Islamic State's Warning To Kurdish Fighters

Islamic State militants have released a video which appears to show a Kurdish man being beheaded in Iraq.

The six-minute video is titled "A Message in Blood" and shows men wearing orange jumpsuits who are said to be Kurdish fighters captured by IS.

One man is later seen kneeling outside a mosque in the city of Mosul before he is beheaded.

The jihadists have warned that the other fighters will be killed if Kurdish leaders continue to back the US.

One of the captured men said: "Any mistake or recklessness from you will lead to the (loss) of our life."

It comes after President Barack Obama called for a coalition of countries prepared to take military action against IS.

The new video shows captured Kurdish fighters wearing orange jump-suits

Mr Obama said the US was working to get more countries on board in order to strike at the jihadist group.

He said: "We are going to work politically and diplomatically with folks in the region, and we're going to cobble together the kind of coalition that we need for a long-term strategy as soon as we are able to fit together the military, political and economic components of that strategy."

Mr Obama played down the prospect of imminent US military action in Syria, saying "we don't have a strategy yet", but said it was time for Middle Eastern nations to "stop being ambivalent".

France has already ruled itself out. The UK has so far provided humanitarian assistance and Prime Minister David Cameron has said he does not want troops on the ground.

On Thursday, another IS video emerged showing hundreds of "executed" Syrian soldiers.

The soldiers were captured at the weekend when the Sunni militants seized an air base in the province of Raqqa, in northern Syria.

An earlier video showed Syrian men being made to march in their underwear

The Reuters news agency said the video, which was posted on YouTube and shows dozens of bodies, had been confirmed as genuine by an IS fighter.

"Yes we have executed them all," he said.

The video shows the bodies of scores of men wearing nothing but their underwear lying face down. The line of bodies appears to be dozens of metres long.

A caption written underneath says: "The 250 shabeeha taken captive by the Islamic State from Tabqa in Raqqa have been executed."

Shabeeha is the name of armed militia forces loyal to President Bashar al Assad. Tabqa is the location of the Syrian airbase captured by IS in the last few days.

The head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights later confirmed that Syrian soldiers had been "executed" at three different places, resulting in the deaths of at least 160.

Rami Abdel Rahman said it had happened after jihadists defeated the 1,400-strong garrison at Tabqa, of whom 200 were killed in fighting, 700 escaped and dozens of the remainder were captured as they fled.

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Putin: Ukraine Assault Like Nazis In WW2

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Ukraine's assault on cities in the east of the country is reminiscent of the Nazi siege of Leningrad.

"Small villages and large cities surrounded by the Ukrainian army which is directly hitting residential areas... It sadly reminds me the events of the Second World War, when German fascist... occupants surrounded our cities," he told a youth camp outside Moscow.

Mr Putin urged Kiev to begin "substantive" negotiations with the separatists to achieve peace, adding that Russians and Ukrainians are "practically one people".

Mr Lavrov: 'No proof of Russian involvement'

Earlier Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed claims that its troops are fighting in eastern Ukraine as "conjecture".

Mr Lavrov was speaking after the US accused Russia of lying about its involvement in Ukraine and warned of tougher economic sanctions.

Nato has accused Russia of violating its international obligations and has released satellite photos of what it says are Russian troops in Ukraine.

Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said: "It is now clear that Russian troops and equipment have illegally crossed the border into eastern and southeastern Ukraine.

Russian arms seized in eastern Ukraine

"This is not an isolated action but part of a dangerous pattern over many months to destabilise Ukraine as a sovereign nation."

Kiev said on Friday a call by Mr Putin for separatists to open a "humanitarian corridor" to allow encircled Ukrainian troops to withdraw was further proof they were "led and controlled directly from the Kremlin".

A top insurgent in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk said the Ukrainian troops would have to lay down their arms before they were allowed to go.

"We are ready to open humanitarian corridors to the Ukrainian troops who were surrounded with the condition that they surrender heavy weaponry and ammunition so that this weaponry and ammunition will not be used against us in future," Alexander Zakharchenko said.

A satellite image allegedly showing a Russian military incursion in Ukraine

Ten Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 30 wounded in fighting with pro-Russian separatists in the past 24 hours, Kiev's security and defence council said on Friday.

Fighting has intensified since the rebels - allegedly helped by Russian soldiers - opened a new front just as Ukraine's army had virtually surrounded Donetsk and another separatist stronghold, Luhansk.

The casualty figure was released after the UN revealed a total of 2,593 people have been killed in eastern Ukraine since the fighting erupted in mid-April.

It said the number included civilians as well as Ukrainian and separatist combatants, but not the 298 victims of the MH17 Malaysian Airlines plane crash.

The rebels control the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk

Nato is due to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said an EU summit on Saturday would discuss the prospect of further sanctions against Russia.

The tensions also led Poland to prevent a plane carrying Russia's defence minister from travelling through its airspace on Friday, leading to a complaint from Moscow.

Meanwhile, the US fast-food giant McDonald's has revealed a total of 12 branches in Russia had been temporarily closed by the state food safety watchdog over alleged sanitary law breaches.

A Ukrainian soldier exchanges fire with separatists

The company, which has 440 restaurants in the country, also said more than 100 further inspections were being carried out at its outlets.

"We are studying the essence of claims in order to determine the necessary actions for the swift re-opening of restaurants for visitors," the firm said in a statement.

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Ebola Drug ZMapp 100% Effective In Monkey Trial

Experimental ebola drug ZMapp has cured all of the infected monkeys it was tested on, lifting hopes it could be used to fight West Africa's deadliest ever outbreak.

Scientists reported the drug healed all 18 monkeys who were given a lethal dose of the virus.

According to the study, published by the journal Nature, the monkeys were treated with ZMapp three to five days after they were infected and when most were showing symptoms. 

Even those suffering advanced symptoms like rashes, liver dysfunction and haemorrhaging and were just hours from death survived.

No other experimental ebola drug has ever shown success in primates so long after infection, with five days equal to between nine and 11 days after infection in humans. 

Three monkeys who were not offered the treatment, produced by San Diago-based Mapp Biopharmaceutical, died by day eight.

Kent Brantly, the US doctor who survived ebola, was treated with ZMapp

"The level of improvement was utterly beyond my honest expectation," said one study leader, Gary Kobinger of the Public Health Agency of Canada in Winnipeg.

In a commentary published by Nature, virologist Thomas Geisbert of the University of Texas Medical Branch, described the results as a "monumental success."

It was the first time the drug was tested on primates.

Although it is not known whether the success will be replicated on people, who can take up to 21 days to show symptoms, Mapp has already begun producing more of the drug ready for scientific human testing.

The company has no more doses of ZMapp, which is grown in tobacco plants and takes several months to produce.

Ebola spread to a fifth African country on Friday

The final doses were given to seven people infected with the virus in recent weeks.

Two American aid workers were among five people who survived after being given the drug.

Their physicians do not know whether it was instrumental in their recovery as roughly half of those infected during West Africa's recent outbreak have recovered naturally.

A Liberian doctor infected with the virus died this week despite being given the drug, as did a Spanish priest.

It comes after researchers revealed the outbreak may have started at a funeral in Sierra Leone.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 1,552 people of 3,069 confirmed ebola cases have died. 

WHO says there could be as many as 20,000 cases before the virus is brought under control. 

There is no approved vaccine or treatment beyond keeping patients hydrated and nourished. 

The virus spread to a fifth African country on Friday, with Senegal reporting that a university student who had travelled from Guinea was being treated.

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Islamic State's Warning To Kurdish Fighters

Islamic State militants have released a video which appears to show a Kurdish man being beheaded in Iraq.

The six-minute video is titled "A Message in Blood" and shows men wearing orange jumpsuits who are said to be Kurdish fighters captured by IS.

The man is later seen kneeling outside a mosque in the city of Mosul before he is beheaded.

The jihadists have warned that other fighters will be killed if Kurdish leaders continue to back the US.

It comes after President Barack Obama called for a coalition of countries prepared to take military action against IS.

Mr Obama said the US was working to get more countries on board in order to strike at the jihadist group.

The new video shows captured Kurdish fighters wearing orange jump-suits

He said: "We are going to work politically and diplomatically with folks in the region, and we're going to cobble together the kind of coalition that we need for a long-term strategy as soon as we are able to fit together the military, political and economic components of that strategy."

Mr Obama played down the prospect of imminent US military action in Syria, saying "we don't have a strategy yet", but said it was time for Middle Eastern nations to "stop being ambivalent".

France has already ruled itself out. The UK has so far provided humanitarian assistance and Prime Minister David Cameron has said he does not want troops on the ground.

On Thursday, another IS video emerged showing hundreds of "executed" Syrian soldiers.

The soldiers were captured at the weekend when the Sunni militants seized an air base in the province of Raqqa, in northern Syria.

The Reuters news agency said the video, which was posted on YouTube and shows dozens of bodies, had been confirmed as genuine by an IS fighter.

An earlier video showed Syrian men being made to march in their underwear

"Yes we have executed them all," he said.

The video shows the bodies of scores of men wearing nothing but their underwear lying face down. The line of bodies appears to be dozens of metres long.

A caption written underneath says: "The 250 shabeeha taken captive by the Islamic State from Tabqa in Raqqa have been executed."

Shabeeha is the name of armed militia forces loyal to President Bashar al Assad. Tabqa is the location of the Syrian airbase captured by IS in the last few days.

The head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights later confirmed that Syrian soldiers had been "executed" at three different places, resulting in the deaths of at least 160.

Rami Abdel Rahman said it had happened after jihadists defeated the 1,400-strong garrison at Tabqa, of whom 200 were killed in fighting, 700 escaped and dozens of the remainder were captured as they fled.

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West Weak Against Putin's Muscle Moves

His economy is giving way at the knees. His country faces decades in the cold. And he turns up the heat. It's hard not to admire Vladimir Putin's sheer gall.

In his latest move he's openly dispatched armoured columns of mobile artillery into Ukraine. Nato satellite imagery reveals the powerful cannon ranged onto Ukrainian targets.

This is an invasion force.

And it's one that has been able to crash across Ukraine's borders because the West just isn't able to cope with the former judo champion's muscle moves.

Nato estimated that at least 1,000 Russian troops are in Ukraine. These would be the gunners and support for the artillery.

But still reactions to the blatant abrogation of Ukrainian sovereignty has been mealy-mouthed.

Russia denies sending troops into Ukraine

"I'm extremely concerned by mounting evidence that Russian troops have made large-scale incursions into South Eastern Ukraine, completely disregarding the sovereignty of a neighbour," said David Cameron, the British Prime Minister.

"We urge Russia to pursue a different path and to find a political solution to this crisis.  If Russia does not, then she should be in no doubt that there will be further consequences."

The Kremlin has already been subjected to biting economic sanctions that have caused capital flight of some $100m (£60.3m), at least, this year - more than double the total from last year.

The European Union has threatened, but not implemented, sanctions on whole sectors of the Russian economy because its members can't agree on how they should be imposed and who should bear the painful blowback.

A satellite image provided by the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe

The Russian president's riding high in the polls.

His economy would have been weak by this time in the year anyway - it's failed to modernise and has not converted oil riches into sustainable and efficient growth.

But now Mr Putin has an excuse for the tough times that will come – the sanctions imposed after he annexed Crimea and supported separatists in eastern Ukraine.

He knows that, even though Ukraine is a Nato partner, the allies will not go to war over the former Soviet republic.

He also knows that Ukraine will top the agenda at the Nato summit in Wales.

Vladimir Putin is riding high in domestic polls

The organisation has been noisy and posturing over Ukraine. It's reinforced the nervous Baltic states, exercised its troops in eastern Europe and its secretary general has fulminated richly over Russia's continued incursions.

This posturing may turn into a more coherent strategic response in Wales. This could include finance and intelligence help, extra weaponry and advice, for Ukraine.

Mr Putin knows this - which explains his invasion. It's intended to relieve the pressure on his proxy forces there, but only in part.

It's ultimately a land grab, the securing of a bridgehead inside Ukraine that, at the very least, will give him something to give up in later negotiations.

That is if he recognises that he can't win but he could lose well.

If he hasn't understood that, then his gall may turn to hubris - his pride that caused his fall.

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US Accuses 'Lying' Russia Of Ukraine Incursion

The United States has accused Russia of sending combat forces across the border into Ukraine as it warned Moscow economic sanctions may be tightened.

Speaking at the White House, President Barack Obama said Russia has been supporting pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine "for months".

He rejected Moscow's repeated denials of involvement in the conflict but ruled out any direct US military intervention in the crisis,.

"I consider the actions that we've seen in the last week a continuation of what's been taking place for months now," Mr Obama said.

"The separatists are backed, trained, armed, financed by Russia. Russia determined that it had to be a little more overt in what it had already been doing, but it's not really a shift."

Ukraine's military said on Friday Russian President Vladimir Putin's call for a 'humanitarian corridor' to be set up to allow Ukrainian troops to withdraw showed the separatists were "led and controlled directly from the Kremlin".

Meanwhile, Washington's envoy to the United Nations hit out at Russia during an emergency session of its Security Council 

US Ambassador Samantha Power said: "Russia has to stop lying and has to stop fueling this conflict.

"The mask is coming off. We see Russia's actions for what they are: a deliberate effort to support and now fight alongside illegal separatists in another sovereign country."

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Russia has stepped up its military presence in Ukraine's east.

She said Russia has sent "combat forces, armoured vehicles, artillery, and surface-to-air systems" to Ukraine.

She also accused Russia of "playing a direct supporting role to the separatists proxies and mercenaries".

The US and European countries have imposed tough sanctions on Russia over its annexation of Crimea in March.

A pro-Russian separatist seen in the eastern city of Donetsk

Nato is due to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis later today, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel said an EU summit on Saturday would discuss the prospect of further sanctions.

A spokesman for Ukraine's National Security Council, Colonel Andriy Lysenko, said earlier two columns of tanks had fired at a border post, before rolling into Ukraine.

His comments followed Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's claim on Thursday that Russian forces had "entered" the country.

The tanks are reported to have crossed into a southern area of the Donetsk region, where the separatists have made significant gains in recent days.

Nato has released satellite imagery purportedly showing self-propelled artillery battery.

A Nato official said at least 1,000 Russian troops had entered Ukraine with sophisticated equipment and had been in "direct contact" with Ukrainian forces, resulting in casualties.

At a crisis meeting of the UN Security Council, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin accused Kiev of "waging war against its own people."

However, British Ambassador to the UN, Mark Lyall Grant, listed "overwhelming" evidence to the contrary.

"It is simply not credible for Russia and its proxies in (the eastern regions of) Donetsk and Luhansk to keep claiming that these serving members of the Russian armed forces are in Ukraine by accident or on holiday," he said.

"Nor is it credible for Russia to continue claiming to the whole world including to the Russian people that Russian soldiers are not present in Ukrainian territory."

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Ukraine: The Story On The Russian Soldiers

Russian Paratroopers 'Captured' In Ukraine

Updated: 4:49pm UK, Tuesday 26 August 2014

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko and Russian leader Vladimir Putin have sat down for talks - hours after video footage of captured Russian soldiers risked inflaming tensions between the two countries.

The two leaders met alongside senior EU officials in Belarus, where Mr Putin said the conflict in eastern Ukraine would not be solved by a military escalation in the region. 

Mr Poroshenko said the talks would decide "the fate of Europe and the world".

The Russian president's conciliatory words came after Ukraine presented fresh evidence suggesting Russian military activity within Ukraine.

Ukraine's security service (UBS) released video footage purportedly showing 10 Russian paratroopers who were captured by the army in the war-torn east of the country.

The UBS said it had opened a criminal probe after soldiers from the 98th airborne division based in central Russia were detained near the village of Dzerkalne, around 30 miles (50km) from rebel-held Donetsk.

A Ukrainian military spokesman said the men were on a "special mission".

But Russian military sources quoted by state news agencies have claimed the soldiers crossed the border by mistake.

In footage posted on the official Facebook page of the Ukrainian government's "anti-terrorist operation", the men were shown dressed in camouflage fatigues.

One of them, who identified himself as Ivan Melchyakov, listed his personal details, including the name of the paratroop regiment he said is based in the Russian town of Kostroma.

"I did not see where we crossed the border. They just told us we were going on a 70-kilometre march over three days," he said.

"Everything is different here, not like they show it on television. We've come as cannon fodder," he said in the video.

Ukraine's Defence Minister Valeriy Geletey said the soldiers were captured on Monday.

"Officially they are at exercises in various corners of Russia.

"In reality, they are participating in military aggression against Ukraine and their families know nothing about their true fate.

"I am addressing the relatives of Russian servicemen: find out immediately where your loved ones are. Take them out of Ukraine, where they are being forced to die."

US National Security Adviser Susan Rice slammed Russia over the incident, branding the latest apparent incursion "dangerous and inflammatory" on Twitter.

At the talks in Minsk, Mr Poroshenko said the only way to end the bloodshed in eastern Ukraine was through effective border controls with Russia, halting arms supplies to rebels and releasing prisoners of war.

Mr Putin said Moscow would retaliate if a trade pact between Ukraine and the EU gave European goods a back door to Russian markets - a move he said that would cost his economy 100bn roubles (£1.6bn)

Even as the Ukrainian president landed outside Minsk earlier on Tuesday, his country's military said an attack by Russian separatists on the town of Novoazovsk was ongoing.

A spokesman said a hospital was on fire and 12 Ukrainian service personnel had been killed in the last 24 hours - while government forces had destroyed 12 armoured infantry carriers in the area using artillery and aircraft.

Kiev has accused its neighbour of stoking the separatist insurgency but this is the first time authorities have claimed to have captured Russian soldiers.

Moscow continues to deny any involvement in the rebellion.

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Ukraine-Russia Talks Yield No Breakthrough

Talks between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia have ended without a major breakthrough towards ending fighting between government forces and pro-Moscow separatists.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin sat down for one-on-one talks in Belarus, hours after Kiev said it had captured 10 Russian paratroopers on its territory.

Mr Poroshenko said there were "some results" but there seemed to be no significant compromises to help end four months of fighting in east Ukraine that has left more than 2,000 dead and forced more than 400,000 people from their homes.

Russia has long been accused by Kiev of backing the separatists, charges Moscow has repeatedly denied.

Mr Putin has faced criticism from Ukraine and the West over the crisis

Mr Putin said he would "do everything" to help a future peace process but did little to ease tensions when he shrugged off the claims about the paratroopers.

"I have not yet received a report from the defence ministry. But from what I have heard, they were patrolling the border and could have ended up on Ukrainian territory," Mr Putin said, adding that Ukrainian troops had previously crossed into Russia.

Mr Poroshenko (right) demanded action, not words, to end the fighting

"I am hoping that there won't be any problems with the Ukrainian side over this case."

Military sources in Moscow said they crossed over the border "by accident".

Ukraine's military released footage purporting to show the captured paratroopers, who were detained around 30 miles (50km) southeast of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.

The two leaders also discussed aid to the east and the gas dispute

At the talks all sides "without exception" agreed to a Kiev peace plan, Mr Poroshenko said, but he demanded "decisive actions", not words, afterwards.

But Mr Putin said only Kiev can agree a ceasefire with the separatists, insisting: "This is not our business. This is Ukraine's business."

Moscow could only "create an atmosphere of trust for this important and necessary process", he claimed.

One of the Russian paratroopers Kiev claims to have captured

Russia's decision to send an aid convoy to east Ukraine last week also raised tensions, but Mr Putin claimed to have "reached certain" agreements at the talks on sending aid there.

Moscow announced on Monday it was planning to send a second convoy to the area this week.

Mr Putin also said the two countries agreed to restart gas talks after Moscow turned off the taps to Kiev over a pricing dispute.

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US Border Control Warns Off Armed Militias

The US Border Patrol has warned private militias to stay out of the battle to stem the flow of illegal immigrants into the country.

A number of volunteer armies have appeared along the US-Mexico border in recent weeks as the country faces an unprecedented surge of migrants from Central America.

But the agency tasked with policing the border says those militias cause more problems than they solve.

Border Patrol agent Joe Gutierrez told Sky News: "Generally we don't encourage people to take the law into their own hands. We are uniquely qualified to do this job specifically. The public do act as our eyes and ears and we encourage them to do that."

The US government has flooded the border area with extra resources in recent weeks in an effort to tackle the growing crisis. Texas Governor Rick Perry has also deployed the National Guard to the region.

Sky News joined Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley - so far this year, more illegal immigrants have been apprehended in the valley than in the rest of the United States put together.

The militias are heavily armed with automatic weapons

While we were filming with agents, a group of migrants emerged from the bush. They had been dispatched across the Rio Grande on a raft by people smugglers.

Patty, a young woman from Honduras, had been travelling with her two-year-old son for six weeks. She told us the journey had been hard because she was walking without shoes. Many of those in the group were unaccompanied children, hoping to be allowed to stay in the US.

Militia groups say they are not concerned with women and children arriving. They fear drug cartels, criminal gangs and terrorists following the same path.

Kelli Gordon runs one of the private militia now patrolling the Rio Grande Valley.

She told Sky News: "My country is being invaded. If the government isn't going to protect our borders then that leaves we the people.

"We do need a militia because without it you need more police and we don't want more police.

"No-one wants to do this. We don't want to be out here but the militia is very important. We won't be unarmed because we are the last line of defence against tyranny."

No-one knows how many migrants are actually making it across the border but even those who do face a perilous journey north.

To avoid a checkpoint 80 miles inside Texas at Farfallas, many migrants head off across farmland, risking heat and exhaustion.

The bodies of more than one hundred migrants were found dumped in a mass grave at the Sacred Heart Cemetery in Farfallas.

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Hollande Dissolves French Govt In Economy Row

French President Francois Hollande has dissolved his government amid a row over the country's struggling economy.

Mr Hollande said Prime Minister Manual Valls had handed in the Socialist government's resignation and had until Tuesday to complete a reshuffle.

"The head of state asked him to form a team that supports the objectives he has set out for the country," said a terse statement.

France's economy has not grown this year and unemployment is hovering around 10%.

Mr Hollande's approval rating languishes at 17%, according to a poll, the lowest for a president since the 1958, as the country struggles to emerge from the economic doldrums.

Prime Minister Valls has until Tuesday to reshuffle the government

The abrupt end to the government comes after outspoken Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg called for a "major change" away from deficit reduction measures, and criticised Germany's "obsession" with austerity.

"It's not France's job to align itself to the ideological axioms of Germany's right wing," said the far-left politician in an interview last week.

It is not yet clear which ministers will survive the reshuffle and who will be culled, or indeed whether Mr Hollande will emerge with his parliamentary majority intact.

Economy Minister Montebourg has criticised the government's approach

Local media said Culture Minister Aurelie Filipetti had signalled she did not want to be part of the new government.

Opposition conservatives, who have been experiencing their own leadership rows, called for an outright dissolution of parliament, as did the far-right National Front.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel did not comment directly on France's political turmoil but said she wished "the French president success with his reform agenda".

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Ukraine Troops Battle Rebel Armoured Convoy

Ukraine says its forces have clashed with a rebel armoured column it claims crossed the border from Russia.

The military said border guards were engaged in a battle with around 50 vehicles, including tanks, near the southeastern town of Novoazovsk, as it headed toward the port city of Mariupol.

The latest violence came as Moscow announced plans to send a second controversial aid convoy to rebel-held eastern Ukraine in a move which threatens to further escalate the bloody conflict.

There was heavy criticism of an earlier unauthorised Russian convoy

An earlier column of more than 200 trucks sent across the border by Moscow, with a cargo of what was said to be aid, without permission was branded by the government in Kiev as a "direct invasion", and was heavily criticised by the West.

There are concerns the aid convoy is a move to assist the insurgency or be used as a pretext to invade, but Russia insists it is to help the stricken region.

The continuing unrest comes on the eve of crucial talks between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents on Tuesday in a bid to find a diplomatic solution to defuse tensions, and end the deadly crisis.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the aim was to "help Ukrainians agree among themselves".

But at the same time he ramped up tensions with plans to send a second aid convoy to eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian prisoners were displayed in Donetsk in mockery of a Kiev parade

Mr Lavrov said: "The humanitarian situation is not improving but deteriorating."

Kiev is also likely to have been antagonised by Mr Lavrov's comments that there was nothing demeaning about parading Ukrainian prisoners through the rebel-held city of Donetsk.

There was condemnation after pro-Russian separatists displayed captives before baying crowds in mockery of the country's Independence Day celebrations in Kiev.

The captives were followed by rubbish trucks to "clean" where they had walked.

Germany has said it was quite likely a war crime.

A foreign ministry spokesman said: "It is completely distasteful and it's just not done."

But Mr Lavrov said: "I saw images of that parade and I didn't see anything close to what could be considered as humiliating."

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Syria 'Ready To Work With West In IS Battle'

Syria has said it is ready to cooperate with the international community in the battle against Islamic State (IS) militants.

The Sunni extremists have taken over large areas of the country as well as parts of northern Iraq in recent months, declaring a "caliphate" straddling both countries.

Western powers, including the US and UK, have been backing more moderate rebel fighters in the three-year civil war against forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al Assad.

But the US, which has been carrying out airstrikes against IS in Iraq, has signalled it could extend the battle against the extremists into Syrian territory.

Syrian President Bashar al Assad

Syrian foreign minister Walid al Moualem has now held open the possibility of working with countries, including the US, Britain and Saudi Arabia, which also supported the uprising against Mr Assad.

Mr al Moualem said: "Syria, geographically and operationally, is the centre of the international coalition to fight Islamic State. States must come to it if they are serious in combating terrorism."

Asked about the prospect of US aerial raids against IS inside Syria, Mr Moualem said any strikes would have to be coordinated with Damascus.

"Anything outside this is considered aggression," he told reporters.

And asked if Syria was ready to work with the US and Britain in fighting the group, he said: "They are welcome."

Red shows areas controlled by IS, yellow shows areas of fighting

He also called for intelligence sharing with neighbouring states and suggested cooperation would be possible with Saudi Arabia.

Last week, the former head of the British Army said the West should consider negotiating with Mr Assad to tackle IS extremists.

Lord Dannatt told Sky News: "The old dictum that my enemy's enemy is my friend just might have some credence in this less than satisfactory and pretty extraordinary set of times that we are in."

A Kurdish peshmerga soldier in Iraq

But Britain has ruled out negotiating with Mr Assad and there has been no sign of any shift in US policy towards Syria, where the civil war has killed at least 191,000 people.

On Sunday, IS fighters captured the Tabqa air base in northeast Syria after days of fighting that cost more than 500 lives, according to a monitoring group.

"Islamic State has no borders and the faster we move against it, the more we diminish its danger," Mr Moualem said.

Meanwhile in Iraq, Kurdish peshmerga forces have retaken three villages in the Jalawla area northeast of Baghdad from jihadists and also held off two assaults on the Shia Turkmen-majority town of Tuz Khurmatu, officials said.

In Baghdad, a suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden vest among Shia worshippers who were leaving a mosque after noon prayers, killing at least 12 people.

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California Rattled By Strong Earthquake

Three people have been critically injured after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake shook California's Napa and Sonoma counties.

The quake, which was felt 40 miles (64 kilometres) away in San Francisco, set off car alarms and caused residents to run out of their homes in the middle of the night.

Some 87 people received minor injuries after the quake struck at 3.20am (11.20am UK time) at a depth of seven miles.

A reporter surveys the scene of a building collapse in Napa

California's governor has declared a state of emergency.

Pictures posted on Twitter showed firefighters putting out a blaze at a mobile home park in Napa Valley and piles of rubble and masonry lying in the street which had fallen from buildings.

A 2.6 magnitude aftershock hit half-an-hour later and US Geological Survey (USGS) expert Jessica Turner told KCBS radio that aftershocks of up to 5.0 are likely in the coming week.

The tremor occurred 40 miles from San Francisco

The shocks will be examined by geologists to determine whether the quake happened on a geological fault line.

The USGS added there was a "low likelihood for casualties", but issued an "orange alert" for possible damage, which means "significant damage is likely and the disaster is potentially widespread".

Californian police closed several roads that suffered significant damage and warned drivers to take extra care while crossing an intersection in Napa Valley strewn with bricks after a building partially collapsed.

People wearing bathrobes walk down a street in Napa

Engineers were dispatched to assess the damage and restore power to some 50,000 residents in Napa and Sonoma who suffered a blackout.

Randy Baldwin, a USGS geophysicist, said the tremor was potentially damaging because it was close to populated areas.

"It is the strongest quake in a 60-mile (100-km) radius from the epicentre of this quake in several decades," he said.

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Three Beheaded In Riot At Brazilian Prison

Three prisoners have been beheaded and at least five other people injured in a riot at a Brazilian jail, authorities said.

Inmates took several prisoners hostage during the riot, decapitating at least three and throwing others off the roof.

They also took prison officers hostage, burned furniture and smashed rooms up with metal poles. 

Police Captain Ricardo Pinto said the riot at the prison in the southern city of Cascavel was ongoing amid negotiations over better conditions.

The revolt at the 928 bed jail began before sunrise on Sunday when a prison guard was captured during breakfast, Captain Pinto said.

Dozens of the prisoners climbed onto the building's rooftop, with their faces covered with white fabric.

Local media images showed at least 30 rebellious inmates shouting while they beat men held with ropes around their necks, or whose hands were tied behind them.

The rioting inmates waved banners emblazoned with the initials PCC for a criminal prison gang formed in the 1990s.

Relatives arriving at the prison to visit inmates waited outside as night fell, trying to get information about their loved ones.

Jairo Ferreira, a lawyer for the prison guards' union, said the inmates rioted to demand better food and medical care in the prison.

Captain Pinto said the revolt may also have been related to the recent convictions of two prisoners.

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Kidnappers Release US Journalist In Syria

Kidnappers in Syria have released a US journalist who was abducted in 2012.

The United Nations (UN) confirmed Peter Theo Curtis, 45, was transferred to its peacekeeping force in the disputed Golan Heights region.

"After receiving a medical check-up, Mr Curtis was handed over to representatives of his government," the UN statement said.

Al Jazeera reported that the move followed diplomacy from Qatar.

US reporter James Foley

It comes six days after the Islamic State (IS) released a video of US reporter James Foley being beheaded in Iraq.

The UK says it is edging closer to identifying the apparently-British killer.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said: "Particularly after a week marked by unspeakable tragedy, we are all relieved and grateful knowing that Theo Curtis is coming home.

"Over these last two years, the United States reached out to more than two dozen countries asking for urgent help from anyone who might have tools, influence, or leverage to help secure Theo's release and the release of any Americans held hostage in Syria."

A map showing IS territory

The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists estimates that about 20 journalists are missing in Syria. Many of them are believed to be held by IS.

Mr Kerry said: "Every diplomatic, intelligence and military tool" is being used to secure the release of other American hostages.

A Qatari source told Reuters that "any captives with (Islamic State) will be very difficult for Qatar to free, while others with different groups would be easier".

IS has threatened to kill another US reporter, Steven Sotloff, if airstrikes sanctioned by President Barack Obama in Iraq continue.

Steven Sotloff (2nd from right) is being held by IS in Iraq

Mr Curtis, who is from Boston and has written books under the name Theo Padnos, was abducted near the Syria-Turkey border in October 2012

In a video statement released by kidnappers during his captivity, Mr Curtis said he "had everything" he needed and "everything has been perfect, food, clothing, even friends now".

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Gaza: 'Israeli Airstrike' Hits Apartment Block

Airstrikes Hit Gaza After Israeli Child Killed

Updated: 12:47pm UK, Saturday 23 August 2014

Israel pounded Gaza with 30 airstrikes after vowing "Hamas will pay a heavy price" for the death of a four-year-old boy from rocket fire.

Medical officials reported at least eight Palestinian deaths as the conflict entered its 47th day.

The bombardment came just hours after an attack on the southern Israeli village of Sdot Negev, in which the four-year-old died.

He suffered fatal wounds after the barrage of mortars landed in a collective farm, known as a kibbutz. Israeli military said 90 rockets were fired into the country overnight.

A mobile intensive care ambulance was sent to the scene and firefighters hosed down vehicles that were set on fire in a car park.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's military would raise the tempo of operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip "until the goals of Operation Protective Edge are achieved".

It was the first Israeli death since a new round of fighting erupted on Tuesday between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers following the collapse of ceasefire talks in Cairo earlier this week.

The boy is the fourth civilian in Israel to be killed in an attack from the coastal territory since the outbreak of conflict on July 8.

Earlier in the day three people were injured by shrapnel, after rocket fired from Gaza hit a synagogue in the city of Ashdod.

Hamas also killed 18 people suspected of being informers for Israel on Friday.

The group said 11 were killed by firing squad at the Gaza City police headquarters following sentencing by courts.

Hamas media then reported that seven more alleged informants had been targeted by masked gunmen near a mosque.

Two of those killed were women, according to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, which called for an immediate halt to what it said were "extra-judicial executions".

Israel's intelligence services rely, in part, on informers to pinpoint the whereabouts of Hamas leaders.

So far more than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, which began as Israel sought to destroy a network of tunnels used by Hamas and other militants.

A total of 64 Israeli soldiers have also been killed in the conflict.

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Footballer Killed By Object Thrown From Stands

A footballer has died after being hit in the head by an object thrown from the stands after a match, his club have announced.

Cameroonian striker Albert Ebosse, who has national caps, was fatally struck by a projectile at the end of JS Kabylie's game against USM Alger in Algeria.

He had scored a goal in the game, which his club lost 2-1. 

Footage posted on YouTube shows the player on a stretcher with his head wrapped in bandages after the attack in the northern city of Tizi Ouzou.

A Facebook page dedicated to the player has been created, offering tributes and condolences to his family.

A statement published on Kabylie's website said: "The Ministry of Interior and Local Government, speaking through minister Tayeb Belaiz, has given an instruction to open an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Albert Ebosse.

"The JSK player succumbed to a head injury after being hit in the head at the end of the meeting with USM Alger."

Reacting to the news, USM Alger said in a statement: "This terrible news is saddening for football in our nation and in Cameroon and arrives like a bombshell.

"In these painful circumstances, USM Alger and its members send their deepest condolences to the family of the deceased and to JS Kabylie.

"May Albert Ebosse rest in peace."

The 24-year-old played for Coton Sport FC, Unisport Bafang and Douala AC in Cameroon, before transferring to Malaysian side Perak FA in 2012.

He joined JS Kabylie, one of Algeria's richest clubs, in July 2013. He reportedly had six international caps, mainly with Cameroon's B team.

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Iceland Volcano Fears: Airlines On Alert

Aviation authorities are watching for developments in Iceland, where planes are on high alert after a volcanic eruption.

The country has closed airspace directly above Bardarbunga volcano after it began erupting under the ice of Europe's largest glacier following thousands of earthquakes.

The UK's air traffic control organisation NATS and safety regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) say they are ready to take action if ash is detected. 

Continued exposure to concentrated levels of volcanic ash can lead to the total failure of aircraft engines.

Yesterday, a Virgin Atlantic flight from London Heathrow to San Francisco was diverted away from the volcano as a precaution.

Bardarbunga is Iceland's biggest volcano system

But flights are now operating normally, a spokesman for the airline said.

An eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in southern Iceland four years ago produced an ash cloud that led to a week of aviation chaos.

More than 100,000 flights were cancelled.

A spokeswoman for NATS said it was "monitoring the situation" and working with other agencies, including the Met Office and Civil Aviation Authority.

NATS will help determine what impact the eruption will have on UK airspace and advise airline customers accordingly, she added.

Computers show seismic activity from Bardarbunga at Iceland's Met Office

A Met Office spokeswoman said: "We are in close contact with the Icelandic Met Office, but currently they tell us that the eruptions are sub-glacial, so no ash has made it to the surface.

"If ash does make it to the surface, we will run our model which will indicate where any ash would go, and we will inform the CAA and NATS.

"They will then make the decision on how that will affect any air flights."

Minutes before the eruption, Icelandic officials raised the aviation alert to red - the highest level.

The red alert warns that an eruption could cause "significant emission of ash into the atmosphere".

Ash billows from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in 2010

Scientists who flew over the ice cap on Saturday afternoon said they saw no visible signs of the eruption on the surface.

Iceland's Met Office said it is not clear when, or if, the eruption would melt through the ice and send steam and ash into the air.

The ice is between 330ft to 1,300ft thick.

An easyJet spokesman said the airline is preparing to put contingency plans into action, using specialist technology to detect and charter any ash created.

"EasyJet will use this and other data provided by the authorities to determine what, if any, changes it should make to its flying programme," he said.

Flybe said it was monitoring the situation and all of its flights are operating as normal.

Aviation chiefs are confident the industry is much better prepared to deal with the effects of an ash cloud than it was in 2010.

The CAA said improvements in observing and forecasting where ash is and its density have been made, and there is a new radar in Iceland to detect ash in the atmosphere.

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