Iraqi Militant Executed After IS Murders Pilot

Ukraine: Duo Jet In For Putin Truce Talks

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 06 Februari 2015 | 15.00

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande are due in Moscow for talks aimed at ending the 10-month conflict in Ukraine.

The pair will try to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to sign up to a peace plan as part of their biggest push yet to halt the crisis.

It follows a meeting in Kiev with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who said discussions had raised "hope for a ceasefire".

The West sees Mr Putin as the orchestrator of rebels who have taken territory in eastern Ukraine - something the Kremlin denies.

Mrs Merkel and Mr Hollande say their new initiative is "based on the territorial integrity of Ukraine" - though few details have been made public.

Several previous peace deals have collapsed.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said Mr Putin was ready to hold constructive talks with European leaders and Russia would "do everything it can" to help resolve the crisis.

But the spokesman added that Ukraine was using weapons that had effects similar to those of weapons of mass destruction.

The conflict, which has claimed 5,350 lives, has led to a deterioration of relations between Russian and the West.

US Secretary of State John Kerry also visited Kiev and revealed that President Barack Obama was considering arming Ukraine.

"The president is reviewing all of his options, among those options is the possibility of providing defensive systems to Ukraine," Mr Kerry said.

"The president will make his decision soon but not before he has had a chance to hear back from myself and others."

He added that Washington would prefer a diplomatic solution and that the US backed a "helpful" peace plan Mrs Merkel and Mr Hollande will present in Moscow.

However, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has warned that, in staging talks with European leaders, Mr Putin could be trying to "split the unity between the EU and the US".

Some 220 people have died in the last three weeks following an escalation of the violence.

Separatists allying themselves with Moscow have been fighting with Ukrainian troops as they attempt to set up independent states in the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.

Meanwhile, hundreds of children were born with HIV unnecessarily in Ukraine last year because of a shortage of vital drugs, a Sky News investigation has discovered.

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War-Torn Ukraine Facing AIDS Care 'Disaster'

By Nick Martin, Sky News Correspondent

Hundreds of children were born with HIV unnecessarily in Ukraine last year because of a shortage of vital drugs, a Sky News investigation has discovered.

A year of conflict has led to claims the country's AIDS programme is "breaking down" and not enough is being done to fight the epidemic, which has plagued the former Soviet state for more than 25 years.

War in the east of the country and political turmoil in Kiev has choked off the supply of antiretroviral drugs used to prevent the spread of the virus.

International organisations like Unicef are worried that one of the key indicators - the transferral of the virus from pregnant women to unborn children - is beginning to rise for the first time since 2002.

"There is potential for a real disaster," said Giovanna Barberis, Unicef's representative in Ukraine.

"Because of the crisis in Ukraine the system is breaking down and there is a shortage of antiretroviral drugs.

"They cost money, they are expensive and whilst the international community is there to support, it is probably not enough."

Many pregnant women who should have received antiretroviral therapy did not get access to the drug and have gone on to give birth to HIV-positive babies, Ms Barberis said.

Months of turmoil have left Ukraine's finances shattered and the government forced to sign a $17bn (£11bn) bailout with the International Monetary Fund.

Despite the warnings, Ukraine's new health minister Alexander Kvitashvili told Sky News the country has "a grip" on the epidemic.

"We're very well prepared to face the challenges and we are ready to send that message to our international donors," he said.

"Given the situation in the country, given the full-blown Russian aggression that we're facing, given the financial crisis, I think we have a grip on the situation."

But doctors on the frontline of the fight against HIV do not agree.

The National Treatment Centre in Kiev is home to 20 children, all of whom have HIV.

Many of them have been abandoned by their mothers and left to live in state-run orphanages.

Dr Vera Checheneva, an HIV specialist and paediatrician, is one of the few doctors who agrees to treat children with HIV - such is the level of fear among the medical profession.

"At the moment I feel I am not in Ukraine, that I am in Africa or somewhere," she said.

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Gallery: Mothers And Children Shunned In War-Torn Ukraine

These are antiretrovirals which can help alleviate the symptoms of HIV or AIDS. They are expensive and Ukraine needs constant help from international donors in order to keep up supply

Dr Vera Checheneva is an HIV specialist and Paediatrician at the Okhmadut clinic in Kiev. She is one of the few doctors in Ukraine willing to treat children with HIV and AIDS

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Parents Of US Hostages Criticise Obama Policy

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 05 Februari 2015 | 14.59

By Sky News US Team

The parents of two American journalists kidnapped in Syria have criticised the Obama administration's hostage policies.

Speaking to Sky News, the mothers of James Foley and Austin Tice cast doubt on whether media blackouts and a blanket ban on ransom payments are truly effective.

They also voiced shock at the "horrific" recent killings of a Jordanian pilot and two Japanese men by Islamic State militants.

Speaking at an event on press freedom in Washington DC, Mrs Foley said she hoped a new White House-ordered review on Americans held captive by terrorists overseas would bring changes.

Mrs Foley said the US government had kept her "totally" in the dark about her son, who was beheaded by Islamic State militants in August last year.

"Jim was let down big time," she said, adding that the family now regretted abiding by the media blackout.

The Foley family was left to negotiate by email with the captors, she said, after the FBI refused to discuss a ransom, angering the militants.

"There was no communications from our government agencies to us," she told Sky News at the Newseum.

"They were constantly asking us for information but nothing came back to us.

"We never knew a thing. They always told us Jim was the highest priority, trust us, don't talk to the media."

Mrs Foley said she never received any official notification of his death, only learning their nightmare had come true from a reporter.

Debra Tice, whose son Austin Tice was abducted in August 2012, said she was now hoping to "raise the volume" on his case.

She said her family's relationship with the FBI had "become acrimonious in a middle-school kind of way, unfortunately" because of the "information vacuum" from the agency.

A month after the 33-year-old freelance reporter went missing, a brief video uploaded to YouTube showed him blindfolded, apparently being walked through rocky terrain by Islamist militants.

The State Department raised the possibility at the time that the former US Marine was actually in the custody of the Syrian government. No ransom demands have been made.

The mothers also said the recent immolation of a Jordanian pilot in an Islamic State video had appalled them.

"The pain that family's feeling, it's just a horrific thing to go through again," said Mrs Foley.

Douglas Frantz, US Assistant Secretary of State for public affairs, accepted some of their points.

"We have had difficulty communicating consistently with families and I'm confident that the (hostage) review is going to fix this," he said.

He told Sky News the National Counterterrorism Center would report back with recommendations in the spring.

Mr Frantz also said the State Department was working "very hard" to free a 26-year-old female aid worker who is the Islamic State's last known US captive.

But he said ransom payments "put targets on the back of every American overseas and feed the kidnap economy".

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UK Can And Should Do More In IS Fight, Say MPs

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

Britain can and should be doing more in the fight against Islamic State, a group of MPs has said.

A report by the Commons Defence Select Committee also found the UK is contributing less than its NATO partners and that the British military lacks a strategy for defeating IS, also known as ISIS.

The report comes after the father of a Jordanian pilot murdered by IS denounced the group as "wild beasts".

The committee's chairman, Rory Stewart, said: "The UK should be focused much more on Iraq. It should be a higher priority.

"That doesn't mean combat troops on the ground. That means, to begin with, just understanding what is going on.

"That means putting military and civilian personnel on to the ground to start mapping who is the enemy, who are these people in ISIS or Da'ash?

"Who are our allies? How do we work with the Sunni tribes? How do we work with the neighbours? What is the US campaign plan? What is the Iraqi campaign plan?

"Once we answer those questions, and we need to answer them urgently, we're not going to begin to play a constructive role fighting ISIS."

Britain only has three military personnel stationed outside northern, Kurdish Iraq.

They have not yet made any specific pledges to send more. That number compares to 3,000 Americans, 300 Spanish personnel and 280 Italians.

Britain has so far contributed 40 heavy machine guns, but Germany is offering a vast arsenal of weapons, including 16,000 assault rifles, 10,000 hand grenades and 8,000 pistols.

RAF aircraft, confined to bombing Iraq and not Syria, have only contributed to 6% of the total strikes against Islamic State positions.

General Sir Richard Shirreff, former deputy supreme commander of NATO forces, is unimpressed with the UK effort, considering it is one of the P5 - permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

He said: "What we need to see from our political leaders is leadership and a preparedness to say, 'This isn't going to be easy, this isn't going to go away, this does affect us dramatically and domestically and internationally'.

"We have a role to play, we have responsibilities as a member of the P5, we have responsibilities in the area, we have history in the area, we have an understanding of the area and we need to be prepared to put our shoulder to the wheel."

The committee emphasised it was not calling for British combat troops to be deployed but saw a need for a strategy which is currently absent.

It also said it was "shocked by the inability or unwillingness of any of the service chiefs to provide a clear and articulate statement of the UK's objectives or strategic plan in Iraq".

:: Watch the special report IS - The New Terror at 2.30pm, 4.30pm and 8.30pm on Sky News, skynews.com and our mobile apps - channels Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132.

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Iraqi Militant Executed After IS Murders Pilot

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 04 Februari 2015 | 14.59

Iraqi Militant Executed After IS Murders Pilot

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Jordan has executed two prisoners after Islamic State murdered one of their pilots, a government spokesman has said.

One of those executed was Iraqi would-be suicide bomber Sajida al Rishawi, who was on death row for her role in a hotel attack that killed 60 people.

The other was Ziad al Karbouli, who had been an aide to the late former leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, and who was sentenced to death in 2008 for plotting terror attacks on Jordanians in Iraq.

Jordan had promised a swift and lethal response after IS released a video showing captured pilot Mu'ath Al Kassasbeh being burned alive in a cage.

IS had demanded the release of Rishawi in exchange for Mr Al Kassasbeh and Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, who the militant group killed in a video posted online three days ago.

Jordan had agreed to the swap, but called off the deal after saying it had received no proof that the pilot was still alive.

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Gallery: Everything We Know About Sajida Al Rishawi

Sajida Al Rishawi, believed to be in her 40s, was known as the 'would-be bomber'

She and her husband were involved in the 2005 Amman bombings, a plot to attack a string of Jordanian hotels

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Sixty people were killed and 115 injured after other suicide bombers targeted three hotels. Al-Rishawi's device, which was packed with ball bearings, failed to detonate

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Her and her husband targeted a wedding party at the Radisson SAS hotel - the fathers of the bride and the groom were both killed

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In 2005 Al-Rishawi released a televised confession while in Jordanian custody. She was sentenced to death and lost an appeal against the conviction in 2007

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Some Arab commentators had suggested jihadist Al Karbouli could also have formed part of a prisoner swap.

The two jihadists were hanged in Swaqa prison, a large facility 70km (45 miles) south of the capital, Amman, just before dawn, a security source told Reuters.

"They were both calm and showed no emotions and just prayed," the source added.

The killing of the pilot outraged Jordanians and drew worldwide condemnation, including from President Barack Obama and the UN Security Council.

Mr Al Kassasbeh was captured by the militants in December when his F-16 crashed near Raqqa, Syria, the de facto capital of the Islamic State group's self-styled caliphate.

The 26-year-old's murder appeared to be aimed at pressuring the government of Jordan - a close US ally - to leave the coalition that has carried out months of airstrikes on IS positions in Syria and Iraq.

But observers say the extremists' brutality against a fellow Muslim could backfire and galvanise other Sunni Muslims in the region against them.

King Abdullah II, Jordan's leader, has portrayed the campaign against the extremists as a battle over values.

In a speech on Jordanian state television, he urged his countrymen to unite.

"It's the duty of all of us to stand united and show the real values of Jordanians in the face of these hardships," the monarch said from Washington.

In a statement before a meeting King Abdullah, US President Barack Obama vowed the pilot's death would "redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of our global coalition to make sure they are degraded and ultimately defeated".

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Written By Unknown on Selasa, 03 Februari 2015 | 14.59

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

Britain could today become the first country in the world to legalise the creation of IVF babies with DNA from three different people.

MPs will debate the controversial technique that involves changing the genetic material passed down the generations.

The new regulations MPs will debate "make provision to enable mitochondrial donation" under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act.

It would allow women to have children without passing on serious and incurable diseases of the mitochondria, tiny power generators found in almost every cell.

Opponents question the technique's safety and warn it could lead to "designer" babies.

But Prof Dame Sally Davies, England's Chief Medical Officer, says the technique would prevent great suffering.

"The 37 genes in the mitochondria are for energy making. They do not make us who we are or what we are.

"Yet children born with defective ones often don't live a year or two.

"Others get gradual deterioration of muscles, heart, kidneys, vision and brain and die in their late teens and early 20s."

Mitochondrial donation has been pioneered by scientists at Newcastle University.

They propose using standard IVF techniques to fertilise an egg from an affected woman and another from a donor.

They would then remove from the affected embryo the nucleus, which contains 99.9% of the parents' DNA, and leave behind the defective mitochondria.

At the same time they would remove the nucleus from the donated embryo.

Finally they would transplant the nucleus containing the parents' genes into the donated embryo, which would then be implanted in the mother's womb.

It's estimated that 2,500 women in the UK are affected by mitochondrial diseases and could use the technique.

But David King, of Human Genetics Alert, urged MPs not to allow the technique.

"This is not about protecting embryos but about protecting children from the severe health risks of these unnecessary techniques and protecting everyone from the eugenic designer baby future that will follow from this.

"These diseases can be prevented through conventional egg donation - a reliable method that doesn't risk the child's health. All that these dangerous experimental techniques add is that that they allow the mother to be a genetic parent, which is not a medical benefit for anyone."

The technique has already been cleared by scientific and ethics watchdogs. The public have also been consulted and broadly supported its use.

Dr Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, the UK's biggest research charity, said: "The Government is right to ask Parliament to support regulations that will allow the law to catch up with public and scientific opinion, and we urge MPs and peers to vote for them."

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'No Justification' For Energy Prices - Report

The big six energy companies are failing to pass on price cuts in full - costing the average household £145 a year - a new report says.

Which? said its research shows a failure to align retail prices with wholesale costs has seen consumers forced to fork out an extra £2.9bn over the last year.

It came as Ofgem, the government department charged with protecting the interests of electricity and gas consumers, was criticised for advising families to save money by making packed lunches or by jogging instead of joining a gym.

According to Which? there was "no justification" to increases in gas and electricity prices in late 2013, based on wholesale costs.

And it argued the recent cuts of up to 5.1% in standard gas tariffs by the so-called 'big six' energy suppliers should have been higher.

The report claimed that if they were aligned with wholesale energy costs, the reductions in gas and electricity prices should have been around 10%.

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "Our analysis places a massive question mark over how suppliers have been setting prices over the last two years.

"They now need to explain to their customers why bills don't fall further in response to dropping wholesale prices.

"While the competition inquiry should establish beyond doubt whether the price people are paying today is right, consumers will now look to politicians of every party to set out how they'll deliver fair and affordable energy prices in the future."

Ofgem was accused of "adding insult to injury" over its cost-cutting advice to consumers, which also included switching to a second-hand phone and not buying coffee.

Eva Jasiewicz, from Fuel Poverty Action, told Sky News that Ofgem was not protecting the interests of consumers, 68% of whom she said want energy brought back into public control.

"Ofgem are blaming the poor, they should be putting the blame on the big six," she said.

"The big six energy companies have been making massive profits (and) no one's asking the CEOs of these companies to cut down.

"They're giving themselves multimillion-pound pay packets, but they're not passing on the cuts at all in the price of fuel to consumers."

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Young Won't Stand For 'Same Old Rhetoric'

Written By Unknown on Senin, 02 Februari 2015 | 14.59

Stand Up Be Counted contributors have challenged politicians to break from their usual lines when they take part in the Sky News Facebook #AskTheLeaders event.

Student James Cantwell, who will be in the audience, said: "It's fantastic they're coming to us but we can't have the 'same old same old' rhetoric. We won't stand for it."

Stand Up Be Counted (SUBC) is a Sky News initiative where 16 to 25-year-olds can speak out and share ideas.

It is working with Facebook to give younger people the chance to grill those in charge of the major parties, both in person and online.

There will be a day of live Q&A sessions with 60 young people interrogating political leaders live on Sky News.

People can join the discussion online on Monday by using the #AskTheLeaders hashtag on the Stand Up Be Counted Facebook page, the Sky News Facebook page or on Twitter.

The whole day's coverage will be streamed from 9am on the SUBC Facebook page, the Sky News Facebook page and Sky News YouTube channel.

Carissa Jamu, another Stand Up who will be in the audience, said: "I think this is a great platform. We don't normally have this opportunity to speak to leaders in person - but through social media we can get our voices heard.

"That's the most convenient way to get through to us, we're on Facebook and Twitter daily, that's the best way to interact with us."

Political issues were the most discussed topics on Facebook last year so the event aims to bring leaders to where 16 to 25-year-olds discuss what matters to them.

James, 19, said: "We are the social media generation, so it's putting it on our terms having it on a social media platform. It's putting the ball in our court. We've got the power."

Issues that Stand Ups are keen to talk about include, according to James, immigration, fracking, austerity and tuition fees.

But Carissa, 22, said: "I think as students we raise tuition fees too much. Other issues are out there we need to discuss - welfare, benefits, we're going to get older - they're going to affect us at some point."

If the leaders dodge questions on these difficult areas the contributors are confident they won't let them try the oldest trick in the book - answering the question they want to answer and being elusive.

Carissa said: "I'm going to re-word the question and hope they answer it again. I'm going to keep pestering them about it.

"Every time we ask them questions they divert it to something different. So I'm going to re-word it and hopefully we'll get there."

James added: "I don't want to get let down. My challenge to them is real talk - just tell it how it is."

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Leaders Await Grilling On Issues Facing Young

By Faisal Islam, Political Editor

Young voters have a unique chance to grill party leaders today in a series of live question-and-answer sessions hosted by Sky News and Facebook.

They have been given unprecedented access to Westminster's most powerful politicians as part of Stand Up Be Counted: Ask The Leaders - an all-day, multi-media event.

Today, Labour's Ed Miliband, the Liberal Democrats' Nick Clegg and the Green Party's Natalie Bennett will be interviewed one by one.

They will face questions from a studio audience made up of young voters - and from an online audience through the Stand Up Be Counted Facebook page.

It is being filmed at offices in central London and will be broadcast on TV and online.

UKIP's Nigel Farage was also invited to the event, which comes just three months before a General Election in which social media could play a decisive role for the first time.

In a campaign currently seen as too close to call by most experts, the winner could be the party that best gets to grips with new opportunities to speak to voters.

Memberships of the major parties are dwindling.

According to the House of Commons Library: "Less than 1% of the UK electorate is now a member of the Conservative, Labour or Liberal Democrat Party, compared to 3.8% in 1983."

But interaction with voters on social networks is soaring - with data reflecting the seismic changes taking place in British politics.

UKIP has surged ahead of Labour in terms of Facebook "likes" and is snapping at the heels of the Conservatives, while the SNP and Greens have overtaken the Liberal Democrats.

Nowhere is social media usage higher than among young people and questions they've submitted through Stand Up Be Counted's online platforms form a key part of today's Q&As.

Voters of all ages have also been sending their questions through Sky News' Facebook page.

The whole day's coverage will be streamed from 9am on the SUBC Facebook page, the Sky News Facebook page, the Sky News YouTube channel, on skynews.com and our mobile apps.

Throughout Monday, people can join the discussion online by using the #AskTheLeaders hashtag on the Stand Up Be Counted Facebook page, the Sky News Facebook page or on Twitter.

Questions and comments can be sent throughout the day - just use #AskTheLeaders.

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IS Hostage Pilot's Brother: 'It's Not Our War'

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 01 Februari 2015 | 14.59

By Tom Rayner, Middle East Reporter, Karak, Jordan

The brother of the Jordanian pilot held captive by Islamic State has urged his country's leaders to leave the international coalition targeting the group, saying: "It's not our war."

His comments reflect the growing domestic pressure being put on the Jordanian government, as the fate of Mu'ath Al Kassasbeh remains unknown.

In the pilot's home town of Ay, which sits in the Karak Mountains 90 miles south of the capital Amman, there have been demonstrations against the country's involvement in the US-led coalition.

Speaking to Sky News, Mu'ath's brother Jawdat Al Kassasbeh said such sentiments were widely held.

"The Jordanian people in general and our cousins here in this village are saying this war is not our war. It is not our war," he said.

Asked whether he believes his brother is still alive, he said: "God bless him. I really don't know. I really don't. I just hope."

Islamic State (IS) had said it would kill Mu'ath by sunset on Thursday unless Iraqi jihadist Sajida al Rishawi was released in exchange for Japanese hostage, Kenji Goto.

The Jordanian government have said they are prepared to make the exchange, but that they have yet to receive proof the pilot is alive.

Earlier on Saturday, the Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister told reporters in Amman that talks with Islamic State remained "dead-locked".

The Kassasbeh family are part of one of the largest tribes in Jordan and one of the most loyal to the Royal Family.

But in the last week they have increasingly taken their frustrations to the streets, calling for more information about the talks and for Jordan's leadership to do more to save their son.

Analysts have suggested IS is set on exploiting the captured pilot to cause instability in Jordan, driving a wedge between the Western-backed government and the network of tribal communities.

However, those close to the Royal Family believe the organisation is underestimating the bonds that hold the Hashemite Kingdom together.

"They're not going to get anywhere. The tribes have always been the pillars of the country and the pillars of the army," said retired Jordanian General Ali Shukri.

General Shukri served for 23 years as the Director of the Private Office of the late King Hussein.

He says Jordan's current leadership is right to be fully involved in the international coalition, alongside other Arab states, in their battle with Islamic State.

"Do we wait for them until they appear on our borders or in our towns? Or do we join the coalition and pre-empt all their plans?" said General Shukri

"We simply cannot turn our backs and say: 'It's not our problem.' It is our problem," he added.

Mu'ath Al Kassasbeh was taken captive by Islamic State when his fighter jet crashed in Syria in late December.

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Japan: 'Hostage Murder' Video Appears Genuine

The Japanese government says a video showing the apparent murder of hostage Kenji Goto appears to be genuine.

The one minute-long footage was apparently released by Islamic State (IS) on Saturday evening.

It purportedly shows the beheading of the Japanese freelance journalist and film-maker, who was a father of three.

The man was wearing an orange jumpsuit and the video was similar to previous beheading footage the militant group has released.

The video was called "A Message to the Government of Japan" and the apparent murderer spoke with a British accent.

He blamed Mr Goto's beheading on Japan's support for the US-led coalition fighting IS in the Middle East.

The kneeling hostage did not speak in the footage.

The Japanese, UK and US governments strongly condemned IS, with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visibly upset as he spoke to reporters in Tokyo.

"I am extremely angry about these heinous and despicable terrorist acts. We will never forgive terrorists," he said.

"We will co-operate with the international community to make them atone for their crimes."

US President Barack Obama said America condemned the "heinous murder" and would continue to work with allies to destroy the jihadist group.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said it was a "further reminder that ISIL is the embodiment of evil, with no regard for human life".

And Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, speaking in Sydney, added: "It is important that we do recognise that although the current challenge is focused around Iraq and Syria, we have to recognise that the underlying challenge of extremist Islamism is going to be with us for a long while.

"This is a generational struggle against this ideology and we are going to have to fight these battles not just in the Middle East, but in other parts of the world as well. There is nowhere that is safe from this challenge."

Speaking from her home in a suburb of Tokyo, Mr Goto's mother Junko Ishido said: "Kenji has died, and my heart is broken.

"Facing such a tragic death, I'm just speechless."

The family of another IS hostage, Jordanian fighter pilot Lt Mu'ath al Kassasbeh, said they were "devastated" by Mr Goto's murder.

His uncle, Yassin Rawashda, has urged the Jordanian government to "tell us the truth", amid concerns that they have not had an update on how negotiations for his release are going.

Mr Goto travelled to Syria in October seeking to secure the release of Japanese hostage Haruna Yukawa, according to friends and business associates.

Earlier this month, IS released a video of Mr Goto and Mr Yukawa and threatened to kill them unless a $200m (£133m) ransom was paid.

Last week, Mr Abe slammed "an outrageous and unforgivable act" after a video reportedly showing an image of Mr Goto holding a picture of a beheaded Mr Yukawa was posted online.

Mr Goto's family made public pleas to Mr Abe to negotiate his safe release.

Earlier on Saturday, a top Japanese diplomat said there was a "state of deadlock" in negotiations to release Mr Goto.

Japan's deputy foreign minister Yasuhide Nakayama made the comments in the Jordanian capital Amman, where he had been leading Tokyo's team attempting to secure the freedom of the veteran war reporter.

Mr Goto, 47, had appeared in videos released by IS in which his fate was linked to Jordanian pilot Lt Mu'ath al Kassasbeh.

Jordan and Japan held indirect negotiations with the militants, who control around a third of Iraq and Syria, for the release of the men in exchange for a jailed jihadist.

Jordan demanded evidence that the airman who crashed in Syria on December 24 is still alive before freeing the would-be suicide bomber, who is on death row.

IS had said it would kill Jordan's captured pilot by sunset on Thursday unless Iraqi jihadist Sajida al Rishawi was released.

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