Face-To-Face With The Dying In An Ebola Centre

By Garwen McLuckie, Sky News Cameraman

Before filming inside the high-risk zone, we were told that all or equipment would have to be either disinfected or incinerated.

I had prepared hard - bringing tailor-made plastic sealed containers for the small DSLR camera I would be using and rigging up microphones for Sky News Correspondent Alex Crawford to carry under her clothing, or in a waterproof "dry sack".

In the end, none of them worked, but we were saved by our DSLR camera mike, which provided astonishing sound quality despite being smothered in plastic.

On arrival at the unit, we were first taken to a wooden shed so we could change into medical scrubs.

I felt confident, even excited about the challenge ahead as we moved to a small room be prepped for the high-risk area.

Each person was assigned a nurse to help us dress and to make sure we were properly covered.

First we had to put on large plastic socks which went up to our calves and white plastic boots.

Health workers secure protective body suits with duct tape

Then there was a hairnet, followed by a plastic PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) onesie which zipped right up to my neck and had a double sticky seal down the zip.

The first of three latex gloves went on and were sealed on to the onesie by duct tape round my wrist.

The onesie had its own hood which I pulled over my head, followed by a surgical mask over my mouth and nose.

I was then given another separate hood which went over my head and shoulders, covering my forehead, chin and neck. By this stage I was really feeling the heat and the humidity.

Alex Crawford with extra equipment used for filming in the virus zone

A huge yellow plastic apron was draped over me before my face was finally sealed by goggles. Not even a millimetre of my skin was exposed under these three layers of protection.

Almost immediately I was struggling with the heat and an extreme claustrophobic sensation which I had never experienced before - I wondered how long I would last.

Within a very short time, perspiration was filling my face mask, covering my nose and mouth and I could feel the bubbling of my own sweat as I kept trying to suck in air.

There didn't seem to be much of it.

Alex Crawford speaks to an ebola survivor in a quarantine area

At one stage while Alex was talking to one of the ebola victims I had to close my eyes whilst filming to try to calm myself.

I kept thinking: "I can't breathe, I can't breathe."

After filming for an hour, it took a painstaking 10 to 15 minutes to strip off each layer and be carefully disinfected each time.

The doctor could see I was anxious to get everything off but it was essential to observe all the health protocols.

My upbringing means I always give way to women, letting them through doors first and so on.

But in this case I think I would have rugby-tackled Alex to the ground if she hadn't let me go through the disrobing procedure before her.

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Ebola Deaths Hidden As Fear Grips Liberia

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, Monrovia

Liberia's few ebola treatment centres are overwhelmed with the sick and dying - with patients sharing beds and the dead laying near the desperately ill.

The country has accounted for more than half of the world's deaths from the latest ebola outbreak in West Africa and despite assurances from President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf that it is under control, evidence on the ground seen by Sky News appears to suggest otherwise.

Whole communities are gripped with fear about the virus - and terrified citizens prefer to die alone, unaided because of the stigma attached to admitting to the disease.

Dozens of ebola victims are dying in their homes in Monrovia, increasing the chances of the virus spreading.

And official numbers of victims are almost certainly unrepresentative of the real death count because of the lack of co-ordination and nationwide spread of the disease.

Video: Ebola Outbreak: On The Front Line

Small teams of about half a dozen workers set out daily to retrieve the ebola dead - most of whom have died after suffering in secret.

Their relatives are reluctant to admit ebola has caused the death, as this invariably invites ostracism from their communities and targets them as potential virus carriers.

The body recovery squads - still called "burial teams" despite government orders that all ebola victims be cremated - are doing one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.

They take extreme precautions, wearing multiple protective clothing layers along with goggles, boots, gloves and head coverings to try to stay safe.

Video: Music Protects Against Ebola

Head of Team Three, Mark Korvoyan, told Sky News: "There's no day comes that people don't die in their house. Every day, every blessing day."

There's simply too much work for the recovery teams to do, not enough hours in the day for them to track down the dead.

Even as they were picking up the latest corpses from the Elwa Treatment Centre, a young man was sobbing outside.

He cried: "Oh my God, I was just bringing a phone for my sister. Now they say she's died. What am I going to do? She has children..."

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1. Gallery: The Desperate Fight To Contain The Ebola Outbreak

   A man rests outside the clinic.

2. A woman is comforted after medical officials remove her husband, who is suspected of having the disease.

3. Officials try to prevent themselves from spreading the disease.

4. A local who has just brought his brother to the centre. He had to rely on plastic bags tied around his hands to try to protect himself.

5. A man thought to be infected with ebola waits for treatment.

6. Patients wait to be seen by medical staff.

7. Workers try to decontaminate themselves.

8. A worker with a child who may have caught ebola.

9. A make-shift hand-washing station in Monrovia.

10. Decontaminated boots of medical staff.

11. The basic conditions make containing the disease very difficult.

George Nyumah, like so many of Liberia's citizens, is frantically worried about catching the virus.

So the five children his sister cares for are left alone to fend for themselves in their one-room, corrugated iron shack home.

The eldest is 16, the youngest just two and they all sleep on the dirty mattress which their sick mother lay on in the days before she was taken into the ebola centre.

Their chances of catching or carrying the virus must be very high.

Video: Ebola: A Global Threat

For that reason, their uncle George - and the rest of the extended family - will keep well away for 21 days, just to see if they develop signs of the killer disease.

Even if they survive the virus, they'll have to fight poverty and the community's suspicions in the weeks and months ahead.

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IS Raises Flag In Town Near Turkey Border

Islamic State militants have apparently captured part of a town close to the Syrian border with Turkey after days of fierce fighting.

The extremist group raised its black flag on a building on the eastern side of Kobani, where Kurdish fighters have been involved in clashes after a nearly three-week siege of the town, according to Reuters.

A second flag has also been reportedly raised on a hillside overlooking the town.

Idris Nahsen, a Kobani official, had said the militants were less than a mile from the town, which was hit by rockets and mortars during fighting over the weekend.

The US also carried out three airstrikes targeting IS positions near the town in Syria on Sunday.

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1. Gallery: IS Attacks Town Near Turkish Border

   Turkish army tanks take up position on the Turkish-Syrian border near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa Province

2. Kurdish fighters vowed not to abandon their increasingly desperate efforts to defend the Syrian border town of Kobani from Islamic State militants pressing in from three sides and pounding them with heavy artillery

3. Despite the heavy fighting, which has seen mortars rain down on residential areas in Kobani and stray fire hit Turkish territory, a Reuters reporter saw around 30 people cross over from Turkey, apparently to help with defence of the town

4. An IS fighter walks near a black flag belonging to the Islamic State near Kobani

14. Kurdish refugees from Kobani sit in front of their tents in a camp in the southeastern town of Suruc

15. Islamic State is trying to seize Kobani, which is predominantly Kurdish, and has ramped up its offensive in recent days despite being targeted by US-led coalition airstrikes aimed at halting its progress

16. Turkish Kurds look at Kobani as they stand on top of a house near Mursitpinar border crossing. Continue through for more pictures

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed at least 33 IS militants and 23 Kurdish defenders were killed during the fighting.

One shell was fired from inside Syria and hit a house in the Turkish village of Buyuk Kendirci, injuring four people.

IS began its advance on Kobani on 16 September, forcing around 186,000 people to flee across the border into Turkey.

It has seized swathes of Syria and Iraq - including a long stretch of the Syria-Turkey border - after declaring an Islamic caliphate in June.

Video: Militants Besiege Border Town

The Turkish parliament authorised involvement in the campaign against IS last week, but no military operations have been announced.

It comes after a masked IS militant was filmed murdering British aid worker Alan Henning and threatening US hostage Peter Kassig in a video released on Friday.

Mr Henning, a 47-year-old former taxi driver from Eccles in Greater Manchester, was captured as he drove an ambulance full of aid supplies into Syria on 27 December last year.

The Ministry of Defence said two Tornado fighters had dropped Paveway bombs on IS targets near Ramadi, in Iraq, on Sunday night.

Video: Why Is Turkey Joining The IS Fight?

The RAF jets, based in Akrotiri, Cyprus, attacked IS forces who were shooting at Iraqi troops from a building near the city.

A leader from the al Qaeda-linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), a Taliban ally that has been based in Pakistan's tribal belt since 2001, has declared its support for IS.

IMU was set up in the 1990s and is listed as a terrorist group by the US.

On Saturday, the Pakistani Taliban vowed to send fighters to help IS in Iraq and Syria and said it would set aside its differences with extremist groups in the region.

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IS Hostage Tells Parents He Fears Being Killed

A former soldier threatened with death by Islamic State militants has spoken of his fear of being killed by his captors in a letter sent to his parents.

Peter Kassig, 26, was captured on 1 October 2013 in Syria, where he was taking aid to refugees fleeing the country's civil war.

In a statement released to the media, Ed and Paula Kassig said their son had written of his sadness at the pain his captivity was causing his family.

He wrote: "I am obviously pretty scared to die but the hardest part is not knowing, wondering, hoping, and wondering if I should even hope at all.

"I am very sad that all this has happened and for what all of you back home are going through.

Video: Kassig's Parents Issue Video Plea

"If I do die, I figure that at least you and I can seek refuge and comfort in knowing that I went out as a result of trying to alleviate suffering and helping those in need."

Mr Kassig was threatened at the end of a video showing the beheading of British aid worker Alan Henning on Friday.

The former Army Ranger, who set up Special Emergency Response and Assistance (SERA) in Turkey to provide aid for Syrian refugees, had begun delivering supplies to refugee camps in 2012 and providing medical aid to injured civilians.

Video: Alan Henning Memorial Service

According to a former IS hostage, Mr Kassig voluntarily converted to Islam sometime between his captured and December 2013 and is now known as Abdul-Rahman Kassig.

In the letter, he added: "In terms of my faith, I pray every day and I am not angry about my situation in that sense.

"I am in a dogmatically complicated situation here, but I am at peace with my belief."

Video: Henning's Family 'Numb With Grief'

In a statement, the Kassigs said: "We continue to pressure the government to stop its actions and continue to call on his captors to have mercy and release him."

They added that the text of the letter had been edited to remove "sensitive information", and that they received it in June, but did not indicate how they obtained it.

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Kenya President Steps Down For ICC Hearing

Kenya's president has announced he will temporarily step down from office to avoid being the first head of state to appear before the International Criminal Court this week.

Uhuru Kenyatta said he would be attending the hearing in The Hague in a personal capacity to face charges of orchestrating ethnic killings after the country's contested 2007 election.

He said he would invoke an article of the constitution, never used before, to appoint his deputy, William Ruto, as acting president in his absence to avoid putting the "sovereignty of more than 40 million Kenyans on trial".

The temporary abdication is Mr Kenyatta's way of fulfilling the court order that he attend, while not being the first president to sit before the court.

He said: "It is for this reason that I chose not to put the sovereignty of more than 40 million Kenyans on trial since their democratic will should never be subject to another jurisidiction.

More than 1,000 people were killed in post-election violence back in 2007

"Therefore let it not be said that I am attending the status conference as the president of Kenya.

"Nothing in my position or my deeds as president warrants my being in court."

If Mr Kenyatta had refused to go, as some members of his political party had urged, he risked facing an international arrest warrant, international condemnation or economic sanctions against Kenya.

Mr Kenyatta, Mr Ruto and a Kenyan radio personality all face crimes against humanity charges at the ICC.

The ICC's prosecutor has accused all three of inciting widespread violence in 2007, which killed more than 1,000 people and saw 600,000 flee their homes.

Mr Kenyatta has appeared before the court before but was not president at the time.

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Alan Henning's Life To Be Celebrated In Church

A church service is being held today to remember Alan Henning, the British taxi driver killed by Islamic State militants.

The special service will take place in Mr Henning's home town of Eccles in Greater Manchester this evening and organisers say it will mark his life and the good he did.

It comes after Mr Henning's family paid tribute to a "decent, caring human being" after he was murdered.

In a statement they thanked those who campaigned for his release, saying they had comfort "knowing how many people stood beside us in hoping for the best".

"There are few words to describe how we feel at this moment. Myself, Lucy and Adam, and all of Alan's family and friends are numb with grief," the statement said.

Video: Friend Describes Henning Kidnapping

Support from the Government, Foreign Office and Greater Manchester Police "meant that we were able to get through the most awful of times", the family said.

The statement went on to add: "His interest was in the welfare of others.

"He will be remembered for this and we as a family are extremely proud of him and what he achieved and the people he helped."

David Cameron vowed to do "everything we can" to "hunt down" Mr Henning's killers.

Video: 'Tactics Will Change' In IS Battle

The PM also paid tribute to Mr Henning, the second Briton to be beheaded by IS, for his "kindness, peacefulness and gentleness".

Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "We will do everything we can to support the efforts of the Government to bring those guilty of this terrible act to justice."

A video lasting one minute and 11 seconds and titled Another Message To America And Its Allies, was posted on YouTube on Friday.

It shows Mr Henning, a taxi driver who was captured on an aid mission in Syria in December 2013, kneeling in front of a knife-wielding militant in a desert setting before being beheaded in front of the camera.

Video: British Jihadi's Message To Cameron

Mr Henning, who is dressed in red, says: "I am Alan Henning. Because of our Parliament's decision to attack the Islamic State, I, as a member of the British public, will now pay the price for that decision."

The masked killer, who speaks with a British accent and is believed to be the man responsible for previous beheadings, makes a direct statement to Mr Cameron: "The blood of David Haines was on your hands, Cameron. Alan Henning will also be slaughtered, but his blood is on the hands of the British Parliament."

Last week MPs voted to join the US-led coalition and take part in airstrikes against IS fighters in Iraq.

At the end of the video another hostage, a former US soldier turned charity worker believed to be Peter Edward Kassig, is paraded in front of the cameras. The militant in the video says Mr Kassig will be the next victim.

Video: Henning 'Handed Death Sentence'

The UK Muslim community condemned Mr Henning's murder, which came on the eve of the Islamic festival Eid Al-Adha.

A second video emerged on Friday which purports to show a British IS fighter - thought to be 27-year-old Omar Hussein, a former supermarket security guard from High Wycombe - calling on Western governments to send ground troops to fight IS militants.

Downing Street has said it is examining the video.

:: Full coverage now on Sky News – watch Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132.

Video: Imam Condemns Alan Henning's Murder

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American Hostage's Parents Issue Video Plea

By Sky News US Team

The parents of American hostage Abdul-Rahman Kassig, formerly known as Peter, have issued a video plea asking for his safe return.

Mr Kassig appeared at the end of a clip posted online on Friday that showed the killing of British aid convoy volunteer Alan Henning by an Islamic State (IS) militant.

Ed and Paula Kassig urged their son's captors to let him go in a video statement released on Saturday.

"We implore those who are holding you to show mercy and use their power to let you go," Mr Kassig's father said.

Mr Kassig converted to Islam and changed his name to Abdul-Rahman

Mrs Kassig, speaking directly to her son, added: "Most of all, know that we love you, and our hearts ache for you to be granted your freedom so we can hug you again and then set you free to continue the life you have chosen, the life of service to those in greatest need."

Ed Kassig said his son, who founded an organisation that provides aid to Syrians affected by the country's civil war, "grew to love and admire the Syrian people and felt at home there".

Video: IS Threatens To Kill US Hostage

Peter Kassig changed his name to Abdul-Rahman after years of humanitarian work in the region "culminated in him embracing Islam", his father added.

A family spokesperson previously said that Mr Kassig's faith "has provided him comfort during his long captivity".

The 26-year-old Indiana native and Iraq War veteran was captured by IS militants on 1 October 2013 while en route to Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria.

Video: Henning's Family 'Numb With Grief'

At the end of the video showing Mr Henning's murder, an IS militant spoke directly to President Barack Obama as he threatened to kill Mr Kassig next.

He said: "Obama, you have started your aerial bombardment in Sham. So it's only right we continue to strike the necks of your people."

In the plea for his son's release, Mr Kassig said: "We asked our government to change its actions, but like our son, we have no more control over the US government than you have over the break of dawn."

Video: 'IS Call To Send Ground Troops'

On Friday, Mr Obama condemned Mr Henning's "brutal" murder, saying the US would bring those responsible to justice.

Four IS hostages - two Americans and two Britons - have been killed since the US-led airstrikes in Iraq and Syria began on 8 August.

An estimated 15 to 20 hostages are still being held by the extremist group, according to the AP news agency.

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Brazil Presidential Race: Poll Gap Narrows

By Karine Mayer, South America News Editor

The world's seventh largest economy takes to the polls today, yet many Brazilians are still unsure who to vote for.

Although for the last month the race has been between two women - incumbent president Dilma Rousseff and environmentalist Marina Silva - the latest polls show that conservative Aecio Neves has crept into second place just ahead of Ms Silva.

It has been a roller-coaster ride campaign, but the latest polls show that 40% of Brazilians are likely to vote for the stability of the Workers' Party instead of the sustainable environment of Ms Silva, or a return to the Social Democracy Party with candidate Mr Neves.

The three main candidates are known in Brazil just by their Christian names; Dilma, Marina and Aecio.

Brazil's President and Workers' Party presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff

Ms Rousseff, 66, Brazil's incumbent president, was imprisoned and tortured by the country's military dictatorship as an armed Marxist guerrilla group in the early 1970s.

But it was due to the former president's support and help that she stepped into the limelight and became the first female president in Brazil.

Despite her tough stance she has failed to weed out corruption, and economic growth has stumbled under her administration.

Ms Silva is the election wild card. She was born to a desperately poor family of rubber tappers in the Amazon and was illiterate until the age of 16.

She then went from working as a maid to environmental activist alongside Chico Mendes, and became Brazil's youngest ever senator in 1994.

She became an official candidate at the end of August when her running mate was killed in a plane crash.

Mr Neves comes from a political family; his grandfather, Tancredo Neves, was the first post-dictatorship elected president in 1984 but died before being sworn in.

He represents the centre-right party. Initially labelled a playboy he has toughened his image in the last few months and attacked Ms Rousseff over the corruption scandal of state run oil company Petrobras which involved some of her colleagues.

A lot still remains to be done in Brazil as the government will have to address health, education, security and urban transport, as well as getting the country's economy growing again, as it experienced its first slowdown following the World Cup.

Some 142 million Brazilians will, by law, have to vote on today as they choose their president, 27 state governors, 513 congressmen, 1069 regional lawmakers, and a third of the Senate.

Then in three weeks' time, should no candidate win more than 50%, the second round will determine the future of the country.

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'Dangerous Crossroads' For Hong Kong Protests

By Greg Milam, Sky Correspondent, in Hong Kong

Authorities in Hong Kong have again called on 'Occupy' protesters to step aside and allow government offices and schools to operate as normal on Monday morning.

There are signs that leaders of the protest movement are willing to co-operate with police and clear access routes on roads they have blocked for a week now.

Police have warned they will take "all necessary action" to restore order after a weekend of tension and little sign of protesters losing enthusiasm in their calls for reform.

Away from the protest areas, it is largely business as usual in Hong Kong: a wedding party at the famous Peninsula Hotel, tourists packing cross-harbour ferries and snapping photos at the statue marking the handover from Britain.

Tens of thousands of protesters occupy streets in the financial district

Irene Pan and her 11-year-old son, who were crossing one of the bridges over a deserted main road through Hong Kong island, said: "I have seen a lot different opinions from all over the country and this city.

"It is a chance for the people of Hong Kong to think and to voice what we think no matter what the opinion is.

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1. Gallery: Protest Is An Art In Hong Kong

   Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong have been keeping their message alive with highly-produced poster art celebrating the 'Umbrella Revolution'. Continue through for more images...

"Hong Kong people have been silenced and politically moderate for a long, long time."

Behind the protest barriers, among the banners, walls of peace messages and tents full of supplies, groups of students continue to join the sit-in.

Shandy Hung told Sky News: "At the beginning I don't know much about politics, but I know that if we don't stand up now we will loose the time to fight for our democracy.

Video: Ultimatum For Hong Kong Protesters

"This is just the beginning. I think the most successful thing about the 'Umbrella Revolution' is that more and more people like me will start to care about politics."

Her friend Florence Lam added: "I think the protesters will allow people to go back to work but they will not stop the protest. We have done so much and this is about Hong Kong's future now."

All around them are signs of the determination of protesters to keep that message alive, including highly-produced poster art celebrating the 'Umbrella Revolution'.

Video: Hong Kong Talks Called Off

Scuffles and angry confrontations over the weekend highlight there are those in Hong Kong who are unhappy at the continuing protests.

As the South China Morning Post reported, Monday represents a "dangerous crossroads" for the people of Hong Kong.

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Even Al Qaeda Tried To Free Alan Henning

A filmmaker, who was involved in the early negotiations to free Alan Henning, has told Sky News how even al Qaeda thought holding him hostage was "not a good idea".

The terrorist group sent a member to bargain with the Islamic State fighters holding him but failed to secure his release.

The al Qaeda member, who was sent to bargain with the Manchester taxi driver's captors, said the jihadists were "difficult" and "tough".

Delivering aid to the suffering in Syria. Pic: Cage

Bilal Abdul Kareem told how Mr Henning, who was helping to make an aid delivery in Syria, was captured just an hour after arriving in al-Dana, around 30 minutes from the Turkish border, on Boxing Day.

He said Islamic State fighters had arrived in the town and detained all of those in the convoy but quickly released the Muslim members, holding only Mr Henning.

Video: Cameron Condemns Henning Murder

Mr Kareem said when Mr Henning was first taken he was set to be released later that day or even the next but when that did not happen people started to worry.

Then the jihadists claimed the 47-year-old, father-of-two as their prisoner and said they were planning to exchange him for people in British custody.

Mr Kareem said: "They had a course of action that they were going to take and nobody was going to be able to talk them out of it.

Video: PM Pledges 'All Assets' Against IS

"Even al Qaeda affiliates al Nusra went there to talk to them because nobody outside of ISIS thought this was a good idea, nobody thought that it was OK to do this, none of the other groups were doing that, nobody thought it was a good idea.

"When the al Qaeda representative went to go down and try to talk to them he returned, his face was different, he said something to the effect these guys are really being difficult, really being tough but they did say that they were going to release him.

"Everybody was anticipating that but that never happened."

Video: UK Muslims 'Disgusted'

On Friday the terrorists posted a video of Mr Henning's killing. In it he is pictured kneeling in front of a masked man, who speaks with a British accent and is believed to be the man responsible for previous beheadings.

The man makes a direct appeal to David Cameron saying: "The blood of David Haines was on your hands, Cameron. Alan Henning will also be slaughtered, but his blood is on the hands of the British Parliament."

Muslim leaders have condemned the beheading on the eve of the Muslim festival of Eid Al-Adha, which represents a day of mercy, and said they want to see justice done.

Video: Eccles Pastor: 'It's Gut-wrenching'

As the community of Eccles mourned, Mr Cameron said Britain would use all of its assets to destroy Islamic State.

:: Full coverage now on Sky News – watch Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132.

Video: Shock At Murder Of Alan Henning

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1. Gallery: Profile: Alan Henning

   Alan Henning, 47, was born in Salford, Greater Manchester. Friends gave him the nickname "gadget" due to his love of technology

2. He was married for 23 years and he had a teenage son and daughter

3. He worked as a self-employed taxi driver

4. Mr Henning saw the plight of Syrian people and volunteered with a Muslim charity. He had been to the region at least three times

5. He drove life-saving medical equipment from the UK to Syria in old ambulances. He left in December 2013 to make the 4,000-mile trip

6. He was kidnapped by IS in Syria by masked men. He may have been held in Ad Dana near Aleppo, then Raqqa

Video: Wife Pleaded For Henning's Release

Video: Latest Analysis: Sky's Joey Jones

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