Yazidis Return To Mountains On Rescue Mission

By Sherine Tadros, Middle East Correspondent

Tens of thousands of people from the ancient Yazidi community were left stranded on top of Mount Sinjar when Islamic State militants took over their towns and villages on August 2.

Among them was Azeez Hussein and his entire family.

They spent eight days on Mount Sinjar with little food or water until Azeez decided they were going to die on the mountain if they did not try to escape. 

Two days later he made it to Duhok in northern Iraq.

It took him and his wife over 20 hours of walking to flee, carrying their seven children, including their three-week-old baby girl.

Azzez Hussein is heading back to the mountain to find his parents

When we finally met him he was traumatised and kept saying he needed to go back.

His decision to leave with his children meant he could not take his elderly parents, who were still stuck on the mountain surrounded by the militants.

So we went with Azeez to the crossing point leading back to Sinjar. As we approached the bridge, we found hundreds of Yazidis queuing to get across.

Azeez's three-week-old daughter has had a traumatic start to her life

Azeez's cousins were at the front of the line, they had already been there for hours. They too were returning so they could try to bring back their parents.

All around us we heard tragic stories of loss and despair.

I asked one man why he was going back rather than waiting for the Kurdish Peshmerga forces or the Americans to rescue their families.

"Because our families will die waiting," he replied.

These Yazidis say they families would die if they waited for outside help

Another Yazidi man told us about how he saw Islamic State fighters abduct people in his village. He said they tried to convert him to Islam but he refused and escaped.

American and British representatives were also at the bridge crossing.

But Yazidis said they felt abandoned by the international community who are now indicating there is no need for a rescue mission.

"We are assessing the situation and seeing how much more we can help beyond what we have already provided," Richard Guera from the Department for International Development told us.

After five hours, the crossing finally opened. Azeez's cousins crossed the bridge but they have a difficult journey ahead.

They will need to drive through the mountains into Syria and then cross back into Iraq. From there, it is a seven-hour walk to the towns and villages where their families are trapped.

Despite the aid and arms pledged by the international community, it is being left to Yazidi fathers, brothers and sons to return to a place where they almost died escaping from, to save those nobody else will.

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'Corpses Everywhere' After Jihadist Massacre

Al Maliki's Successor Faces Old Problems

Updated: 6:29pm UK, Friday 15 August 2014

By Andrew Wilson, Sky News Presenter, in Irbil, Iraq

The disaster in the Sinjar mountains turns out to be less of a public relations nightmare for Western leaders than first feared.

A few thousand destitute Yazidi people don't carry anything like the clout of tens of thousands.

The UNHCR operators on the ground had figured this out days ago. Their job is numbers and they know that in a brutal world, the problem isn't Sinjar anymore, it's the displacement of those that were there and are now here looking for long-term shelter from the Kurdish Regional Government and maybe even homes in Europe and America.

So what about the spread of this Islamic caliphate across Northern Iraq and Syria?

Well, as far as its leaders-in-waiting are concerned, it's going pretty well.

It's ominous dark shade on the Middle Eastern map is now one colour from Aleppo to Diyala on Iraq's eastern border. 

And, to date, that progress has been largely unchallenged.

Reports of executions and crucifixions have played a part; even the Taliban back in 2001 could not generate the kind of terror that precedes Islamic State (IS) fighters wherever they go.

But IS are picking their enemies strategically as well.

Few tears were shed in Washington when the extremists turned on President Assad, and as for Baghdad, it took so long for the West to declare mission accomplished and pull out that going back in now would be unthinkably embarrassing.

Better to find another old friend to blame, this time the stubbornly sectarian Nouri al Maliki.

It is all his fault that disgruntled Sunnis allowed the IS to swoop down in their armed pickups and help themselves to all the American weapons lying abandoned in the sand.

If only he had built a more unified Iraq with loyal officers and disciplined troops, says the West, failing to mention 2003 when a cadre of professional Iraqi generals stood ready to deploy their well-trained forces for the post-Saddam rebuild only to be shunned by the American occupiers who knew better. 

So now the successor is embraced. Haider al Abadi seems a decent man, more of a consensus builder than a bully.

He is still a Shia, of course, same party as Mr Maliki, in fact, and you wouldn't want his job for all the gold in Saddam's palace.

He will need three phones; for Washington, Tehran and Brussels, and they will all be on his case to fix - in no particular order - the Islamic Caliphate; Sunni minority rights; an army that's just given all its weapons to the other side; Shia aspirations for a greater Iraq joined by holy sites to Iran and, of course, tens of thousands of displaced Yazidis.

It's difficult, if not suicidal, to be a consensus politician in the Middle East.

Think Sadat, Rabin, or even Mahmoud Abbas sitting quietly in Ramallah with "Israeli traitor" daubed on the walls near his house.

Sadly, in this part of the world, where the borders were drawn by foreigners a long time ago, the time-honoured formula, still espoused by Assad, Sisi, the Royal families of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, is more simple: build a power base and crush your enemies.

Nouri al Maliki was on the way, but didn't make it.

And this time, no more boots on the ground.

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One Dead As Sick 'Migrants' Found In Container

A dead man is among more than 30 suspected illegal immigrants found in a container at Tilbury Docks.

Thirty-four people - including at least seven children - are being treated at three hospitals, some with "significant health problems".

Police at the scene in Tilbury Docks

Seven ambulances were sent to the scene and Basildon Hospital said on its Twitter feed that it was "responding to a major incident".

It added: "A&E is open, but please be aware that waiting times may be extended."

The East of England Ambulance service confirmed a hazardous area response team had also been sent to the scene.

Eighteen patients were taken to Basildon Hospital, nine to London Whitechapel Hospital and seven to Southend Hospital.

Some were suffering from severe dehydration and hypothermia.

Basildon Hospital is responding to a "major incident"

A police officer at the scene said they are still trying to determine the nationalities of those involved but they are believed to be of Indian origin, possibly Punjab.

A spokeswoman for Basildon Hospital said those being treated were being "assessed".

Essex Police were called after the people were found on the container, which arrived on a ship from Zeebrugge in Belgium and was being unloaded at 7.35am.

The suspected immigrants were found at Tilbury Docks

Natalie Hardy, from P&O Ferries, said the immigrants were in a container on board the Norstream, a commercial vessel.

She said the ship was scheduled to leave Zeebrugge last night at 10pm and arrive at Tilbury today at 6am.

It was carrying 64 containers, 72 trailers and five lorries and drivers.

Ms Hardy said: "They (port authorities) found 35 clandestines on a container in the ferry.

"They had been in there overnight, because the ship was an overnight freight ferry.

"This morning when they went to unload containers there was a noise heard, a banging. One unfortunately was dead and others were taken to hospital."

Police are dealing with the incident alongside staff from Port of Tilbury, UK Border Force and the East of England Ambulance Service, the spokesman said.

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'Mum Arrested' After Girl Drowns In Hotel Pool

The mother of a three-year-old girl who drowned in a hotel swimming pool near Blackpool has been arrested on suspicion of murder, Sky News understands.

The youngster is believed to have been staying with her parents at the Dalmeny Hotel, St Annes, when she got into difficulty in the water on Thursday morning.

She was pulled from the swimming pool and taken to Royal Manchester Children's Hospital in a critical condition but died later.

The hotel's owner Chris Webb told Sky News that several other guests witnessed what happened in the pool and gave statements to the police.

Two guests tried to revive the girl before paramedics arrived.

It is understood that the girl's mother was in the pool at the time.

Police confirmed a 40-year-old woman, from Galashiels, Scotland, was arrested on suspicion of murder and child neglect. She remains in police custody.

Detective Inspector Nick Connaughton, of Blackpool CID, said: "This is a tragic situation where a young girl has lost her fight for life.

"We are now treating this sad death as suspicious and are investigating just how the child came into difficulties in the pool."

The Dalmeny Hotel, which overlooks St Annes beach, is described as a family-friendly resort with a heated indoor pool, a spa and three restaurants.

Another guest Darren, who did not want to give his surname, told Sky News he had seen the little girl and her family having dinner at the hotel the night before and witnessed the arrival of the paramedics.

"I saw them come out of the ambulance with what looked like a defibrillator" he said.

"My daughter saw the little girl being carried out by somebody."

He said the pool had been shut and "lots of police" had been at the hotel.

He described how he later saw the girls mother being led away by officers.

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UK 'Prepared To Arm Kurdish Fighters In Iraq'

The UK will "consider positively" any request for military equipment from Kurdish fighters in Iraq, according to a Government source.

David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg agreed during an emergency Cobra meeting that it was "vital" to help the fight against Islamic State (IS) militants, formerly known as the Islamic State In Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The Government is now expected to provide weapons and equipment, should Kurdish leaders make a request. 

Iraqi and Kurdish forces are battling IS, which has recently made significant gains in the north of the country, causing thousands to flee after they were issued with an ultimatum to convert to Islam or face death.

A Downing Street source said any supplies would be "dependent on what the Kurds would need".

Other EU countries have already agreed to send weapons to the Kurds

France is already sending weapons to Iraq, with President Francois Hollande confirming the "imminent delivery of military equipment".

Germany, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands have also said they will send arms or are considering doing so.

Meanwhile, several thousand refugees from the Yazidi minority remain on Mount Sinjar in searing temperatures - but the US has said it is now unlikely to mount a rescue.

Yazidi people demonstrate at the Iraq-Syria border

President Barack Obama said the situation had "greatly improved" after a special forces mission found many people had escaped.

Mr Obama said airdrops had delivered more than 114,000 meals and tens of thousands of gallons of water, with fighter jets striking Islamic State fighters to allow the drops to take place.

The militants' siege of Sinjar town had been broken, the president said, but strikes would continue.

UK International Development Secretary Justine Greening said military action and resistance from Kurdish troops had cleared a safe path for many refugees, who originally were thought to number in the tens of thousands.

Nouri al Maliki has bowed to pressure at home and abroad

Britain has also completed seven aid deliveries and a "small number" of RAF Chinook helicopters are being sent to the region, in addition to Tornado jets with surveillance equipment.

Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al Maliki, bowed to pressure and stepped down on Thursday with his country's military still struggling to contain Islamic State's onslaught. Haider al Abadi was named as his replacement.

The US called the decision a "major step forward in uniting (Iraq)".

A night vision image of an air drop by the RAF

Secretary of State John Kerry said: "We commend the important and honourable decision by Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki to support Prime Minister-designate Haider al Abadi in his efforts to form a new government and develop a national program in line with Iraq's constitutional timeline.

"This milestone decision sets the stage for a historic and peaceful transition of power in Iraq."

EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels later to discuss the ongoing aid efforts, and possibly an agreement on a joint position on arming Kurdish forces.

Islamic State's offensive has seen them capture major cities, such as Mosul and Tikrit, this year, with reports of beheadings and crucifixions as they grab more territory for their self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria and Iraq.

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FA In New Move To Boost Asian Footballers

By Ashish Joshi, Sky News Correspondent

Scepticism has greeted the Football Association's latest initiative aimed at combating the chronic under-representation of British Asians in top-level English football.

While tens of thousands regularly play the game, British-born men of Asian descent who make it as professionals are extremely rare - especially at Premier League clubs.

The popularity of football has increased steadily among the Asian community over the last 20 years, so much so it is now ahead of cricket.

This has led authorities to question why the abundance of talent and enthusiasm has not led to greater progression into the professional leagues.

The FA will host forums across the country in an effort to get people talking and look at ways talent can be spotted and brought on.

Some have voiced fears the problem may be partly down to discrimination within the game, which was beset by problems with racism in the past and has an ongoing high-profile campaign against it.

Others point to cultural obstacles, saying youngsters and their parents are put off by the game's drinking culture and the general disregard for academic achievement.

British-Pakistani Irfan Mohammed, who has played football in the lower leagues in the West Midlands for 15 years, told Sky News he never sensed any discrimination towards him.

Neil Taylor is the only player of Asian descent in the Premier League

"I've always felt I've been judged on my ability as a footballer," the 30-year-old said.

"A big factor is that Asians often only play for Asian-only teams. In the years I've been playing, I've rarely seen Asian players in teams that aren't all-Asian.

"The problem at all-Asian teams is the standard of coaching isn't always as high as you'll see at more well-established clubs."

Many British Asians within the game agree more needs to be done to mix with the wider footballing community.

Manisha Tailor, FA coach and club scout, said: "Often Asians who stick within their community play in predominately Asian-only groups and don't integrate.

"I think there's a system in place for players to develop and progress and make it as a pro in the elite game.

"Hopefully those that are good enough can make it and sign a pro contract."

Neil Taylor is currently the only British player of Asian descent playing in the Premier League, while Adil and Samir Nabi at West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa's Easah Suliman and Liverpool's Yan Dhanda are among a host of prospects hoping to make it in the top tier.

Hopes are high for brothers Adil and Samir Nabi

Michael Chopra is recognised as the first British Asian to play in the division.

The former Newcastle United striker said Asian parents should do more to help their children progress in football.

"I've always had the support of my mum and dad, which was the main factor in why I've got where I am," he said.

"They took me to football on a freezing cold Sunday morning, just watching me and supporting me.

"Come seven or eight o'clock at night, most Asian parents would rather their child was doing their homework, whereas my parents would say: 'There's a football match on TV. Do you want to watch it?'."

The FA's report into Asians in football was due to be published in 2013 but will not be ready until next year, which critics say shows the association is not taking the issue seriously enough.

Campaigner Steven Sidhu said: "The FA has done this before with the Asian community, pumping money, hosting forums, stealing our ideas. We don't want that.

Michael Chopra playing for Blackpool

"All we want is the FA to educate the clubs, the directors, the coaches and managers."

But Mark Ives, FA disciplinary manager, said patience was needed to tackle a complex problem.

"There is a great deal more to be done and if I had gone back five years, you wouldn't have had the FA coming in front of groups and forums," he said.

"It is not something that we can suddenly switch the light on and it's changed. This is not a quick-win situation."

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Medical Chiefs 'Call Time On Failing GP Services'

GP services that continue to offer poor care to patients will be shut down, health regulators have said.

Surgeries are set to receive Ofsted-style ratings - where they will be deemed to be outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.

The Care Quality Commission's (CQC) chief inspector of general practice, Professor Steve Field, said from October failing practices will face being put into special measures.

Those given the lowest rating face closure if they fail to make the necessary improvements.

"Most GP practices provide good care," Prof Field said.

"We have confirmed this in our pilot inspections so far. But we can't allow those that provide poor care to continue to let their patients have an inadequate service.

"I want to do all I can to drive up standards in those that are not providing the services people deserve."

The regime could also see more doctors referred to the doctors' regulator, the General Medical Council (GMC).

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the GMC, added: "Whenever CQC's new inspection system raises concerns about the competency of individual GPs, the matter will be referred to the GP's local responsible officer and if necessary to the GMC.

"Family doctors are now subject to regular checks, but the inspections in England are bound to expose areas of weakness as well as good practice."

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chairman of the British Medical Association's GP committee said: "It is important not to create a counter-productive blame culture based on isolated examples that would wrongly damage patient trust in wider GP services.

"We need to focus on providing support and enabling improvement in those GP practices that need help."

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Record Numbers Off To Uni As A* Grades Rise

By Afua Hirsch, Social Affairs and Education Editor

A record number of students have been accepted into university, with a rise in the number achieving top marks in their A-level exams.

Ucas, the organisation which handles the admissions process, said 396,990 young people had been awarded places on degree courses - up 3% on last year.

Meanwhile, the number of students achieving at least one A* grade rose 0.6% to 8.2%, although the number gaining an A grade or above fell by 0.3%.

The overall pass rate also fell for the first time in 32 years, with the number of students achieving an A*-E grade down 0.1% to 98%.

Students who received lower grades are expected to enjoy unprecedented access to university, with up to 30,000 new places created.

A decision by the Government to abolish the cap on student numbers could have a dramatic effect on this year's cohort, with fierce competition among universities seeking to attract school leavers.

Some were offering cash "scholarships", while others were offering reductions on accommodation and free tablet computers.

Mary Curnock-Cook, chief executive of Ucas, told Sky News: "Compared with their brothers and sisters two or three years ago, students will feel it's a little easier (to get into university)."

Coventry University, which is offering £1,000 cashback, said the giveaways did make a difference but did not unduly influence students.

Deputy vice chancellor Ian Marshall said: "Most students come to university on the basis of the subject they are interested in and the reputation of the institution."

The decision to expand the number of student places comes amid increasing concern about quality assurance in higher education and job prospects for graduates, with recent figures showing almost half of graduates were in non-graduate level jobs.

However, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said: "This shouldn't be about ever higher numbers - it should be about ever higher standards.

"An A-level is still a significant achievement ... and we want an A-level that future employers and universities have confidence in."

Rhasan Brunner, who received an offer to study at London Goldsmith's University, said he was deferring his place to take an apprenticeship.

The 19-year-old, who studied at Brooke House Sixth Form College in Hackney, northeast London, said students should think twice about doing degrees, which now cost up to £9,000 a year in tuition fees alone.

"That debt is going to stay over their head for quite a long time," he said.

"Plus jobs are really rare and scarce and quite competitive nowadays, so it doesn't really guarantee you a job after university."

Access to university has been expanding since the 1960s, when a report by economist Lionel Robbins advocated opening up higher education to all those who qualified by virtue of ability and attainment.

Two years ago, the Government abolished the cap on students with the highest grades, essentially paving the way for the expansion of the elite Russell Group of universities.

But the new expansion for students with lower grades - which could also include an additional 60,000 extra students next year - has prompted concerns about quality.

Jude Heaton, from Teach First, a charity set up to end inequality in education, said: "The risk is we create a two-tier system, where pupils from richer backgrounds go to the most selective institutions ... (while) people from poorer backgrounds have an almost second tier university education."

Earlier this week, social mobility charity Sutton Trust warned students from disadvantaged backgrounds are 10 times less likely to apply to the UK's 13 most selective universities.

There are also reports that today's results will confirm a deepening of the gender divide, as girls continue to shun STEM - science, technology, engineering and maths.

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Iraq: US-UK Row Back On Yazidi Rescue Mission

A US and UK humanitarian mission to rescue thousands of Yazidis trapped in Iraq is "far less likely" to take place after it has been revealed fewer are stranded than previously feared.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK's plans needed to be "flexible" for the "complicated humanitarian mission" and stressed the need to continue delivering aid to refugees on Mount Sinjar.

The PM, who has resisted calls for military intervention, will chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee later to discuss the situation further.

The UK has successfully completed seven aid airdrops of clean water, shelter and solar lanterns, and is sending a "small number" of RAF Chinook helicopters to the region.

A map detailing the Sinjar mountains

It has already sent RAF Tornado jets equipped with sophisticated surveillance equipment to gather intelligence.

"What our plans need to do is to make sure that we have got the assets in place to help out in the right way and that's why last night one of our Tornados was gathering information about the situation, that's why it's important our Chinooks are in place and available if needed," Mr Cameron said.

He had said "detailed plans" were being made for an international mission to rescue the stranded Yazidis.

Members of the Yazidi sect hold a banner asking for international help

But Sky's Political Correspondent Sophy Ridge said: "Today, I am told that just like the Americans, it is now unlikely that the UK government is going to carry out a rescue mission, and that's simply because the information has changed."

A US assessment of the situation has found fewer Yazidis remain trapped on the mountain than previously thought.

Some 5,000 refugees remain stranded there, according to Sky sources. Some live there, while around 1,000 are being rescued every night by Iraqi forces.

Areas the Islamic State has launched offensives and wants to make one state

It had previously been thought there were between 20,000 and 30,000 trapped on Mount Sinjar after fleeing Sunni militants of the Islamic State (IS), formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

IS fighters have threatened the ancient religious group with death if they failed to convert to Islam.

The Pentagon said an "evacuation mission is far less likely" given that humanitarian aid drops, airstrikes on IS fighters and the efforts of Peshmerga fighters had allowed many Yazidis to escape.

Mr Cameron at a UK aid Disaster Response Centre at Kemble Airport, earlier

Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, the Kurdish government's high representative to the UK, told Sky News while the new refugee figures spelled "good news", up to two million displaced civilians remained "in a dire situation" in the Kurdistan region.

Her comments came as the United Nations ramped up its assessment of the crisis to level 3 - its highest level of emergency - and condemned the "barbaric acts" of sexual violence IS fighters have reportedly inflicted on minority groups.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said the Iraqi government had "received atrocious accounts on the abduction and detention of Yazidi, Christian, Turkomen and Shabak women and girls and boys, and reports of savage rapes".

"Some 1,500 Yazidis and Christians may have been forced into sexual slavery," he added.

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Iraq: 'UK Airstrikes Must Be On The Table'

A growing number of MPs have told Sky News it is time for the UK to join US airstrikes in Iraq to stop the advance of Islamic State fighters.

David Cameron returned from Portugal today, cutting short  his holiday by a day, and will this afternoon chair a Cobra meeting to discuss the Iraq situation amid growing pressure for the UK to act further.

The UK has stepped up its aid drops in northern Iraq and is sending a "small number" of RAF Chinook helicopters to the region. It has also already sent RAF Tornado jets equipped with sophisticated surveillance equipment to gather intelligence.

RAF Tornado jets will carry out surveillance mission in Iraq

Britain is also transporting weapons for the Kurdish forces, who have been outgunned by the jihadists.

However, Downing Street has so far resisted calls for UK forces to join the US in taking military action against IS. It has also rejected demands for Parliament to be recalled to debate the crisis.

Thousands of Kurdish ethnic minority Yazidis have been driven into the Sinjar mountains to escape the onslaught of the militants, who have butchered their way through the north of Iraq leaving mass graves of victims in their wake.

The United Nations estimates that between 20,000 and 30,000 people from the ancient Yazidi community remain stranded, others have perished, unable to get food or water to survive, while some have been rescued by Kurdish forces.

The Prime Minister has been on a 10-day holiday in Portugal

Sky's Political Correspondent Sophy Ridge said of the 18 MPs she had spoken to, 15 said they would support military intervention and many urged Mr Cameron to recall Parliament.

Significantly, seven of those MPs who supported action voted against using military force in Syria to end the humanitarian crisis there.

Conservative MP Nick de Bois said: "Whether you support air strikes or not, and they should be on the table for urgent consideration, Parliament has both the moral obligation and a duty to our constituents to examine and advise the Government on whether we should take that step.

"Every day in this humanitarian crisis matters and that's why we should be recalled."

Another unnamed MP said: "It's very different from Syria, where the Government had no plan or conception of what might work. Here we have the Kurds on the ground. Also, recall of Parliament seems essential given world events."

The Yazidi community has fled into the Sinjar mountains

It comes as British commanders with experience in Iraq have urged the Prime Minister to consider taking military action with Colonel Tim Collins warning the ancient civilisations in Iraq could be "extinguished".

Col Collins claimed the Government had "left for lunch" on the issue, and accused politicians of refusing to accept the "moral responsibility" to act.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he said: "Britain helped create Iraq in 1920 and we have a moral responsibility to help."

Tony Abbott, in London on Tuesday, hinted forces could return to Iraq

A YouGov poll carried out for The Times suggests support for the British bombing of militants in Iraq is now at 40%. Some 36% of those asked were opposed to the UK taking action.

After talks with Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond in London on Tuesday, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has indicated his country's combat forces could return to Iraq but stressed it would be to "prevent genocide" on a "fundamentally humanitarian mission".

Germany has pledged to deliver "non lethal" military aid, including armoured vehicles, helmets and night vision goggles, to the Iraqi army. France was expected to deliver arms to Kurdish forces later on Wednesday.

US service members prepare humanitarian aid for the Yazidis in Iraq

General Sir Mike Jackson, who was the professional head of the army during the Iraq War, told the Daily Telegraph: "I would have no difficulty at all in saying that we should be alongside the United States and up the British ante to the use of airpower, on humanitarian grounds."

Former Conservative Defence Secretary Liam Fox also said it was time RAF jets were sent in to join US airstrikes. Writing in the Daily Mail, he said sending in aid was not enough.

The US has sent another 130 military advisers to northern Iraq to assess the scope of the humanitarian mission.

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Robin Williams Death: Spotlight On Depression

Robin Williams may have had a sparkling public persona but behind the jokes and impressions was a man who was struggling to cope with a serious disease.

The actor's representative confirmed the 63-year-old had been in rehab in recent weeks to try to "fine-tune" his sobriety.

But it was depression, which often goes hand-in-hand with substance abuse, that appears to have led him to take his own life.

Williams' death has prompted a broad conversation about the disease and prevalence of mental illness.

The Dead Poets Society star was often candid about his struggles with sobriety and depression and while outwardly appearing to have it all, he admitted he felt "alone and afraid" while working and would turn to the bottle for solace.

Williams was known for his manic personality

The fact he was so open about his demons may have led the public to think he had them under control.

But Dr Josh Klapow, clinical psychologist at the University of Alabama, told Sky News addiction takes its toll on the body.

"As the individual's life becomes increasingly focused on the substance of choice, the remainder of their life (friends, family, job, recreation) goes away," he said.

"Social isolation, poor physical health, emotional highs and lows from addiction are also triggers for depression."

Williams' death shocked the world and it is not known if his closest friends and family were aware of a deterioration in his mental health.

The star's daughter, Zelda, said: "While I'll never, ever understand how he could be loved so deeply and not find it in his heart to stay, there's minor comfort in knowing our grief and loss, in some small way, is shared with millions."

Williams had been attending weekly AA meetings

But she hit out at those who have criticised his suicide: "As for those who are sending negativity, know that some small, giggling part of him is sending a flock of pigeons to your house to poop on your car."

Dr Klapow said it is important people do not see suicide as a selfish act: "You have to think about the person with depression from their perspective and not yours. They want to die to alleviate their pain and the pain they believe they are causing others."

In January, researchers from the University of Oxford found that comedians show high levels of psychotic personality traits.

Professor Gordon Claridge, of the University of Oxford's Department of Experimental Psychology, said: "The creative elements needed to produce humour are strikingly similar to those characterising the cognitive style of people with psychosis - both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder."

Comedians Kenneth Williams, Lenny Bruce and Stephen Fry are just a few of the other names who have spoken about their personal demons.

Williams tweeted this photo of him and his daughter Zelda before his death

Dr Klapow said there are some reasons why high-profile figures might be susceptible to depression but it is important to remember that it can affect anyone.

"While there are lifestyle factors that can put them at risk, such as uncertainty about the future, pressure and stress from constant scrutiny, highs and lows from an unstable job environment etc, for every star we see who struggles with depression, we need to think about them as representing a larger segment of the population who is also struggling, " he said.

Secret Cinema has announced it will screen Dead Poets Society at the Troxy in east London on Friday night. All proceeds will go to the mental health charity Mind.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 08457 90 90 90 or email jo@samaritans.org

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Iraqis Fleeing ISIS Face 'Desperate' Plight

The US has sent 130 more military advisers to northern Iraq to assess the scope of the humanitarian mission, as the plight of families displaced by Islamist extremists deepens.

Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the soldiers had been sent to northern Iraq to develop additional humanitarian assistance options beyond the current airdrop effort.

The move is in support of displaced Iraqi civilians, including Christian and Yazidi minority groups, trapped in the Sinjar mountains by Sunni militants of the Islamic State (IS), formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Sky's Middle East Correspondent Sherine Tadros, in northern Iraq, said the situation was also getting "ever more desperate" for those fleeing the violence and who had managed to escape.

A map detailing the Sinjar mountains

"Many have friends and relatives still stuck in the areas taken over by the militants, with no idea if they will make it out alive," she said.

"We are talking about thousands of people that are now taking refuge wherever they can."

What began as a small number of families squatting on a piece of land owned by a Kurdish businessman, has been transformed into a makeshift refugee camp in Dohuk province which has attracted between 6,000 and 8,000 men, women and children.

Areas the Islamic State has launched offensives and wants to make one state

Tadros said: "There aren't enough tents. There are only about 230 actual tents that have been donated by the local mayor, and so most of them are actually on the floor, without any shelter, and are using bits of metal, anything they can, to shelter from the blistering heat.

"There are a couple of showers and bathrooms, but that is it, and the situation is getting worse, by the day, by the hour, as more people come here, completely dependent on locals providing them with food and clothes.

"The owner of this area has told me he doesn't even know if he is going to be able to feed all of these people this afternoon.

Iraqi Christians receive food at Ainkawa's Saint Joseph church, near Irbil

"And these of course, are considered the lucky ones, the ones who did manage to escape."

Since June, the US has sent about 700 military personnel to Iraq to protect diplomats there and take stock of the country's military capacity.

Western powers and international aid agencies are considering further help for the thousands of refugees driven from their homes by IS fighters near the Syrian border.

A man gestures to a crater caused by a suicide car bomb blast in Baghdad

US Secretary John Kerry said the US would consider requests for military and other assistance once Iraq's new prime minister-designate forms a government to unite the country.

Haider al Abadi has received support from the US and Iran, and Sunni neighbours Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

However, his Shi'ite party colleague, Nuri al Maliki, has refused to quit his eight-year premiership, and on Wednesday said it would take a federal court ruling for him to leave power.

Meanwhile, at least eight people were killed in a car bomb explosion in a shopping district of Iraqi capital Baghdad, near the home of Mr Abadi, on Tuesday night.

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Robin Williams: Tributes For Actor Dead At 63

Relatives, showbiz personalities and politicians have expressed their sadness at the death of Robin Williams, who has died at the age of 63 in a suspected suicide.

The Oscar-winning actor was found dead at his home in northern California, according to the Marin County Sheriff's Office.

Williams' wife Susan Schneider said in a statement: "This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved and beautiful human beings. I am utterly heartbroken."

His daughter Zelda Williams posted an excerpt from the French poet and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery, which read: "You - you alone will have the stars as no one else has them ... In one of the stars I shall be living."

She added: "I love you. I miss you. I'll try to keep looking up."

Dawber and Williams together in 1995

The star of much-loved films including Mrs Doubtfire and Good Morning, Vietnam had been struggling with severe depression in recent weeks, according to Williams' press agent Mara Buxbaum.

A statement from President Barack Obama described the actor as "one of a kind".

"Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. But he was one of a kind," he said.

"He arrived in our lives as an alien - but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit. He made us laugh. He made us cry.

Matt Damon, Williams and Ben Affleck celebrate their Oscar wins in 1998

"He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most - from our troops stationed abroad to the marginalised on our own streets.

"The Obama family offers our condolences to Robin's family, his friends, and everyone who found their voice and their verse thanks to Robin Williams."

Many celebrity colleagues and admirers took to Twitter to express their shock at the actor's death, and to pay tribute to Williams' large and well-respected body of work.

Billy Connolly and Williams in 2000

Pam Dawber, his co-star in Mork and Mindy, said: "I am completely and totally devastated. What more can be said?"

Film director Ron Howard recalled that he saw Mork's genesis as they worked together on the US series Happy Days.

In a message posted online, he said: "We lost Robin - first witnessed his genius as he created Mork before our eyes in two hours on set. A Force. A Sweet Soul. A Brilliant Artist."

Comedian and actor Billy Connolly, a close friend of Williams, said: "Robin was both my friend and my hero, a unique talent and a kind and generous man; the world will be a much poorer place without him."

Williams receives an award in New York in 2012

Billy Crystal, who starred in a number of films with  Williams and joined him for a cameo in the sitcom Friends, said: "No words."

Steven Spielberg, who worked with Williams on Hook, said: "Robin was a lightning storm of comic genius and our laughter was the thunder that sustained him.  He was a pal and I can't believe he's gone."

Spielberg famously regularly phoned Williams to cheer himself up during filming of his harrowing 1994 Holocaust drama Schindler's List.

Ellen DeGeneres expresses her sadness at the death of Robin Williams

Actor and comedian Steve Martin, his co-star in Waiting For Godot, said: "I could not be more stunned by the loss of Robin Williams, mensch, great talent, acting partner, genuine soul."

Williams' Mrs Doubtfire co-star Sally Field said: "He always lit up when he was able to make people laugh, and he made them laugh his whole life long - tirelessly. He was one of a kind. There will not be another."

The Birdcage co-star Nathan Lane said: "What I will always remember about Robin, perhaps even more than his comic genius, extraordinary talent and astounding intellect, was his huge heart - his tremendous kindness, generosity, and compassion as an acting partner, colleague and fellow traveler in a difficult world."

His Good Will Hunting co-star Minnie Driver said: "My heart's broken. Robin was a beautiful, kind soul. Can't bear that he's gone. So incredibly sorry for his family."

Ben Stiller, who starred in the Night At The Museum films with Williams, said: "A tweet cannot begin to describe the hugeness of Robin Williams heart and soul and talent. This is so sad."

The third installment of the franchise is due for release at Christmas.

Comedian Eddie Izzard pays tribute to Williams on Twitter

Ricky Gervais, who also stars in the films, said: "I am deeply saddened. He was a lovely man who would keep everyone laughing even if he wasn't feeling good himself. RIP Robin Williams."

Johnny Depp said: "The world lost a legend of an actor and an extraordinary man today. Rest In Peace Robin Williams."

The US actor and director Henry Winkler wrote on Twitter: "Robin Williams was like no other .. To watch him create on the spot was a privilege to behold.

"Robin you are an angel now!!! REST IN PEACE," he added.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in reference to his performance as the Genie in Aladdin, said: "Genie, you're free."

Comedian Eddie Izzard said: "Robin Williams has died and I am very sad. From every comedian here at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, we salute him & we say goodbye."

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Robin Williams: 10 Of His Best Career Roles

Robin Williams has been described as a "shapeshifter" who took on many forms during a long and varied career.

Williams with his Mrs Doubtfire co-star Sally Field

His fast-talking, funnyman roles were just as memorable as his more serious, creepy ones.

The list of Williams' achievements is long but here are 10 of his most famous roles:

1. Mork And Mindy (1978-1982)

This TV series, a spinoff of Happy Days, is how many of us first learned of Williams' nuttiness. He played Mork, an alien who comes to Earth from Ork. Pam Dawber co-starred as Mindy McConnell, his human friend and roommate. Mork's greeting "Nanu, nanu" became a popular catchphrase at the time.

2. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)

Williams' fast-talking style was perfect for the role of a DJ on Armed Forces Radio during the Vietnam War. Most of Williams' radio broadcasts were improvised and he received his first Oscar nomination for the role.

3. Dead Poets Society (1989)

Williams played an unconventional poetry teacher who taught his Vermont boarding school students to stand on their desks, think on their own and "seize the day". He was also nominated for an Oscar for this role.  

4. Mrs Doubtfire (1993)

The tale of a bumbling dad who dressed up as a portly nanny - with a latex mask, a wig and a Scottish accent - in order to spend time with his young kids as his wife, played by Sally Field, divorces him. A sequel to this film is believed to have been in the works.

5. The Fisher King (1991)

Williams' role as a half-mad homeless man, convinced that the Holy Grail was sitting in the Fifth Avenue abode of a billionaire, won him his third Oscar nomination.

6. Hook (1991)

Another of Williams' classic 1990s kids films, in which he played an adult Peter Pan who was forced to return to Neverland to do battle with Captain Hook after the evil pirate kidnaps his children. For many it is the role they remember Williams for from their childhood.

7. Aladdin (1992)

Will it ever be possible to see a cartoon genie and not think of Williams? Remember him shooting out of that bottle: "Ten thousand years will give you SUCH a crick in the neck!"

8. Good Will Hunting (1997)

A rare but welcome serious role for Williams, who played the stubborn yet empathetic therapist who was somehow able to help maths prodigy Will Hunting (Matt Damon) figure out how to handle his life. Williams won a best supporting actor Oscar for this role.

9. One Hour Photo (2002)

This was another serious role, and it was a creepy one: Williams played a photo counter worker at a huge suburban store who got a little too involved in the lives of his customers when he realised one of them was having an affair.

10. Insomnia (2002)

Williams played a murderous and manipulative crime novelist on the run from a sleep-deprived Los Angeles policeman, played by Al Pacino, in rural Alaska.

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