragging it firmly back to authoritarianism and a security state - the very things hundreds died fighting against in the 2011 uprising.

As Mr al Sisi spoke, the nation watched. But in many areas around Cairo, power cuts (which have become a common problem across Egypt due to energy shortages) meant not everyone heard what he had to say.

This is yet another indication of the huge challenges he faces if he becomes president.

He is in good favour with much of the Egyptian people now, but once he becomes accountable for the serious problems his citizens are facing, how long will this honeymoon last?

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Girls Escaped Just After Boko Haram Attack

How To Tackle Nigeria's Growing Insurgency?

Updated: 1:09pm UK, Friday 09 May 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

American "experts" have arrived. British "advisers" are on their way - phew. It may only be a matter of time before Nigeria's missing girls are found and rescued.

Baloney.

Boko Haram is not a new problem. It's been violently opposing Nigeria's governments since 2009, leaving 4,000 dead, laying waste to villages, and not long ago killing 58 schoolboys in their classrooms.

It's had links to al Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb (AQIM).

It kidnapped a French family in the Cameroons, and is reported to have netted $3m (£1.78m) for their safe release.

The militant Islamist group has achieved international notoriety over the abduction of the girls, all aged between 12 and 15  - but only after releasing a video threat to sell them into slavery.

But it has been closely monitored by Western security agencies for some time.

In 2012, British special forces troops were at the sharp end of a failed rescue operation in Sokoto aimed at releasing Chris McManus, a British engineer and his Italian colleague.

They had been held by Boko Haram for over a year. It was thought they were about to be moved or sold to an al Qaeda group operating in the lawless Sahel.

The connections to al Qaeda, which intelligence sources say extends all the way to Somalia but is more tightly entwined with AQIM, have meant that Boko Haram has been of considerable interest to the West.

This has been mostly manifest in sharing intelligence with and getting information from Nigerian agencies about the threat that the movement might pose beyond Nigeria's borders.

Dealing with the growing domestic insurgency has been seen as a strictly Nigerian matter.

Very often Western commentators will see the involvement of Western troops or spooks as a panacea to turmoil in a Third World nation.

They are not.

It took the British army half a decade to get to grips with the complex tribal structures that dominate Helmand in Afghanistan, where the UK sent some 10,000 troops.

American forces never got to grips with the complex world of Somalia's clan structures after its UN/US intervention there in 1991.

And Western allies have left chaos in their wake after their invasion of Iraq.

Foreign experts can, however, help with technical intelligence surveillance, planning, and perhaps even offering troops for a final assault on a complex target.

But all other matters must remain domestic issues because only locals can fully understand the complexities of the social landscape they live in.

There may, ultimately, be a useful military option involving a strike at the leadership of Boko Haram that the West can help with.

But Nigerians know that finding a solution to a growing insurgency involves far more complex issues.

Nigeria's economically-neglected north will need a greater share of the nation's annual oil revenues of $50bn (£29.8bn) if it's going to reverse the growing north-south schism that has always threatened the coherence of the former British colony.

Locally, Boko Haram's foot soldiers will need to be lured out of the bush with offers of amnesty and employment. Surviving leaders may need to be given a role.

But, of course, this "proves" the argument that politics in Nigeria can only be advanced through the barrel of a gun - the nation has suffered at least eight military coups since independence from Britain in 1960 and is now taking nervous steps along a democratic pathway.

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Manchester United Owner Malcolm Glazer Dies

Malcolm Glazer, the head of the family that owns Manchester United football club, has died aged 85.

The news was announced by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the American football club he owned for nearly 30 years.

The club said he passed away on Wednesday morning and described him as a "pioneering thinker" and "dynamic business leader".

Mr Glazer, who lived in Palm Beach, Florida, bought Manchester United in 2005 - sparking a number of protests in the city.

After that, the football club won five Premier League titles (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013), as well as the 2008 Champions League title.

But the club had a disastrous season this year, culminating in the departure of manager David Moyes.

His death was announced on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' website

Sky's Sports Correspondent Paul Kelso said Mr Glazer's passing is a "significant moment" for Old Trafford.

Mr Glazer was a "hugely, hugely divisive" and "very unpopular" figure in Manchester, he said.

He said there were some violent protests after his leveraged buy-out, in which he borrowed a huge sum of money to buy the club and paid off the interest with its profits.

The club had no debts before the takeover and now owes nearly £400m.

Kelso said he does not think Mr Glazer's death will have much of an impact on Manchester United because he had been ill for some years and the club is being run by his family.

Mr Glazer once owned 100% of Old Trafford, but then passed his holding to his sons and daughter.

Mr Glazer's takeover sparked many protests by United fans

They own 90%, with the other 10% floated on the New York stock exchange.

Manchester United said in a statement: "The thoughts of everyone at Manchester United are with the Glazer family tonight ... Staff at Manchester United extend deep and sincere condolences to them all at this difficult time."

After his death was announced, fans' tributes - both positive and negative - started to pour in on forums and social media.

Mosley909, a poster on one Manchester United fan site, wrote: "Sad for those who love him and always sad when someone dies, but can't say I'll be shedding any tears."

Another poster, Andy McDonald, tweeted: "Don't understand these 'fans' disregarding Malcolm Glazer, our success was just as much his too. Forever a part of the MUFC family, R.I.P."

Mr Glazer leaves behind his wife Linda, six children and 14 grandchildren.

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US Troops To Stay In Afghanistan Until 2016

The United States will keep 9,800 troops in Afghanistan for two years after the war formally ends later this year, President Barack Obama has said.

The two-year proposal calls for nearly all of the remaining US forces to be out by the end of 2016, as Mr Obama finishes his second term.

The president said: "By the end of 2016, our military will draw down to a normal embassy presence in Kabul, with a security assistance component, just as we've done in Iraq."

Mr Obama said the 9,800 troops would focus on supporting counter-terrorism operations and training Afghan security forces, and would not be engaged in combat missions.

"We will no longer patrol Afghan cities and towns," he said. 

Mr Obama met troops in Afghanistan ahead of the Memorial Day holiday

There currently are 32,000 US troops in Afghanistan. Mr Obama said the draw down to 9,800 would be completed by 2015.

"When I took office, we had nearly 180,000 troops in harm's way. By the end of this year, we will have less than 10,000," the president said.

The remaining American forces would likely be bolstered by a few thousand Nato troops.

The post-war plan is contingent on the Afghan government signing a bilateral security agreement with the US.

Outgoing Afghan President Hamid Karzai has refused to sign the agreement, but US officials are confident that either of the candidates seeking to replace him will approve the pact.

Mr Obama revealed his plans just days after making a surprise visit it to Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, where he met with military commanders.

The president heads to the United States Military Academy at West Point on Wednesday, where he is expected to address his Afghan withdrawal plan as part of a larger speech on foreign policy.

Nearly 2,200 members of the US military have died during the nearly 13-year Afghan war and thousands more have been wounded.

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Obama To Defend 'Passive' Foreign Policy Vision

By Hannah Thomas-Peter, New York Correspondent

Barack Obama is expected to defend his vision for US foreign policy later, which has been criticised by many as being too passive.

The US President, speaking at the Military Academy in West Point, New York, will argue successful, modern foreign policy is rooted in diplomacy rather than intervention.

It comes a day after he announced the US will seek to keep 9,800 troops in Afghanistan after the war there formally ends later this year.

Mr Obama said America plans a full withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of 2016, just as his second and final term comes to a close.

The draw-down is dependent on Afghan leadership agreeing to a bilateral security agreement with the US.

Outgoing president Hamid Karzai has refused to do so, but US officials expect his successor will.

Speaking from the Rose Garden in the White House, Mr Obama said "the bottom line is it's time to turn the page" on over a decade of conflict in the region.

"We have to recognise that Afghanistan will not be a perfect place and it is not America's responsibility to make it one."

The West Point address is the first in a series of speeches designed to explain how the President views the future of US foreign policy in the aftermath of conflicts in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Critics have said America has lost face and influence in its dealings with Syria's leader Bashar al Assad, who remains in power despite crossing Mr Obama's self-proclaimed "red line" and using chemical weapons on his own people.

Opponents are also unhappy about Russian intervention in Ukraine, and China's threats to its neighbours in the South China Sea.

Republicans in particular, feel that under Mr Obama's stewardship America is becoming increasingly disengaged and is losing the capacity to influence global events.

Briefing reporters over the weekend, a White House official said: "You will hear the President discuss how the United States will use all the tools in our arsenal without over-reaching.

"He will lay out why the right policy is one that is both interventionist and internationalist, but not isolationist or unilateral."

The official said Mr Obama will argue in favour of "an international system that is sustainable and enduring, and that can address challenges from traditional ones, like maritime and trade issues, to emerging ones, like climate change".

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Nigerian Army 'Knows Where Missing Girls Are'

Nigeria's Chief of Defence has said the military knows where more than 200 abducted schoolgirls are, but has ruled out using force to rescue them.

Chief of Defence Staff Air Marshal Alex Badeh refused to name the location where they were being held.

He said: "The good news for the parents of the girls is that we know where they are, but we cannot tell you.

"But where they are held, can we go there with force? We can't kill our girls in the name of trying to get them back."

The girls were abducted from their secondary school in Nigeria's northern Borno state by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram last month.

Intelligence experts and military personnel from the UK, US and France have joined Nigeria and its regional neighbours in a cross-border search.

However, with the exception of a video released by Boko Haram showing the detained girls, little information regarding their whereabouts has been made public.

Activists have launched a high-profile campaign for the girls' release

In the video, the group's leader threatened to sell most of the schoolgirls into slavery if the government does not release detained Boko Haram fighters. 

There have been reports that the government was close to a prisoner swap deal to secure their release which has since fallen through.

Last weekend Senate President David Mark, the country's number three, rejected the prospect of making concessions to Boko Haram. 

"This government cannot negotiate with criminals and... will not exchange people for criminals. A criminal will be treated like a criminal," he was quoted by local media as saying.

Boko Haram is accused of killing 118 people in an attack in Jos last week

In the six weeks since the girls' abduction, suspected Boko Haram attacks have left an estimated 470 Nigerian civilians dead.

Earlier on Monday four soldiers were shot dead in the central Plateau state, where Boko Haram militants have made significant inroads.

Twin blasts in the state's administrative capital Jos on Tuesday left 118 people dead.

It is not clear whether Boko Haram carried out the attack.

Thousands of people have died during Boko Haram's five-year campaign to carve out an independent Islamic state.

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Tough-Talking Pope To Meet Sex Abuse Victims

Pope Francis has likened the sexual abuse of children by priests to a "satanic Mass" - and announced his first meeting with a group of victims at the Vatican.

Speaking to reporters on the plane taking him back from his Middle East trip, he also said he was in favour of celibacy for priests but that the "the door is always open" to change.

In arguably his toughest statement on a crisis which has beset the Church for more than a decade, he said he would show zero tolerance for anyone who abused children.

Asked about his approach to bishops who were accused of sexual abuse, he said "there will be no daddy's boys", adding that three bishops were currently being investigated.

"Sexual abuse is such an ugly crime ... because a priest who does this betrays the body of the Lord," he said.

"It is like a satanic Mass."

The pope met senior rabbis during his trip to the Holy Land

He said he would hold a meeting with around eight victims of sexual abuse at the Vatican early in June.

It would be attended by Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley of Boston, who is leading a commission set up to study ways of dealing with the issue.

Asked whether the Catholic Church could some day allow priests to marry as they can in some other Christian churches, he said: "Celibacy is not a dogma.

"It is a rule of life that I appreciate very much and I think it is a gift for the Church but since it is not a dogma, the door is always open." 

The Pontiff went on to reveal he would travel to Sri Lanka and the Philippines in January 2015. He also suggested he may follow in emeritus Pope Benedict XVI's footsteps and retire if he felt he no longer had the strength to do the job.

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What Next For EU's 'Self-Hating Parliament'?

A paralysing financial crisis which saw rich European countries bailing out the poor meant that these elections were always going to be ugly for the mainstream parties.

And so it transpired in Greece (Syriza 27%), Denmark (Danish Peoples Party 23%), UK (UKIP - more than 30%) and most spectacularly in France (Front National 25%).

In these countries, EU-critical voices from the populist right and anti-austerity left have taken the lion's share of seats in their respective national delegations.

There are plenty of other results to worry the centre-right (EPP) and centre-left (S&D) groups which have traditionally passed laws in the parliament, with a little help from the ALDE Liberal group.

Take Italy's anti-politician, anti-journalist, (anti pretty-much-everything) Five Star group which won the Italian poll. The election of a pirate and a neo-nazi MEP from Germany will also cause shudders.

But, take a deep breath. The centre ground still rules the roost, with two thirds of the MEPs in the parliament, albeit a drop of 10%.

Also many of these EU-critical parties have little in common: Mr Farage gave us a terse 'not interested' when the Netherland's anti-Muslim PVV sounded him out again to join an anti-EU alliance.

Marine Le Pen of France's National Front has led a European earthquake

Greece's Golden Dawn may support the anti-immigration stance of Denmark's People's Party, but they differ wildly on abortion and gay rights.

To wield any real influence the 'antis' will need to form a political group before the constitutive session of the eighth parliament. Each faction needs at least 25 MEPs drawn from seven countries.

That will involve horse trading and compromise, which may play badly with party supporters back home.

However things will certainly be stickier for the ruling mainstream groups: the 'anti' MEPs may join forces to reject the entire batch of commissioners, and hold up laws and trade deals.

But this parliament is more likely to be a speed bump than a roadblock to this EU institution.

Its most significant impact may be back in the member states, if these parties manage to pull mainstream parties - and therefore governments - in a more Eurosceptic direction.

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Far-Right National Front 'Win' In France

By Robert Nisbet, Europe Correspondent

Voters have dramatically altered the make-up of the European Parliament by doubling the number of MEPs from the populist, eurosceptic right and the anti-austerity left.

Marine Le Pen's far right National Front scored its first victory in European Parliament elections in France.

Without waiting for the final result, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls went on television to call the result "an earthquake" for France and Europe.

The National Front (FN) won around 25% of the vote in France, according to exit polls, easily beating the centre-right UMP on 20%.

According to Exit polls, far-right and hard-left parties have gained ground in many countries, including in Greece where the extreme right Golden Dawn are thought to have won nearly 10% of the vote.

By the half way stage, the centre-right parties were expected to be the biggest group, with 212 out of 751 seats.

The Socialists were expected to gain 185 seats, the Liberals third with 71, the Greens fourth with 55 and the far-left next with 45.

Eurosceptic parties were expected to win about 143 seats.

Marine Le Pen celebrates winning France's Euro election

The winners in Greece, the anti-austerity movement Syriza, is thought to have topped the polls with more than 27% of the vote.

In Germany, the EU's biggest member state with the largest number of seats, the pro-European centre ground held firm, according to the polls.

Ms Le Pen, whose party beat President Francois Hollande's ruling Socialists into third place, told supporters: "The people have spoken loud and clear ... they no longer want to be led by those outside our borders, by EU commissioners and technocrats who are unelected.

"They want to be protected from globalisation and take back the reins of their destiny."

In Denmark the right wing Danish People's Party topped the polls, although its leaders have ruled out an alliance with the National Front.

Spain's two main political parties, the ruling conservative Popular Party in power since 2011 and the Socialist Party, lost major ground to smaller parties, mainly on the left. The Catalan independence party also performed well.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's centre-left Democratic Party (PD) came in ahead of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) in his country's exit polls.

In Belgium, the controversial Flemish separatists secured four of  21 EU parliamentary seats available in the country, more than any other party. 

Turnout in Eastern Europe was predicted to be low, with estimates of around 20% expected. 

More follows...

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Ukraine Militia 'Ready To Take On Separatists'

By Katie Stallard, in Southern Ukraine

On the eve of the presidential election, Sky News met pro-Ukrainian paramilitaries training in the country's southeast, preparing to fight the separatists who have taken control of large swathes of the region.

The men of the Azov Battalion seemed wholly unconvinced Sunday's poll would bring peace, or anything close to resolution.

They told us they have no plans to disband after the vote.

They prefer to put their faith in the Kalashnikov than the ballot box.

One platoon commander told us he wants another revolution. He said that neither Petro Poroshenko nor Yulia Tymoshenko (the current presidential frontrunners) are fit to lead the country and take on the mantle of maidan (the local name for the winter's uprising that started on Independence Square).

Another said he had no choice but to become a soldier now - to fight for his family and for his homeland.

We filmed them at a training camp close to the southern border of Donetsk region, at a location we agreed not to disclose.

Getting there involved meeting a man named Igor at a designated train station then following a car with no number plates through the Ukrainian countryside, which incidentally was waved through a police checkpoint without a second glance.

The men arrived in two buses and a pick-up truck - all in combat gear and balaclavas; carrying a variety of assault rifles and handguns.

Some had what looked like military-issue boots; the others a selection of trainers and walking boots.

Many had small blue and gold Ukrainian ribbons pinned to their uniforms, several had arm patches with the black and red nationalist flag.

They wouldn't say where the weapons had come from, or who is funding them, beyond that "lots of patriots" had donated to the cause.

The Azov Battalion is one of three new paramilitary units - operating outside the Ukrainian army and the national guard, but with the approval of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

To the north is the Donbas Battalion; to the west the Dnipro - the latter funded by governor/oligarch Igor Kolomoysky.

The men of the Azov told us they are all volunteers - the majority of whom are local to the south and east and have worried families at home.

They come from a variety of backgrounds.

A quick sample revealed three businessmen, a graphic designer, a construction engineer, two students and a cook - all spending their Saturday afternoon learning how to over-run a checkpoint and practising live firing drills.

There was a disagreement at one point about how they should be training, but no dispute about what they were preparing for.

All believed they were now fighting for the future of their country - few trust the politicians to deliver.

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Three Killed In Brussels Jewish Museum Shooting

Three people have been killed and another is in a critical condition after a shooting at the Jewish Museum in Brussels.

Belgian Interior Minister Joelle Milquet has tweeted to say she believes it was an "anti-Semitic attack".

Two women and a man were killed in the shooting, which came a day before Belgium's general election and European parliament election.

They were all struck by bullets in the face or throat, according to a spokeswoman from the prosecutor's office.

Sky's Robert Nisbet said a local website quoted witnesses as saying an Audi drove up to the museum and two men got out and began firing indiscriminately at passers-by.

They then got back into the car and drove off, La Libre newspaper said on its website.

The attack happened just before 4pm in the Sablon area.

One man was arrested after driving away from the scene and police are looking for a second suspect who escaped on foot.

Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders heard shots and arrived at the scene moments later to find bodies on the ground.

"I am shocked by the murders committed at the Jewish museum, I am thinking of the victims I saw there and their families," he wrote on Twitter.

A Jewish community leader, Joel Rubinfeld, said it clearly "is a terrorist act" and the result of "a climate of hate".

Protection around Jewish sites in the country has been increased and Belgian prime minister Elio Di Rupo said "all Belgians are united" in the wake of the attack.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the murder "the result of constant incitement against Jews and their state".

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