Latest Islamic State video threatens lives of two Japanese hostages
Militants demand $200m ransom for release of hostages named as Kenji Goto Jogo and Huruna Yukawa
Islamic State has released a video threatening the lives of two Japanese hostages and demanding a $200m (£130m) ransom from the Japanese government.
The one-minute 40-second film shows the militant known as “Jihadi John” and is entitled “A message to the government at the people of Japan”. It begins with footage in English from Japan’s public broadcaster giving details of a multimillion-dollar Middle Eastern aid package announced just a few days ago by the country’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe.
Standing between two kneeling hostages wearing orange jumpsuits and named on screen as Kenji Goto Jogo and Huruna Yukawa, the British-sounding militant, dressed in the now-familiar black robe and mask and brown leather gun belt, demands that $100m be paid for the life of each hostage within three days.
Palestine could 'lose millions in US aid' if they sue Israel in ICC, senator warns
Russia issues grim warning to Ukraine over rebel crackdown
Fighting continues as Kiev claims fresh Russian forces have crossed the border
Daniel McLaughlin
Ukraine has accused Moscow of sending more troops and armour into the country to support separatist rebels, as Russia warned Kiev that its campaign against the militants was a grave error that could have “irreversible consequences”.
Fighting at Donetsk airport and elsewhere in eastern Ukraine has intensified sharply in the last week, just as bellicose rhetoric between Kiev and Moscow has increased and hopes for a diplomatic solution to the conflict have dwindled.
Ukrainian prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said last night that the country’s intelligence services had detected Russian military personnel and equipment crossing the border into eastern areas controlled by pro-Moscow insurgents.
Terror from the Fringes: Searching for Answers in the "Charlie Hebdo" Attacks
By SPIEGEL StaffHow did three, seemingly normal sons of immigrant families turn into radicalized and vicious murderers? SPIEGEL went to Paris to find out. The resulting image is one of an identity search gone horribly wrong.
They were unremarkable. Friendly. That, at least, is how neighbors describe the brothers Chérif and Saïd Kouachi. "Really nice boys," is how the director of the children's home where they grew up remembers them. In their closed Facebook group, former residents of the home comfort each other: "I weep this evening," writes one woman. "I weep for my friends, and I weep for the boys I once knew. I weep for the people."
Can you ever truly know a person? People in the neighborhood where the Paris terrorists lived are filled with incomprehension, and people who were close to them are horrified. Even the wives of the two brothers say they knew nothing of their plans.
Human Rights Watch says China draft terrorism law 'licence to commit abuses'
BEIJING: US advocacy group Human Rights Watch on Tuesday urged China to revise draft legislation aimed at combating terrorism, saying it was little more than "a licence to commit human rights abuses".
The law, which was made public for consultation last November, would establish a new counter-terrorism body that would have the power to designate organisations and members as terrorists without any protections of due process.
The draft's definition of terrorism includes "thought, speech, or behaviour" that attempt to "subvert state power", "incite ethnic hatred" or "split the state". Subversion and splittism are catch-all charges that have been used against dissidents.
Human Rights Watch China director Sophie Richardson called for the draft law to be brought in line with international standards, saying that "in its present form this law is little more than a licence to commit human rights abuses".
20 January 2015 Last updated at 00:16
Are most victims of terrorism Muslim?
After the Charlie Hebdo attack, a Paris imam went to the scene and condemned the murders. "These victims are martyrs, and I shall pray for them with all my heart," said Hassen Chalghoumi (above). He was also quoted as saying that 95% of victims of terrorism are Muslim. How accurate is this statistic?
The claim is similar to one in a 2011 report by the US government's National Counter-Terrorism Center (NCTC), which said: "In cases where the religious affiliation of terrorism casualties could be determined, Muslims suffered between 82 and 97% of terrorism-related fatalities over the past five years."
However, the report did not say in what proportion of cases it had been possible to determine the victims' religious affiliation - or whether these cases were representative of the others. The answers are not easy to obtain, because the report is no longer produced.
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