Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 06 Desember 2014 | 22.57
A Swiss wildlife photographer captured by Islamist rebels in the Philippines over two years ago has escaped after killing his guard with a machete.
Members of the Abu Sayyaf group kidnapped Lorenzo Vinciguerra, 49, in the southern Philippines more than two years ago.
But Colonel Allan Arrojado, commander of the army's Joint Task Group on the island of Sulu, said he made a break for freedom during fighting between his captors and the Philippines military.
The Swiss man was wounded on his left cheek as he wrestled for the machete, finally getting hold of it and slashing the guard on the neck, Mr Arrojado said.
"He dashed while other bandits were shooting at him," he added.
Mr Vinciguerra was being held with Dutch national Elwold Horn, 52, and shouted at him to run but the Dutch man had been "very sick and very weak" and was unable to escape, Mr Arrojado said, adding there was no word on Mr Horn's whereabouts.
Tawi-Tawi is a province in the far south of the country
Speaking from a military hospital Mr Vinciguerra said he was happy that he would be able to spend Christmas with his family.
He added that he felt the extremists would treat Mr Horn well and urged the militants to surrender and start a new life.
Video:Hostage Recovers After Fleeing
"My final message to everybody: Put the gun down and come out from the forest," he told a reporter. "It's a nice life out here."
The military said five militants were killed and seven wounded in the firefight.
The two European wildlife photographers were captured in Tawi-Tawi province as they were sailing on a birdwatching trip in February 2012.
The Abu Sayyaf is holding several other foreign and Filipino hostages.
The military launched an offensive against the group in October after rebels released two German nationals they seized in April.
The Abu Sayyaf are the most notorious of several rebels factions in the Muslim south of the largely Christian Philippines.
A legal challenge by players who say staging the Women's World Cup on artificial grass is discriminatory threatens to overshadow the draw for the tournament's group stage this evening.
FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke has described the claim as "a nonsense" as the teams competing in Canada 2015 await their fate.
The lawsuit against FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association has been filed by players, including American star forward Abby Wambach.
It cites gender discrimination - pointing out that every men's World Cup has been played on grass.
Mr Valcke says FIFA is working hard to develop women's football
But speaking at a news conference in Ottawa, Mr Valcke said: "I'm amazed by the size, or the scale, of the discussion and where we are when it's about artificial pitches.
"Why? Because we have decided at FIFA - and it's part of our statutes and regulations - that artificial pitches can be used as natural grass to make sure we can play football everywhere around the world.
Video:US The Place For Women Footballers
"If anyone is saying the use of the artificial pitch is a question of discrimination, it's a nonsense.
"It's completely crazy to say that. It has nothing to do with discrimination."
Mr Valcke said FIFA was "working every day to develop women's football around the world" - but that artificial pitches were commonplace in Canada.
He added that tournament prize money would increase to $15m (£9.6m) - a 50% rise from the 2011 tournament.
The prize pot for the 2014 men's World Cup was $576m (£370m).
Video:Footballer Reveals American Dream
The lawsuit has been filed under Ontario's Human Rights Code.
FIFA has come under attack in recent months over the bidding process for the men's World Cups in 2018 and 2022, won by Russia and Qatar respectively.
Both countries, along with England, have been accused of breaking FIFA rules.
US photojournalist Luke Somers and South Africa teacher Pierre Korkie have been killed during a rescue attempt by US and Yemeni forces.
The pair were murdered by their Al Qaeda captors - 10 of whom were also killed - during the raid in the Shabwah region of Yemen, the US said.
There are reports the South African hostage was due to be released tomorrow - but President Barack Obama authorised the raid because information "indicated that Luke's life was in imminent danger".
"Based on this assessment, and as soon as there was reliable intelligence and an operational plan, I authorised a rescue attempt," Mr Obama said.
"I also authorised the rescue of any other hostages held in the same location as Luke."
Pierre Korkie was captured in Yemen in May 2013
Yemen's national security chief, Ali al-Ahmadi, said the militants planned to "execute" Mr Somers - who was born in Britain - on Saturday.
The death of Mr Korkie was confirmed by the disaster relief group Gift of the Givers.
Video:Sister's Appeal For Hostage Release
"The psychological and emotional devastation to [his wife] Yolande and her family will be compounded by the knowledge that Pierre was to be released by Al Qaeda tomorrow," the organisation said.
"It is even more tragic that the words we used in a conversation with Yolande at 5.59 this morning was 'the wait is almost over'.
"Three days ago we told her Pierre will be home for Christmas."
Mr and Mrs Korkie were taken hostage by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in May 2013 - though Yolande was released at the start of this year.
Mr Somers, meanwhile, was captured in September last year.
Militants released a video on Wednesday threatening to kill him within three days if their demands were not met.
The 33-year-old appeared in the footage saying he feared for his life.
Following the rescue attempt US troops took Mr Somers to a naval ship but he was reportedly dead upon arrival.
Video:Ex-SAS Member On Hostage Recues
His sister, Lucy Somers, has asked that "all of Luke's family members be allowed to mourn in peace".
Ms Somers had posted a YouTube video pleading for her brother's release just hours before his death.
The raid was the second attempt to free Mr Somers.
Mr Obama condemned his murder as "barbaric".
"Luke was a photojournalist who sought through his images to convey the lives of Yemenis to the outside world," he said.
"The callous disregard for Luke's life is more proof of the depths of AQAP's depravity, and further reason why the world must never cease in seeking to defeat their evil ideology."
News of the failed rescue comes after a suspected US drone strike killed nine alleged Al Qaeda militants in Shabwah overnight.
A powerful typhoon has slammed into eastern Philippines, where 650,000 people have fled to safety.
Gusts of 130mph have been recorded alongside sustained winds of 109mph.
The typhoon made landfall on Saturday night in central Eastern Samar province - but the centre of the storm remains several hours away.
The winds, as well as pounding rain, has knocked out power lines and toppled trees in the town of Dolores.
The military is on full alert as the centre of the storm sweeps in
Senior Inspector Alex Robin said: "We are totally in the dark here. The only light comes from flashlights."
The Philippines' 120,000-strong military is on alert to respond to a possible catastrophe.
1/11
Gallery: Philippines Braces For Huge Typhoon
People take shelter inside a church after evacuating their homes due to super-typhoon Hagupit in Tacloban city, central Philippines
Ports are shut, leaving thousands of travelers stranded, and some local authorities ordered forced evacuations as super-typhoon Hagupit swept towards eastern coasts of the island nation
One of al Qaeda's senior operatives, who was charged in the US with plotting to bomb the New York and British underground rail systems, has been killed by Pakistani soldiers.
The military announced that Adnan Shukrijumah died along with two other suspected militants in the South Waziristan tribal area.
The region is part of the mountainous territory bordering Afghanistan that is home to various militant groups fighting both in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"The al Qaeda leader, who was killed by the Pakistan army in a successful operation, is the same person who had been indicted in the United States," said a senior Pakistani army officer.
As al Qaeda's head of external operations, the 39-year-old occupied a position once held by 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
The FBI lists Shukrijumah, a Saudi national, as a "most wanted" terrorist and the US State Department had offered a $5m reward for his capture.
Shukrijumah occupied a position once held by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
After the 11 September terror attacks, Shukrijumah was seen as one of al Qaeda's best chances to attack inside the US or Europe, captured terrorist Abu Zubaydah told US authorities.
Shukrijumah studied at a community college in Florida but when the FBI showed up to arrest him as a material witness to a terrorism case in 2003, he had already left the country.
Federal prosecutors in the US allege Shukrijumah recruited three men in 2008 to receive training in Pakistan for the subway system attack.
The New York indictment links him to the Manhattan plot and a similar never-executed scheme to attack the London Underground network.
Attorney General Eric Holder has called that plot one of the most dangerous since the terror attacks of 11 September, 2001.
The Pakistani military said that Shukrijumah had recently moved from the North Waziristan tribal area to South Waziristan to avoid a military operation the Pakistanis launched in June.
The military said he was hiding in a compound when he was killed but gave few other details about the raid. One Pakistani soldier was killed and another seriously wounded during the assault, the military said.
Pakistan's army spokesman, Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa, said on Twitter that five "terrorists" were also detained in the raid.
Written By Unknown on Selasa, 02 Desember 2014 | 22.57
Father And Daughter Reunited On IS Front Line
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Video:Dad And Daughter Reunited In Kobani
A father and daughter have discovered they are both fighting Islamic State on the front line of the battle for the Syrian border town of Kobani.
Pervin Kobani, 19, is one of many female fighters in the Kurdish army who are battling to fight off the extremist group.
The farmer's daughter took up arms two years ago, signing up with the Syrian Kurdish women's self-defence force, known by its Kurdish acronym YPJ.
They now fight with the men's unit, the YPG.
Pervin Kobani is proud to defend her town
After half a year away from Kobani fighting elsewhere in Syria, she returned two months ago to help keep IS at bay.
She is part of a group of holding an eastern front-line position which is regularly attacked by the militants.
Video:Devastation Inside Kobani
Then, three weeks ago, Pervin bumped into her father, Farouk, on a street corner.
She was surprised to see him holding a gun.
Pervin had no idea her father had also decided to fight. Other family members have now left Syria - her mother is a refugee in Turkey and her brother is studying in Algeria.
1/18
Gallery: US-Led Airstrikes on Kobani
Smoke and flames rise over a hill near the Syrian town of Kobani after an airstrike, as seen from the Mursitpinar crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in Sanliurfa province
US military forces again focused airstrikes on the area near the Syrian city in their campaign to turn back Islamic State forces and also hit oil facilities held by the militant group
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"My feeling at that time was very happy," she said.
"Honestly, when I heard my father is fighting on the western front with the YPG I was so proud of him and it made me want to fight more."
Farouk Kobani had joined the town's defenders in September.
Air strikes took place ahead of the peshmerga's arrival to take part in the battle for Kobani
A series of explosions took place in Kobani
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After months without news from his daughter, he was delighted to see her. And he had some advice for her.
"I always say to her that, when you get into a fight, just keep your mind on the fighting," he said.
"When the fighting is over, love your friends and Kurdistan with all your heart."
1/10
Gallery: Human Cost Of Battle For Kobani
A Syrian Kurdish woman and her children at a refugee camp at Suruc, Turkey. These images have emerged as Islamic State (IS) continues to fight for control of the border town of Kobani in Syria
Turkey dropped its refusal to allow Kurdish fighters over the border to defend besieged Kobani, saying it was now helping Iraqi peshmerga to cross the frontier in a major policy shift
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Pervin has since returned with a journalist to the western front to see her father again.
She is determined to stay and defend her town.
"All Kobani is important for IS, they want to take the city," she said.
Video:Nov: IS Vow To Seize Kobani
"If we don't defend it well, they will enter. We cannot say they are only in the south. If there is no protection on two fronts, IS will enter the city. But we won't allow the terrorist groups in until the last drop of our blood."
The Kurds and their Free Syrian Army allies, aided by US-led coalition airstrikes, have been defending Kobani since mid-September when IS launched their assault on the town.
But the Kobani battle is a small part of a larger war in Syria which has killed more than 200,000 people in less than four years, according to a monitoring group.
Video:Oct: Kobani Refugees' Hardship
"We have documented the killing of 202,354 people since March 2011," UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman said.
Of those killed, more than 130,000 were fighters, the group said.
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Father And Daughter Reunited On IS Front Line
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
Video:Dad And Daughter Reunited In Kobani
A father and daughter have discovered they are both fighting Islamic State on the front line of the battle for the Syrian border town of Kobani.
Pervin Kobani, 19, is one of many female fighters in the Kurdish army who are battling to fight off the extremist group.
The farmer's daughter took up arms two years ago, signing up with the Syrian Kurdish women's self-defence force, known by its Kurdish acronym YPJ.
They now fight with the men's unit, the YPG.
Pervin Kobani is proud to defend her town
After half a year away from Kobani fighting elsewhere in Syria, she returned two months ago to help keep IS at bay.
She is part of a group of holding an eastern front-line position which is regularly attacked by the militants.
Video:Devastation Inside Kobani
Then, three weeks ago, Pervin bumped into her father, Farouk, on a street corner.
She was surprised to see him holding a gun.
Pervin had no idea her father had also decided to fight. Other family members have now left Syria - her mother is a refugee in Turkey and her brother is studying in Algeria.
1/18
Gallery: US-Led Airstrikes on Kobani
Smoke and flames rise over a hill near the Syrian town of Kobani after an airstrike, as seen from the Mursitpinar crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in Sanliurfa province
US military forces again focused airstrikes on the area near the Syrian city in their campaign to turn back Islamic State forces and also hit oil facilities held by the militant group
]]>
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"My feeling at that time was very happy," she said.
"Honestly, when I heard my father is fighting on the western front with the YPG I was so proud of him and it made me want to fight more."
Farouk Kobani had joined the town's defenders in September.
Air strikes took place ahead of the peshmerga's arrival to take part in the battle for Kobani
A series of explosions took place in Kobani
]]>
After months without news from his daughter, he was delighted to see her. And he had some advice for her.
"I always say to her that, when you get into a fight, just keep your mind on the fighting," he said.
"When the fighting is over, love your friends and Kurdistan with all your heart."
1/10
Gallery: Human Cost Of Battle For Kobani
A Syrian Kurdish woman and her children at a refugee camp at Suruc, Turkey. These images have emerged as Islamic State (IS) continues to fight for control of the border town of Kobani in Syria
Turkey dropped its refusal to allow Kurdish fighters over the border to defend besieged Kobani, saying it was now helping Iraqi peshmerga to cross the frontier in a major policy shift
]]>
Pervin has since returned with a journalist to the western front to see her father again.
She is determined to stay and defend her town.
"All Kobani is important for IS, they want to take the city," she said.
Video:Nov: IS Vow To Seize Kobani
"If we don't defend it well, they will enter. We cannot say they are only in the south. If there is no protection on two fronts, IS will enter the city. But we won't allow the terrorist groups in until the last drop of our blood."
The Kurds and their Free Syrian Army allies, aided by US-led coalition airstrikes, have been defending Kobani since mid-September when IS launched their assault on the town.
But the Kobani battle is a small part of a larger war in Syria which has killed more than 200,000 people in less than four years, according to a monitoring group.
Video:Oct: Kobani Refugees' Hardship
"We have documented the killing of 202,354 people since March 2011," UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman said.
Of those killed, more than 130,000 were fighters, the group said.
The wife of the Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi and one of his children have been arrested at the Syrian border, according to Lebanese officials.
They were detained by Lebanese troops in co-ordination with "foreign intelligence apparatus" about 10 days ago, according to local media.
His wife is said to have been travelling with a fake passport and is being questioned at the headquarters of the Lebanese defence ministry.
Her name was not released but she is understood to be a Syrian citizen. Islamist social media websites have previously reported that Baghdadi is married but it is unclear whether he has more than one wife.
The country's security forces have launched a crackdown on IS sympathisers in Lebanon and the intelligence services have been extra vigilant at border crossings.
Video:Assad Targets IS In Raqqa Airstrike
Over the past few months they have arrested a number of Islamic militants suspected of staging attacks to expand IS in the country neighbouring Syria.
Since taking the reins of the terror group in 2010, Baghdadi has transformed it from a local branch of al Qaeda into an independent transnational military force.
He has succeeded in exploiting the turmoil in Syria and Iraq's weak central authority after the US military withdrawal to seize control of vast areas of land.
Video:How Is Islamic State Funded?
In doing so he has positioned himself as a leading figure in the global jihadi community.
Baghdadi, who has a $10m (£5.9m) US bounty on his head, has called for "volcanoes of jihad" around the world.
According to the reward notice, he was born in the Iraqi town of Samarra in 1971.
Video:Sept: New Pro-IS Accounts
A US-led coalition has been seeking to roll back IS territorial gains in Iraq and Syria by launching airstrikes.
President Barack Obama has pledged to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the group.
The strikes are part of an effort to give Iraqi forces the time and space to mount a more effective offensive.
On Monday, the Russian rouble suffered its worst one-day crash since the 1998 default crisis.
The currency has lost more than 40% of its value against the dollar since the start of the year, rivalling the Ukrainian hryvnia for the title of world's worst performing currency 2014.
President Putin can blame the West for any economic hardship
International sanctions have played a part, but the vast majority is down to the falling global oil price.
To give you an idea of how that breaks down - Russia's finance minister estimates Western sanctions have cost the country around $40bn, whereas the price of oil has accounted for around $100bn so far.
Video:Oct: Message Sent To Russia At G20
Russia's economy is heavily dependent on oil and gas - they make up approximately two-thirds of the country's exports and around half its budget revenues.
Monday's dramatic slump followed OPEC's decision not to cut production to boost prices - cheaper oil looks set to last for a longer period, forcing markets to reassess Russian assets.
Added to that, Russia's Central Bank abandoned its policy of routine intervention last month - switching to a free-floating rouble, which would be allowed to find its own value, undertaking only to intervene if domestic financial stability was threatened.
The bank is widely believed to have done exactly that on Monday, accounting for a small rally in the rouble's exchange.
So what does this mean for Vladimir Putin - the strongman President who has built his rule on the promise of restoring Russia's place in the world, delivering stability after the chaos and financial crises of the 1990s.
His first two terms coincided with a massive hike in the price of oil - giving the impression of a booming economy, even if the fundamental structures underneath hadn't really changed.
For many people here that meant an increase in the standard of living, and a new middle class that became accustomed to owning the latest iPhone and enjoying summer holidays and winter skiing abroad.
So you might expect the rouble crash to be leading every news bulletin, perhaps people taking to the streets. Not so.
Video:Nov: Russian Tanks In Ukraine
Mr Putin's popularity has dipped very slightly, but his approval rating remains above 80%.
There is an argument that Western sanctions actually help the Kremlin politically.
The economy was already flat-lining and oil-dependent, so the oil price drop would in any case have had a significant effect.
Without international sanctions, Mr Putin would have been forced to explain why, given the vast oil wealth that has flowed through Russia during his time in office, the country's economy is in such an underwhelming state.
Now the Kremlin has the familiar spectre of the "hostile West" to blame for any hardship the population might feel.
The foreign minister recently accused the West of seeking "regime change" in Russia through sanctions.
Rather than challenging the government's handling of the economy, Russian state-controlled media are instead focusing on stirring the nation's patriotic sentiment and portraying the President as the one man standing up to the West.
Increasing control of the media, aided by the fact that key opposition figures are under house arrest, means that for all that Russia's economy may be faltering, thus far the same cannot be said of its President.
Francesco Schettino, the captain of the doomed cruise ship Costa Concordia, has fiercely defended his navigational skills as he faced cross-examination for the first time in his trial for manslaughter and abandoning ship.
In a spirited performance punctuated by jokes and constant hand gestures in which he frequently interrupted the prosecutor, Schettino tried to argue he followed procedure during the Costa Concordia's fatal collision, rather than steering recklessly.
Schettino smashed the Costa Concordia into rocks off the Italian island of Giglio in January 2012 during an attempted "sail past".
The holed vessel grounded and partially capsized in shallow water, forcing 4,200 passengers and crew to flee, with the loss of 32 lives.
Speaking at his trial in Grosseto in Tuscany, Schettino denied that he had organised the sail past to impress Domnica Cermontan, a Moldavian dancer who was working on the ship and has told the court she was having an affair with the married captain.
Video:Time Lapse: Concordia Under Tow
"I didn't do it as a favour to Cermontan," Schettino said under questioning in Grosseto's theatre, which has been converted into a court room for the trial.
When she entered the bridge, Ms Cermontan stood at the side the room, far from Schettino, he said.
In a combative performance, during which he often challenged the questioning of prosecutor Alessandro Leopizzi, Schettino said he had sought to "kill three birds with one stone" by undertaking the sail past.
He was doing a favour to a ship's official and paying tribute to a former cruise captain who lived on the island of Giglio, while making the cruise more attractive to passengers, he said.
Video:Inside The Costa Concordia
Asked about the number of people on the bridge as he took the command before the crash, Schettino argued he had always fought to keep numbers on the bridge down.
The court played a recording of the voices on the deck in the minutes leading up to the collision, during which Schettino is heard on the phone asking the former captain living on Giglio if there was enough water to sail as close as one fifth of a nautical mile from the coast.
When asked by the prosecutor why he asked that, since the ship was due to sail no closer than half a mile from the rocks, Schettino said he was not being serious.
Schettino has previously blamed the crash on the maps he was given to navigate with, and claimed the Indonesian helmsman on the bridge did not understand his instructions.
Video:Chilling Video Of Sunken Liner
After attending the early hearings at his trial last year, Schettino has avoided the trial for five months, reportedly preparing for his performance, which is expected to run into Wednesday.
"If he wasn't so sure of himself he would not have agreed to be questioned at the trial," said Schettino's lawyer Domenico Pepe before the hearing.
"He has been studying the court papers and is here to highlight all the points in his favour which have not emerged yet in court."
Schettino, who was dubbed Captain Coward after he was accused of abandoning the stricken ship before passengers had fled, has remained a notorious celebrity in Italy, and has spent this week denying rumours he was due to appear on Italy's version of I Am A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.
Video:Costa Concordia Starts 4 Day Voyage
No longer under house arrest, Schettino has addressed a group of students at a Rome university about stress control, despite allegations he panicked after the collision and failed to manage the evacuation.
A Somali Islamist group has killed at least 36 quarry workers in neighbouring Kenya, singling out non-Muslims and either beheading or shooting them.
The workers were attacked as they slept at the quarry in Mandera County, near the border with Somalia, according to local reports.
Al Shabaab admitted carrying out the attack and said it was targeting "Kenyan crusaders".
"We are uncompromising in our beliefs, relentless in our pursuit, ruthless against the disbelievers and we will do whatever necessary to defend our Muslim brethren suffering from Kenya's aggression," spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage said.
A bus in the same region was attacked last week leaving 28 people dead
He said the attack was in response to the presence of Kenyan troops in Somalia and said a recent airstrike had killed innocent people and destroyed their property.
One worker, who escaped from the attack by hiding in a trench, said about 50 heavily armed men walked into the camp next to the quarry soon after midnight.
1/17
Gallery: Kenya Protests Over Terror Killings
Kenyan police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators shouting "President, Stop the killings!" outside President Uhuru Kenyatta's offices
Wooden crosses, symbolising people killed in a series of attacks, are set ablaze by protesters during the #OccupyHarambeeAve demonstration in Kenya's capital Nairobi
Written By Unknown on Senin, 01 Desember 2014 | 22.57
Hong Kong's chief executive has warned pro-democracy protesters not to return to the streets for another night of protests after clashes with police temporarily closed the government headquarters.
Chaos erupted as the demonstrators, wearing helmets and wielding umbrellas, charged police after officers warned them to retreat.
Riot police used batons and pepper spray to push them back.
Local media reported that at least 45 people were arrested and police said 11 officers had been injured.
Chief executive Leung Chun-ying told reporters there would be "resolute action" if the demonstrators returned.
Video:Inside Hong Kong's Protest Camp
"Some people have mistaken the police's tolerance for weakness," he said.
"I call for students who are planning to return to the occupation sites tonight not to do so."
The situation is now said to be calm, although many government offices and shops remained shut mid-morning.
Leaders at the main activists' site in the Admiralty neighbourhood have said they will escalate their campaign after trying to encircle the government headquarters.
Sky's Asia Correspondent Mark Stone said of the clashes: "This is the result of total deadlock between the government and the protesters who want the right to choose their own political leader without interference from China.
"Beijing has said it will allow everyone here to vote but only from candidates chosen by China."
1/11
Gallery: Violent Clashes In Hong Kong
A police officer uses pepper spray while clashing with pro-democracy protesters close to the chief executive's office in Hong Kong
A protester who was pepper-sprayed is helped by volunteer rescuers
A Palestinian woman has been shot and wounded after stabbing an Israeli civilian in the southern West Bank, police say.
The Israeli suffered minor injuries in the stabbing, which happened at a crossroads near the Gush Etzion bloc south of Bethlehem, police said in a statement without providing any further information.
Police initially said an Israeli soldier was attacked.
Israeli soldiers stand at the scene of the stabbing
The military said the attacker was "overcome" by security forces and taken for medical treatment.
Her condition is not known, while the Israeli was treated at the scene.
Video:Timeline Of Recent Attacks
Witnesses saw the woman being taken to Jerusalem's Hadassah hospital. A hospital spokeswoman said she was seriously wounded.
Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have increased in recent months following a number of deadly attacks in Jerusalem and the fatal stabbing of an Israeli soldier in Tel Aviv.
Israeli security forces killed the perpetrators of most of those attacks at the scene.
A World Health Organisation deadline to halt the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa has only been met by Guinea, according to latest figures.
In October, the organisation launched its plan to isolate 70% of those infected and safely bury 70% of the victims in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone by 1 December.
But in Liberia, only 23% of cases are isolated and 26% of the needed burial teams are in place.
In Sierra Leone, around 40% of cases are isolated and 27% of burial teams are operational.
The Ebola outbreak was first reported in Guinea in March, and has spiralled out of control since a public health emergency was declared in August.
Video:How Ebola Attacks The Human Body
Dr Bruce Aylward, who is directing the WHO response to Ebola, said: "If we don't do it in 60 days and we take 90 days - number one, a lot more people will die that shouldn't; and number two, we will need that much more capacity on the ground to be able to manage the caseload."
The number of cases in Liberia and Guinea has declined or stabilised in the last few weeks, but the area around Sierra Leone's capital Freetown has seen a surge in cases.
Anthony Banbury, who is heading the UN response to the outbreak, said: "There are still going to be many people who catch the disease and many people who die from it."
Video:Ebola: Busting The Myths
The disease has infected more than 16,000 people, with nearly 7,000 people dying, according to WHO figures.
Last month, the US announced it was scaling back the size and number of Ebola clinics it had promised to build in Liberia.
The WHO aimed to isolate all Ebola patients and provide safe burials for all victims by 1 January.
Germans have turned out in their thousands to honour a young woman killed after defending two teenagers being harassed by a group of men.
Tugce Albayrak had intervened when she heard the girls crying for help from the toilet of a McDonald's restaurant in Offenbach, near Frankfurt, on November 15.
After she stepped in, the men harassing the girls left the restaurant but one returned and allegedly attacked Ms Albayrak.
A memorial held outside the hospital where Tugce Albayrak died
He is alleged to have hit her head with what police have said was a stone or a bat.
After Ms Albayrak spent two weeks in a coma, her family were told she was brain-dead.
Video:Germany Unites To Remember Tugce
They decided to switch off her life support on Friday - her 23rd birthday.
As around 1,500 people took part in a memorial outside the hospital, news emerged that her organs had been donated to help others.
Another gathering in Offenbach saw hundreds of people holding signs reading: "Thank you Tugce".
One of the largest vigils was in Berlin's Oranienplatz, where there is a large Turkish community.
Student teacher Ms Albayrak was a German citizen of Turkish origin and lived in the town of Gelnhausen.
President Joachim Gauck is considering giving her a posthumous award of the national order of merit, after a petition calling for the honour gathered more than 100,000 signatures, according to news agency dpa.
In a letter to Ms Albayrak's family, he wrote that she "will always remain a role model to us", and that "our entire country mourns with you".
He added: "Like countless citizens, I am shocked and appalled by this terrible act. Tugce has earned gratitude and respect from us all.
"Where other people looked the other way, Tugce showed exemplary courage and moral fortitude."
Police have appealed for witnesses, including the teenage girls, to come forward.
Surveillance video showing the fatal attack on Ms Albayrak has been published by German newspaper Bild.
The footage shows a man being held back several times by another young male as he appears to want to run in the direction of Ms Albayrak.
At some point, the man appears to hit Ms Albayrak on the head - as the other man still keeps trying to protect her - and she falls on the ground and stops moving.
Her attacker, identified by media as Senal M, from Serbia, has confessed to striking Ms Albayrak, the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported.
He remains in police custody.
An autopsy will be performed on Ms Albayrak later on Monday.
Two Indian sisters will be given cash awards from the state government after fighting back against three alleged molesters on a bus.
The young women were widely praised after footage of their actions was posted on YouTube.
Their fellow passengers, however, were criticised as they made no moves to help fend off the men. Some were even shown sniggering during the dispute.
Arti and Pooja Kumar, aged 22 and 19, were on the crowded bus in Haryana, a largely rural state that borders New Delhi, last week.
Using their belts and their hands they fought back against the men, who themselves retaliated.
Pooja Kumar told NDTV news channel in India that the men had "made obscene gestures, touched us and abused us".
She added: "We could not take it any more and started beating them.
"One of the men grabbed my sister's hand and the other held me by the neck. That is when my sister took out her belt and started beating them.
The girls used their belts to fend off the men
"We fought the assaulters all alone. No one came forward to help us as the youth hit us and even pushed us out of the moving bus."
The girls' father, Rajesh Kumar, a clerk in the state electricity department, said: "I am proud of them and expect other girls to follow them in the future."
Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto added her voice to the praise for the sisters, tweeting: "Go brave girls! #girlrising and wake up bystanders! Its shameful, the only one who intervened was a pregnant woman!"
The Haryana government has said it will honour the girls' brave actions on Republic Day.
Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar announced a cash reward for the women of 31,000 rupees (£317) each, saying he hoped the publicity would sensitise others to the issue.
India has a poor record of sexual harassment, with perhaps the worst example being the gang rape of a 23-year-old female student on a bus in 2012.
She later died, sparking outrage, street protests and soul-searching among India's leaders about the country's treatment of women.
The three men who allegedly molested the two sisters have been arrested.
Written By Unknown on Minggu, 30 November 2014 | 22.57
Ferguson Shooting Cop Resigns From Police
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Video:Policeman Who Killed Teen Resigns
The white officer who shot dead unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, has resigned from the police force.
Four months after the confrontation that fuelled violent protests in the St Louis suburb and across the US, Darren Wilson quit the Ferguson Police Department.
Mr Wilson has been on administrative leave since the shooting on 9 August.
His resignation was announced on Saturday by one of his lawyers, Neil Bruntrager, who said it takes effect immediately.
Michael Brown's death has led to protests across the US
According to the St Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper, Mr Wilson sent a resignation letter to the Ferguson force which read: "It was my hope to continue in police work, but the safety of other police officers and the community are of paramount importance to me.
"I have been told that my continued employment may put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk, which is a circumstance that I cannot allow.
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Gallery: Ferguson Protests Lead To Arrests Across US
Protests have been held across the US after a white officer was not charged for shooting unarmed black 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri
Some of the most violent rallies were in San Francisco. Here a police officer on a motorcycle confronts protesters
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A demonstrator barracks police in San Francisco
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Demonstrators use a metal barricade to break a window in San Francisco
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Protesters face off with police in front of the Westfield Mall in San Francisco
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"It is my hope that my resignation will allow the community to heal."
A grand jury spent more than three months reviewing evidence in the case before deciding not to issue any charges against the 28-year-old last week.
He had told jurors that he feared for his life when 18-year-old Mr Brown hit him and grabbed for his gun.
The US Justice Department is still conducting a civil rights investigation into the shooting and a separate probe of police department practices.
Video:Sixteen People Arrested In Ferguson
The shooting ignited a national debate about race and policing.
Mr Wilson spent months in hiding after the shooting, which he claimed was in self-defence.
He broke his silence after the grand jury decision, saying he could not have done anything differently in the encounter with Mr Brown.
Mr Wilson told ABC News he has a clean conscience because "I know I did my job right".
Video:Debate: The Ferguson Backlash
Mr Brown's shooting was the first time he fired his gun on the job, he said.
Asked whether the encounter would have unfolded the same way if Mr Brown had been white, Mr Wilson said "yes".
Mr Wilson began his career in nearby Jennings before moving to the Ferguson job a few years ago.
He had no previous complaints against him and a good career record, according to Police Chief Thomas Jackson, who described Mr Wilson as "an excellent police officer".
Video:Cleaning up after the riot debris
A few months before the shooting, Mr Wilson had received a commendation for detaining a suspect in a drugs case.
An American flag was burned during the most recent protests outside police headquarters in Ferguson on Saturday night, when two people were arrested.
Ten people were arrested at a Ferguson-inspired demonstration in Portland, Oregon, after a rally at which civil rights leader Rev Jesse Jackson spoke.
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Ferguson Shooting Cop Resigns From Police
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
Video:Policeman Who Killed Teen Resigns
The white officer who shot dead unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, has resigned from the police force.
Four months after the confrontation that fuelled violent protests in the St Louis suburb and across the US, Darren Wilson quit the Ferguson Police Department.
Mr Wilson has been on administrative leave since the shooting on 9 August.
His resignation was announced on Saturday by one of his lawyers, Neil Bruntrager, who said it takes effect immediately.
Michael Brown's death has led to protests across the US
According to the St Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper, Mr Wilson sent a resignation letter to the Ferguson force which read: "It was my hope to continue in police work, but the safety of other police officers and the community are of paramount importance to me.
"I have been told that my continued employment may put the residents and police officers of the City of Ferguson at risk, which is a circumstance that I cannot allow.
1/11
Gallery: Ferguson Protests Lead To Arrests Across US
Protests have been held across the US after a white officer was not charged for shooting unarmed black 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri
Some of the most violent rallies were in San Francisco. Here a police officer on a motorcycle confronts protesters
]]>
A demonstrator barracks police in San Francisco
]]>
Demonstrators use a metal barricade to break a window in San Francisco
]]>
Protesters face off with police in front of the Westfield Mall in San Francisco
]]>
"It is my hope that my resignation will allow the community to heal."
A grand jury spent more than three months reviewing evidence in the case before deciding not to issue any charges against the 28-year-old last week.
He had told jurors that he feared for his life when 18-year-old Mr Brown hit him and grabbed for his gun.
The US Justice Department is still conducting a civil rights investigation into the shooting and a separate probe of police department practices.
Video:Sixteen People Arrested In Ferguson
The shooting ignited a national debate about race and policing.
Mr Wilson spent months in hiding after the shooting, which he claimed was in self-defence.
He broke his silence after the grand jury decision, saying he could not have done anything differently in the encounter with Mr Brown.
Mr Wilson told ABC News he has a clean conscience because "I know I did my job right".
Video:Debate: The Ferguson Backlash
Mr Brown's shooting was the first time he fired his gun on the job, he said.
Asked whether the encounter would have unfolded the same way if Mr Brown had been white, Mr Wilson said "yes".
Mr Wilson began his career in nearby Jennings before moving to the Ferguson job a few years ago.
He had no previous complaints against him and a good career record, according to Police Chief Thomas Jackson, who described Mr Wilson as "an excellent police officer".
Video:Cleaning up after the riot debris
A few months before the shooting, Mr Wilson had received a commendation for detaining a suspect in a drugs case.
An American flag was burned during the most recent protests outside police headquarters in Ferguson on Saturday night, when two people were arrested.
Ten people were arrested at a Ferguson-inspired demonstration in Portland, Oregon, after a rally at which civil rights leader Rev Jesse Jackson spoke.
Almost 7,000 people have died from Ebola across West Africa, with the World Health Organisation warning its figures may vastly underestimate the spread of the virus.
The official death toll has increased by 1,200 since the WHO released its last report on Wednesday, and is thought to include fatalities that were previously unreported.
More than 16,000 people have been diagnosed with Ebola in the current outbreak.
Although infection rates appear to be stabilising in Guinea and Liberia - two of the worst-hit nations - the number of new patients in Sierra Leone remains high, with 500 fresh cases consistently being reported each week.
The country had been promised 1,200 new beds for Ebola patients, but only 350 of them are up and running.
Five new treatment centres are scheduled to open next month, yet fears remain that there are not enough staff to cope with the onslaught of cases.
Ebola's spread in Sierra Leone is also being fuelled by unsafe burials, which are causing up to 50% of the nation's new cases.
The UN was hoping that the outbreak would be near its end by 1 December, but according to officials, the reality on the ground has proved very different.
Dr Martin Salia, 44, is survived by his wife and two children
Anthony Banbury, from the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response, said: "As long as there's one person with Ebola out there, then the crisis isn't over and Ebola is a risk to the people of that community, that country, this sub-region, this continent, this world.
"Our goal and what we will achieve is getting it down to zero, but there's no doubt it's going to be a long, hard fight."
Video:Ebola Vaccine Hope After Trial
Meanwhile, a funeral service is being held in Maryland for a surgeon who died of Ebola after flying to his native Sierra Leone to treat patients.
Dr Martin Salia, a US citizen, has been cremated. He died at the University of Nebraska Medical Center on 17 November, and experts believe that a two-week delay before he received aggressive treatment made it impossible for him to make a full recovery.
Meanwhile, the health of an unnamed Italian doctor who also became infected with Ebola in Sierra Leone is deteriorating, according to the Rome clinic overseeing his treatment.
Video:NHS Volunteers Join Ebola Fight
In a statement, the Lazzaro Spallanzani Institute added: "He has started to have gastro-intestinal problems - nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. He has a high fever, currently over 39C."
A video game reviewer who was threatened with rape by internet trolls has told Sky News that social media sites need to do more to stop online abuse.
Alanah Pearce has been threatened with violence and rape on her various social media sites.
She said: "I had a lot of people suggesting that I report these things to police but that would be so exhausting for me to have to contact police and file a report every time this happens it feels unrealistic.
"What I would like to see happen is the websites take these complaints more seriously like Facebook and Twitter for example to address people who are using social networks inappropriately."
After the 21-year-old from Brisbane, Australia, discovered many of those leaving the abuse were actually young boys rather than adults she decided to take action - by contacting their mothers.
Video:Oct: Tougher Laws For Trolls
"I realised that discussing it with them wasn't going to work when they wanted a reaction and maybe were too naive to realise what they were actually saying to me so I decided that contacting their mums was probably the best way to do it."
Alanah Pearce tweeted the Facebook Messenger exchange with one of the mothers who responded to her message:
In it she asks: "Hi Anna, I don't know you, but I was wondering if ****** ***** is your son?"
Anna replied: "Yes he is why?"
Alanah then responds: "I have never spoken to him before, but he sent a concerning message to my public Facebook page today that I was wondering if you might be interested in discussing with him.
She then sent a screen shot of the abuse which read: "I'll rape you if I ever see you ****"
1/12
Gallery: Celebrities Are Key Targets For Internet Trolls
Olympic diver Tom Daley was abused after he came 4th in the Olympics. The tweet said Daley had disappointed his late father. The troll, who also threatened to kill Daley, was later arrested
Singer and songwriter Katherine Jenkins received death threats after denying rumours of an affair with David Beckham
A Qatari court has acquitted a US couple over the death of their adopted daughter who prosecutors claimed had been starved to death.
Matthew and Grace Huang's eight-year-old daughter, Gloria, died in January 2013 and they were originally accused of starving her to sell her organs.
The prosecution had also suggested they were child traffickers.
The couple, from Los Angeles, were later charged with child endangerment and sentenced to three years.
A forensic pathologist told the appeal: "I found no signs of food in her stomach and the whole intestine, and I found no other reasons for death."
But the Huangs maintained Gloria had died from an eating disorder caused by her turbulent upbringing in an orphanage in Ghana.
Crucially, witnesses came forward to say the girl was not neglected and they had seen her eating a day before she died.
"This negates the charge that she was prevented from eating, a charge that the court of first instance used as a base for its initial ruling," the judge said.
"It has been a long and emotional trial for me and my family, and Grace and I want to go home and be reunited with our sons," said Matthew Huang.
"We have been unable to grieve our daughter."
The couple had been released in November 2013 until their appeal but were barred from returning to the US to be with their other two adopted children.
Matthew Huang had described the court process as a "sham" and the family's supporters suggested forensic evidence collected from Gloria's body could have been fabricated.
Adoption and multiracial families are unusual in the conservative Gulf state - where Mr Huang was working as an engineer on World Cup projects.
A Qatari police report had also earlier raised questions about why the Huangs would adopt children who did not share their "hereditary traits".
Two men have had a lucky escape after their car was swallowed by a sinkhole on a busy road in China.
CCTV video shows them driving slowly towards the hole and then scrambling out as their vehicle dangles precariously over the edge.
Moments later the balance shifts and the vehicle rolls over into the hole and lands on its roof.
Authorities in Jinjiang City, Fujian province, also released footage showing a large truck apparently causing the massive gash in the road.
Earlier this month, firefighters had to rescue a woman who fell into a three-metre sinkhole which opened up while she was hanging out her washing in Australia.
