02/09/2014 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me Philippa Thomas.

It's claimed another journalist held by militants in Syria is killed.

The Islamic State militant group says it has killed Steven Sotloff

and threatens more deaths unless what it calls

the evil alliance of America stops its campaign against them.

Ukrainian soldiers trying to stage a retreat

in the east claim they were ambushed and shot by pro-Russian rebels

while they were waving white flags. We've given the corridor get out.

They've given the corridor to exit and they were shot. It a violation

of international conventions. successes against IS rebels while

a new human rights report accuses Islamic State militants of ethnic

cleansing on a massive scale. And from food to fine art

and even building materials - we'll explain why China's

in the middle of a museum boom. We start with some

breaking news this hour. A video has been released

on the internet purporting to show the beheading of the American

journalist, Steven Sotloff, by Islamic State militants.

The video shows Mr Sotloff dressed in a jumpsuit on his knees

beside an IS fighter with a knife. The US State Department made

this statement a short time ago. This is something that the

administration has been watching very carefully since the threat

against his life was made a few weeks ago. Our thoughts and

prayers, first of all, are with his friends and family. The United

States has dedicated significant time and re-sources to try and

rescue Steven Sotloff. I am not in a position to confirm the authenticity

of that video or the reports. If there is a video that has been

released, it is something that will be analysed very carefully by the US

government and our officials. this statement a short time ago.

Let's get the latest from our North America Correspondent Rajini

Vaidyanathan in Washington. Are there any more details coming

through? We have heard more details from the

state department. A similar message from US officials. They are working

to confirm the video authenticity. But if the video is genuine, they

would be second by this brutal act. The White House has said they have

dedicated research is to try to release Steven Sotloff. His mother

made a direct appeal to the fighters asking for his release. We

understand that the jihadis are saying they may not stop there.

That's right. I have not watched the video, but what I am reading is that

in the video they say that this is because of your arrogant attitude

towards the Islamic State. At the end of the video, they make

to kill a third hostage, believed to be a British national.

to kill a third hostage, believed to Now to the crisis in Ukraine.

President Petro Poroshenko has signed a new conscription law

as Kiev officials say 15 servicemen have died in the last 24 hours

in the east of the country, and his defence minister has warned

of a great war brewing with neighbouring Russia.

Meanwhile, Britain's Defence Minister Julian

Brazier has said UK troops may take part in a joint military exercise

in Ukraine later this month. And after NATO's announcement that

it will establish a rapid reaction force in

Eastern Europe, Russia said it will review its military strategy.

This ratcheting up of diplomatic tensions comes

as the Ukrainian army alleges its forces were attacked while trying

to retreat through what was intended to be a humanitarian corridor

outside Donetsk on Saturday. The Ukrainian government said

its armed forces were surrounded and put under relentless attack by

pro-Russian rebels around the town of Ilovaysk, south east of Donetsk.

Our Kiev correspondent David Stern has the details.

In Kiev, they are demanding changes immediately. The Ukraine government

is coming under pressure from all sides. These images show the

has the details. Ilovaysk,

town of... Ukrainians were promised safe passage

town of... Ukrainians were promised they left at the weekend, they say

they were ambushed. Maybe as many as 100 died. The rebels deny this. A

convoy was captured, everything was taken away. The purpose of this

convoy was to take away the injured. But there were too many

military vehicles and too many armed men. That is why both convoys were

military vehicles and too many armed surrounded and captured, basically

without fighting. But the Ukrainians claim it was a war crime. They were

given the corridor to get out. Nobody was shot, well they were shot

given the corridor to exit and they were shot shot. It is a violation of

international conventions. Reports say that hundreds of Ukrainian

soldiers may have been taken captive. These images show some of

them. The pictures come from the rebels, but they clearly show

abuses. A soldier is hit. Others are humiliated. They are told they will

be subject to forced Labour. Some of the prisoners have reportedly been

released. The fate of others is unknown. Reports of what happened in

the town and its aftermath are only now beginning to filter out. Anger

is rising at the rebels and at the government who people see abandoned

the forces. The Ukrainian president has promised changes to the

military. The question is, can he make them fast enough?

Vitaliy Shevchenko is a Ukrainian specialist at BBC Monitoring who's

been working to verify some of those images we just showed you.

What struck you about what you were seeing there? First of all, the

brutal nature of what is happening in Ukraine. It is very graphic,

shopping in places. We have to watch it because when you are dealing with

a crisis like that, it is sometimes the only source of information of

what is happening. Because it is a war zone, it is very dangerous

there. Few reporters adventure into that part of Ukraine. How did you

track down the pictures, or ten point them in terms of geography?

Basically, it is a matter of knowing where to look and being able to tell

falsehoods from the truth. I am originally from Eastern Ukraine and

it helps to know the way people usually speak, the way they dress, a

kind of cars they drive, the general feel of the area. We knew from

official reports from Kiev and rebel claims that there has been a massive

battle there and something major has happened. Then we started seeing

video clips posted on you tube of prisoners of war, dead bodies and

military hardware that used to belong to the Ukrainian army, burnt

out and devastated in the fighting. Thank you for your time.

I am going to remind you of our breaking news which is the Islamic

State jihadists claiming that they have killed Steven Sotloff. Are

making use, the State Department has just said that if the video that was

released allegedly showing the killing is genuine, they are second.

They say they are second, the White House has said their thoughts and

prayers are with the family. Now to the crisis in Iraq where

Amnesty International says Islamic State militants have committed

a wave of ethnic cleansing across the north of the country accusing

the group of turning the region The human rights group says it has

evidence IS has committed atrocities against minorities,

including mass murder. The report says

at least 1,000 Yazidis have been killed in recent weeks with close to

2,750 kidnapped or enslaved. And as the Islamic State continues

to claim large parts of Northern Iraq and Syria,

more than one million people have The United Nations Human Rights

Commissioner has also denounced the action of the Islamic State

fighters. Joining me via webcam from Geneva

is spokesman Rupert Colville. Thank you for being with us. Is this

a case of an ethnic cleansing campaign? Yes, that is what we

believe. Ethnic and religious cleansing. Widespread and systematic

persecution on the basis of religion are there as now sitting -- or their

ethnicity. This amounts to crimes against humanity. Atrocities are

taking place on an extraordinary scale and on a daily basis. We have

heard about the Yazidis, the baby had been pursued and treated. Is

this a case of the Islamic State perceiving all who are not of the

SUNY faith -- Sunni. Yes, they are perceiving and removing people from

areas in Iraq. Many minorities, some of them ancient, and they have all

lived together fairly harmoniously for centuries. But Sunnis are also

being targeted, we have a report of 19 been executed for not

cooperating. Sunni Clerics being killed as well. What can the United

Nations do to attract the perpetrators and eventually try to

bring them to justice? -- to track. We are doing our utmost. There is a

human rights team in Iraq, working with the United Nations operation

there. They are doing their best to track and verify reports. There is

an horrendous litany of crimes and murder and sexual exploitation of

people. After the human rights Council resolution yesterday, they

have asked us to send another team in specifically to focus on the

region. The spotlight will remain on what they are doing. But they seem

to be utterly shameless, they do not hide it. They broadcast and do these

horrendous videos showing mass executions. What are your fears for

civilians who are still be in cities like Mosul? Are fears are high,

especially for the many minorities who are still in the. Particularly

in Saint Jarder -- Sinjar. Some groups have been given options to

convert, but there have been killings as well. The Yazidis were

given no choice, convert or die. Thank you.

Now a look at some of the day's other news.

Experts who were asked to look at claims that young girls have

been systematically sexually groomed and abused in the Yorkshire town

of Rotherham have spoken publicly for the first time.

They've talked of their frustration after their reports into

the 16-year scandal were ignored and their findings suppressed.

It finally emerged last week that about 1,400 children were sexually

exploited in Rotherham, right up until last year.

The US has carried out a military air strike in Somalia on

a convoy carrying the leader of the radical Islamist group Al Shabab.

It's unclear if Ahmed Abdi Godane was killed in the drone strike

and a Pentagon spokesman said it was assessing the results

The air strike comes days after African Union troops

and government troops launched a major offensive aimed at seizing

Pakistan's Parliament has held an emergency session over the current

The session of both houses is an attempt to rally support behind

Clashes between security forces and demonstrators continued

for a third day on Monday in the capital Islamabad,

with the protesters calling for the Prime Minister to resign.

Scientists in Singapore say they've made a breakthrough in hopes

of finding a cure for dengue fever, a flu-like illness spread by

mosquito bites which tends to kill more than 20,000 people a year.

British prosecutors have withdrawn the European Arrest Warrant

against the parents of a five-year-old with a brain

tumour, parents who are being held in custody in Madrid while

Brett and Naghemeh King took their family

to Spain last week after taking five-year-old Ashya out of hospital

They insist they were taking him to get treatment that's only

He has been at the centre than extraordinary week of human and

legal drama, but Ashya King's immediate ordeal may now be over.

His parents, Brett and now dammit, no longer face an arrest warrant in

Spain, after the Crown Prosecution Service withdrew its case. --

Naghemeh King. From Britain's point of view, they are free to go and be

reunited with their son. That means they focused has turned to the

Spanish prison the talkings has been moved to, and the formalities of

Spanish bureaucracy to release them. Tonight, in a new video recorded

before the arrest warrant was dropped, the family thanked the

public for its massive support. I'd just like to say thank you to

everyone. So many people spending so many

hours in social media, spreading the word, and I'd like to say thank you

to everyone. That support included a 100,000

strong petition delivered to Downing Street today, calling for the

parents to be released. The government said it welcomed the

prosecutor's decision to drop its case against the family. I hope we

have a good resolution in place, whether to get independent advice

that they trust, and that we can make sure the most important thing

happens all, which is that Ashya gets the right treatment for the

situation he isn't. This letter reveals why Hampshire

Police dropped the prosecution. Written by the Chief Constable to

legal officials, it says, it is our view that Ashya need of medical

treatment and for his parents to be at his side. Our intent was to

secure his safety, not to deny him family support in this particularly

challenging time in his life. In a separate development,

Southampton General Hospital said today it would now be holding an

internal enquiry into the events of the past week. It also said they

would not object to Test being sent to that clinic in Prague to receive

proton beam treatment, which is family have been calling for long.

The hospital said it would not recommend it.

These events in Ashya's life have been played out across the past six

extraordinary days. It was last Thursday his parents took Ashya from

hospital, boarded a ferry to France, before police were alerted.

On Friday, a European arrest warrant was obtained. Ashya was made a ward

of court. And then on Saturday, Ashya was found in Malaga, and

admitted to hospital, as his parents were arrested. This delicate, sick

little boy has become the subject of claim and counteraccusations.

A week of ethics, police searches and a family driven by the need to

save his life. A combination of law and love at the

heart of this story. Just to remind you of our breaking

news, a video has been released on the internet purporting to show the

death of the American hostage Steven Sotloff by Islamic State militants.

Mr Sotloff, a journalist, was abducted in Syria last August. I

will warn you, we are about to show a still from the video of Steven

Sotloff before he is killed. We have decided to show you this still, not

to broadcast anything else from the video, and while showing you, you

can see he is there in an orange jumpsuit. The Islamic State

militants have released this video, we think, although the White House

has said they haven't been able to establish the authenticity of the

video yet. I think we can go to our North American correspondent, in

Washington. Obviously, taking great care here about the voracity of this

video, but what are you hearing from the White House, from the State

Department to macro? What we are hearing that

intelligence officials here are working extremely hard to try to

determine the authenticity of the video. Any last few seconds, we have

heard from the Pentagon, who say they are monitoring the situation as

best that they can, and they say they cannot confirm the authenticity

of the video, but that their thoughts and prayers continue to go

out to the family. A similar message from the White House and the State

Department, he said that if the video was genuine, they would be

sickened by what they describe as a brutal act. I think once

intelligence officials here in Washington are able to confirm the

authenticity of the video, that is when we will hear from someone

senior in the administration coming out on camera and giving a reaction.

That could indeed be President Obama, although he is due to take

off for a trip to Estonia, and then, of course, Wales for the NATO

summit. His flight is due to leave in about an hour. Intelligence

officials can confirm the authenticity before then, there is

the possibility, and this is only me guessing, that President Obama could

make some kind of statement before he bought apples one.

It adds to the pressure, as well, on NATO leaders, over whether they can

do anything to halt the rise of Islamic State, which is threatening

NATO's borders, almost. That is right, and that is something

that President Obama will be discussing with his counterpart when

he is in Wales. Last week, President Obama made a statement about whether

or not he is considering taking action against Islamic State

fighters in Syria. We of course know that more than 100 air strikes have

already been carried out by the US against the Islamic State in the.

What President Obama said is that he would use the opportunity to meet

other allies and discuss a wider act of cooperation, what the US could do

in the region, and Secretary of State John Kerry is also planning to

visit various countries in the Middle East to also speak to allies.

So, that is the next step. We already know the US has carried out

surveillance flights over Syria, but no action on that yet from the

president. Thank you very much.

And now, a different kind of American story. The FBI is

investigating allegations that the online accounts of dozens of

celebrities have been hacked. This led to explicit photos of some

of Hollywood's most famous actresses being posted online. Our technology

correspondent reports. It is Hollywood against the hackers.

Jennifer Lawrence is just one of the celebrities whose private, sometimes

intimate photos were stolen. They are now demanding action, and the

FBI is hunting the thieves. It was on this site that the voters were

first posted. How they got here still is not clear. One theory is

that the celebrities were using Apple's iCloud service to store

their pictures, and someone, somehow, found out their passwords.

Apple will only say it is investigating. What exactly is the

cloud? Here is an example. I taken there with a picture on my phone,

and within moments, it appears this tablet computer. It appears this

tablet computer. They a bank of computers and could not in the sky,

but firmly on the ground. Those computers belong to firms like

Microsoft, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, and in theory, your data

should be safe in their clouds, as long as it is protected by good,

secure passwords. This man advises celebrities are making their phones

and computers safe. He says the emotional impact of being hacked

shouldn't be underestimated. We are talking about photographs

that are very intimate and very private, and those being published

to the wider Web and to anyone who wants to live in and see them as to

have a massive psychological impact on the people that

have a massive psychological impact Millions now use the cloud to store

and share personal data, but Hollywood stars have shown

China, as you know, is a growing economic superpower,

but it's also keen to spread its influence on the cultural scene.

As a result, many more museums are springing up there.

In fact, a new museum opened in China almost every day last year.

Some have rather unusual themes, as our Beijing correspondent

You would be forgiven for thinking it is a joke, but welcome to

Beijing's latest cultural offering. A museum devoted to roast duck. That

is right. A history of the capital's most famous dish. It was

built by a Chinese restaurant chain, and most of the visitors here

are actually peckish customers, waiting to be fed. TRANSLATION:

Young people don't know much about history, so when we visit museums,

we learn about our past. It is like travelling back in time.

Roasting travelling back in time.

all rubber. If you think travelling back in time.

fashion, there is fruit, you can go to the watermelon

museum. If you fruit, you can go to the watermelon

museum for that as well. China's cultural scene has

flourished in recent years. One of the big success stories here in

Beijing's Art district. Across China, a new museum opened its door

almost every day last year. TRANSLATION:

This curator tells me the building boom is all part of improving the

country's image. TRANSLATION: The government realises

that economic success is not enough. Soft power and the creative

industries must now play an important role improving

industries must now play an There is a huge appetite for museums

here, with more than 100 new ones expected to open their doors this

year. But if, in China, censorship is always at play, if there is

anything controversial, those museums will be forced to shut down.

And that means it is fine to serve up plastic food. But anything

politically sensitive is strictly off the menu.

You can also talk to me about this or any other of our