Canada to send military advisers to Iraq

CANADA is sending dozens of military advisers to Iraq as part of an effort to bolster Iraqi forces against Islamic militants.

PRIME Minister Stephen Harper said on Friday they will join the US in advising Iraq on how to enable security forces in the northern part of the country to be more effective against the threat posed by the group that calls itself the Islamic State.

Harper, in a statement from the NATO summit in Wales, said the group was a real threat to regional security and to the people of Iraq."Left unchecked, ISIL is also a direct threat to Canada and its Allies," Harper said, using one of the acronyms for the group."The deployment of members of the Canadian Armed Forces is a concrete measure to deter the murderous rampage of ISIL and respond to the humanitarian crisis it has caused."Canada's initial deployment will be for a period of up to 30 days and will be reassessed after that time.US Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes tweeted the "US welcomes PM Harper's announcement that Canada will send military advisers to Iraq as part of our effort to support Kurdish forces."Canada's contribution is in addition to the two Canadian military cargo planes that are ferrying weapons to Kurdish fighters.Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird visited the front lines in Iraq this week. The Harper government said opposition leaders in Canada are being briefed on this decision.Canada's former Liberal government refused a request to send troops when the US invaded Iraq in 2003, straining ties between the two neighbours. Canada then stepped up its mission in Afghanistan as part of an effort to repair ties with Washington.

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Ebola infected missionary heading to US

Potty-mouthed lawyer lets rip

THE prominent legal eagle representing Shandee Blackburn's accused killer John Peros has unleashed an expletive-riddled rant at media outside court.

Newman lands some premier plonk

HE'S no Barry O'Farrell, but Queensland's Campbell Newman has nevertheless landed a nice bottle of plonk. See what else is on his gift register.

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Ceasefire could allow MH17 access: Bishop

Best of Brisbane this weekend

DRESS up as a superhero at Comic Con, get fit with the Commando or party at Redcliffe. Here are our top 10 things to do.

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Potty-mouthed lawyer lets rip

THE prominent legal eagle representing Shandee Blackburn's accused killer John Peros has unleashed an expletive-riddled rant at media outside court.

Iran joins fight against IS

ONE of Iran's most mysterious and feared figures turned up this week in northern Iraq in the fight against the Islamic State, leaving little doubt that Iran has joined the battle against ISIS.

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Scientists close in on eco-friendly sheep

Potty-mouthed lawyer lets rip

THE prominent legal eagle representing Shandee Blackburn's accused killer John Peros has unleashed an expletive-riddled rant at media outside court.

Newman lands some premier plonk

HE'S no Barry O'Farrell, but Queensland's Campbell Newman has nevertheless landed a nice bottle of plonk. See what else is on his gift register.

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Downey Jr, wife talk babies at film fest

Potty-mouthed lawyer lets rip

THE prominent legal eagle representing Shandee Blackburn's accused killer John Peros has unleashed an expletive-riddled rant at media outside court.

Newman lands some premier plonk

HE'S no Barry O'Farrell, but Queensland's Campbell Newman has nevertheless landed a nice bottle of plonk. See what else is on his gift register.

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Aussie dies surfing in Indonesia

Potty-mouthed lawyer lets rip

THE prominent legal eagle representing Shandee Blackburn's accused killer John Peros has unleashed an expletive-riddled rant at media outside court.

Newman lands some premier plonk

HE'S no Barry O'Farrell, but Queensland's Campbell Newman has nevertheless landed a nice bottle of plonk. See what else is on his gift register.

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Kiev signs truce with pro-Russian rebels

THE Ukrainian president has declared a ceasefire to end nearly five months of fighting in the nation's east after his representatives reached a deal with the Russian-backed rebels at peace talks.

PRESIDENT Petro Poroshenko said he ordered government forces to stop hostilities at 1500 GMT on Friday (0100 AEST Saturday) following a protocol signed by representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the rebels and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

"I count on this agreement, including the ceasing of fire and the freeing of hostages, to be precisely observed," Poroshenko said in a statement.Heidi Tagliavini of the OSCE told reporters the deal reached at talks in the Belarusian capital of Minsk consisted of 12 points but she did not immediately spell them out before heading back into the talks."The ceasefire will allow us to save not only civilians' lives, but also the lives of the people who took up arms in order to defend their land and ideals," said Alexander Zakharchenko, the rebel leader from the Donetsk region.But Igor Plotnitsky, the insurgent leader for the Luhansk region, told reporters "this doesn't mean that our course for secession is over" - a statement that reflected deep divisions which threaten to derail peace efforts.Since mid-April, Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting government troops in eastern Ukraine in a conflict the UN estimates has killed nearly 2600 people.A NATO military officer told The Associated Press on Thursday that the ranks of Russian soldiers directly involved in the conflict have grown.But as late as Friday morning, Associated Press reporters heard heavy shelling north and east of the key southeastern port of Mariupol.The city of 500,000 lies on the Sea of Azov, between Russia to the east and the Crimean Peninsula to the west, which Russia annexed in March. The shelling appeared to indicate that rebels had partially surrounded the area and were probing its defences.The seizure of Mariupol would give the rebels a strong foothold on the Sea of Azov and raise the threat that they carve out a land corridor between Russia and Crimea.If that happens, Ukraine would lose another huge chunk of its coast and access to the rich hydrocarbon resources the Sea of Azov is believed to hold.Ukraine ready lost about half its coastline, several major ports and untold billions in Black Sea mineral rights with Russia's annexation of Crimea.The rebel offensive in the southeast follows two weeks of gains that have turned the tide of the war against Ukrainian forces, who until recently had appeared close to crushing the five-month rebellion.Ukraine, NATO and the West say the rebel counterattack has been spearheaded by regular Russian army units, a charge the Kremlin has denied.Colonel Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine's national security council in Kiev, said seven servicemen had been killed over the past day, bringing the Ukrainian forces' death toll to 846.

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