Ukraine And Pro-Russian Rebels Agree Ceasefire

The Ukrainian government has agreed a ceasefire with pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country.

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko confirmed on his Twitter account that a peace plan had been signed, while pro-Russian rebels also announced the news on the social media site.

The deal came into force at 4pm UK time, but just minutes later a number of explosions were reported north of the eastern city of Donetsk.

Mr Poroshenko, who has been attending a Nato summit in Wales, said the agreement followed a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

"Human life is the highest value and we must do everything possible and impossible to end the bloodshed and the suffering," said the Ukrainian President.

Ukrainian soldiers respond as separatists fire heavy artillery in Mariupol

The United Nations has put the death toll in the five-month conflict at more than 2,600.

Mr Poroshenko said 12 steps, including a decentralisation of powers, the provision of humanitarian aid and the release of prisoners on both sides, had been agreed under the terms of the ceasefire.

Prime Minister David Cameron said sanctions against Russia announced last weekend would come into force despite the truce - but could be lifted if a lasting peace was found.

US President Barack Obama added that, as things stood, the West was preparing to "deepen and broaden" sanctions.

On the ceasefire, Mr Obama said he was "hopeful but based on past experience also sceptical that the separatists will follow through and the Russians will stop violating Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity".

A man repairs the damage to a building caused by shelling in Donetsk

Talks have been taking place between Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels in the Belarussian capital, Minsk. Officials from Russia and the OSCE security watchdog have participated.

Separately, Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said in a televised cabinet meeting in Kiev that the peace plan must include three key elements - a ceasefire, the withdrawal of "Russian forces and Russian bandits and terrorists" and the restoration of Ukraine's state border with Russia.

A rebel offensive in south-east Ukraine in the last two weeks has turned the tide of the war against Ukrainian forces, who until recently had appeared close to crushing the rebellion.

Sky's Katie Stallard, who is on eastern city limits of Mariupol, said soldiers from both sides remained in position and that it was difficult to see the ceasefire holding "long term".

David Cameron said sanctions would stand despite the truce

"No one has much faith in the ceasefire here," she said.

"There is scepticism about the timing. President Putin has come up with the peace plan right at the point European leaders were preparing to finalise tougher sanctions on Russia.

"What this also doesn't resolve is that we're hearing from the self-proclaimed prime minister of the Lugansk People's Republic, who is saying that this ceasefire doesn't address the status of their 'republic' and they do not abandon their plans to separate from Ukraine."

Meanwhile, Nato announced plans to create a 'Spearhead' rapid response force to counter Russian aggression in Ukraine.

But Moscow said joint military exercises planned by Kiev and Nato in Ukraine - and announced along with the Spearhead force - could undermine peace moves.

Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement that military exercises - planned for September 16-26 - would cause "increased tensions, threaten the tentative progress in the peace process in Ukraine and contribute to the aggravation of a split in the Ukraine society."

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Hostage David Haines' Family Under Police Guard

The Croatian family of David Haines, the British hostage held by Islamic State, are receiving 24 hour police protection, Sky sources say.

Mr Haines, who has a wife and four-year-old daughter in Zagreb, was threatened with death in the recently released video of the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff.

The aid worker was taken from a refugee camp close to the Syrian border with Turkey in March 2013.

The 44-year-old has worked for aid agencies in some of the world's worst trouble spots, including Libya and South Sudan.

He also has a teenage daughter in Scotland from a previous marriage.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, meanwhile, announced the formation of a "core coalition" to tackle IS militants, who have seized control of much of northern Iraq and Syria. 

Speaking at the Nato summit in Newport, he urged the United Kingdom, France and Australia, as well as other nations, to provide the air power, intelligence, weapons and equipment to go after the group inside Iraq.

And Iraqi officials said an airstrike had killed a senior aide of IS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. 

Steven Sotloff was the second US journalist beheaded in an IS video

Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday ruled out paying a ransom to the militants for Mr Haines' release, describing such payments as "utterly self-defeating".

He acknowledged it was a "desperately difficult situation" and said he was personally overseeing efforts to bring the aid worker home safely.

Mr Haines' Croatian wife earlier told The Daily Telegraph: "He's everything to us. He's our life. He's a fantastic man and father.

"Nobody can understand how we are feeling. My daughter keeps asking about him every day. She hasn't seen her father for a year and a half. She has gone through so much. She sees me crying all the time," Dragana Prodanovic Haines said at the family's home near Zagreb.

The ACTED charity which employs Mr Haines said it was "deeply shocked" by the images of the aid worker being threatened.

"The threats on David Haines' life are intolerable," it added.

Muslim religious leaders across Scotland are using Friday prayers to call for the release of all hostages held by IS.

A joint statement from the Muslim Council of Scotland, Islamic Society of Britain and Glasgow Central Mosque, said: "We send our heartfelt sympathies to the families of those who have been killed at the murderous hands of IS - regardless of where they are from or what their religion.

"The actions of IS are against the teachings of Islam and therefore supporting or joining such an organisation is unacceptable.

"We call for the immediate release of all hostages held by IS and pray for all of those killed, injured or harmed by extremism the world over."

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Stand Up Be Counted: Has Football Lost Its Way?

Sky News' Stand Up Be Counted: How It Works

Updated: 8:50am UK, Monday 01 September 2014

By Afua Hirsch, Social Affairs and Education Editor

There is a group of people in this country who are invisible. They have little ability to influence politics, their voices are rarely heard in the news, and their opinions are largely ignored.

:: Click here to visit the Stand Up Be Counted site

This may sound like the predicament of a small and hard to reach minority, but it has been the reality for more than half of young people in the UK.

Many 18 to 24 year olds don't vote. At the last election, only 44% of that age group voted. That means more than half not influencing who gets into power.

It means politicians can comfortably ignore a whole demographic, confident in the knowledge that they have no influence at the ballot box.

It means disengaging from the process which governs everyone's lives.

From today, Sky News is doing something different, to create a change. We are launching Stand Up Be Counted - to help give young people a voice.

Our new site will let people in this age group upload a short clip of them talking on camera about something they are passionate about.

This could range from prejudice in the criminal justice system, to the effect of the rise in tuition fees, and calls for cycling helmets to be made mandatory.

The Stand Up site is already a showcase for creative, absorbing and sometimes entertaining debate from 16-25 year olds in their bedroom, back garden or high street, talking about the things that matter to them.

You can share it too, on mobile devices on WhatsApp and Kik, and on all devices on Twitter, Facebook and email.

The process is simple. You can register via the upload button at the top of your screen. You'll need a profile picture and a short biography up to 50 words.

After that, you're a few clicks away from being able to upload your video or content. Short videos - ideally around 60 seconds - blogs and photos are all welcome on one condition - they have to come from the heart.

And it's safe to speak openly, and powerfully.

This is a place for robust debate, with zero tolerance for abuse, so that you can make your point freely, knowing that as well as starting conversations with your peers, you also have access to Sky News' audience, and crucially, those in power who have found it all too easy to ignore the views of young people.

One click on the site takes you straight to the page where you can register to vote - an act that, were every young person to do it - would drastically transform the political and decision-making landscape in this country.

This is changing Sky News, too. The voices we are hearing are informing our coverage and changing our perspective.

It's easy to think that because they don't vote, young people are disinterested.

Venting frustration on Facebook at "corruption" (one of the words young people we asked most associate with politics) is not enough.

Now is the time to speak. And, crucially, speak where the nation is listening.

:: Stand Up website: www.skynews.com/standupbecounted

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Sky News Service Now Available On Xbox 360

Sky has announced that its award-winning broadcast news service will now be available to view on Xbox 360.

The new service will enable millions of Xbox customers in the US and UK to access Sky News directly through their consoles.

From Tuesday, Xbox Live customers will see the Sky News icon on the TV section of their homepage and will be able to access the live feed 24 hours a day.

This includes the latest breaking news as well as business, political and entertainment coverage.

The Sky News app also offers access to a wide range of on demand stories through a constantly updated video library.

The Xbox launch marks the next step in the expansion of Sky News in the US, which includes tailoring its channel feed to incorporate editorial segments produced specifically for the US audience.

It will also feature news and analysis from Sky News' own US team, based in bureaus in New York, Washington and Los Angeles.

Andrew Hawken, head of Sky News Digital, said: "Sky News is consistently exploring opportunities to expand our global reach. Making Sky News available on Xbox was an ideal way to achieve this.

"With a growing US footprint of a million users and a US news team, we're thrilled that our coverage will be showcased to millions of Xbox customers."

The service was developed in partnership with 1 Mainstream, a digital TV distribution platform for deploying HD video services across TV, game consoles, tablets and streaming devices.

Rajeev Raman, chief executive of 1 Mainstream, said: "We're pleased to extend our relationship with Sky to help them expand the footprint for Sky News and to deliver its world-class journalism to millions of people in the US.

"Together with Sky, we continue to bring innovative over-the-top (OTT) services to the growing audience of connected-TV users."

This agreement builds on Sky's growing international channels business, which already reaches more than 100 million viewers across Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. 

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Beheading Suspect Under Guard In Hospital

A man suspected of beheading a grandmother after killing a pet cat is in hospital under police guard.

Officers are waiting to question the 25-year-old, who allegedly wandered through back gardens with a machete, screaming and shouting, before he was arrested.

Palmira Silva, 82, was found collapsed in a garden in Edmonton, north London on Thursday before being pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers are also investigating an attempted attack on two people at another house in the same road before Ms Silva was killed.

Tributes have been paid to the elderly woman of Italian descent who ran a nearby cafe.

A police tent was put up at the scene of the attack

Dilek Solma, 19, who works next door, said: "I'm so upset. She was a very smiley lady, always had a smile on her face, and loved the community."

Another shop worker Raj Thangavelselvaraj, 50, said: "She was a nice lady, she was a good lady to everyone. It's very sad."

Police carried out a dramatic evacuation operation to save neighbours and an armed team tasered the knifeman as he struggled with officers, leaving one with a broken wrist.

Restaurant worker Freda Odame, 30, said: "I heard shouting and banging and I opened my curtains and saw a guy holding a knife in a back garden a few doors along. He was screaming. I could see he seemed aggressive. He looked a bit frantic."

She added: "I was shaking and I just shut the curtains. I was worried he might see me. Then the police knocked on the door and said 'You've got to get out, you've got to get out'."

Ahmed Yusuf, 19, said: "At first there were two police cars, then all of a sudden there were 20. The police said to drop everything. I said 'What's going on?' and they said 'there's a guy jumping over gardens'."

Police forensic teams look for evidence

Another resident described seeing a man brandishing a machete and shouting about cats.

The witness, who did not want to be named, said he also saw a headless cat as he watched the drama from his window.

The man said: "There was a scream so I went to the windows and saw a guy with a machete with blood dripping from it. We saw a cat on the floor without a head. He was standing in the garden and walking up and down shouting about cats."

The knifeman then appeared in the witness's garden and began swiping at plants, he said.

He went on: "He started cutting roses. We were just trying to call the police."

Metropolitan Police commander Simon Letchford said police were trying to establish the attacker's motive, but there are no signs of a link to terrorism.

He said officers smashed house windows to get people out after the man had been "cornered" in a house.

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'Loving' Twins Die In Suspected Murder-Suicide

Two nine-year-old twins, who died in a suspected murder-suicide along with an older brother, have been described as "loving, energetic and full of fun".

The bodies of Thomas and Patrick O'Driscoll were discovered by another sibling in their detached bungalow near Charleville, Ireland on Thursday.

Their brother Jonathan, who was in his 20s, was found an hour later about 10 miles away in woods near the river Awbeg, just outside Buttevant.

Gardai at the scene where two children were found dead in Charleville

Unconfirmed reports suggested Thomas and Patrick had been stabbed multiple times in a frenzied attack, while Jonathan is believed to have taken his own life.

Sheila Cagney of the Banogue National School in Croom, where the twins had been for just over a year, said teachers and pupils were trying to come to terms with the tragedy.

"This is a terrible tragedy for the family, the school and the whole community. We are deeply saddened by this event," the school principal said.

The twins' bodies were found at home near Charleville

"Our sympathy and thoughts are with the family and friends at this terrible time."

Post-mortem examinations are to be carried out on the three family members at Cork University Hospital.

If the murder-suicide suspicions are confirmed, it will be the second incident of its kind in Ireland in just over six weeks.

Two brothers died at their home in rural Sligo in late July. Brandon Skeffington, nine, was found with stab wounds in the family home at Tourlestrane near Tubbercurry, before the body of his elder brother Shane junior, 21, was found in a shed beside the property.

Police set up checkpoints around the area after the boys were found

A study released last August examined 19 similar incidents over a 13-year period from January 2001 to the end of June last year.

The report revealed that on average one murder-suicide incident happens per year and 46 people died in the period under review.

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Astronomers Reveal Milky Way's Address

Astronomers have mapped the Milky Way's location in the universe to the edge of a supercluster of galaxies called Laniakea.

The supercluster, which means "immense heaven" in Hawaiian, has been mapped out in 3D and contains more than 100,000 galaxies and hundred million billion suns, according to an article in the journal Nature.

Researchers found it would take 500 million years, travelling at the speed of light, to travel from one end of the supercluster to the other.

The study found that galaxies tend to group together, rather than be distributed randomly in the universe, and are connected by a "cosmic web" made from filaments of matter which are tugged by gravity.

Where these intersect, they create superclusters of galaxies which are affected by gravity.

Brent Tully, who lead a team of experts at the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii in Manoa, used a new method to map the supercluster which includes our very own Milky Way.

Galaxies group together along filaments of matter. Pic: Nature

His team calculated the location of 8,000 galaxies in our cosmic neighbourhood by estimating their velocity relative to the expansion of the universe.

A phenomenon known as the Great Attractor - a flat-bottomed gravitational "valley" within the supercluster which is pulling objects towards it - has complicated efforts to understand superclusters for decades, especially determining where one ends and another begins.

It makes calculations about the motion of galaxies difficult because many are drawn into it - in the same way water flows down a slope - even though they are also experiencing the outward force created by the Big Bang.

After studying the Great Attractor, the team has discovered that our supercluster is much bigger than previously thought, and could even be part of an even larger structure.

Mr Tully said: "We probably need to measure to another factor of three in distance to explain our local motion.

"We might find that we have to come up with another name for something larger than we're a part of - we're entertaining that as a real possibility."

The Milky Way, the galaxy which includes our own Solar System, is on the outskirts of Laniakea.

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Pentagon Confirms Al Shabaab Leader Killed

The leader of the al Shabaab Islamist terror group was killed in US airstrikes in Somalia, the Pentagon has confirmed.

Ahmed Abdi Godane was targeted in the September 1 strikes conducted by US special operations forces using manned and unmanned aircraft.

"Removing Godane from the battlefield is a major symbolic and operational loss to al Shabaab," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said in a statement on Friday.

The White House, under pressure to increase its efforts in battling terror groups including Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq, hailed Godane's death as an "important step forward in the fight against al Shabaab".

US officials said on Monday that the airstrikes destroyed an encampment and a vehicle using several Hellfire missiles and laser-guided munitions.

The 37-year-old militant was reportedly trained by the Taliban in Afghanistan and took over the leadership of al Shabaab in 2008 after Adan Hashi Ayro was killed in a US missile attack.

The US had previously offered a reward of up to $7m for information leading to the arrest of Godane, who is the spiritual leader of the al Qaeda-linked group.

Al Shabaab seeks to impose its own strict version of Sharia law in Somalia and has also carried out attacks in Kenya and Uganda.

The terror group claimed responsibility for the deadly 2013 attack on a mall in Nairobi that claimed the lives of more than 60 people, including four attackers.

Shabaab controlled most of the southern region of Somalia from 2006 until 2011, when African peacekeeping troops marched into the capital, Mogadishu.

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Ashya Offered Flights By Prague Proton Centre

A Czech clinic has offered to fly brain tumour patient Ashya King and his parents to Prague for proton therapy treatment.

The couple took him out of a Southampton hospital without doctors' consent a week ago as they wanted him to undergo the technique that was not available for him on the NHS.

The family went to Spain where they have a property and apparently planned to sell it to pay for the therapy which costs tens of thousands of pounds.

They were detained under a Europe arrest warrant issued by the UK which was later withdrawn.

The couple were freed from prison on Tuesday night after British authorities abandoned their attempts to extradite them, amid a public backlash, and the trio were later reunited in a Malaga hospital.

Five-year-old Ashya, who has been made a ward of court, cannot be moved without the permission of a judge in the UK.

But if the judge rules he can be taken to Prague, the Czech Proton Therapy Centre have said they will help transport him.

Spokeswoman Iva Tatounova told Sky News: "We have a private jet ready when needed to transfer Ashya to Prague from Spain.

"We were asked by Spanish and UK specialists if we are ready and how the transportation will be provided.

"We told them we are ready and we can arrange it. If the court allows it and the parents agree with the treatment we can transport them here."

Naghemeh and Brett King in Malaga, Spain

The centre claimed it had been sent Ashya's medical records and believed the technique was suitable for him.

A fundraising page set up to help pay for the treatment has so far raised more than £41,000, while charity Kids'n'Cancer UK said they have agreed to pay the £100,000 needed for Ashya's treatment, plus living costs, after donors pledged £35,000 in 24 hours.

Sky News understands a High Court judge may rule on the legal status of the boy before a formal hearing on Monday - if all sides can agree to the next steps.

They have been involved in discussions today and Ashya's family have apparently submitted plans to the court.

His father Brett King has hit out at the authorities' response after he and his wife removed him from hospital, saying they had been "treated like terrorists".

He claimed he had informed the hospital about their plans to take Ashya abroad for proton beam therapy, which was not available to him on the NHS. But he did not give a date for fear they would be stopped.

Southampton General told Sky News the family had made it clear they wanted to take Ashya to Prague, but staff were taken completely by surprise when it happened.

Dr Peter Wilson, chief paediatrician, said Mr and Mrs King were not keen on parts of the treatment which had been suggested, and there had been discussions about alternative therapies.

He added the hospital had "absolutely not" threatened them with an order which would have taken away their right to make decisions about Ashya's care.

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Ukraine: UK Troops To Join Rapid Response Force

US Builds 'Core Coalition' To Combat IS

Updated: 3:13pm UK, Friday 05 September 2014

The US is forming a "core coalition" to battle Islamic State militants in Iraq, senior American officials have said.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called for support as they held talks with officials from 10 nations on the sidelines of a Nato summit on a strategy to defeat IS.

"We need to attack them in ways that prevent them from taking over territory, to bolster the Iraqi security forces and others in the region who are prepared to take them on, without committing troops of our own," Mr Kerry said.

"Obviously I think that's a red line for everybody here: no boots on the ground," he added.

Mr Kerry said he was aware that many nations would not want to do military strikes, but he said they could provide intelligence, equipment or weapons.

The talks were held with defence and foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Poland and Denmark. 

"This group here this morning is the core coalition," Mr Hagel told them.

"It is the core group that will form the larger and extended coalition that's going to be required to deal with this challenge."

Speaking after the meeting, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said: "The clear message coming out of here is that we have to have a comprehensive response to the ISIL challenge. 

"It's not just about whether or not we should get involved in air strikes. Everyone has a role to play and we should look at all elements, though it is clear we need regional support with a new and inclusive government of Iraq leading the efforts."

He reiterated that the UK had not made a decision on whether or not to take part in airstrikes.

The US has launched airstrikes in Iraq against the Sunni militants but is looking to expand its campaign after two videos showed the beheading of two American journalists held captive by the group, James Foley and Steven Sotloff.

The coaltion was announced as an Iraqi airstrike reportedly killed a senior aide of IS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.

IS - also known as ISIS and ISIL - has gained control over vast swathes of Iraq and Syria. It controls the territory with a strict interpretation of Islamic law and has gone after religious minorities.

The US stressed the need for a comprehensive approach to the crisis in talks on Friday and acknowledged that action against IS in Iraq would have implications in Syria as well.

"We're convinced in the days ahead we have the ability to destroy ISIL. It may take a year, it may take two years, it may take three years," Mr Kerry said.

"But we're determined."

Washington is looking to have solid plans in place by the time the United Nations General Assembly meets in two weeks.

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Confusion Over Ukraine 'Permanent Ceasefire'

Vladimir Putin says a ceasefire deal between Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels could be reached by Friday.

The Russian President's announcement comes after conflicting reports that a permanent ceasefire agreement had been reached by the two sides this morning.

Following witness reports of loud artillery explosions near the Ukrainian city of Donetsk, the country's President Petro Poroshenko modified his statement to remove the word "permanent".

Mr Putin and Mr Poroshenko were unable to agree when they met last week

It is unclear whether his actions were in response to reports of the explosion.

Reporting from Mariupol, Ukraine, Sky's Moscow Correspondent Katie Stallard said: "It's extremely unclear at this stage what exactly this ceasefire is supposed to be.

"No one we have spoken to on the ground seems to know about it.

"The Ukrainian president issued a statement this morning claiming he agreed with Vladimir Putin to a permanent ceasefire in the region.

"He has since slightly modified that statement and removed the word 'permanent'.

"A spokesman for President Putin said no such agreement has been reached, nor can it, because Russia is not a party to the conflict."

Mr Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov was earlier quoted as saying the leaders' views "overlap to a considerable degree".

"The heads of state exchanged opinions about what needs to be done first in order to bring an end to the bloodletting in the southeast of the country as soon as possible," said Mr Peskov.

A statement from Kiev said an understanding had been achieved which would enable the "establishment of peace".

The conflict will be at the top of the agenda at the Nato summit in Wales

News of the development was greeted with an immediate rally on the financial markets - the main Russian stock exchange, the Micex, rising 4% and stocks in London with the FTSE 100 reached a 14-year high in morning trade.

Russia later announced it was to hold major military exercises in September of the forces responsible for its long-range nuclear capability. The drills will involve more than 4,000 servicemen and 400 technical units. 

Meanwhile, world leaders have begun arriving in the UK ahead of a two-day Nato summit in Wales where the Ukraine crisis will be top of the agenda. 

Speaking in Estonia ahead of the summit, President Obama said that Nato would not accept what he called Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea.

In a thinly-veiled warning to President Putin, the US President added that the Baltic states were bound by the Nato alliance.

"We have a solid duty to each other. Article Five is crystal clear; an attack on one is an attack on all," he said.

Mr Obama added the US was working to bolster the security of Nato allies and increase America's military presence in Europe.

"It would mean more US forces, including American boots on the ground continuously rotating through the Estonia, Latvia and Ukraine militaries."

Russia has repeatedly denied claims its soldiers were recently sent into eastern Ukraine to support Ukrainian pro-Russian rebels.

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PM: Britain Will Never Give In To Terrorism

Sotloff: Driven Reporter And Mideast Expert

Updated: 1:19pm UK, Wednesday 03 September 2014

Steven Sotloff, the US journalist who was beheaded by Islamic State militants, also held Israeli citizenship, Israel has revealed.

The information had been apparently withheld by Israel in a bid to reduce the risks to the captive.

"Cleared for publication: Steven Sotloff was #Israel citizen RIP," tweeted Paul Hirschson, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.

Friends and colleagues described 31-year-old Mr Sotloff as an honest and courageous journalist who sought to understand the culture of the places he reported from and tell the stories of the people affected by conflict.

His work appeared in Time, Foreign Affairs and World Affairs magazines. He also contributed to some Israeli publications.

"We refused to acknowledge any relationship with him in case it was dangerous for him," said Avi Hoffman, editor of the Jerusalem Report magazine, which had published Mr Sotloff's work.

The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, quoting a former fellow captive, said Mr Sotloff had kept his Judaism a secret from the Islamist insurgents, pretending he was sick when he fasted for the Yom Kippur holiday.

Colleagues stressed that he understood the dangers of reporting in war zones, but remained committed to the task.

"Steven was very ethical, very driven, an exceptional journalist and an exceptional person," said Matthew Van Dyke, an activist and film-maker who met Mr Sotloff in Libya in 2012.

"He was also a cautious journalist, he did everything the right way," he told Sky News.

Mr Sotloff vanished in Syria in August 2013. His capture was kept secret for months at the request of his family, who said they were now grieving privately.

He then appeared in a video that showed the beheading of fellow US journalist James Foley last month.

A Miami native, Mr Sotloff attended the University of Central Florida, where he took an interest in journalism. He did not graduate from the university.

He covered the Arab Spring uprisings and several Middle East hotspots, including Yemen, Egypt and Libya. He learnt Arabic.

"He lived in the region for a time, he really got to know the people, the culture," said Mr Van Dyke.

"This was a region that was important to him, he wasn't somebody who jumped from conflict to conflict all over the world, he was a regional specialist and he knew what he was doing."

In his Facebook and Twitter profiles Mr Sotloff called himself a "stand-up philosopher from Miami" and often spoke of his love for baseball and the Miami Heat.

World Affairs, in an August 20 statement, described Mr Sotloff as "an honest and thoughtful journalist who strives to understand the story from local perspectives and report his findings straightforwardly."

The executive director of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, Joel Simon, said: "Journalists know that covering war is inherently dangerous and that they could get killed in crossfire.

"But being butchered in front of camera simply for being a reporter is pure barbarism."

The group said at least 70 other journalists have been killed covering the conflict in Syria, including some who died over the border in Lebanon and Turkey, and that more than 80 had been kidnapped.

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Porch Killer Gets 17 Years For Teen's Murder

A suburban Detroit homeowner convicted of shooting dead an unarmed 19-year-old woman on his porch has been jailed for 17 years.

Theodore Wafer, 55, received the minimum sentence recommended by prosecutors for the second-degree murder of Renisha McBride.

Renisha McBride, 19, was killed on November 2

He addressed the victim's parents ahead of sentencing on Wednesday, saying he was sorry for what happened in the predawn hours on November 2.

Wafer told Miss McBride's family that he killed a woman who was "too young to leave this world".

"I will carry that guilt and sorrow forever," he added.

Wafer testified that he shot the young woman through his screen door because he feared someone was trying to break into his home.

A jury rejected Wafer's self-defence claim in a case that drew comparisons to the Florida self-defence trial over the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin.

Miss McBride's killing sparked protests that were rife with racial undertones because Wafer is white while his victim was black.

Prosecutors said Miss McBride was looking for help after being involved in a car accident when she appeared at Wafer's door at about 4.30am.

Alcohol tests and testimony revealed that the teen was intoxicated at the time.

On Wednesday, Judge Dana Hathaway said that while Miss McBride made "some terrible choices", she did not deserve to be killed.

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Girl Trapped In Washing Machine On Spin Cycle

A five-year-old girl is recovering in hospital after she became stuck in a washing machine in California.

Police say the girl climbed into the machine at the Washeteria dry cleaners in Pasedena while the woman she was with was not looking.

The woman had been unable to get the machine to work and when she went to use a different machine the girl managed to get inside.

Somehow the door to the machine closed and the spin cycle was activated for several minutes before the woman noticed what had happened.

The girl was taken to hospital from the dry cleaners in Pasadena. Pic: CBS

Vance Mitchell from Pasadena Police told Fox News: "Unfortunately she spun around in that washing machine for several minutes and apparently it was on high speed. She was tumbling pretty fast in there

"One person walked by and said they saw something flopping around in there they thought it was just a dress or something because it was moving pretty fast."

The owner shut the machine down and the girl was air-lifted to hospital as a precaution, though her injuries are not life threatening.

Police do not suspect foul play.

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Mysterious Fake Mobile Phone Towers Discovered

Mysterious fake mobile phone towers discovered across America could be listening in on unsuspecting callers.

A report by Popular Science says the towers have been discovered across the country, and have the ability to attack mobile phones through eavesdropping and installing spyware.

They were discovered by people using a heavily customised Android device called the CryptoPhone 500.

It uses a secure version of the software which can tell if the phone is being subjected to what is known as a baseband attack.

It is then possible to trace the location of the offending tower.

The fake cell towers were detected in July, but the report states there could be more.

Les Goldsmith, chief executive of security firm ESD America, told the magazine: "Interceptor use in the US is much higher than people had anticipated.

"One of our customers took a road trip from Florida to North Carolina and he found eight different interceptors on that trip. We even found one at a casino in Las Vegas."

He said several of the masts were situated near US military bases.

"What we find suspicious is that a lot of these interceptors are right on top of US military bases," he said.

"So we begin to wonder - are some of them US government interceptors? Or are some of them Chinese interceptors?

"Whose interceptor is it? Who are they, that's listening to calls around military bases? Is it just the US military, or are they foreign governments doing it? The point is: we don't really know whose they are."

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Stand Up Be Counted: Thousands Get Involved

Sky News' Stand Up Be Counted: How It Works

Updated: 8:50am UK, Monday 01 September 2014

By Afua Hirsch, Social Affairs and Education Editor

There is a group of people in this country who are invisible. They have little ability to influence politics, their voices are rarely heard in the news, and their opinions are largely ignored.

:: Click here to visit the Stand Up Be Counted site

This may sound like the predicament of a small and hard to reach minority, but it has been the reality for more than half of young people in the UK.

Many 18 to 24 year olds don't vote. At the last election, only 44% of that age group voted. That means more than half not influencing who gets into power.

It means politicians can comfortably ignore a whole demographic, confident in the knowledge that they have no influence at the ballot box.

It means disengaging from the process which governs everyone's lives.

From today, Sky News is doing something different, to create a change. We are launching Stand Up Be Counted - to help give young people a voice.

Our new site will let people in this age group upload a short clip of them talking on camera about something they are passionate about.

This could range from prejudice in the criminal justice system, to the effect of the rise in tuition fees, and calls for cycling helmets to be made mandatory.

The Stand Up site is already a showcase for creative, absorbing and sometimes entertaining debate from 16-25 year olds in their bedroom, back garden or high street, talking about the things that matter to them.

You can share it too, on mobile devices on WhatsApp and Kik, and on all devices on Twitter, Facebook and email.

The process is simple. You can register via the upload button at the top of your screen. You'll need a profile picture and a short biography up to 50 words.

After that, you're a few clicks away from being able to upload your video or content. Short videos - ideally around 60 seconds - blogs and photos are all welcome on one condition - they have to come from the heart.

And it's safe to speak openly, and powerfully.

This is a place for robust debate, with zero tolerance for abuse, so that you can make your point freely, knowing that as well as starting conversations with your peers, you also have access to Sky News' audience, and crucially, those in power who have found it all too easy to ignore the views of young people.

One click on the site takes you straight to the page where you can register to vote - an act that, were every young person to do it - would drastically transform the political and decision-making landscape in this country.

This is changing Sky News, too. The voices we are hearing are informing our coverage and changing our perspective.

It's easy to think that because they don't vote, young people are disinterested.

Venting frustration on Facebook at "corruption" (one of the words young people we asked most associate with politics) is not enough.

Now is the time to speak. And, crucially, speak where the nation is listening.

:: Stand Up website: www.skynews.com/standupbecounted

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Furious Public Demand Rotherham Abuse Answers

Members of the public have shouted and jeered at Rotherham councillors during a meeting to discuss last week's damning report about child sexual abuse.

Dozens of people packed into a small chamber at the Town Hall, with one man demanding to know why they didn't act after a seminar about exploitation in 2005.

One woman received applause after she shouted: "We are very angry and we don't know why all of you haven't resigned."

Three attendees walked out of the public gallery as the council's chief executive, Martin Kimber, began making a formal statement to fellow councillors.

"There is no one more determined than me to ensure that people who commit vile criminal acts are brought to justice."

Martin Kimber said he was determined that abusers be brought to justice

But one victim of child sexual abuse in Rotherham, who was raped repeatedly over the course of three years as a teenager, has claimed the council does not care about those affected.

She told Sky News: "What's an apology going to solve? That's not going to change what happened to those girls, it's not going to change what happened to me, and it's not going to change what happened to kids in the future.

"They're just bothered about getting a pay rise."

The gathering came as the Police and Crime Commissioner at the heart of the scandal, Shaun Wright, faced a motion of no confidence at Sheffield City Council this afternoon.

The urgent item of business stated that councillors believed Mr Wright "no longer has the confidence of the public", and demanded that he "resign with immediate effect".

Shaun Wright is facing a vote of no confidence from Sheffield City Council

Lib Dem Councillor Colin Ross said: "Sheffield City Council needs to show that it takes its responsibility to protect vulnerable young people extremely seriously.

"If this vote goes through, I do not see how Shaun Wright can remain in post. His position will be untenable."

But Mr Wright, who did not take heed of calls to stand down last week from the Prime Minister and Home Secretary, has insisted that the failings in Rotherham were "not about one person or one organisation".

The leader of Rotherham Council, Roger Stone, is the only person to have resigned since Professor Alexis Jay outlined how at least 1,400 children were sexually exploited over a 16-year period.

On Tuesday, the Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police, David Crompton, confirmed that 12 more victims had come forward since the report was published last week.

An independent inquiry into the force's handling of sex abuse complaints has been announced, and Mr Wright has agreed to give evidence.

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Sky News Moving To Freeview Channel 132

Sky News has moved channel on Freeview.

Previously on channel 82, Sky News is now available on channel 132.

You can continue to get the first in breaking news and the best analysis on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602 and Freesat 202 as before.

And you can catch the latest news on UK and world events on the Sky News For iPad app, online at Skynews.com, and on your smartphones.

For more information visit www.digitaluk.co.uk or www.freeview.co.uk website pages or @freeviewadvice and @freeviewTV on Twitter.

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US Vows To 'Degrade And Destroy' Islamic State

Old Foes May Have To Unite To Stop IS Onslaught

Updated: 5:09pm UK, Wednesday 03 September 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

It sounds far-fetched. A utopian vision to crush the dystopia of a vast Islamic caliphate - long-standing foes united in the fight against Islamic State. But it may be the only answer.

Barack Obama has called for it. David Cameron agreed. Experts in Britain, from Lord Richards to Lord West to Baroness Neville Jones, have insisted it's essential - all of them in the space of a few hours and a day after IS militants threatened the life of a British hostage.

Seriously? It must be naive to think that, for example, Saudi Arabia and Iran could unite in the fight?

Iran allegedly has a nuclear weapons programme. Some Saudis have advocated attacking it before Tehran gets hold of The Bomb.

Iran is Shia. Saudi Arabia is Sunni - Iran is predominantly Persian, Saudi Arabia; Arab. They circle one another like snarling lions competing for influence in the region.

Qatar, tiny, hugely rich, punching above its weight, and close to the Muslim Brotherhood, has annoyed its Gulf neighbours in the United Arab Emirates because of this relationship with a movement that they consider terrorist.

It's not labelled that way in the West - but it does pose a threat to the Gulf monarchies.

The Turks, non-Arab Muslims with a long secular tradition, may not be welcome back in Mesopotamia with fighting forces. It ruled for more 500 years - not all of them remembered fondly.

Kurdish ambitions for a state linger after a peace deal with Turkey and extend into Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Iran.

With so many obvious magnetic repulsions, can the poles be easily switched? They can if the lessons of IS are properly learned.

These are that the IS, as the Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al Sheikh says, is the "number one enemy of Islam". This view is shared by the Shia Grand Ayatollah of Iraq, Ali al Sistani.

And that the future it holds up involves the obliteration of all interpretations of Islam and other religions.

Above all, though, the success of the IS must be understood to be its greatest danger to the outside world. Success has bred success. Recruitment to its ranks has soared as it rampaged across Iraq.

It is spreading like an oil fire and could sweep through Jordan, into Egypt (where the Sinai area already has an insurgency) then on into unstable Libya.

This is bad news for the West. It's downright catastrophic for the Arab Muslim world.

Saudi Arabia would be unlikely to survive the firestorm of an ideology that has its roots in the kingdom's own Wahabist ultra-conservative Islam, no matter how hard Jeddah has tried to mitigate the effects of al Qaeda on its population.

So the best option for the region's powers may be the once unthinkable - to put aside pointless ancient sectarian and tribal rivalries. Will they dare?

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Ashya King Reunited With His Mother And Father

Ashya King has been reunited with his parents in a Spanish hospital after they were released from prison near Madrid on Tuesday night.

Brett and Naghemeh King took the five year old abroad against the advice of doctors at Southampton General Hospital where he was was being treated for a brain tumour.

Today Mr King said he and his wife had been treated like "terrorists" - but they had only acted in their son's best interests.

Naghemeh and Brett King speak to the media after their release

Mr King said the family informed the hospital they were going to take Ashya out of the country so he could receive an alternative form of therapy.

But chief paediatrician Dr Peter Wilson said staff were taken by surprise and were "very, very worried", which is why they called police.

Ashya is now being cared for at the Materno-Infantil hospital in Malaga, where Mr King says he will have to stay because of a temporary court order obtained by Portsmouth Council.

When asked earlier if he would do the same thing again, Mr King told Sky News: "Of course. My son's worth everything.

The Kings arrive at the hospital in Malaga

"Worth me going to prison, worth everything, because they were going to kill him in England or turn him into a vegetable."

Mr King told a news conference his wife had spent most of the time in custody crying and he had considered moving from the cell next to hers because he could not bear to listen to it.

He said: "Being locked up you can't do anything. You can't help your son, you can't help your wife. And you don't know the future; what's going to happen to Ashya without us. We didn't know what was happening.

"Hopefully now we can see our son, we can be together, we can show love to him, because without that there's no purpose to life."

Mr King said Ashya was 'worth everything'

Mr and Mrs King want to take Ashya to a clinic in the Czech capital Prague to undergo proton beam therapy, which they believe will increase his chances of survival.

Dr Wilson said that while Southampton General was aware of this "at no stage did the family say to us that they were going to take Ashya and go to Prague".

"When we found that he was missing from the trust, we were at first slightly surprised, and then very very worried," he said.

"There's quite a lot of information surrounding this case that we've not been able to share with the media that made us worry for Ashya's safety.

Mr and Mrs King leave jail on Tuesday night

"We therefore, after having looked for him to ensure that we were not over-egging and jumping to conclusions, we did what we should and what any doctor or nurse does in this situation, which is contact the police."

The Proton Therapy Centre in Prague says it has been in contact with specialists at Southampton General, who have agreed to refer Ashya after two cycles of chemotherapy in the UK, which is likely to take several weeks.

Mr and Mrs King were arrested on Saturday near Malaga and taken to Madrid, where they were held in custody pending an extradition hearing.

They were freed after the Crown Prosecution Service decided to drop the case against them amid a growing clamour for the family to be reunited.

Ashya with his father

A hearing at the High Court in London on Tuesday was adjourned until next week to give Mr and Mrs King and the authorities time to reach an agreement on Ashya's future treatment. If they fail the judge will decide what is best for him.

A fundraising page set up to help pay for the treatment has so far raised more than £21,000, while Charity Kids'n'CancerUK said they have agreed to pay the £100,000 needed for Ashya's treatment, plus living costs, after donors pledged £35,000 in 24 hours.

Chief executive Mike Hyman said: "I have spoken to Ashya's brother, Naveed, and he is dead chuffed."

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