US Seeks 'Core Coalition' To Combat IS Threat

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.

IS controls large areas of northern Iraq and Syria

"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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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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IS Leader's Top Aide 'Killed In Iraq Airstrike'

ISIS Leader Is Jihad's 'Rising Star'

Updated: 8:49am UK, Thursday 12 June 2014

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, commander of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) controls large parts of eastern Syria and western Iraq.

But despite his power - and a $10m (£5.9m) US reward for information leading to his capture - little is known about a man who for his own survival has shunned the spotlight.

Fighters from ISIS and its rivals have praised Baghdadi as a strategist driven by an unbending determination to fight for and establish a hardline Islamic state.

He has succeeded in exploiting turmoil in Syria and Iraq's weak central authority after the US military withdrawal to carve out his powerbase.

He has also proved ruthless in eliminating opponents to further his ambition of creating an Islamist state.

According to the US reward notice, which depicts a round-faced, brown-eyed man with closely cropped beard and short dark hair, Baghdadi was born in the Iraqi town of Samarra in 1971.

He is said to be the only prominent al Qaeda leader not to pledge allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri after Osama bin Laden's death three years ago.

He split with Zawahri after falling out with al Qaeda's Nusra Front in Syria, whose leader Abu Mohammad al Golani rejected an edict to merge his forces under Baghdadi's command.

While Baghdadi's supporters believe an Islamic state would revive the glories of Islam, they say Zawahiri feared that by drawing jihadi fighters together in one place it would make it easier for the West to defeat them.

His fighters counter that Baghdadi has plenty of hidden surprises for his enemies.

"He has capabilities that he keeps secret until the right time," one ISIS supporter said.

Ignoring Zawahiri's calls to leave Syria to the Nusra Front, Baghdadi expanded operations across northern and eastern Syria in 2012 and 2013, sometimes battling Bashar al Assad's forces but more often pushing out other rebel fighters.

Baghdadi's fighters now control the city of Raqqa - Syria's only provincial capital completely beyond Assad's control - and have imposed strict Islamic law.

In neighbouring Deir al-Zor province ISIS has waged a six-week offensive against rival rebels in which 600 fighters have been killed, seizing oilfields and towns on the northeast bank of the Euphrates, 60 miles (100 km) from the Iraqi border.

There is also video evidence of ISIS in the Syrian town of Azaz, with territory they controlled marked by graffiti on the walls and a flying flag.

Video also appeared on a social media website in January purported to show the northern Syrian town of Manbij after it was captured from rival insurgents by fighters from ISIS.

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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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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.

Nato leaders watch a fly-past at the summit in Newport

One of the terms of the ceasefire is the release of Ukrainian hostages in the next 24 hours, Mr Poroshenko added.

Talks have been taking place between Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels in the Belarussian capital, Minsk. Representatives of Russia and the OSCE security watchdog have also been at the discussions.

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.

Sky's Katie Stallard, who is on eastern city limits of Mariupol, eastern Ukraine, said the shelling had continued following the announcement of the ceasefire.

"There is very little confidence among people here on the ground in a ceasefire," she said.

Ukrainian soldiers respond as separatists fire heavy artillery in Mariupol

"People on the checkpoints on the city limits today say that every single previous ceasefire, they have still been fired upon.

"They fully expect that to happen again after whatever is announced today."

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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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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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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Sotloff Family Grieving After Hostage Killed

The family of US hostage Steven Sotloff have seen a video which purportedly shows him being beheaded by an Islamic State fighter, and are grieving privately.

Barak Barfi, a family spokesman, also said authorities have not established its authenticity.

He said: "The family knows of this horrific tragedy and is grieving privately. There will be no public comment from the family during this difficult time."

Mr Sotloff, 31, was a freelance journalist for Time and Foreign Policy magazines who went missing in Syria.

He was apparently killed by IS in revenge for US airstrikes on the Islamist militant group in Iraq.

Mr Sotloff has reportedly been killed by Islamic State

His reported death comes two weeks after the release of a video showing the killing of fellow US citizen James Foley and Mr Sotloff being threatened with death.

That led to Mr Sotloff's mother Shirley pleading for her son's life.

A friend of both hostages, Matthew Van Dyke, told Sky News it was time for the US to consider paying ransoms to secure the release of hostages.

IS had reportedly demanded £80m for Mr Foley's release.

But the US - unlike several European countries that have given millions to the terror group to spare their citizens - refused to pay.

Mr Van Dyke told Sky News he hoped the apparent killing was a "wake-up call to Americans", adding: "This is a serious threat".

Shirley Sotloff had pleaded for her son's life

He went on: "They are executing Americans and videotaping it and we need to do something about that. The US administration needs to get serious about the problem."

Mr Van Dyke said there were more Americans being held by IS and "we need to bring them home".

He said authorities should "re-examine the policy of paying ransoms for prisoner exchanges to at least get these people home and then take on IS and kill them before they get to spend the money."

Mr Van Dyke said the news of Mr Sotloff's reported death was "horrible", adding: "I've lost two friends in two weeks."

He said Mr Sotloff was a "brilliant journalist, hard working and dedicated".

"He knew the dangers but he knew the story needed to be told."

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IS Beheading: Militants Threaten Brit Hostage

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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Nato Summit: Ukraine Crisis To Top The Agenda

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

World leaders will begin arriving in the UK today ahead of the start of a two-day Nato summit in Wales tomorrow.

Some 61 heads of state are expected to gather at The Celtic Manor Resort outside Newport, with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine set to top the agenda of discussions.

Leaders will be joined by officials from the European Union, the UN, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

A further 5,000 delegates are expected to gather to discuss the future of the Nato alliance.

Speaking at Downing Street ahead of the summit, David Cameron has condemned the ongoing violence in Ukraine, describing it as "disgraceful".

He told an audience of international delegates in London on Tuesday night: "What's happening in the Ukraine right now is disgraceful and completely unacceptable.

Mr Cameron has described the violence in Ukraine as "disgraceful"

"Members of Nato want and deserve real reassurance that our Article V commitments are rock solid."

He said he wanted the upcoming conference to demonstrate a "very clear, unified and strong message" about the importance of Nato globally.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has also warned that Nato must show it still has the political will to fight back in the event of a Russian attack on any member states.

Western nations have repeatedly accused Russia of intervening militarily in the conflict in Ukraine. The claims have been denied by Moscow.

Mr Hammond said: "For Nato to maintain its credibility in the future, we have to demonstrate that we maintain the political will to act to defend ourselves and our interests.

"We have to be clear that we have not lost the appetite to intervene when our interests or our obligations require us to do so.

Mr Obama will travel to Wales after a visit to the Baltic states today

"If we lack, or are perceived to lack, the political will to respond - and to do so quickly - the credibility of that commitment to collective defence will be undermined, and the very fabric of this, most successful of alliances, will unravel.

"So we have to be clear with Russia, in particular, that while we support a political resolution to the situation in eastern Ukraine, there is a red line around Nato member states themselves that cannot be crossed."

Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the alliance is set to create a high-readiness force in Eastern Europe as a bulwark against potential Russian aggression.

Mr Rasmussen said the unit would be a spearhead that could be deployed at very short notice to help Nato members defend themselves against any threat.

The murder of another US journalist by Islamic State militants will also feature in bilateral discussions between Western allies at the summit.

US President Barack Obama will head to Wales after a visit to the Baltic States.

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Captured IS Suicide Bomber Reveals Threat

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

A wing of Sulaymaniah's military hospital has been sealed off and 24-hour security has been posted at the door of a ward.

Inside lies an injured young man; a very special patient and prisoner.

He is 23-year-old Horr Jaffer, from Chechnya, and he is an Islamic State (IS) suicide bomber.

His capture has been a secret until now.

Sky News is the first to get access to this man who was caught in the southern Kurdish town of Jalula after his bomb part exploded.

He had been attempting to destroy a Kurd checkpoint by driving a bomb-laden car into their midst.

The 23-year-old militant killed four people in his bomb attack

Four people died and many others were injured, but he was captured attempting to escape.

Under questioning he admits that he joined IS in Syria after his father, mother and six family members were killed there.

He says they had moved from Chechnya to Pakistan before going to Syria.

The Kurds believe his father and brothers were to all intents and purposes professional jihadists; moving to countries where they could ply their trade. That trade is killing people.

"I want to be a martyr. I decided after they killed my family," he says in barely audible Russian.

"They didn't tell me anything about what I was doing or where I was. I just had to press the button."

The killer claims that Syria is filling with foreign fighters; a constant stream from all over the world.

"There are nations from all over the world there. There is British amongst them. They are from Asian countries, Europe and America. From everywhere," he told me.

He says that they used to talk together and mix together but didn't understand a lot of what was said.

Spending an hour with him it was striking how little he knew about what IS is doing across swathes of Syria. He denied any knowledge of the creation of a caliphate by IS for example.

He struck me as a rather stupid boy, upset by the loss of his family and totally open to indoctrination by his IS handlers.

He was just the guy prepared to die and kill others with him and it seems there are lots like him.

When asked if he regretted what had happened he broke down.

Britain is growing increasingly concerned about the threat from IS

Arching his back in pain and misery, saying he just wanted to live a normal life that he did not mean to do what he did.

It is hard not to be moved by his anguish. Hard but not impossible. He is a killer.

Like many western governments and security services, Britain is growing increasingly concerned about both IS and the numbers of young men being radicalised and coming to Syria and Iraq.

Out here the Kurds say they are right to be concerned.

"It is almost like super-terrorism and this is the frontline," Bafle Talabani, the British-born founder of the Kurds' elite Counter Terrorism Group, told me in the grounds of his father's house, which happens to be the Presidential Palace.

"It is more aggressive, more merciless more brutal. This is the front of the war on terror," he says.

"If we don't stop this here they will come for the West, for England, for Europe or the United States. They need to be stopped."

Bafle Talabani says IS represents a super-terrorism and needs to be stopped

IS, he believes, is the most dangerous single entity in the world today.

He is urging western governments to allow the Kurds to buy their own weapons or supply them.

"The special forces have good equipment. The peshmergas' weapons go back to the Iran-Iraq war. They are fighting against good weapons and a well-organised outfit with lots of money," he says.

With so many willing jihadists available IS is unlikely to miss this single bomber.

When he is treated and well, he will go to prison and rot there for the rest of his life.

He will be denied martyrdom. The Kurds want the foreign fighters to know that.

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Homeless Shooter Kills Two At Welfare Office

A homeless man suspected of shooting dead two people at a welfare office in New Zealand has been detained after a seven-hour manhunt.

A third person was seriously injured when a man opened fire inside the Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) office in Ashburton before fleeing on a bike.

Police named the suspect as 48-year-old John Tully - who was interviewed by the local newspaper last month talking about his struggles with the benefit system and finding somewhere to live.

Tully is alleged to have entered WINZ at 10am (local time) wearing a black balaclava.

The shooting took place at 10am

Residents of the small town were warned to stay indoors before Tully was apprehended near a lake by a police dog unit at 5pm.

He was treated for minor dog bite injuries.

Superintendent Gary Knowles said: "Nothing will give the families that have lost their loved ones closure but the community can go to sleep tonight with the thought that the person who we believe may be responsible is in custody."

Police are still searching for the murder weapon - believed to be a sawn-off shotgun.

The manhunt lasted seven hours

The Ministry of Social Development confirmed all three victims worked for the agency but gave no further details.           

"We are all devastated by the deaths of two of our colleagues in the shocking attack," chief executive Brendan Boyle said.

Local media reported that both of the deceased were women.

The third victim was reported to be in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

In an interview last month, Tully told the Ashburton Guardian he previously worked in Australian mines but now lived in a tent after being unable to secure government-assisted accommodation.

Two people died and a third is in a serious condition after the shooting

He also wrote to the authorities about his struggles.

Lawmaker Winston Peters confirmed Tully emailed his political party on August 14 about the difficulty of finding a house.

"We replied immediately and also followed up," Mr Peters said. "However, the emails kept bouncing back."

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key offered his condolences to the victims and their families.

"There will be many questions to be asked and answered in the coming days about how this happened," said Mr Key.

"Every day New Zealanders get up in the morning to go to work, and their families expect them to return home. In this case that hasn't happened and my thoughts are with the loved ones."

Ashburton is home to about 18,000 people and is 90 kilometres (56 miles) southwest of Christchurch.

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Stormchasers Capture Supercell Over Iowa

Stormchasers have captured the moment a supercell hit a town in Iowa, causing widespread damage and leaving at least one person injured.

The giant wall of cloud and rain shut roads and knocked out power for hundreds of homes in the area around Denison.

Winds of up to 90mph caused significant damage in Dakota City, Nebraska, and Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, on Saturday and forced Interstate 29 to close when a roof was blown off a building and into a pickup truck, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

Severe thunderstorms across the northeastern US saw three men struck by lighting and flights delayed.

The men were injured at Orchard Beach, in New York's Bronx neighbourhood, on Sunday as storms hit the area. They were taken to hospital, but their condition is unknown.

Thunderstorms have also hit cities in the northeast

The National Weather Service said wind damage and flash flooding had hit East Orange, New Jersey, and Long Island.

Torrential rain, thunder and lightning affected the Labor Day weekend in Philadelphia, where the Made In America concert was evacuated for safety reasons.

The Electric Zoo music festival on an island in New York's East River was abandoned and play at the US Open was also halted in Queens.

More than 30 flights out of New York were affected, and storms also disrupted air travel in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington.

Cleveland's baseball game at Kansas City was also suspended due to heavy rain.

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Leaked Nude Celeb Photos Spark Hacking Fears

Leaked personal photos of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence have been branded a "flagrant violation of privacy" by her publicist, as she and a host of other celebrities were apparently targeted by a hacker.

The images first appeared on an online bulletin board before going viral, according to US media reports.

More than 60 photographs of Lawrence were among those reportedly stolen after what some have said could have been an iCloud leak which allowed celebrities' phones to be hacked.

A representative for the US actress confirmed the images are genuine.

"This is a flagrant violation of privacy. The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence," a statement said.

A list of those who have allegedly been hacked has also appeared online, Buzzfeed reported.

Containing more than 100 names, it includes Aubrey Plaza, Cat Deeley, Kelly Brook, Kim Kardashian, Michelle Keegan, and Rihanna.

Lawrence is just one of many stars affected

The hacker also claims to have a "full set" of photographs of US soccer star Hope Solo.

Actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who was on the list, tweeted: "To those of you looking at photos I took with my husband years ago in the privacy of our home, hope you feel great about yourselves."

In another post she said: "Knowing those photos were deleted long ago, I can only imagine the creepy effort that went into this. Feeling for everyone who got hacked."

But a spokesman for the singer Ariana Grande said photographs that claimed to show her are fake.

And the actress Victoria Justice also denied images purporting to show her are real.

She tweeted: "These so called nudes of me are FAKE people."

A representative from Apple told Sky News they are not currently commenting on allegations it was an iCloud leak.

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Nato Plans 'Spearhead' Force To Face Russia

Nato is set to create a "high-readiness" force and stockpile military equipment in Eastern Europe as a bulwark against potential Russian aggression, the alliance's chief has said.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the proposed new force could be comprised of several thousand troops contributed to on a rotating basis by the 28 Nato countries.

Backed by air and naval assets, he said the unit would be a "spearhead" that could be deployed at very short notice to help Nato members defend themselves against any threat, including from Russia.

Nato leaders are to consider the plans at a summit this week in Wales that is likely to be dominated by how the US-led alliance should respond to the Russian-backed separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine.

Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen explained plans for a 'spearhead' force

Ukraine is not a member of Nato, but its UK ambassador told Sky News he backed the move and appealed for Ukraine's allies to step up sanctions and provide military help now.

Andrii Kuzmenko said: "What is important for Ukraine is to provide the means for our defence ... including armaments."

The move could provoke Russia, whose foreign minister warned on Monday that Ukrainian forces must pull back from areas where they can harm civilians.

Some of the fiercest fighting is going on near Mariupol and Donetsk

Sergei Lavrov spoke amid reports that Ukrainian forces had been ordered to pull back from Luhansk airport in the face of an onslaught from Russian tanks - the latest claim of direct Russian involvement in the fighting.

Ukraine's Defence Minister Valeriy Geletey said Russian units were moving into other towns in the region, including the largest city of the Donetsk region.

Sergei Lavrov warned Ukraine to pull troops back from areas in the east

"The information that Russian troops are there has been confirmed," he said.

"We are fighting Russia and it is Russia which is deciding what will happen in Donbass," he told Ukraine's Inter channel, referring to the informal name of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

Mr Lavrov again denied that Russian troops were in Ukraine and said he hoped talks taking place on Monday in the Belarussian capital Minsk today will focus on agreeing an immediate, unconditional ceasefire.

Speaking in the east Siberian city of Yakutsk on Monday, Russia's President Vladimir Putin accused Europe of ignoring the Ukrainian army "directly targeting its fire on residential areas".

He said he hoped "common sense will prevail" and that Russia and the West would not harm each other with further sanctions.

In western Ukraine, Vladimir Putin's face has been used for target practice

Speaking in the House of Commons, David Cameron said Russia appears to be trying to force Ukraine "to give up its democratic choices at the barrel of a gun".

The PM said the presence of Russian soldiers on Ukrainian soil is "completely unjustified and unacceptable".

A rights group that works to expose Russian army abuses has claimed that up to 15,000 soldiers have been sent to Ukraine by Moscow in the last two months, and several hundred may have died in combat.

Valentina Melnikova, head of the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers, a prominent organisation representing the families of military servicemen, said that some 7,000-8,000 Russian troops are believed to be in Ukraine at present.

John McCain has backed calls for the US to send arms to Ukraine

"Military commanders are conducting a secret special operation," said Melnikova, who is a member of the defence ministry's public council.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian military spokesman said a rescue operation was continuing for two seamen missing in the Azov Sea after pro-Russian separatists attacked a Ukrainian navy vessel for the first time.

Eight other seamen survived the attack and were being treated for wounds and burns after the vessel was hit by artillery from the shore.

Separatists in the region claimed responsibility for the attack on social media.

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said the events of the past few days have shown that Russia has launched "a direct and open aggression" against Ukraine.

Leading American senators have called for the US to send weapons to help Ukraine defend itself against what they called "a Russian invasion".

Democrat Robert Mendez, who runs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN: "We should provide the Ukrainians with the type of defensive weapons that will impose a cost upon Putin for further aggression."

The call was echoed by former Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who told CBS's Face the Nation that Mr Putin was "an old KGB colonel that wants to restore the Russian empire".

Earlier, the European Union gave Russia a week to scale back its intervention in Ukraine, warning of further sanctions.

China said it opposes additional sanctions against Russia and has urged world leaders to find a political solution to the crisis.

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