Rapper Tumbles Off Stage During Hit Song

Australian rapper Iggy Azalea fell off the stage while performing one of her hit songs at an MTV Video Music Awards benefit concert.

There is no word if the star was injured – though the way she seamlessly continued singing Fancy suggests she is okay.

Security guards were quick to lift Azalea back on to the stage at The Avalon in Los Angeles.

British singer Charli XCX had joined Azalea to perform the chart-topping single.

Afterwards, Azalea told the crowd she felt "very blessed" to not break her legs.

The 24-year-old then posted a video of the incident on Instagram alongside the caption "I know I laughed."

Tori Kelly and Sam Smith also performed at the event benefiting Lifebeat - Music Fights HIV/AIDS.

Azalea is up for seven awards at Sunday's VMAs.

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IS Has Iraqi Towns In Lockdown As Battles Rage

Kurdish forces are struggling to defend themselves against Islamic State (IS) militants in northeast Iraq and are appealing for more international help.

There has been fighting around towns including Jalula and Sa'dya, which have been controlled by the well-armed Sunni extremists for several weeks.

The IS insurgents have seized large swathes of the country since a June offensive but have been hit by US airstrikes in some areas including around Mosul Dam.

However, Sky's Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay, reporting from outside Jalula, north of Baghdad, said the Kurdish peshmerga fighters want more weaponry from the outside world and are "getting little or no air support".

Thousands of peshmerga and counter-terrorism soldiers have been deployed, including many around the town.

Sky's Stuart Ramsay outside the town of Jalula

He said the Kurds have some heavy weapons but the equipment is old, while the jihadists "have modern equipment and lots of money".

Ramsay said the two sides are fighting to control territory not the towns themselves as IS have them "under total lockdown".

The Kurds are trying to cut their supply lines and one fighter told Sky News: "We need weapons to make the battle equal."

Ramsay said: "Peshmerga front-line positions are regularly hit from far away. There are scorch marks and burning patches everywhere."

Roadside bombs laid by the extremists are also "causing more casualties than ever before," he added.

Meanwhile, eight people have been killed after a suicide bomber blew up a vehicle packed with explosives at the interior ministry's intelligence headquarters in Baghdad.

PM designate Haider al Abadi is trying to form a more inclusive government

It comes a day after a sectarian attack at a mosque killed at least 68 Sunni Muslims, plunging efforts to form a united front against the jihadists into crisis.

Officials say a suicide bomber blew himself up in the Imam Wais mosque north of Baghdad, with Shia militiamen picking off fleeing worshippers with machine guns.

Diyala has seen heavy fighting between Iraqi troops and IS. File pic

Attacks on mosques are acutely sensitive and have in the past unleashed a deadly series of revenge killings and counter attacks in Iraq.

The attack, in Diyala province, is seen as a blow to government efforts to secure backing from Sunni groups in its battle against the extremists.

The US says the killing of James Foley was a "terrorist attack" on America

Prime Minister designate Haider al Abadi, a moderate Shia, is attempting to form a more inclusive government following the resignation of outgoing PM Nouri al Maliki.

But two influential Sunni politicians - Parliamentary Speaker Salim al Jabouri and Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al Mutlak - have now pulled out of talks with the main Shia political alliance after the massacre.

The US, which is carrying out airstrikes against militants, has ramped up its rhetoric over the beheading of journalist James Foley.

In Washington, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said the murder "represents a terrorist attack against our country".

He said the US would not be restricted by the Iraq-Syria border when it considers further action against IS militants.

Having poured in from Syria across a desert border that it does not recognise, the Islamist movement has declared its own caliphate.

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'Asbos For Extremists' To Tackle UK Jihadists

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

Home Secretary Theresa May is planning to bring in new laws to tackle the threat of British jihadists - including "anti-social behaviour orders" for extremists.

Mrs May will announce a three-point plan to counter British Muslim extremists, warning that the security threat to the UK will continue for decades.

The measures would target the activities of radical preachers, such as Anjem Choudary, whose extreme rhetoric currently does not constitute a crime.

Full details are yet to emerge, but the new power will be designed to restrict extremists' behaviour and language.

As with an Asbo, it could result in a criminal conviction carrying a jail term if breached.

Mrs May has unveiled her crackdown in an article in the Daily Telegraph.

Theresa May's warning echoes recent comments from David Cameron

She discloses that she will make it illegal to join extremist groups that preach violent views, but are not directly involved in terrorism.

Currently, the threshold for banning membership of organisations, such as the Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIL), requires the Home Secretary to prove that the group is directly involved in terrorist acts.

The new power could target Islamist political organisations and other Muslim groups that tacitly support extremism.

In addition, state-funded organisations such as councils and schools will be given a new legal obligation to combat extremists.

Mrs May uses the Telegraph article to echo a warning about extremism made by the Prime Minister in a newspaper report last weekend.

The Home Secretary writes: "We are in the middle of a generational struggle against a deadly extremist ideology.

Cardiff students Khan (L) and Muthana (C) appeared in an IS video

"We will be engaged in this struggle for many years, probably decades. We must give ourselves all the legal powers we need to prevail.

"I am looking again at the case for new banning orders for extremist groups that fall short of the legal threshold for terrorist proscription, as well as for new civil powers to target extremists who seek to radicalise others."

The measures proposed by Mrs May are similar to recommendations for legislation made by the Government's Extremism Task Force last December.

Those recommendations were surprisingly omitted from the Queen's Speech this year.

But there is no suggestion yet that the Home Secretary plans to introduce emergency legislation when MPs return to the Commons on September 1.

David Cameron said during his brief return to Downing Street from his holiday after the murder of journalist James Foley that there would be "no knee-jerk reaction".

Radical Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary

The problem of radicalisation was highlighted in June when two Cardiff students - Reyaad Khan, 20, Nasser Muthana, also 20, - were identified in a propaganda video for IS posted on YouTube.

The two men along with Muthana's younger brother Aseel, 17, were lured to join extremists fighting in Syria and Iraq.

And a jihadi fighter in Syria told Sky News in July that he was training British teenagers as young as 16 to fight in the war.

Yvette Cooper, Labour's shadow home secretary, said: "More action is needed to respond to the serious problem of people travelling to fight with ISIL.

"The Home Secretary's confirmation that she is continuing to look at the recommendations of the Prime Minister's Taskforce, announced last December, is welcome.

"Though there remains no detail on things like civil powers to tackle extremists or extremist groups for people to consider.

"However I remain concerned that the Government is not addressing the gaps in the Prevent programme - especially the lack of support for community led approaches to preventing radicalisation.

"And the Home Secretary also needs to respond to the concerns raised by the current and previous Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation about the decision to weaken control orders, where they have advised that stronger measures should be put in place."

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Russia Aid Trucks 'Took Ukraine Military Goods'

A Ukrainian army spokesman has accused Russia of using aid trucks to take production equipment from two military plants.

A convoy of about 200 vehicles entered the country on Friday without the permission of the Ukraine government - and left on Saturday after dropping its cargo.

However, military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said the trucks had taken equipment from a factory in Luhansk that makes firearm magazines and a Topaz plant that produces radars.

The convoy's departure comes as German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Kiev for talks with Ukraine's pro-Western leaders on the conflict, which has claimed more than 2,200 lives.

Russian aid trucks pictured upon their return to the border crossing

Ms Merkel called for a bilateral ceasefire ahead of talks between President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko in three days' time.

"There must be two sides to be successful. You cannot achieve peace on your own. I hope the talks with Russia will lead to success," said Ms Merkel.

"The plans are on the table - now actions must follow."

Ms Merkel, who did not rule out more sanctions against Russia, is due to hold discussions with Mr Poroshenko.

The Ukrainian President has maintained that pro-Kremlin fighters must leave before the conflict can end.

"The Ukrainian side and our European partners will do everything possible to bring about peace - but not at the price of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the independence of Ukraine," he said.

Ukraine continues to pound rebel strongholds such as Luhansk and Donetsk, where water has been cut off and supplies are dwindling.

Ms Merkel will hold talks with Mr Poroshenko

At least two civilians were killed by shelling on Saturday.

Sky's Foreign Affairs Correspondent Lisa Holland said: "If anyone can broker a breakthrough it is Ms Merkel.

"She is one of the few Western - and indeed world - leaders who Mr Putin appears to have time for and both know a further decline in Russian-EU relations will hit each others' economies even more."

Russia rolled in its convoy on Friday, saying any delay in providing humanitarian aid was "unacceptable".

It had been agreed the lorries - which had waited on the Russian side of the border for a week - would only be allowed into eastern Ukraine if they were escorted by the International Red Cross.

However, the charity pulled out after not receiving enough security guarantees as fighting continues to rage.

Kiev's foreign ministry informally allowed the convoy to pass to avoid "provocations".

Russia previously let journalists look inside a handful of the lorries, which it said were carrying 1,800 tonnes of aid including food, water, medicine and electrical generators.

A Ukrainian rebel controls an area after a shelling in Donetsk

This was questioned by Nato's top military commander, Philip Breedlove, who claimed the trucks looked like a disguised attempt to reinforce separatist forces. Russia denies backing the rebels.

The UN Security Council discussed the convoy on Friday and no country came to Russia's defence, according to British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant.

Members called it an "illegal and unilateral" action.

Following a phone call, US President Barack Obama and Ms Merkel condemned the act.

They also expressed concern that the large numbers of Russian troops on the Ukraine border and fighting in eastern parts of the country represented a "dangerous escalation".

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Ex-Army Chief: West May Have To Talk To Syria

The former head of the British Army says the West should consider negotiating with Syria's president to tackle Islamist extremists in Syria and Iraq.

Lord Dannatt told Sky News the time may have come to talk to Bashar al Assad about collaborating in the fight against Islamic State (IS) which now controls large areas of the two countries.

He said: "You have to at least consider the otherwise unpalatable thought that maybe we've got to have some kind of dialogue, whether it's under the counter or over the counter, with President Assad of Syria.

A Kurdish peshmerga fighter

"The old dictum that my enemy's enemy is my friend just might have some credence in this less than satisfactory and pretty extraordinary set of times that we are in."

However, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has ruled out such a move with President Assad - a leader who is accused of carrying out war crimes during his country's conflict.

James Foley in Libya in 2011

Meanwhile, the UN has announced the number of people killed in Syria over the last three years has now risen to 191,000.

The United States has warned the IS jihadist organisation poses the most dangerous threat that America has faced in years.

The group, which beheaded American journalist James Foley in response to US airstrikes in Iraq, was "beyond just a terrorist group", US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said.

"They marry ideology, a sophistication of strategic and tactical military prowess. They are tremendously well-funded," he said, adding the threat posed by the "barbaric" extremists was "beyond anything we've seen".

A rough outline of the caliphate declared by IS militants

US airstrikes in Syria - where Mr Foley disappeared in November 2012 - have not been ruled out. When asked about that possibility, Mr Hagel said Washington was "exploring all options".

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, also did not discount attacks on IS fighters in Syria.

"This is an organisation that has an apocalyptic, end-of-days strategic vision and which will eventually have to be defeated," he said.

Militants vowed to attack US targets in another video clip

Kurdish forces have been carrying out a major assault to try to retake the northeast Iraqi towns of Jalula and Sa'dya from IS.

Sky's Alex Crawford, reporting from the outskirts of Jalula, said the operation was being carried out by the Kurdish military's elite counter-terrorism unit, backed up by peshmerga forces.

She said the towns, near the Iranian border and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, had been under the control of IS insurgents for more than two months.

The fighter who killed James Foley

The Kurdish forces have already taken back a major checkpoint, which the Sunni militants had controlled.

Crawford said: "What is significant about this assault is that they (the Kurds) are doing this pretty much entirely on their own.

"They've had very little air support. There is no evidence of any outside weaponry, military hardware to back them up."

Also, at least 30 people were reportedly killed when a Shia militia opened fired inside a Sunni mosque in Baquba, Diyala province.

IS, which was formerly known as ISIS, declared an Islamic state, or caliphate, covering large parts of the two countries earlier this year.

Michael Scheuer, a former CIA senior officer who ran operations against al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has told Sky News defeating IS will require an "enormous" number of Western troops on the ground which would mean an "enormous bloodbath".

He said: "It's a greatly bigger problem than we've seen before, it's better armed, it's better led and certainly more vicious than al Qaeda was in the initial years."

US President Barack Obama has insisted the scope of the US strikes will remain limited, while Prime Minister David Cameron has said Britain will not fight another war in Iraq.

A criminal investigation has now been opened into Mr Foley's murder, which was recorded by the militants in a video that emerged earlier this week.

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Final Email From James Foley's Killers Revealed

IS Demanded Release Of Woman In Texas Jail

Updated: 11:34am UK, Friday 22 August 2014

One of the demands made by kidnappers who killed US journalist James Foley was the release of a woman once named among America's seven most wanted terrorists.

In the final email the Islamic State militant group sent to Mr Foley's parents, the jihadists claimed they offered prisoner exchanges for the journalist's freedom. The one name mentioned in the email was that of Dr Aafia Siddiqui.

The US-educated, Pakistani-born scientist was arrested in the street in Afghanistan's Ghanzi province in 2008.

When local police searched her handbag they found she was carrying handwritten documents referring to a "mass casualty attack" as well as a toxic substance called sodium cyanide, US prosecutors said.

The mother of three's notes listed locations such as the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street and the Brooklyn Bridge, according to the FBI.

There was also information on how to create a dirty bomb, destroy reconnaissance drones and use underwater bombs, and excerpts from the book "Anarchist's Arsenal", according to US prosecutors.

Upon her arrest, Siddiqui was taken by local police to a compound but, left unsecured behind a curtain, she managed to grab an M4 rifle and fire at the US team who had come to interview her, yelling "death to America", her trial heard.

She did not hit anyone, but Siddiqui herself was shot.

The 42-year-old was flown to the US and following her two-week trial in 2010, she was sentenced to 86 years in a Texas jail for trying to kill American servicemen.

No terrorism charges were filed, but prosecutors painted her as a potentially dangerous terrorist.

Siddiqui's lawyers - three of whom were paid by the Pakistani government - argued she had shot at the US officials in a panic and she was mentally ill.

She appeared in a wheelchair, looking frail, and frequently disrupted the proceedings with outbursts at her own lawyers, the jury and witnesses.

Dubbed "al Qaeda Mom" and "Lady Qaeda" by US tabloids, Siddiqui was born in Karachi, Pakistan, but moved to America in the late 1980s or early 1990s.

She trained as a neuroscientist at prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brandeis University.

US authorities claim she returned to Pakistan in 2003 after marrying a relative of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed - the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.

But her disappearance for the next five years is unexplained and has caught the attention of human rights groups.

One theory is that she was detained by America after being named by Mohammed during interrogation. Her lawyers had claimed she had been held in secret US detention.

However, in 2004 US attorney general John Ashcroft listed her among the seven most wanted al Qaeda fugitives.

Her eventual detention, trial and sentencing prompted mass protests across Pakistan.

Activists poured on to the streets shouting "death to America" and burning effigies of President Barack Obama when she was sentenced.

Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan led one rally in Lahore, condemning her jailing as "unethical and inhuman".

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Russia Trucks Enter Ukraine In 'Direct Invasion'

Ukraine has claimed 90 trucks from a Russian aid convoy have crossed into the country without permission in a "direct invasion".

It had been agreed the lorries would only be allowed into eastern Ukraine if they were escorted by the International Red Cross.

But the charity has pulled out after not receiving enough security guarantees as fighting continues to rage.

Ukraine insisted the aid convoy entered under the auspices of the Red Cross

Kiev's foreign ministry said it had informally allowed the convoy to pass to avoid "provocations" and state security chief Valentyn Nalivaychenko said his country will not use force against it.

But he also said: "We consider this a direct invasion by Russia of Ukraine. Under the cynical guise of the Red Cross these are military vehicles."

President Poroshenko is due to meet Russia's leader next week

The vehicles are carrying water, generators and sleeping bags reportedly intended to help civilians in the city of Luhansk, where pro-Russian separatist fighters are besieged by Ukrainian government forces.

The trucks, among a 280-lorry convoy, had been held at a border crossing for a week amid suspicions by Kiev that the mission was being used as a cover for an invasion by Moscow.

But dozens of the Russian vehicles have now moved into the east of the country despite both sides in the months-long conflict ignoring pleas for a ceasefire.

Ukraine said it captured two Russian armoured vehicles

"They passed into Ukraine without clearance or participation of the International Red Cross or (Ukrainian) border guards," said military spokesman Andriy Lysenko.

Ukraine has been reluctant to let the convoy through over fears it is carrying supplies for the rebels, despite Moscow's insistence the goods were simply humanitarian aid.

The transit comes as the Ukrainian president said he would tell Russia's Vladimir Putin to rein in pro-Moscow separatists, when the two leaders meet next week.

Sources said Germany's Angela Merkel would push for a ceasefire

Petro Poroshenko said he would tell President Putin that Ukraine had "a strong country, a strong army" behind him.

He said: "In order to have solid positions in peace negotiations, we have to be strong, to have the unity of the people, a strong country, a strong army."

The 280-truck convoy departed from near Moscow more than seven days ago

"We are capable of defending our sovereignty, our independence and our territorial integrity - we are fighting for the independence of Ukraine. Together we will win for sure."

Mr Poroshenko spoke as government forces, despite taking heavy losses themselves, thrust deeper into rebel-held eastern territory, putting pressure on separatists.

After a faltering start in April, government forces' success has alarmed some Western leaders who believe Mr Putin is being boxed in a corner.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to visit Kiev on Saturday in support for Mr Poroshenko, however diplomatic sources said she will also push Ukraine for a ceasefire to prevent a Putin backlash.

Fierce fighting has continued in the East, with 16 Ukrainian special forces troops killed in fighting on Wednesday night in the town of Ilovaisk, near Donetsk.

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Fast And Furious Pirate Jailed For 33 Months

A computer programmer who filmed Fast & Furious 6 from the back of a cinema then uploaded it to the internet has been jailed for almost three years.

The pirate copy of the film was downloaded 779,000 times, costing one of Hollywood's biggest film-makers almost £2.5m.

Philip Danks, 25, from Walsall, West Midlands, was the first person in the world to record and distribute the movie illegally after filming it on its release day on May 17 last year.

A court heard a special "webwatch" team - set up by LA-based Universal Pictures because the film was so valuable - spotted his copy spreading across the internet.

He was caught when fraud investigators noticed that his online tag 'Thecod3r' attached on the video was identical to his profile on dating website Plenty of Fish.

He was arrested at his home on May 23.

Two days later, he bragged on Facebook: "Seven billion people and I was the first. F*** you Universal Pictures."

Danks boasted on Facebook: "Seven billion people and I was the first"

On Thursday, he pleaded guilty to three charges of distributing pirate copies of films and was jailed for 33 months.

The court heard that he made just £1,000 from selling copies of the film for £1.50 - while the cost to Universal was estimated at £2.3m.

Sentencing Recorder Keith Raynor said: "This was bold, arrogant and cocksure offending.

"You approach to the film industry was made clear in the posting you made on Facebook two days after your arrest.

"I accept the personal profit was modest but the real seriousness of this case is the loss caused to the film industry as a whole."

Prosecuting on behalf of the Federation Against Copyright Theft, Ari Alibhai said: "The film was Universal Picture's most significant release of that year with both the biggest production costs and expected revenue.

The pirated film was recorded at a cinema in Walsall, West Midlands

"The estimated loss to the industry caused by the defendant's actions is conservatively estimated at £2.3m but he did not receive money from the online distribution."

The court heard that although he made money from selling versions of his copy via Facebook or by personal delivery his real motive was "street cred."

Mr Alibhai added: "The first person with a pirated version attracts much kudos. He wanted recognition from the community."

Mr Christopher Loach, defending, said: "He has no real qualifications and is not a man of means.

"He has no substantial assets of any sort and his financial gain has been extremely limited but he was obviously aware that it was a popular film that would be of interest."

Following his arrest, Danks was freed on police bail pending further inquires but continued to offer a dozen films he had copied.

Danks kept people posted on the case through Facebook - but while awaiting sentence he conceded: "Not loking (sic) good"

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Iceland Volcano: Mini-Quakes Revealed In Video

Geologists have released a computer-generated video showing a swarm of mini-earthquakes threatening to trigger a volcanic eruption in Iceland.

The images emerged after Iceland's authorities evacuated an area close to the country's Bardarbunga volcano over fears it could erupt.

An update issued by the Icelandic Met Office on Thursday revealed that earthquakes beneath Bardarbunga continued overnight, with magnitudes up to 3.8. 

The Bardarbunga volcano in Iceland Pic: Icelandic Met Office

Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted in 2010, producing an ash cloud that severely disrupted air travel.

The video - by the Icelandic Met Office - shows a mass of seismic activity, stretching down to eight miles beneath the mountain range.

The dots show areas of seismic activity (pic: Icelandic Met Office)

The area - which is 190 miles from the capital Reykjavik - has no permanent residents but sits in a national park which is popular with tourists.

More than 3,000 small earthquakes have occurred since Saturday at Bardarbunga -  the country's largest volcano system.

Ash billows from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano In Iceland in 2010

Geologists said the magnitude of the earthquakes had been relatively small. Seismologists add that magma is moving horizontally, rather than vertically.

The country's aviation alert level for the risk of a possible eruption is currently at orange, the second-most severe level.

The risk level was raised on Monday after magma movements were detected around six miles from the surface.

The 2010 ash cloud shut down much of Europe's airspace for six days. More than 10 million people were affected.

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How Forensic Experts Will Analyse Beheading Clip

By Tom Cheshire, Technology Correspondent

The video of James Foley's murder is only two minutes and 28 seconds long and is shot against a barren desert backdrop. But it could still reveal important clues.

Security services are now combing the video using digital forensics. What will they be looking for?

There is no CSI-style 'voice print' that uniquely identifies a person. But there are a number of discrete techniques.

Joel Tobias says his company, CY4OR, would use patented software "to analyse the video and audio under laboratory conditions, in stages that would ascertain authentication for signs that the evidence has been edited or tampered with in some way".

This would determine whether the pictures match the audio.

Other elements of the video could be useful: It should be possible to estimate the height of the killer, known as 'John' according to a Guardian report; and the location and time, using the shadows in the video.

Special forces tried unsuccessfully to rescue James Foley and others

Analysts will also look at the clothing, shoes and weapons in the video, since "identifying where these items have been sourced may help determine where the perpetrators are located," according to Sam Type, director of Geek Forensics.

But the audio will be the focus of the investigation.

This is an automated process. Phonetic software will identify obvious characteristics in the voice of the killer, such as the pitch and intensity.

Phonetic software can help look at pitch and intensity

This will be matched against a database of voices of those thought likely to be associated with IS. This voice databank might have been built up from previous and ongoing investigations.

The software will sift the majority of voices, leaving 50-100 possible matches.

Experts phoneticians – a person who specialises in the study of speech sounds – will then comb through those.

They will look for patterns of speech – rhythm and timing. And most of all, voice quality – the timbre.

Elizabeth McClelland, a forensic speech analyst, told Sky News that 'John's' voice is "not the most routine voice, but not highly distinctive".

If the security services do have a reference sample, Ms McClelland said she would not be surprised if the security services could identify the killer with some confidence.

But it won't be a 'match' – merely strong evidence, as the field of forensic audio is as much art as it is science.

"Speech is a behaviour," Ms McClelland told Sky News. "It's not like measuring a piece of wood."

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James Foley's 'British' Killer: What We Know

As intelligence officials scramble to identify the black-clad killer of James Foley, few details have emerged.

This is what is known so far of the Islamic State (IS) militant who appears in a propaganda video that shows the beheading of Mr Foley.

The militant who appears in the video

:: "JOHN"

According to a former hostage cited by the Guardian's Martin Chulov, the man calls himself John.

He appears to be left-handed and of average height and built. 

:: ACCENT

Experts say the man speaks with a southeastern English accent. Some identified it as east London. Other possibilities include Essex and Kent.

The voice is one of the things experts will be looking at as they examine the video. Phonetic software will be employed to highlight obvious characteristics in his voice.

Mr Foley went missing in November 2012. Pic: Jonathan Pedneault

:: BEATLES

Mr Chulov told Sky News that, according to the former hostage, John is one of three Britons who act as the guards of foreign prisoners in the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa.

Some former hostages refer to this group as "The Beatles".

:: NEGOTIATOR

John has been involved in negotiations with relatives of other hostages in the past. He is believed to have conducted negotiations that led to the release of 11 hostages earlier this year. The release was granted in exchange for huge amounts of cash, according to news reports. 

His face has never been shown, either to hostages or to their relatives in Skype conversations during the negotiations.

Mr Foley's killing has been condemned as barbaric

:: LEADER

John appears to be in charge of the group. Mr Chulov described him as the "leader of the pack".

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Sam Kiley said he appears to enjoy a high level of responsibility within the Islamic State. "This is the interface between IS and the outside world, it's through these hostages.

"Therefore this is a senior figure within it."

:: WELL EDUCATED

The Telegraph reported John was a well-educated, intelligent and highly committed member of IS. Mr Chulov said John likely to have been fighting with IS for at least a year.

:: POSSIBLE MOTIVES

Shiraz Maher, a senior researcher at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, said Mr Foley's beheading is the first time IS has used a "directly confrontational approach" to the Western world.

Other experts noted that using an English-speaking militant in the brutal video is meant to scare the West by showing that IS has the ability to recruit from the West and hit Western targets.

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Video Shows Yazidis 'Converting To Islam'

An Islamic State video has emerged purporting to show dozens of captured Yazidi people converting to Islam.

The footage emerged shortly after the group released a video showing one of its black-clad fighters beheading American journalist James Foley.

The latest film, titled "Hundreds of Yazidis convert to Islam", gives no indication of the bloodshed that prompted tens of thousands of people to flee.

In the video, two Islamic State fighters field questions in Arabic. One of the fighters is a bearded middle-aged man dressed in black with an AK-47 assault rifle.

The men get off a bus and greet militants

The other is dressed in a crisp grey military uniform and camouflage cap.

"What has been said is the opposite of reality," the older man says.

He also says that Islamic State has provided the Yazidis with everything they need.

"Men, women and children have converted and I was with them and they are happy with their conversions," he says.

The video shows men asking questions to Islamic State fighters

He adds: "We advise the Yazidis to come down from the mountain and convert."

This is a reference to Mount Sinjar, where thousands who feared death at the hands of the militants took refuge.

"If they stay on the mountain, they will die of starvation and thirst. This talk about aid from Western and crusader countries is all lies.

"If they convert, we will give them everything they need. They will live a happy life."

Thousands of Yazidis have been displaced by the IS advance

The video then shows dozens of Yazidis getting off a bus, walking past a truck mounted with an anti-aircraft weapon and hugging Islamic State militants.

IS fighters had previously threatened members of the ancient religious group with death if they failed to convert to Islam.

IS has been accused of killing hundreds of Yazidis since the militants moved into the area of northern Iraq where the community lives.

More than 400 men were reported to have died in the village of Kocho over two days and their families forced to move with IS militants to Tal Afar.

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Horror Video Of Snipers Picking Off 'Fishermen'

Fiji police are analysing a video which appears to show fishermen being shot dead at sea by unknown gunmen.

The 10-minute video - which was uploaded to YouTube by an unknown source - shows the men clinging to the remains of an upturned boat as shots are fired from what appears to be a commercial vessel.

One of the commercial vessels seen in the video

The film shows some of the men on the boat, which appears to be a tuna fishing vessel, laughing and posing for photographs after the killings.

Interpreters said languages heard on the video included Mandarin, Thai and Vietnamese, while the markings on one of the boats reportedly identify it as Taiwanese.

Fiji Police spokesman Atunaisa Sokomuri said it was too early to confirm whether the footage was genuine.

"There is no clear evidence to identify the victims as Fijian citizens, nor is there a clear indication of where or when this gruesome incident took place," he said.

The president of the Fiji Tuna Boat Owners Association, Graham Southwick, told Pacific Beat radio that Taiwanese boat contractors in Suva have claimed the footage shows the aftermath of a failed hijacking off Somali last year.

Men on the vessel laughed and posed for pictures after the killings

"It's a very famous incident and this didn't happen in Fiji, it happened off the coast of Somalia," he said.

"And the graphic pictures you see of people gunned in the water are not Fijians, but Somali pirates that attempted a hijack of some Taiwanese vessels that attempted a hijack that backfired and they all got gunned down.

Authorities have asked for help from Interpol and other Pacific nations to identify the vessels seen in the video.

Fairfax Media New Zealand, citing Fijian police sources, has reported that a student found the footage on a mobile phone left in a taxi in the Fijian capital, Suva.

Fiji is home to a large tuna fishing fleet, with many of the vessels from so-called "distant water" nations who ply the Pacific because it is one of the few regions where stocks, though declining, are still relatively abundant.

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Pope's Family Dies In Argentina Car Crash

Two great nephews of Pope Francis, and their mother, have been killed in a traffic accident in Argentina, say police.

The accident took place in the early hours of the morning on the Rosario-Córdoba highway in the district of Cordoba, 550km (340 miles) northwest of Buenos Aires, said police commissioner Carina Ferreyra.

The Pope's nephew, Emanuel Horacio Bergoglio, was reportedly driving a vehicle with his wife Valeria Carmona, 38, and their two children, Jose agd 8 months and 2-year-old Antonio.

Mr Bergoglio, who is the son of Alberto, the Pope's late brother, has been hospitalised and is in a serious condition.

Early reports suggest the vehicle they were travelling in hit a truck in front of them.

The family were reportedly returning to Buenos Aires following a holiday weekend.

Vatican spokesman the Rev Federico Lombardi said "The Pope was informed about the tragic accident. He is deeply pained," adding Pope Francis had asked "all who share in his grief to unite with him in prayer."

Earlier today, Pope Francis touched on the subject of his own death for the first time, telling reporters he gave himself "two or three years" to live.

On a flight back to the Vatican from South Korea, the 77-year-old pontiff said: "I see it as the generosity of the people of God. I try to think of my sins, my mistakes, not to become proud.

"Because I know it will last only a short time. Two or three years and then I'll be off to the Father's House."

More follows...

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Iraqi Militants Threaten Revenge Attacks On US

Crucial Battle For World's Most Dangerous Dam

Updated: 5:36pm UK, Monday 18 August 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

Recapturing the Mosul Dam from Islamic State (IS) militants isn't just a military and political necessity - it's an engineering imperative.

It's got feet of clay. More accurately, gypsum and limestone.

It holds 12 billion cubic metres (425 billion cubic feet) of water.

If it broke it would unleash a liquid bulldozer 10 metres (65 feet) high that would engulf Mosul downstream on the Tigris before racing south and flooding Baghdad.

Some experts have said around 500,000 people could be killed if the dam were to fail.

Because it's been built on gypsum and limestone, which are water soluble, the dam's base gets regular injections of "grout" - a messy mix of concrete and earth.

Some 200 tonnes of the emergency engineering porridge has to be poured into the base every year but sinkholes are appearing.

Iraq's government had earmarked billions to repair the dam, which is also the source of electricity for about a million people and clean water for much of northern Iraq.

And while IS has pretentions to establishing a "caliphate" over much of Syria and Iraq, it is unlikely the ranks of its militants include advanced construction engineers capable of keeping the dam from collapsing.

In 2007, the US Army Corps of Engineers surveyed the structure and concluded the dam was "the most dangerous in the world".

Kurdish peshmerga fighters, with the support of airstrikes by US warplanes, are battling for control of the dam.

It's a ginger process.

The IS fighters are battle hardened. They are also demolitions experts and have unleashed a tide of bloody religious slaughter across a third of Iraq and Syria.

They have sown the countryside around the dam with improvised explosive devices and mines.

There are fears they might have also rigged the dam for destruction.

This may be an exaggerated concern. The IS is violent and extreme but there are no signs it is idiotic.

Its recent tactical successes have been carefully orchestrated as part of a wider strategy to create a caliphate not even al Qaeda managed to establish.

Sending a wall of water crashing down the Tigris valley and drowning mostly fellow Sunni Muslims would rob the caliphate of potential supporters and guarantee the survivors would turn against its brutal interpretation of Islam.

But this doesn't mean the dam may be damaged in fighting.

Nor that it would be able to survive intact if the IS manages to hang on, or in tit-for-tat-operations the dam's relentless need for reinforcement was fatally interrupted.

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Iraq Conflict: Fighting Resumes At Mosul Dam

Fighting has resumed at Mosul Dam in northern Iraq with US jets spotted flying overhead, according to Sky sources.

Islamic State (IS) militants seized the strategically important site, which supplies water and power to millions of people down the Tigris river valley, nearly two weeks ago.

But US President Barack Obama announced on Monday that Iraqi and Kurdish forces had regained control of the hydroelectric facility with the help of American airstrikes.

He called it a "major step forward" in the battle against the extremist group.

However, as the Kurds were celebrating their victory at the dam, it appeared there were still remnants of IS in the area who were putting up resistance.

Mosul Dam. Pic: File

Sky's Alex Crawford, at Mosul Dam, said: "We heard firing behind us about 1km away. The president's son said he suspected some hardened IS fighters were in the south of the dam who had not been cleared from the area."

She added: "They are still clearly holding out and putting up some sort of defence."

Crawford said she heard heavy machine-gun fire and possibly mortar shelling as well as jets overhead.

US fighter jets and drones have been attacking IS targets as they try to help push back the Sunni extremists who have taken over large parts of the north and west since June as Iraqi troops fled.

There is also fierce fighting near the centre of Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

The dam and the city of Mosul are in the north of the country

Iraqi forces have halted their advance to Tikrit, which was seized by IS two months ago, due to fierce resistance from the militants.

The Iraqi military had earlier shelled militant positions inside and outside the town, officials said.

Much of the fighting was taking place near the main hospital, more than two miles from the centre.

Meanwhile, the insurgents, who also seized control of the second city of Mosul in June, have threatened to respond to US airstrikes by attacking American targets, posting a video in which they warn: "We will drown all of you in blood".

The message was accompanied by photographs of beheadings.

Unlike al Qaeda, IS has, to date, focused on seizing land in Iraq and Syria for its self-proclaimed caliphate, rather than attacking Western targets.

Earlier, the group denied losing control of Mosul Dam.

Also, the UN refugee agency said it was poised to mount a massive aid operation for 500,000 Iraqis driven from their homes by the jihadists.

Among the initial supplies are 3,000 tents, 200,000 plastic sheets, 18,500 kitchen sets and 16,500 jerry cans.

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PM Warns Of Terror State On Europe's Doorstep

'Poisonous Extremism' Warning

Updated: 10:57pm UK, Saturday 16 August 2014

By David Cameron, Letter In The Sunday Telegraph

Stability. Security. The peace of mind that comes from being able to get a decent job and provide for your family, in a country that you feel has a good future ahead of it and that treats people fairly.

In a nutshell, that is what people in Britain want - and what the Government I lead is dedicated to building.

Britain - our economy, our security, our future - must come first.

After a deep and damaging recession, and our involvement in long and difficult conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is hardly surprising that so many people say to me when seeing the tragedies unfolding on their television screens: "Yes, let's help with aid, but let's not get any more involved."

I agree that we should avoid sending armies to fight or occupy.

But we need to recognise that the brighter future we long for requires a long-term plan for our security as well as for our economy.

True security will only be achieved if we use all our resources - aid, diplomacy, our military prowess - to help bring about a more stable world.

Today, when every nation is so immediately interconnected, we cannot turn a blind eye and assume that there will not be a cost for us if we do.

The creation of an extremist caliphate in the heart of Iraq and extending into Syria is not a problem miles away from home.

Nor is it a problem that should be defined by a war 10 years ago. It is our concern here and now.

Because if we do not act to stem the onslaught of this exceptionally dangerous terrorist movement, it will only grow stronger until it can target us on the streets of Britain.

We already know that it has the murderous intent. Indeed, the first Isis-inspired terrorist acts on the continent of Europe have already taken place.

Our first priority has of course been to deal with the acute humanitarian crisis in Iraq.

We should be proud of the role that our brave armed services and aid workers have played in the international effort.

British citizens have risked their lives to get 80 tons of vital supplies to the Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar.

It is right that we use our aid programme to respond rapidly to a situation like this: Britain has given £13 million to support the aid effort.

We also helped to plan a detailed international rescue operation and we remain ready and flexible to respond to the ongoing challenges in or around Dahuk, where more than 450,000 people have increased the population by 50 per cent.

But a humanitarian response alone is not enough. We also need a broader political, diplomatic and security response.

For that, we must understand the true nature of the threat we face.

We should be clear: this is not the "War on Terror", nor is it a war of religions. It is a struggle for decency, tolerance and moderation in our modern world.

It is a battle against a poisonous ideology that is condemned by all faiths and by all faith leaders, whether Christian, Jewish or Muslim.

Of course there is conflict between Shias and Sunnis, but that is the wrong way to see what is really happening.

What we are witnessing is actually a battle between Islam on the one hand and extremists who want to abuse Islam on the other.

These extremists, often funded by fanatics living far away from the battlefields, pervert the Islamic faith as a way of justifying their warped and barbaric ideology - and they do so not just in Iraq and Syria but right across the world, from Boko Haram and al-Shabaab to the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

So this threat cannot simply be removed by airstrikes alone. We need a tough, intelligent and patient long-term approach that can defeat the terrorist threat at source.

First, we need a firm security response, whether that is military action to go after the terrorists, international co-operation on intelligence and counter-terrorism or uncompromising action against terrorists at home.

On Friday we agreed with our European partners that we will provide equipment directly to the Kurdish forces; we are now identifying what we might supply, from body armour to specialist counter-explosive equipment.

We have also secured a United Nations Security Council resolution to disrupt the flows of finance to Isis, sanction those who are seeking to recruit for it and encourage countries to do all they can to prevent foreign fighters joining the extremist cause.

Here in Britain we have recently introduced stronger powers through our Immigration Act to deprive naturalised Britons of their citizenship if they are suspected of being involved in terrorist activities.

We have taken down 28,000 pieces of terrorist-related material from the web, including 46 Isis-related videos.

And I have also discussed the police response to this growing threat of extremism with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe.

The position is clear. If people are walking around with Isis flags or trying to recruit people to their terrorist cause, they will be arrested and their materials will be seized.

We are a tolerant people, but no tolerance should allow the room for this sort of poisonous extremism in our country.

Alongside a tough security response, there must also be an intelligent political response. We know that terrorist organisations thrive where there is political instability and weak or dysfunctional political institutions.

So we must support the building blocks of democracy - the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, the rights of minorities, free media and association and a proper place in society for the army.

None of these things can be imposed by the West. Every country must make its own way. But we can and must play a valuable role in supporting them to do that.

Isis militants have exploited the absence of a unified and representative government in Baghdad. So we strongly welcome the opportunity of a new start with Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Haider al-Abadi.

I spoke to him earlier this week and assured him that we will support any attempts to forge a genuinely inclusive government that can unite all Iraqi communities - Sunnis, Shias and Kurds - against the common enemy of Isis, which threatens the way of life of them all.

The international community will rally around this new government. But Iraq's neighbours in the region are equally vital.

So we must work with countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the UAE, Egypt and Turkey against these extremist forces, and perhaps even with Iran, which could choose this moment to engage with the international community against this shared threat.

I want Britain to play a leading role in this diplomatic effort. So we will be appointing a Special Representative to the Kurdistan Regional Government and using the Nato summit in Wales and the United Nations General Assembly in New York to help rally support across the international community.

Finally, while being tough and intelligent, we must also be patient and resolute. We are in the middle of a generational struggle against a poisonous and extremist ideology, which I believe we will be fighting for the rest of my political lifetime.

We face in Isis a new threat that is single-minded, determined and unflinching in pursuit of its objectives.

Already it controls not just thousands of minds, but thousands of square miles of territory, sweeping aside much of the boundary between Iraq and Syria to carve out its so-called caliphate.

It makes no secret of its expansionist aims. Even today it has the ancient city of Aleppo firmly within its sights.

And it boasts of its designs on Jordan and Lebanon, and right up to the Turkish border. If it succeeds, we would be facing a terrorist state on the shores of the Mediterranean and bordering a Nato member.

This is a clear danger to Europe and to our security.

It is a daunting challenge. But it is not an invincible one, as long as we are now ready and able to summon up the political will to defend our own values and way of life with the same determination, courage and tenacity as we have faced danger before in our history.

That is how much is at stake here: we have no choice but to rise to the challenge.

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US Launches Airstrikes To Help Retake Iraq Dam

'Corpses Everywhere' After Jihadist 'Massacre'

Updated: 12:54pm UK, Saturday 16 August 2014

Dead bodies were found "everywhere" when Yazidi fighters arrived at a village where jihadists have been accused of carrying out a massacre, witnesses have said.

Officials believe Islamic State (IS) fighters killed around 80 people, mostly Yazidis, after arriving in the northern Iraq village of Kocho and demanding they abandon their beliefs and convert to Islam.

The militants also kidnapped women from the village in Nineveh province and took them to prisons they control, according to a senior Kurdish official.

Yazidi fighter Mohsen Tawwal told AFP by telephone that he saw a large number of bodies in the village.

"We made it into a part of Kocho village, where residents were under siege, but we were too late," he said.

"There were corpses everywhere. We only managed to get two people out alive. The rest had all been killed."

A man from a neighbouring village, who had been told what happened, added: "The Islamic State had spent five days trying to persuade villagers to convert to Islam and ... a long lecture was delivered about the subject today."

"The men were gathered and shot dead.

"The women and girls were probably taken to Tal Afar because that is where the foreign fighters are."

Senior Iraqi official Hoshyar Zebari said: "We have information from multiple sources, in the region and through intelligence, that (on Friday) afternoon, a convoy of (IS) armed men entered this village. 

"They took their revenge on its inhabitants, who happened to be mostly Yazidis who did not flee their homes.

"They committed a massacre against the people. Around 80 of them have been killed."

Thousands of Yazidis - people from a minority sect with an ancient religion - have been forced to flee their homes by the IS advance.

The extremist group, previously called ISIS, has swept across a large part of northern and central Iraq, taking Mosul and threatening Baghdad and Kurdish capital Irbil.

On Saturday, airstrikes targeted the group around Mosul Dam. It was not immediately clear if they were carried out by the Iraqi air force of the US. 

The IS seized Iraq's largest dam on August 7.

Iraq's human rights minister has said that Islamic State militants have killed at least 500 members of the Yazidi community during their offensive in the north.

Some of the victims, including women and children, were buried alive, Mohammed Shia al Sudani said.

The United Nations Security Council on Friday blacklisted six Islamist militants and threatened sanctions against anyone who helped arm or supply them.

Five members of the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which operates in Syria, and Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad al Adnani were included on the British-drafted resolution, which also condemned all aspects of IS's activities and beliefs.

Earlier, EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels agreed to arm Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq.

The meeting of foreign ministers from the 28 EU nations was called by EU foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton and came after several European countries, including France and Germany, said they were prepared to supply weapons to the Peshmerga forces.

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Murder Suspect Released From Prison By Mistake

An inquiry is under way after a man awaiting trial for murder was released from jail by mistake, despite protesting to prison officers that he was supposed to be on his way to court.

Martynas Kupstysj, 25, was waiting in line at Lincoln prison when prison staff handed over his belongings and informed him he was a free man.

Despite telling them that he was due in court with other inmates he was escorted outside and told he could leave.

A confused Mr Kupstysj spent the next few hours wandering around Lincoln city centre while prison officers who realised their mistake launched a frantic search for him.

Prison staff eventually spotted the inmate waiting at a bus stop outside the prison and he was taken back into custody.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson confirmed the prisoner had been freed by mistake.

"A prisoner from Lincoln was released in error on 8 August. The police were notified immediately and he was arrested within hours. An investigation by a senior governor has been launched," she said.

"We take public protection extremely seriously and this type of incident is a very rare but regrettable occurrence."

HMP Lincoln governor Peter Wright told the Lincolnshire Echo the mix-up was "a very grave matter".

"An independent investigation has been launched by the prison service," he said.

"This should not happen. I've made dramatic changes already. It was a fundamental breach of what we are here to do."

Lithuanian Mr Kupstysj is charged, along with his brother-in-law Andrus Giedraitis, with the murder of 24-year-old Latvian Ivans Zdanovics, whose body was found following a fire at his Lincolnshire home in January.

Mr Kupstysj's wife Sandra Giedraityte, 28, is charged with perverting the course of justice.

The men will now face a retrial early next year.

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Ebola Sufferers Flee Attack On Liberia Clinic

At least 29 ebola patients have reportedly fled a quarantine centre in Liberia after it was attacked by armed men.

"They broke down the doors and looted the place. The patients all fled," Rebecca Wesseh, who witnessed the attack, told AFP news agency.

George Williams, head of the Health Workers Association of Liberia, said the unit housed 29 patients receiving preliminary treatment before being taken to hospital.

It was unclear how many are now at large after the overnight raid.

Ms Wesseh said she heard the raiders shouting that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf "is broke", adding: "She wants money. There's no ebola" in Liberia.

Most of the raiders were young men and were armed with clubs. They broke into the isolation unit set up in a high school in a Monrovia suburb, Ms Wesseh said.

Nurses also fled the attack.

The looting of the centre came as Kenya closed its borders to travellers from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone because of fears about the spread of ebola.

National carrier Kenya Airways said it was suspending its flights to Monrovia and Freetown from Wednesday.

At least 1,145 people have died across West Africa this year because of the world's worst-ever outbreak of the virus. 

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, on Friday warned ebola was spreading faster than authorities could handle.

The charity said it could take six months to bring under control.

Ebola is spread by contact with an infected person's bodily fluids, such as sweat and blood, and no cure or vaccine is currently available.

The last days of a victim's life can be grim, with agonising muscular pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and catastrophic haemorrhaging as vital organs break down.

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