BBC News with Julie Candler.
Islamic State militants have released a video which appears to show a young boy executing an Israeli Arab prisoner. In the footage, the man (who) identifies himself as 19-year-old Muhammad Said Ismail Musallam. Kevin Connolly reports from Jerusalem.
“Muhammad Musallam left his home in East Jerusalem for Turkey last year, apparently intend to join the so-called Islamic State in Syria. A few months later, a magazine linked to ISIS carried a long interview in his name, which contained what purported to be a confession that he'd been sent by Israel to infiltrate the extremist organization. A grim 13-minute-long video has now been released, showing a young man who appears to be Muhammad Musallam, kneeling in an orange jump suit, facing the camera in an empty field. Behind him stand two figures in camouflage fatigues, one of whom appears to be a child, chosen to have to deepen the shock value of what follows. The child seems to shoot the kneeling figure in the head and then to fire further shots into the body.”
Iraqi officials say that government forces backed by Shiite militias have retaken some areas of the city of Tikrit from Islamic State militants. The officials say security forces began the assault after recapturing the town of al-Alam on the northern outskirts of Tikrit. Iraqi officials and local residents say that IS has rigged explosives across the city to try to stop the advance.
The former US Secretary of State and likely presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, has admitted that she should have used the government email address to conduct official business during her time in office. Mrs. Clinton has come under fire from Republican members of Congress for using her personal email account instead. Mrs. Clinton told in news conference she'd used her own phone and email account for the sake of convenience. Kim Ghattas reports from New York.
“Hillary Clinton admitted that in hindsight she had made a mistake opting to use just one email account, her private email address. But she was adamant. She had not broken any rules or laws, had not shared any classified information by email, and insisted she was now opening up her email correspondence to an unprecedented level of scrutiny. Her critics, especially Republicans, are unlikely to be satisfied with her explanation. But so far, this has not affected the approval ratings of a woman who could still run for president of the United States.”
The widow of an atheist blogger who was murdered in Bangladesh twelve days ago said she would continue to speak out on the causes dear to both him and her, secularism and science. Rafida Bonya Ahmed also suffered multiple injuries when her husband, Avijit Roy, a Bangladeshi-American, was hacked to death at a book fair in Dhaka University. Speaking to the BBC from a safe location, Ms. Ahmed said intolerance had got much worse in Bangladesh in recent years, and religious fundamentalism had taken deep roots.
BBC News.
A coalition of legal advocacy and human rights groups in the United States, including the founder of the on-line encyclopedia Wikipedia have brought a federal lawsuit against mass surveillance operations carried out by the country's intelligence services. Gary O'Donoghue reports from Washington.
“The lawsuit alleges that the National Security Agency violated Americans' constitutional right to freedom of speech by sweeping up all text-based communications in an attempt to track terrorist communications. The founder of Wikipedia Jimmy Wales said such surveillance eroded the original promise of Internet, which she described as an open space for collaboration, and experimentation, and a place free from fear. The NSA is faced a platter of legal cases even since its former contractor Edward Snowden leaked thousands of documents detailing the Agency's activities. A spokesman for the Justice Department said only that it was reviewing the case.”
A female suicide bomber has attacked a market in the northern Nigerian city of Maiduguri. The security forces said that at least seven people were killed, including the bomber. Nearly 30 others were wounded.
The Irish Parliament is preparing to vote on an emergency bill after the court of appeal in Dublin ruled that some of the country's drug laws were unconstitutional. The decision by three judges means it's technically legal at present to possess drugs, including ecstasy, ketamine and magic mushrooms in Ireland.
One of Britain's most prestigious universities, King's College London, has announced plans to move into the former home of the BBC World Service. The Chairman of King's said the acquisition of the old headquarter in central London which includes Bush House was a once-in-a-generation opportunity. The University has leased the site for fifty years. The World Service was based at Bush House from 1941 until July, 2012, when it moved to broadcasting house as part of a reorganization of BBC News.