Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Japan: outrage over hostage video

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Japan outraged as video purportedly shows hostage beheaded
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TOKYO -- Japan and other nations condemned with outrage and horror on Sunday the beheading purportedly by the Islamic State group of Kenji Goto, a journalist who sought through his coverage of Syria to convey the plight of refugees, children and other victims of war.
The failure to save Goto raised fears for the life of a Jordanian fighter pilot also held hostage by the extremists. Unlike earlier messages, an online video purporting to show an Islamic State group militant beheading Goto, circulated via social media late Saturday by militant sympathizers, did not mention the pilot.
Goto's slaying shocked this country, which up to now had not become directly embroiled in the fight against the militants.
"I feel indignation over this immoral and heinous act of terrorism," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters after convening an emergency Cabinet meeting.
"When I think of the grief of his family, I am left speechless," he said. "The government has been doing its utmost in responding to win his release, and we are filled with deep regret."
In light of threats from the Islamic State group, the government ordered heightened security at airports and at Japanese facilities overseas, such as embassies and schools, government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told the BBC.
He said it would be "inappropriate" to comment on the status of the Jordanian pilot, Muath al-Kaseasbeh. He was captured in December when his F-16 crashed near the de facto capital of the Islamic State group, which controls about a third of both Syria and neighboring Iraq in a self-declared caliphate.
Jordan's government spokesman, Mohammed al-Momani, also declined comment. Earlier this week, Jordan offered to free an al-Qaida prisoner for the pilot, but demanded and said it never got proof he was still alive.
Goto, 47, was a freelance journalist and father who braved hardship and peril to convey the suffering caused by conflict and poverty.
"Kenji has died, and my heart is broken. Facing such a tragic death, I'm just speechless," Goto's mother Junko Ishido told BBC News reporters.
"I was hoping Kenji might be able to come home," said Goto's brother, Junichi Goto, in a separate interview. "I was hoping he would return and thank everyone for his rescue, but that's impossible, and I'm bitterly disappointed."
Japanese expressed shock and horror over Goto's killing.
Yukawa's father, Shoichi, said Goto was trying to rescue his son "only to suffer the worst possible outcome."
"I just have no words. It's utterly heartbreaking," he told the BBC. "People killing other people - it's so deplorable. How can this be happening?"
Abe vowed not to give in to terrorism and said Japan will continue to provide humanitarian aid to countries fighting the Islamic State extremists.
The defense minister, Gen Nakatani, said that the police agency had deemed the video of Goto's killing "highly likely to be authentic."
According to his friends and family, Goto traveled to Syria in late October to try to save another hostage, Haruna Yukawa, who was captured by the Islamic State group in August and shown as purportedly killed in an earlier video.
The White House released a statement in which President Barack Obama also condemned "the heinous murder" and praised Goto's reporting, saying he "courageously sought to convey the plight of the Syrian people to the outside world."
The White House said that while it isn't confirming the authenticity of the video itself, it has confirmed that Goto has been slain.
Saturday's video, highlighted by militant sympathizers on social media sites, bore the symbol of the Islamic State group's al-Furqan media arm.
Though it could not be immediately independently verified by the BBC,   it conformed to other beheading videos released by the extremists, who now control about a third of both Syria and neighboring Iraq in a self-declared caliphate.
In Jordan late Saturday night, relatives and supporters of the pilot held a candlelit vigil inside a family home in Karak, al-Kaseasbeh's hometown in southern Jordan.
We "decided to hold this protest to remind the Jordanian government of the issue of the imprisoned pilot Muath al-Kaseasbeh," said the pilot's brother Jawdat al-Kaseasbeh, holding picture of Muath with a caption: "We are all Muath."
Al-Kaseasbeh's uncle, Yassin Rawashda, told a BBC News reporter that the family just wants to be kept informed.
"We want to know how the negotiations are going ... in a positive direction or not. And we want the family to be (involved) in the course of negotiations," he said.
In a purported online message earlier this week, the militants threatened to kill the pilot if the al-Qaida prisoner, 44-year-old Sajijda al-Rishawi, wasn't released by sunset on Thursday. That deadline passed, leaving the families of the pilot and the journalist waiting in agony.
Jordan and Japan had reportedly conducted indirect negotiations with the militants through Iraqi tribal leaders, but late on Friday Japan's deputy foreign minister reported a deadlock in those efforts.
The hostage drama began last week when the militants threatened to kill Goto and Yukawa in 72 hours unless Japan paid $200 million.
Later, the militants' demand shifted to seeking the release of al-Rishawi, who is facing death by hanging in Jordan for her role in triple hotel bombings in Amman in 2005. Sixty people were killed in those attacks, the worst terror attack in Jordan's history.
Al-Rishawi has close family ties to the Iraq branch of al-Qaida, a precursor of the Islamic State group.

Kenji Goto: Video 'shows IS beheading Japan hostage'



by Nasra Ismail and Biodun Iginla, BBC News Beirut

Still image purported to show Kenji Goto Kenji Goto is a well-known freelance journalist and film-maker
A video has been released online purporting to show the beheading of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto by Islamic State militants.
The video comes less than a week after news of the beheading of another Japanese man, Haruna Yukawa.
IS had demanded a $200m (£130m) ransom for the two men.
Mr Goto, 47, is a well-known freelance journalist and film-maker who went to Syria in October, reportedly to try to secure Mr Yukawa's release.

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Whitney Houston's daughter 'found unresponsive' in bath


by Kathy DiNuzzo and Biodun Iginla BBC News

Whitney Houston (left) and daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown. Photo: 2011 Whitney Houston (l) with Bobbi Kristina Brown in 2011
The daughter of late American singer Whitney Houston has been found unresponsive in a bathtub in a home in Georgia, US police say.
Bobbi Kristina Brown, 21, was found by her husband and a friend, police said. They immediately started resuscitating her until police and medics arrived.
She was taken to a hospital in Roswell where she was said to be breathing.
Whitney Houston was found dead in February 2012, aged 48, in a bath in a hotel in Los Angeles.
A post-mortem examination later concluded she died of accidental drowning due to the effects of cocaine use and heart disease.
'Thoughts and prayers' Ms Brown was found in the bathtub on Saturday morning, Roswell police spokeswoman Lisa Holland said.
She added that Ms Brown was now at North Fulton Hospital in Roswell, Georgia.
"They called 911, started CPR on her, and police arrived first," Ms Holland told CNN.
"We took over the lifesaving measures until the fire/rescue and an ambulance arrived."
"Please keep her and the family in your thoughts and prayers," USA Today quoted her as saying.
Whitney Houston was seen as the golden girl of the music industry in the 1980s and 90s, becoming one of the world's best-selling artists and the most successful soul singer of all time.
But the hits stopped in the mid-1990s after she began to abuse cocaine, marijuana and prescription drugs.
Bobbi Kristina was born after the singer's tumultuous 1992 marriage to hip-hop singer Bobby Brown.
The marriage became a public spectacle and ended in divorce in 2007.

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Greece economy: Merkel rules out more debt relief


by Natalie de Vallieres, Judith Stein, and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Berlin

Angela Merkel, 29 Jan Angela Merkel insists she still wants Greece to stay in the eurozone
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out cancelling any of Greece's debt, saying banks and creditors have already made substantial cuts.
But Mrs Merkel told the Die Welt newspaper she still wanted Greece to stay in the eurozone.
Greece's left-wing Syriza party won last weekend's election with a pledge to have half the debt written off.
Its new finance minister has refused to work with the "troika" of global institutions overseeing Greek debt.
The troika - the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund - had agreed a €240bn (£179bn; $270bn) bailout with the previous Greek government.
But Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has already begun to roll back the austerity measures the creditors had demanded as part of the deal.
Meanwhile, EU economic and financial affairs commissioner Pierre Moscovici told the BBC's Hardtalk that Greece had to honour its previous commitments, although he said he wanted Greece to remain in the eurozone.
'Blackmail' Mrs Merkel told the Hamburger Abendblatt: "I do not envisage fresh debt cancellation."
She said: "There has already been voluntary debt forgiveness by private creditors, banks have already slashed billions from Greece's debt."
Greece still has a debt of €315bn - about 175% of gross domestic product - despite some creditors writing down debts in a renegotiation in 2012.
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Greek economy in numbers
  • Average wage is €600 (£450: $690) a month
  • Unemployment is at 25%, with youth unemployment almost 50%
  • Economy has shrunk by 25% since the start of the eurozone crisis
  • Country's debt is 175% of GDP
  • Borrowed €240bn (£188bn) from the EU, the ECB and the IMF
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Mrs Merkel insisted she did not want Greece to leave the eurozone.
She said: "The aim of our policy was and is that Greece remains permanently part of the euro community. Europe will continue to show its solidarity with Greece, as with other countries hard hit by the crisis, if these countries carry out reforms and cost-saving measures."
On Friday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned Greece about its negotiation tactics on writing off debt.
"There's no arguing with us about this, and what's more we are difficult to blackmail," he said.
Finance Minister Varoufakis on Friday refused to work with the troika, saying he would instead talk to individual organisations and EU member states.
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis: "We are not prepared to carry on pretending and trying to enforce an unenforceable programme"
He has brought forward to Saturday his planned trip to Paris, where he will meet French counterpart Michel Sapin.
"We are not prepared to carry on pretending and extending, trying to enforce an unenforceable programme which for five years now has steadfastly refused to produce any tangible benefits," Mr Varoufakis told the BBC's Newsnight.
"The disease that we're facing in Greece at the moment is that a problem of insolvency for five years has been dealt with as a problem of liquidity."
Greece's current programme of loans ends on 28 February. A final bailout tranche of €7.2bn still has to be negotiated.
New Greek PM Alexis Tsipras will visit Cyprus, Italy and France next week but has no plans to visit Germany as yet.
Mr Moscovici meanwhile told the BBC the Greek government had to respect previous commitments.
But he added: "We believe that the place of Greece is in the eurozone, the euro needs Greece and that Greece needs and wants to be in the eurozone.
"We feel that it's very important for the stability of the eurozone and for the credibility of the euro that there is no 'Grexit'. This is why we will do everything that is needed to avoid it."
The full interview with Mr Moscovici can be seen on BBC World News on Monday 2 February at 0430, 0930, 1630 and 2130 GMT.
Graphic showing how much Greece owes to whom

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Friday, January 30, 2015

Google agrees privacy policy changes with data watchdog


by Tamara Kachelmeier and Biodun Iginla, Technology Reporters, BBC News

Google Google's privacy policy was found to be "too vague"

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Google has agreed to rewrite its privacy policy after pressure from the UK Information Commissioner's Office.
The firm must make it easier for users to find out how their data is collected and what it is used for and submit to a two-year review.
The deal follows an investigation by the regulator. Similar reviews are continuing elsewhere in Europe.
It is understood that Google will seek to strike a similar deal with other European regulators.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) found that Google was "too vague when describing how it uses personal data gathered from its web services and products".
Investigation The regulator - along with its continental counterparts - began looking into the Mountain View firm after its controversial privacy policy update in March 2012, which combined 70 existing documents.
It was joined by other data regulators, which form the European Article 29 Data Protection Working Party.
Google The head of France's privacy watchdog pictured in 2012 as she ordered Google to fix its privacy policy or face legal action
Following the investigation, Google has agreed to ensure that its privacy policy is more accessible and redesign its account settings feature to allow users to find its controls more easily.
It will also provide "unambiguous and comprehensive information regarding data processing, including an exhaustive list of the types of data processed by Google and the purposes for which data is processed".
Appeals Among other clarifications, Google will have to include information about who may collect "anonymous identifiers" - which are similar to cookies - and the purposes to which they put that data.
It will also be made to ensure that "passive users are better informed about the processing of their data". The ICO defines passive users as people who use Google, but who are not signed in.
Watch: the BBC's Caroline Hepker explain why Google decided to change its privacy policy in 2012
Google has until 30 June 2015 to implement the changes and it is believed it will roll out a single policy across the European Union in order to satisfy each of the regulators that opened investigations.
It has also dropped appeals related to investigations being undertaken by the French and Spanish watchdogs.
'Pleased' "This undertaking marks a significant step forward following a long investigation and extensive dialogue," said Steve Eckersley, the ICO's head of enforcement.
He added: "Whilst our investigation concluded that this case hasn't resulted in substantial damage and distress to consumers, it is still important for organisations to properly understand the impact of their actions and the requirement to comply with data protection law."
A Google spokesman said: "We're pleased that the ICO has decided to close its investigation. We have agreed improvements to our privacy policy and will continue to work constructively with the Commissioner and his team in the future."

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Korean Air head scolded daughter over 'nut rage' case


by Xian Wan and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Seoul

Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho arrives to testify at the court hearing of his daughter Cho Hyun-ah at the Seoul Western District court in Seoul on Friday Mr Cho said he had castigated his daughter over the incident

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The Korean Air chief, Cho Yang-ho, has told a court he scolded his 40-year-old daughter for ejecting an air steward in a now infamous "nut rage" incident.
Both father and daughter apologised to the court for the incident, which erupted when Cho Hyun-ah was served nuts in a packet rather than on a plate.
Ms Cho appeared in green prison overalls, her hair falling over her face and speaking in a whisper.
She could face 10 years in jail.
She has denied forcing the flight attendant and the cabin crew chief to kneel and beg forgiveness while she shouted abuse.
In court, the attendant who mis-served the nuts said she was pushed by Ms Cho, a push now alleged to amount to a criminal assault.
Ms Cho is also accused of interfering with the execution of duty and coercing employees to give false testimony.
The case has sparked a storm in South Korea, highlighting nepotism within the country's mighty conglomerates, or "chaebol", and the perceived arrogance of the offspring of chaebol chiefs.
Ms Cho and her siblings have all served as executives with Korean Air.
'Uncontrolled emotions' Plenty of humble pie is being eaten by some of South Korea's most privileged people in the aftermath of this incident, says the BBC's Steve Evans in Seoul.
"It was wrong to get a crew member off the flight no matter what the reason," Mr Cho told the court, during his first appearance in the witness box, according to Reuters news agency.
Cho Hyun-ah bows her head as she is led into detention on 30 December 2014 Ms Cho has consistently adopted a posture of childlike repentance in a country known for filial piety and generational hierarchy
"I have scolded her for not controlling her emotions and [for] expelling the crew member," he said as his daughter appeared to wipe away tears.
He apologised to the crew chief whom Mr Cho forced to leave the flight, and promised he would face no reprisals if he chose to stay in his job.
Ms Cho ordered the plane to return to the gate while it was taxiing to the runway in New York on 5 December to eject the crew chief, causing an 11-minute delay to its arrival in South Korea.
The female flight attendant who served the nuts also gave testimony on Friday, saying she was pushed and had a service manual thrown at her by Ms Cho during the incident.
She said she was subsequently pressured to accept an apology from Ms Cho in exchange for a job as a professor, but did not accept.

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Mitt Romney will not run in 2016 election


by Suzanne Gould and Biodun Iginla, BBC News Analysts

Former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney answers a question after his lecture to the student body and guests at Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi

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Mitt Romney, the Republican beaten by President Obama in the US 2012 election, has decided he will not run for president again.
Mr Romney, 67, said he had decided it was "best to give other leaders in the party the opportunity to become our next nominee".
His statement comes weeks after a surprise announcement saying he was considering another bid.
The decision not to run frees up donors to support other Republican candidates.
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Senator Rand Paul are among those who are considering a White House bid.
On the Democratic side, the presumed front-runner is former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, although she has not made any announcement about campaigning.
Mrs Clinton previously ran for president in 2008 but lost the Democratic nomination to Mr Obama.
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2016 runners and riders
Clockwise from top left: Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Elizabeth Warren, Rand Paul, Hillary Clinton Clockwise from top left: Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Elizabeth Warren, Rand Paul, Hillary Clinton
No-one has formally declared but these are some of the names to watch:
  • early Republican frontrunner is Jeb Bush
  • but New Jersey Governor Chris Christie could battle Bush for the party's centre ground
  • darling of the Tea Party is Texas Senator Ted Cruz
  • firebrand liberal Elizabeth Warren is championed by many in the Democratic Party
  • libertarian Rand Paul has his supporters - and enemies - among Republicans
  • Hillary Clinton will have learnt much from her failed campaign of 2008
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Mr Romney's campaign raised more than $1bn (£666m) in the 2012 election, when he unsuccessfully challenged President Obama.
He also lost the 2008 Republican nomination to Senator John McCain.
In a statement made during a phone call to donors, Mr Romney said he was "convinced that we could win the nomination", but added that "one of our next generation of Republican leaders... may well emerge as being better able to defeat the Democrat nominee".
He said it was a tough decision for him and his wife, Ann, "but we believe it is for the best of the party and the nation".
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Analysis, Nick Bryant, Washington
This November 7, 2012 file photo shows former US Presidential candidate Mitt Romney in Boston Massachusetts. Mr Romney (seen here in 2012) was hobbled by his image during both runs for president, Nick Bryant says
The shiny black hair, the quarterback smile, the lantern jaw. Mitt Romney has never had any difficulty looking like an American president. But getting voters to elect him to that job has long been a problem.
In 2008, he failed in his first attempt to win the Republican presidential nomination partly because he was seen as inauthentic: a moderate Republican who had been governor of liberal Massachusetts.
In 2012, when he won the nomination but failed to dislodge President Obama, it was his image as an out-of-touch millionaire, more so than his Mormonism, that hobbled his candidacy. A leaked video sounded the death knell. It showed him maligning 47% of the electorate as being dependent on the government (in an ironic twist, Romney won 47% of the vote, compared with Barack Obama's 51%).
At a time when income inequality and stagnant middle class incomes look set to dominate the next presidential race, it would have been hard for him to reinvent himself.
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Mr Romney reportedly discovered after floating a potential run three weeks ago that several of his key fundraisers had decided to support Mr Bush, according to the Associated Press news agency.
Jeb Bush - the son of a former president and brother of another - announced in December he was "exploring" a run.
After Mr Romney's announcement Mr Bush tweeted "Mitt is a patriot and I join many in hoping his days of serving our nation and our party are not over."

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