Exclusive: Death Pact Of IS-Fighting Britons

AirAsia Crash: Relatives Vent Frustration

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 31 Desember 2014 | 20.49

The first bodies have been recovered from the AirAsia plane crash site but many of the relatives waiting at Indonesia's Subaraya airport are increasingly frustrated.

They cannot understand why there has not been more concrete news over the last 24 hours.

Kezia has lost five members of her family. They were all wiped out when the flight went down.

She has given DNA to officials to try and expedite the identification process - when the corpses of her relatives are found.

She said: "I have so many precious memories that are gone.... But I cannot start to grieve properly until we can hold proper funerals."

The mood is increasingly sombre at the airport. Most of the people on board were Indonesian and the country is dealing with a national tragedy.

I meet Vivi just outside the crisis centre where she is close to tears.

Her sister was on board the aircraft and although she knows she is dead she tells me she still prays for the impossible.

She said: "I don't know what to say. I just hope for a miracle. I just want a miracle to happen."

But there is also fury in some quarters.

Inside the crisis centre there is no hope; that disappeared on Tuesday when uncensored video showing a corpse floating in the water was broadcast onto a big screen without warning.

It was the moment Aldilia Sutanto found out her family was dead - like many she's angry and says the TV channel should apologise.

She said: "I feel this is not good to show it to us like that. It is not ethical."

Crucial to the investigation will be finding the flight data recorders.

Aviation experts believe the plane may have crashed whilst trying to evade a catastrophic storm.

For the moment though the massive international recovery effort will continue and with it the grief and anguish of the relatives.

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AirAsia Bodies Returned As Recovery Suspended

The first bodies from the AirAsia plane crash have been flown to Indonesia to be identified as the recovery operation was suspended after bad weather.

Strong winds and currents as well as 9ft (3m) high waves stopped divers from effectively searching the site of the crash off the island of Borneo.

Rescue planes and helicopters were grounded by heavy rain and low visibility, and the poor weather conditions were expected to continue for the next two or three days.

A total of seven bodies from flight QZ8501 have been retrieved from the Java Sea since victims were first spotted on Tuesday. They included a female flight attendant in her red uniform.

One of the bodies was wearing a life jacket, suggesting the crew may have had time to prepare passengers for crashing into the sea.

The presence of fully-clothed passengers could also indicate the Airbus A320 was intact when it hit the water during a storm.

Two bodies flown on an Indonesian military plane to Surabaya - the city where the AirAsia flight departed from - were of a woman and a teenage boy.

They were taken to hospital for examination and identification. Relatives of victims have given their DNA to help identify loved ones.

The plane wreckage is thought to be on the sea floor, after sonar apparently detected a large, dark object beneath waters near where debris and bodies were found on the surface.

But AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes denied reports that sonar images had located the aircraft on the seabed. However he did say there was "some visual identification".

Many of the dead were believed to be still inside the jet's fuselage.

Joko Widodo, Indonesia's president, said his priority was recovering bodies from the Karimata Strait in the Java Sea, where rescuers have found debris including a plane door, luggage and an oxygen tank.

AirAsia is offering an immediate advance of money to loved ones of the 155 passengers, with Mr Fernandes describing the incident as a "scar (that will be) with me for the rest of my life".

Television bosses in Indonesia have also apologised for showing graphic pictures when the bodies were first found floating in the sea.

Relatives at Surabaya airport broke down when they images were shown, and some fainted.

The United States said its destroyer USS Sampson and combat ship USS Fort Worth were awaiting instructions from the Indonesian search command on the recovery operation.

Singapore said it was sending two underwater beacon detectors to try to pick up pings from the black boxes, which contain cockpit voice and flight data recorders.

An expert from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch is also travelling the scene.

About 30 ships and 21 aircraft from Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and the United States have been involved in the search.

Flight QZ8501 had 162 people on board - most of them Indonesians - when it vanished on Sunday morning around 40 minutes into its two-hour flight from Surabaya to Singapore.

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AirAsia Victims: Stewardess Was Living Her Dream

The father of one of the stewardesses on doomed AirAsia Flight QZ8501 has said his "beautiful and smart" daughter was living her dream working for the airline.

Khairunnisa Haidar, known as Nisa, was working on the plane which crashed into the Java Sea while on its way from Indonesia to Singapore on Sunday.

The 22-year-old studied law but is said to have had a change of heart and decided to pursue a career as a flight attendant.

"From the start, we already knew the risks associated with being a stewardess," said her father, Haidar Fauzie.

"She is beautiful and smart. It has always been her dream to fly. We couldn't have stopped her."

Mr Fauzie said he and his wife last saw Nisa six weeks ago when she returned home for a holiday.

One of her most recent Instagram posts is a note pinned to the window of a plane. It reads: "I Love You From 38,000ft."

Coffins of some of the victims have started arriving back in Indonesia but authorities have not named the flight attendant whose body was found floating in the sea.

Details about other members of the crew have also started to emerge.

Oscar Desano, from Jakarta, describes himself on Twitter as: "A Flight Attendant and A Sagittarian who needs to see a Shrink immediately!"

His social media accounts are full of pictures of him and his colleagues.

In a 2011 Facebook post he proudly shows off a picture of his name badge and an image of himself in uniform.

The caption reads: "The new Me."

In March, he posted a message of support for another missing plane, asking people to "pray for Malaysia Airlines flight number MH370".

His cousin, Paris Duarte, posted on Twitter on Wednesday that his family were still holding out hope.

"Tonight we'll be praying together in our Duarte Family House for you @ochanky #KeepUpTheFaith #MiracleHappens."

The wife of a pilot from the AirAsia plane has also been speaking and vowed to be strong for her children.

The jet disappeared after Captain Irianto failed to get permission to fly higher to avoid bad weather.

His wife, Widya Sukarti Putri, said: "I must be strong and tough and I'm here for my children and their future, so I must be strong and open with this situation."

His father said of the pilot: "He is a patient man, always trusted Allah, his behaviour towards his parent as well as to the community around him was good."

As well as the seven crew, the plane was packed with 155 passengers. Here are some of their stories:

:: Ruth Natalia Puspitasari, her fiance, Bob Hartanto Wijaya, and his parents, Marilyn and William Wijaya

Ms Puspitasari, who would have turned 26 on Monday, was on the flight with her fiance and future parents-in-law for a New Year's holiday.

She called her father, Suyanto, just before she boarded, and she told him excitedly that they planned to celebrate her birthday in Singapore.

She and her fiance reportedly met at Petra Christian University in Surabaya, Indonesia - the same town their ill-fated flight had taken off from.

But after graduating, economics student Ms Puspitasari - from East Java - had moved to Guangzhou, China.

Her fiance, who had studied architecture, stayed behind after becoming co-owner of Eka Toys in his hometown of Malang.

:: Hermanto Tanus, his partner Indahju Liangsih and their sons Nico Giovanni, 17, and nine-year-old Justin Giovanni

In Singapore, student Chiara Natasya Tanus, 15, had been waiting eagerly for a visit from her parents and brothers.

She had not seen her family, who are from Surabaya, since she left for Singapore to pursue her secondary education two months ago.

She told Malaysia's The Star: "My mum called me on the 23rd and told me she would visit me very soon, but then this happened.

"I was so excited. I was looking forward to showing my dormitory to my family and we were planning for a holiday in Singapore."

:: Charly Gunawan was among a group of seven, including several family members

The textile businessman, aged in his late 40s, was travelling with his wife, three children, his daughter's fiance and the fiance's mother.

They were on a trip to Singapore to celebrate New Year.

Mr Gunawan's brother Nasaruddin said he liked to tell jokes, had many friends and often donated sacks of clothing to charity.

:: Chi Man Choi and daughter Zoe

The British businessman and his two-year-old daughter were among the passengers.

His Singaporean wife and their other child had travelled back to Singapore on an earlier flight, according to Channel News Asia.

They were all believed to be flying to Singapore for New Year's Eve celebrations with his family.

:: Nanang Priyo Widodo

Mr Widodo, 43, had only been back in Indonesia for one day after a business trip to Malaysia before he left for another one in Singapore.

He had ridden his motorcycle to get to the airport as quickly as possible.

His wife, Warih Aditya, 33, told the Jakarta Post: "He arrived home two days ago from accompanying tourists to Malaysia. He was at home for one day, then had to go with other clients to Singapore."

:: Florentina Maria Widodo

The 26-year-old school teacher from Hwa Chong Institution in Singapore taught biology was affectionately known to family and friends as Tina.

Ms Widodo and her boyfriend Andy Paul Chen were both from the National University of Singapore, and were members in the university's guitar ensemble.

Ms Widodo reportedly graduated from the National Institute of Education last year.

She sat in the seat next to Mr Widodo, but it is not known whether they were related.

:: Siau Alain Octavianus

His fiancee Louise Sidharta had been at Singapore's Chani Airport waiting for her future husband to return from a family holiday.

She said: "It was supposed to be their last vacation before we got married."

The couple were reportedly planning to wed next May.

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Weather Alert As Four Inches Of Snow Expected

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 25 Desember 2014 | 20.49

A cold weather alert has been issued - with a warning that more than four inches of snow could fall in some areas on Boxing Day.

The Met Office said the conditions could "increase the health risks to vulnerable patients and disrupt the delivery of services".

According to the alert, there is an 80% probability of "severe cold weather/icy conditions/heavy snow between 3pm on Friday and 12am on Wednesday in parts of England".

"Snow is likely in some northern and central areas, more especially on hills, with some significant accumulations possible," it said.

"There is also an increasing signal for snow to affect some southern areas. The areas currently at greatest risk are parts of the Midlands, and southern parts of northern England."

Sky News weather producer Rebecca Yussuf said the cold weather and snow may cause disruption to travel plans.

"There is a risk of several centimetres of snow falling even at low levels, with as much as 10cm possible in places," she said.

"There is still quite a lot of uncertainty with the forecast, but much of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic are likely to see some very wet and windy weather.

"Heavy rain and strong winds will move eastwards across the Republic, southern England and Wales during Boxing Day morning, but may turn to sleet and snow over the Midlands and southern parts of northern England during the afternoon.

"It will turn notably colder after the rain and snow clears, with overnight frosts and temperatures struggling to get much above zero.

"The very young, the elderly and those with illnesses may be badly affected by these colder conditions, so if you know anybody who falls into these categories, take a moment to look in on them over the next few days."

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Archbishop Calls In Sick For Christmas Sermon

The Archbishop of Canterbury has been forced to cancel his annual Christmas Day sermon after coming down with a heavy cold.

Lambeth Palace said the Most Rev Justin Welby has been suffering from a "severe cold" for several days and decided this morning that he was too unwell to speak at the annual Canterbury Cathedral service.

A Lambeth Palace spokesman said the Archbishop "is suffering from a severe cold and will, with great regret, no longer be preaching the sermon at Canterbury Cathedral this morning.

"The Dean of Canterbury, the Very Rev Robert Willis, will deliver a homily."

The Archbishop had been due to talk about how the true spirit of Christmas cannot be captured in fairytale endings, using the example of the First World War Christmas truce in 1914.

The Archbishop had been due to say: "The truce illustrates something of the heart of Christmas, whereby God sends his Son, that vulnerable sign of peace, to a weary war-torn world.

"The problem is that the way it is told now it seems to end with a 'happy ever after'.

"Of course we like Christmas stories with happy endings: singing carols, swapping photos, shaking hands, sharing chocolate, but the following day the war continued with the same severity.

"Nothing had changed; it was a one-day wonder.

"That is not the world in which we live, truces are rare."

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Girl Refuses To Explode Bomb Belt In Market

A 13-year-old girl has said she was made to wear a bomb belt and taken to a market in Nigeria by Boko Haram extremists but refused to detonate the device.

Zahara'u Adam said her father gave her to the Islamist group, but she told her captors she did not want to be a suicide bomber.

She allowed them to strap the bomb on her because they threatened to bury her alive.

She was taken to a market in Kano, Nigeria's second largest city in the north, with two other girls, who detonated the bombs.

Four people were killed in the explosion on 10 December.

Zahara'u said she was too scared to detonate the bomb when she saw the aftermath of what her counterparts had done.

Injured by the blasts, the girl found her way to a hospital where police arrested her while she was receiving treatment.

She was presented to journalists by police and instructed to recount how the militants allegedly forced her to take part in the attack - a move police hope will boost public awareness of the group's tactics.

"My father took us to the bush which was surrounded by gunmen, I was asked if I want to go to heaven, when I answered they said I have to go for a suicide mission and if I attempt to run, they will kill me," she recounted at a press conference.

"So from there we were sent to Kano. When we came to Kano market, one of us said we should go separately, but I refused.

"After my friend detonated her own I was wounded."

There was no way to independently verify her story and she had no lawyer present.

Boko Haram has been fighting for five years to establish an Islamist state in Nigeria's northeast.

The group has increasingly used female suicide bombers.

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Royal Family Attend Christmas Church Service

The Queen has marked Christmas Day by attending a traditional church service at Sandringham.

Well-wishers started gathering before dawn in the bitter cold to catch a glimpse of the royals - and by mid-morning thousands were present.

Queen Elizabeth was joined by the Duke of Edinburgh for the service at St Mary Magdalene's church on the Norfolk estate.

But the Duchess of Cornwall did not attend the service on advice from doctors after she "put her back out", Clarence House said.

Camilla "has been in pain and is receiving physiotherapy. The doctors have advised against any travel," a Clarence House spokeswoman said.

Also missing was Prince George, but he is likely to have spent the morning in the care of his nanny. His parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, attended.

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Gallery: Royals Attends Church Service

The Queen attended the traditional Christmas service at Sandringham

She was joined by the Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the Royal Family

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N Korea's Human Rights 'Worst In The World'

Written By Unknown on Senin, 22 Desember 2014 | 20.49

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

The United Nations Security Council is to hold its first ever meeting to discuss "unspeakable atrocities" and "grave human rights violations" allegedly being carried out in North Korea.

The 15-member council, which includes the UK, the US, China and Russia, will discuss whether North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un should be referred to the International Criminal Court for "crimes against humanity".

The US Ambassador to the UN welcomed the meeting.

Samantha Power said: "The human rights violations in North Korea are among the worst in the world. They are widespread. They are systematic."

She added: "Given the threat they pose to peace and security, they have been going on outside the scrutiny of the UN Security Council for far too long."

The meeting was called following an unprecedented UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) report, published in February, catalogued a list of crimes which it said were "widespread and systematic" and "unparalleled in the modern world".

The COI, chaired by retired Australian judge Michael Kirby, sat through witnesses' testimony from scores of North Korean defectors who described their lives inside the country.

The report lists murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortion, sexual violence, forcible transfers and forced disappearances.

Mr Kirby said there were "many parallels" between the evidence he heard and crimes committed by the Nazis in World War Two. He said the international community could not claim, as it did with the Nazis, that they were unaware of the crimes.

"Now the international community does know. There will be no excusing a failure of action because we didn't know. It's too long now. The suffering and the tears of the people of North Korea demand action," he said.

It is not yet clear whether the Security Council will now also discuss the hacking of Sony Pictures following the announcement by US President Barack Obama that North Korea was responsible.

The UN meeting comes as Sky News has filmed rare pictures across the Chinese border into North Korea. The images demonstrate the poverty inside the country and the degree to which China cooperates with its old ally.

At the border town of Ji'an only a narrow river separates China with North Korea. Looking across, guard towers were visible every few hundred metres.

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Gallery: Sky News On China's North Korea Border

Sky News has filmed rare pictures across the Chinese border into North Korea. The images demonstrate the poverty inside the country and the degree to which China cooperates with its old ally

At the border town of Ji'an only a narrow river separates China with North Korea

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US Families Prepare For 'Modern Day Apocalypse'

By Dominic Waghorn, US Correspondent

From the outside America may seem to be a land of endless optimism and confidence. But could it be in danger of falling apart?

An increasing number of Americans seem to think so, and they're preparing for the end.

They call themselves preppers. Mainstream suburban Americans hoarding supplies and weapons while leading otherwise perfectly normal lives.

It's a national phenomenon and it's supporting a doom boom industry worth many millions.

Braxton Southwick is a typical father-of-six in Salt Lake City, who believes the nice suburban neighbourhood he lives in could soon be swept away by some kind of modern day apocalypse.

Like other preppers, he's afraid of some impending catastrophe but also what that will do to American society.

"I think that is what I'm scared of the most," he told Sky News, "Not the actual events. I've already prepared for that. It's the aftermath, when there are no police, there are no military to protect us, we're going to be protecting ourselves."

The trigger could be a terrorist attack, a monetary collapse, cataclysmic failure in power generation, or a natural disaster. Preppers fear what comes next and have no faith in either their government or human nature.

"Once people use up all their resources, they're going to come after the people that prepared and had more resources. So basically we have to take care of ourselves."

Braxton and his wife Kara have a basement that will see them through Armageddon, literally. Enough dried and canned food to last six months. Enough guns and ammunition to turn their family into a small army.

And they have trained each of their six children, including the youngest aged 15, how to defend themselves with guns to see off the mobs of marauding looters they predict could come after them after their world collapses.

At the other end of America, another family are preparing in exactly the same way. In Virginia, Jay and Holly Blevins hoard food and weapons and run a network of like-minded families.

"We're not talking about folks walking around wearing tin foil on their heads," Jay tells Sky News. "We're not talking about conspiracy theorists.

"I'm talking about professionals: doctors and lawyers and law enforcement and military. Normal, everyday people. They can't necessarily put their finger on it. But there's something about the uncertainty of our times. They know something isn't quite right."

Jay is a celebrity in the strange but increasingly mainstream world of preppers, writing prepper books and touring America, speaking at prepper expos where a bewildering range of survival supplies and techniques are on offer.

Why is it happening? Partly, no doubt, because it allows Americans to indulge in some of their favourite pastimes: consuming, camping and buying lots and lots of guns.

And partly because fear sells, drives up numbers for cable news, and increases sales for everything from dried food to assault rifles.

But it's also arguably a sign of a country coping with economic decline. The end of the American Dream has left people more uncertain about their future, and their country's.

Katy Bryson is in Jay's prepper network. Prepping, she says, puts Americans back in charge of their destiny.

"They're not in control of whether they lose their job or not but they are in control of whether they are prepared. So I feel like that's why the industry is just booming right now for preparedness," Katy added.

It is also a fundamentally American phenomenon. In a country built on the radical individualism of its founding fathers, people have an inbuilt mistrust in their government's ability to protect them.

Sociologist Barry Glastner wrote The Culture of Fear. He told Sky News: "Americans are fairly unique as world citizens in that we tend to believe that we control our own destiny as individuals to a much greater extent than we really do."

Ironically, he points out preppers may actually be reacting to their fears in the least effective way. Dangerous weather, terrorist attacks and economic collapses are all best dealt with by higher authorities, he said.

"Where there are real dangers, to take an individualistic approach is usually exactly the wrong thing to do. So the kinds of things that the preppers are preparing to protect themselves from are much better handled on a community-wide basis than they are in your own home."

:: Dominic Waghorn meets the preppers in The Doom Boom, this Tuesday at 9.30pm on Sky News.

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North Korea Threatens To Target The White House

The North Korean government has threatened to "stand in confrontation with the US in all war spaces" as the diplomatic row over a Sony film continues to escalate.

In a strongly-worded statement, officials branded America as "an ill-famed cesspool of injustice and terrorism".

And it warned that "tough counteraction will be boldly taken against the White House, the Pentagon and the whole US mainland".

Despite being accused by the US of being behind the recent Sony hacking, the secretive state continues to insist it had no involvement.

But Pyongyang praised the "surprisingly sophisticated, destructive and threatening cyber warfare" inflicted on the company, as the movie "dared to hurt the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK".

Meanwhile, South Korea has claimed one of its nuclear power plants fell victim to hacking, but stressed no reactors were affected. The developed country has not implicated North Korea in the attack.

The Interview, which included the fictional assassination of leader Kim Jong-Un, was pulled from cinemas before its release after hackers threatened to target those who went to see the film.

A story from the Korean Central News Agency said: "The Interview is undesirable and reactionary. It should not be allowed in any country or any region. The movie has a story agitating a vicious and dastardly method of assassinating a legitimate head of state.

"DPRK is praising the 'guardians of peace' for their righteous deed which prevented in advance the evil cycle of retaliation – terrorism sparks terrorism."

The Pyongyang government claims it is taking a stand "on the US gangster-like behaviour against it" – and alleges it has clear evidence that American authorities were deeply involved in the movie's production, as it would be "effective propaganda against North Korea".

Its statement said: "The facts glaringly show that the US is the chief culprit of terrorism as it has loudly called for combating terrorism everywhere in the world, but schemed behind the scenes to produce and distribute movies inciting it.

"Nothing is a more serious miscalculation than guessing that just a single movie production company is involved. Our target is all the citadels of the US imperialists who earned the bitterest grudge of Koreans.

"The US should reflect on its evil doings that put itself in such a trouble, apologise to the Koreans and other people of the world, and should not dare pull up others."

North Korea's only significant ally, China, condemned the use of cyber-attacks and cyber-terrorism early on Monday – but stopped short of criticising the state.

President Obama, along with his advisers, is weighing up how to punish North Korea. The FBI concluded that Pyongyang was behind the Sony hacking – the first time that the US has accused another country of orchestrating such a significant cyber-attack.

David Boies, Sony's lawyer, has insisted the embattled entertainment company still plans to release its controversial film - but warned the hack was "a national security problem" and the US government needed to take the lead.

"How it's going to be distributed, I don't think anybody knows quite yet. But it's going to be distributed," he told NBC.

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Pakistan To Execute 500 Terror Convicts

Pakistan plans to execute around 500 militants after the government lifted a moratorium on the death penalty in terror cases.

It comes after Taliban gunmen killed 149 people, including 133 children, in a school massacre in the northwestern city of Peshawar last week.

Six militants have been hanged since Friday amid rising public anger over the slaughter.

Around nine gunmen stormed the army-run school on 16 December taking teachers and students hostage and killing them in classrooms.

After the deadliest terror attack in Pakistani history, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ended the six-year moratorium on the death penalty, reinstating it for terrorism-related cases.

"Interior ministry has finalised the cases of 500 convicts who have exhausted all the appeals, their mercy petitions have been turned down by the president and their executions will take place in coming weeks," a senior government official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Of the six hanged so far, five were involved in a failed attempt to assassinate the then-military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 2003, while one was involved in a 2009 attack on army headquarters.

Police, troops and paramilitary Rangers have been deployed across the country and airports and prisons put on red alert as the executions take place and troops intensify operations against Taliban militants in northwestern tribal areas.

Mr Sharif has ordered the attorney general's office to "actively pursue" capital cases currently in the courts, a government spokesman said.

The decision to reinstate executions has been condemned by human rights groups, with the United Nations also calling for it to reconsider.

Human Rights Watch described the executions "a craven politicised reaction to the Peshawar killings" and demanded that no further hangings be carried out.

Pakistan began its de facto moratorium on civilian executions in 2008, but hanging remains on the statute books and judges continue to pass death sentences.

Before Friday's resumption, only one person had been executed since then - a soldier convicted by a court martial and hanged in November 2012.

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IS Flag Student Guilty Of Syria Terror Plan

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 17 Desember 2014 | 20.49

A student who wanted to fly an Islamic State flag over Downing Street has been found guilty of planning to join rebels in Syria.

David Souaan, 20, began to cry when the judge warned him jail is inevitable when he is sentenced in the new year.

He was accused of preparing for terrorist acts in Syria around the time he was stopped at Heathrow Airport on May 31.

The prosecution said he had visited in December last year, and was on his way back to fight the jihadist cause when he was arrested.

The Birkbeck College student, who comes from a wealthy family in Serbia, denied this and insisted his earlier visit to Syria was to collect his grandfather's belongings.

He claimed he posed for pictures with guns because he wanted to look "cool".

A jury took nine hours to find him guilty following a trial at the Old Bailey.

Remanding Souaan in custody, Judge Peter Rook said: "You have been convicted of a very serious offence indeed. You must understand that you will be receiving a custodial sentence in this case."

Souaan came to the UK in 2013 on a three-year visa to study global politics and international relations at Birkbeck College in London.

He was arrested after fellow students became concerned at his radical views on Islam and he had shown off pictures of himself posing with guns.

Police seized his laptop and iPhone and found a mass of pictures, videos and documents revealing his "extremist sympathies" and that he had not only been fighting in Syria before but was intending to return, the Old Bailey heard.

Prosecutor Sarah Whitehouse QC said one video clip on his iPhone was "so graphic and so shocking" that it could not be played in court.

It featured a man kneeling with his head held back as another man cut his throat.

The court heard that Souaan filmed himself attending a demonstration in the UK.

In the background, a man can be heard to say: "The flag of Tawheed in London, all praise be to Allah the lord of the universe."

This was in reference to the wish of Muslim extremists to see the black flag fly over Downing Street.

Sentencing was adjourned until 3 February for pre-sentence reports.

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Exclusive: Death Pact Of IS-Fighting Britons

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By Lisa Holland, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

Two Britons who went to Syria to fight IS have told of their battles on the front line - and how they vowed to kill each other rather than get captured.

Jamie Read and James Hughes told how they dodged bullets during chaotic patrols with Kurdish forces after recording a "goodbye" video for their families in case they died.

They described spending hours lying in the "pitch black" in no-man's land, in conditions they said were reminiscent of World War One.

On one occasion, it was so cold that a young Kurdish comrade collapsed with hypothermia - "body-popping" on the ground next to them.

In an exclusive Sky News interview after their return to the UK, the pair also revealed how panic alarms have been installed in their homes, amid fears they could be targets for IS supporters.

They strongly denied being mercenaries, telling how they had sold possessions to fund their flights and had returned to the UK to "mounting debts and bills".

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Gallery: British Pair Joined Fight Against Islamic State

James Hughes and Jamie Read gave an exclusive interview to Sky News

James Hughes from Worcestershire is a former soldier who served three tours in Afghanistan

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Jamie Read from Lanarkshire, Scotland, spent time training with the French army

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He said that he had 'zero tolerance' for terrorism

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The men joined Kurdish fighters in Syria battling IS

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They had not been paid "a penny" for their exploits, though they had been "treated like royalty" by some of the Kurdish troops, the men said.

And the former soldiers gave a detailed account of their time in Iraq and Syria, explaining that they had travelled to fight IS militants because they had "zero tolerance for terrorism".

Describing what had prompted them to travel, Mr Read said the beheading of British aid convoy volunteer Alan Henning had been the final straw.

"Alan Henning - aid worker, British - put him on his hands and knees and cut his head off, you know what I mean," Mr Read said.

"Can you really find justification in sitting back here and doing nothing?"

Mr Read, 24, and Mr Hughes, 26, revealed that organising the trip had been quite simple with a "phone call here or there" and some communication over Skype.

They were screened by simply having their Facebook posts checked and ensuring that social media friends were not IS supporters, Mr Read said.

The pair said that after arriving in Irbil, northern Iraq, they were transported via the Kurdish HQ to the front line in Syria.

During the journey the Britons said they had no idea whether they had landed in a trap.

"I'm not going to lie, this was one of the most frightening processes you can go through, you know, the paranoia: through the roof," Mr Read said.

"You get picked up by a guy who doesn't speak English, so straight away there's a language barrier.

"When we got to the safe house... it's sort of dodgy-looking, so you think 'I don't really like this'. At one point, you think 'is this the point I'm going to get handed over?'"

After getting a uniform and weapons, Mr Hughes said they eventually "rocked up" on the frontline to an old schoolhouse covered in mud.

They arrived to cheers from their Kurdish comrades, were plied with chai (tea) and cigarettes, and met three other Westerners who had joined the fight.

During their three weeks on the front line, their duties included terrifying night patrols where it was the "blackest black... like being in a cave with no lights".

"You are left staring into the pitch black, hoping no one sees you first," Mr Read said.

The Britons said they had hatched a plan to shoot each dead rather than being caught and paraded on television as hostages.

"We wouldn't get captured, bottom line, we couldn't get captured, we're not getting our heads paraded on YouTube, we made that vow before we went out.

"Everybody out there is carrying a round for themselves. Nobody wants to be captured by IS. Nobody wants to end up on YouTube getting their head cut off.

"So for us, as harsh as it sounds, it's probably the better way to go. It's the old saying, 'you keep a round for each other'."

Describing their final day, Mr Read told how the pair had been out on patrol towards a nearby village where IS militants had been holed up.

"All of a sudden we just got opened up on. Quite a lot of small arms (...) quite a lot of AKs and they were quite close.

1/12

Gallery: Peshmergas On The Front Line In The Battle Against Islamic State

Kurdish Peshmerga forces sweep the Bakirta village near the town of Makhmur, south of Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan

Members of Kurdish "peshmerga" troops ride a vehicle during an intensive security deployment on the outskirts of Diyala, northeast of Baghdad

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"There were rounds coming in and they were really close - they were pinging and they were bouncing, whizzing over your head - obviously it's a very distinctive noise.

"There was a lot of shouting, a lot of screaming, a lot of F-words being dropped."

The pair said they were forced to flee through a village which was "littered with IEDs (improvised explosive devices)" before returning to base.

"We eventually made it out but this was a real eye-opener - this is how these people were going to act - there's something more that needs to be done there."

They returned to Britain last week and were questioned by anti-terrorism officers for six hours at Heathrow airport before being released.

Asked whether they would return to Syria, Mr Read said: "I'd like to think we would have the opportunity to go back."

But he added: "I'm unsure on the political stance - I'm not sure whether our Government would appreciate us going back."

:: You can watch an extended special report on the IS-fighting Britons at 2.30pm, 4.30pm and 8.30pm, today, as well as a half-hour special programme at 9.30pm.

Watch the report on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132 and Freesat channel 202.

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Written By Unknown on Senin, 15 Desember 2014 | 20.49

The gunman took an unknown number of people hostage at the height of Monday morning's rush hour and the siege is ongoing. Here are the facts we know:

:: At least one gunman went in to the Lindt cafe in Sydney at around 9.45am local time (10.45pm GMT).

:: Police were alerted when a woman reported seeing a man carrying a gun in a blue bag.

:: The man appears to be middle-aged, with a beard, and is wearing a black and white headband. There are reports he is known to police and media outlets.

:: A flag with Arabic writing was displayed at the cafe window and several hostages were seen with their hands up against the window.

:: The writing on the flag appears to be the shahada, or profession of faith in Islam, and says: "There is no god but Allah; Mohammed is the Messenger of Allah."

:: Australian prime minister Tony Abbott said there are indications the siege could be politically motivated.

:: The scene of the drama, Martin Place, is in Sydney's financial centre and houses several prominent buildings, including the New South Wales parliament, the US consulate, the country's central bank and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

:: Some six hours into the siege, three men emerged from the popular cafe and ran for their lives, two from the front door and one from an emergency exit.

:: Around an hour later two women who appeared to be staff members also fled into the arms of police.

:: It is understood that they all escaped and were not released.

:: Police have confirmed that negotiators have made contact with the gunman.

:: His motives are unknown. The two female hostages told Channel Ten news the gunman claims there are four bombs; two inside the Lindt cafe and two in Sydney's financial district.

:: It is not clear how many hostages are being held. Reports vary from eight to 50 people.

:: However, police said the numbers are "not as high as 30".

:: In a news conference at around 8.30pm local time, police said they have the "very best negotiators on the job" and that their only priority is to get the hostages out safely.

:: Speaking directly to the hostages, Commissioner Andrew Scipione said: "Rest assured we are doing all we can to set you free."

:: They did not say if anyone has been harmed.

:: Anyone who works in the area has been advised to work from home on Tuesday.

:: Australia raised its terror threat level in September.

:: Watch continuous live coverage on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132 and Freesat channel 202.

20.49 | 0 komentar | Read More

Police Storm Building To End Belgium Siege

Three men have been detained by police who stormed an apartment in Belgium after reports of a man being taken hostage in an armed siege.

Police were called after four armed men were reportedly seen entering a building in the Dampoort district of the city on Monday morning.

A spokeswoman for the state prosecutor said the victim was safe and well.

"Three men have been taken away though there were no weapons found. The earlier reports were of four men with kalashnikovs," she said. "... It's not entirely clear whether someone was in fact taken hostage."

Armed police in balaclavas emerged at about 1pm from the cordoned-off building.

"It's over," one police officer said.

Belgian broadcaster VRT cited neighbours as saying that the flat had been used by drug dealers.

A federal police spokeswoman said the incident was not terrorism-related.

Television footage showed police blocking traffic at a cordoned off intersection while a helicopter hovered overhead and sirens blared in the background.

Local media reported that there was another hostage incident in Ghent, linked to extortion, two months ago.

The siege also comes as a gunman holds a number of people hostage at a cafe in Sydney, Australia.

20.49 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sydney Siege: Gunman Switches Lights Out

A gunman is holding up to 20 people hostage in complete darkness at a cafe in Sydney's financial district.

Chilling footage has emerged of a female hostage apparently trying to communicate with police by miming her throat being cut - while news channels have chosen not to broadcast a video of another hostage relaying the assailant's demands.

Witnesses described seeing the hostages looking "exhausted" and "absolutely petrified".

But as night fell and the siege entered its 14th hour the gunman turned off the lights, meaning people outside could no longer see in.

The siege began at 10am (local time) when the assailant - who was previously known to both Sydney police and media - entered the Lindt cafe in Martin Place carrying a pump-action shotgun.

Shortly afterwards, hostages were seen holding a black flag with white Arabic text.

Footage showed the assailant apparently using one hostage as a human shield.

:: Follow live updates of the siege

Channel Ten spoke to two hostages who said the gunman is claiming to have four bombs - two inside the cafe and two elsewhere in the financial district.

Police are investigating reports the assailant has used hostages' social media accounts to demand a meeting with Australian Prime Minster Tony Abbott.

Some of the hostages have spoken to their families on mobile phones - while five, three male customers and two female staff, have managed to escape.

Journalist Chris Reason, who has a view of the cafe from the Channel 7 building, said the gunman was "extremely agitated" when the hostages fled.

But he told Sky News the cafe had now "gone completely black" - although he could make out a man, thought to be the hostage taker, holding an iPad.

"We can see very little of what is going on inside, which is obviously not good news," said Mr Reason.

"From our position over the last couple of hours we have counted 15 hostages in total. Five of those have escaped.

"They are all ages, all demographics. Fortunately no children that we could see."

Mr Reason said the gunman had been forcing hostages to stand at the window with their hands against the glass - and that they were rotated every two hours.

One woman in that position looked like she had been "crying her heart out", he said.

One of the gunman's reported demands is that an IS flag be brought to the cafe.

Police have confirmed they are working "on a footing" it is a terrorist incident - but they remain "confident" a peaceful resolution can be achieved.

1/35

Gallery: Latest Images From Australia

Two hostages run for cover behind a policeman during a hostage siege in the central business district of Sydney

A hostage runs towards a police officer

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Trending Hashtag And Sydney Siege Cafe Selfies

The ongoing hostage situation in Sydney has sparked an outpouring of solidarity on social media with the hashtag #illridewithyou trending worldwide.

Two Arabic flags, similar to those used by Islamic State, have been seen inside the Lindt cafe.

The Australian government and Muslim leaders have condemned the attack and called for unity.

Amid uncertainty about the hostage-taker's motives and fears of reprisals an Australian woman reportedly started the #illridewithyou hashtag to reassure Muslims who might feel threatened on public transport in the coming days.

@SirTessa wrote: "If you reg take the #373 bus b/w Coogee/MartinPl, wear religious attire, & don't feel safe alone: I'll ride with you. @ me for schedule."

Twitter users have responded to this in their thousands with many offering to accompany people in Sydney and other Australian cities.

@Eddieperfect wrote: "My family and I are heading in and out of the city by tram in melbs tomorrow. We'll stand by anybody #illridewithyou."

@karennaree tweeted: "#illridewithyou anytime, anyplace, anywhere. We won't be beaten by evil. Praying the hostages will be safe."

The hashtag has been tweeted over 90,000 times.

Elsewhere on social media a number of people have been criticised for tweeting selfies standing by the cordon around the Lindt cafe.

Passers-by and shoppers uploaded the images of themselves to Twitter with hashtags including #hostagesituationselfie.

Their actions have been condemned on the micro-blogging site.

@stillgray wrote: "People taking selfies at the area around the Sydney hostage situation. We have reached peak selfie and it is terrible."

20.49 | 0 komentar | Read More

Top MP's Demand Over CIA Torture Report

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 14 Desember 2014 | 20.49

By Sophy Ridge, Political Correspondent

The head of the UK's Intelligence and Security Committee is demanding to see material documenting any British links to the CIA's use of torture.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, chair of the Commons committee, is seeking any intelligence relating to the UK that was redacted from the explosive Senate report into the CIA.

It concluded that the CIA lied over its torture and interrogation programme developed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Sir Malcolm told Sky's Murnaghan programme: "This is a major United States' report and so we are requesting, both our colleagues on the Senate Intelligence Committee ... but also it will ultimately be the United States government, that will decide whether some of the material that has been redated in the American report can be shown to us.

"We don't need to see everything that's been redacted, what we need to see are the bits that might refer to the UK government."

Asked whether that information would be made public, he said the ISC would only agree for it to be withheld "if the Prime Minister was able to convince us that there were legitimate national security reasons why it shouldn't be published".

He said there had been "justified" criticism of the ISC in the past, but it had new powers to order intelligence agencies to hand over requested files and for its staff to go to MI5, MI6 and GCHQ to "personally inspect files to make sure nothing's been left out".

He said once the ISC had looked through the written material, "we will come to a judgement as to which people, first of all who in the intelligence agencies we wish to take evidence from, secondly either current ministers or former ministers who have intelligence on these matters".

Sir Malcolm said he does not think a judge-led inquiry into any British involvement in the CIA's rendition and torture programme is necessary.

He agreed the ISC does not have the power to compel ministers to give evidence, "but, of course, it would be huge scandal if they did refuse to".

The British Government has admitted requesting the deletion of references to Britain's intelligence agencies for national security reasons.

UK Government representatives had 24 meetings with members of the US committee responsible for the findings.

Some of the deletions are believed to relate to the British Overseas Territory of Diego Garcia.

There is escalating pressure on the British government not to extend an agreement allowing the US to use the territory in the Indian Ocean as a military base.

Andrew Tyrie, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on rendition, said any negotiations should address allegations that it was used by the CIA to render terror suspects around the world.

"The negotiations on the lease can focus minds on establishing the scope and limits of Britain's involvement, direct or indirect, in extraordinary rendition," Mr Tyrie said.

"We are talking about kidnap and taking people to places where they may be maltreated or tortured."

The former Home Office minister, Lib Dem MP Norman Baker, who has taken a close interest in the atoll, said: "As it comes up for renewal, we need a full explanation of what happened in our name on that island."

It comes amid reports former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was questioned by police investigating the abductions of two Libyans who say they were handed to Colonel Gadaffi and tortured by his regime.

Mr Straw was interviewed as a "witness" by Scotland Yard following claims the Government was complicit in the rendition of the two men and their families, the Sunday Times said.

20.49 | 0 komentar | Read More

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