Written By Unknown on Senin, 02 Februari 2015 | 00.00
The fiancee of Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy says she is "hopeful" he will also be released after colleague Peter Greste was deported.
"His deportation is in its final stages. We are hopeful," Marwa Omara said.
Canadian-Egyptian Mr Fahmy has been held with Mr Greste, an Australian, and Egyptian national Baher Mohamed for 400 days.
The trio were jailed for offences including spreading lies to help a "terrorist organisation" - but were facing a retrial after their original convictions were overturned.
Although it appears Mr Fahmy could be deported under a presidential decree because of his dual nationality, it is unclear what will happen to Mr Mohamed.
The Qatar-based Al Jazeera network has said it "will not rest until Baher and Mohamed also regain their freedom".
The arrest of the three reporters set off a global outcry, with the United Nations leading calls for their release.
Their high-profile trial proved a public relations nightmare for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has cracked down on Islamists since toppling President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.
Amnesty International said Mr Greste's release should not overshadow the ongoing imprisonment of Mr Fahmy and Mr Mohamed.
The two "must not be forgotten as their colleague Peter Greste is deported from Egypt," the rights group said in a statement.
Police arrested the journalists at the peak of a diplomatic row between Cairo and Qatar, which owns Al Jazeera.
The broadcaster had been critical of the deadly crackdown on Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement following his overthrow.
Qatar has since moved to mend ties with Egypt, and Al Jazeera shut down its Arabic-language Egyptian affiliate channel, which supported the Brotherhood.
Tens of thousands of people have marched in Spain in the biggest show of support yet for anti-austerity party Podemos.
Crowds chanted "yes we can" and "tic tac tic tac," suggesting the clock was ticking for the country's political elite, before packing into Madrid's Puerta del Sol.
Many waved Greek and Republican flags and banners reading "the change is now" in support of the party formed just a year ago, whose surging popularity and policies have drawn comparisons with Greece's new governing party Syriza.
State broadcaster TVE said that hundreds of thousands were at the march, but no official attendance figures were provided.
Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias with Alexis Tsipras days before Greece's vote
The rise of Podemos has been largely attributed to the charisma of its leader Pablo Iglesias, who joined Greek PM Alexis Tsipras at a huge rally in Athens on the eve of his election victory last week.
The 36-year-old political science professor told the crowd: "We want change. I know that governing is difficult but those who have serious dreams can change things."
Peace talks aimed at ending the bloodshed in eastern Ukraine have broken up with no plans to resume, according to Sky News sources.
The main members of the so-called contact group - Ukrainian former president Leonid Kuchma, a Russian diplomat and an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe official - had met at a state residence in the Belarussian capital Minsk, where they were joined by two separatist officials.
Diplomatic sources told Sky's Katie Stallard the talks broke up with no conclusion.
She was told their resumption on Sunday was not likely and differences were very wide - with the atmosphere described as not fruitful.
It came on a day when 12 civilians were killed by separatist shelling in Debaltseve, which lies to the northeast of Donetsk, according to a police chief.
Video:Fighting Stops Doctors Going Home
Ukraine's Defence Minister Stepan Poltorak, meanwhile, said 15 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 30 wounded in clashes across the east.
The day before Sky News had witnessed the aftermath of a shell strike in Donetsk, at which correspondent Katie Stallard counted five bodies.
The two sides in Ukraine's civil war have held only one inconclusive meeting since agreeing a ceasefire last September.
Video:Civilians Killed In Eastern Ukraine
That truce collapsed with a new rebel advance last week.
Rebels are fighting to remove the two regions of Donetsk and Luhansk from Kiev's control.
Both sides have accused each other of deadly artillery and mortar strikes on civilian targets in the past two weeks, including the one on a cultural centre seen by Sky's correspondent.
Video:Donetsk: Life In A City Under Siege
Since September, the separatists, who Kiev says are supported by Russian troops, have seized more than 500 sq km (193 sq miles) of territory.
Debaltseve, where the fighting has been intense, is on the main road between Donetsk and the other big rebel-controlled city of Luhansk. It is also on a vital rail route for goods traffic from Russia.
The rebels were also continuing to threaten Mariupol, a town of 500,000 people in the southeast of the country, an official said.
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Gallery: Ukrainian Army's New Conscripts
Conscripts attend a ceremony marking their enrolment in the Ukrainian army in Kiev
Relatives react as they attend the ceremony. Ukraine's parliament voted to refresh its front-line forces and resume partial conscription after a top security official warned Russian forces backing rebels had sharply increased military activity in the country's east. Continue through for more images
As Japan mourns the apparent beheading of Kenji Goto, his friends have described him as a "kind, soft-spoken and gentle man with a wonderful sense of humour".
According to the journalist's family, he had travelled to Syria in an attempt to secure the release of Haruna Yukawa - the other Japanese hostage who was purportedly killed by Islamic State last week.
The 47-year-old left behind two daughters. His youngest was just three weeks old when he flew to the Middle East.
In a video recording made before his last trip, he said: "No matter what happens to me, I will always love the people of Syria."
Mr Goto was a veteran freelance reporter, often working often with other filmmakers and Japanese TV producers, listing Kosovo and Liberai among the places his work had taken him.
Video:Japan PM Condemns 'Cowardly' Act
In 2005, he wrote about the suffering of children in Sierra Leone in a book titled We Want Peace, Not Diamonds.
But Mr Goto stressed he was not a war reporter, instead he wanted to tell the stories of regular people in the refugee camps and orphanages on the edge of conflicts and disasters.
In a statement, Mr Goto's wife, Rinko, said: "My family and I are devastated by the news of Kenji's death. He was not just my loving husband and father to our two beautiful children, but a son, brother and friend to many around the world.
"While feeling a great personal loss, I remain extremely proud of my husband, who reported the plight of people in conflict areas like Iraq, Somalia and Syria."
His friend, Mark Tchelistcheff, told Sky News: "Kenji always gave himself up for others and was a remarkable, remarkable man.
Video:'This Is A Generational Struggle'
"He reported about humanity, the people on the street. He knew the risks and he took the risks because he thought he could really help.
"Kenji was not just a good friend to me, he was a friend to the people. The world is a lesser place today with his loss."
In an emotive news conference, Mr Goto's mother said she hoped his death would "contribute something to the world".
Junko Ishido added: "He always hoped to make the world a place without any wars, and to save children from war and poverty. I promise here to carry out his legacy, hopefully with your support."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out a writedown of Greece's massive debt, as EU officials threatened a funding cut-off to Greek banks.
Mrs Merkel and European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers have hardened their stance on the weekend over fears the Greek government does not agree it renew its bailout package in February.
"There has already been voluntary debt forgiveness by private creditors, banks have already slashed billions from Greece's debt," Mrs Merkel said on Saturday.
"I do not envisage fresh debt cancellation."
In a thinly veiled threat to Athens and rising anti-austerity political movements such as in Spain, she added: "Europe will continue to show solidarity for Greece, as for other countries hit particularly hard by the crisis, if these countries undertake their own reforms and savings efforts."
Video:New Greek PM Takes Office
Greece's newly elected anti-austerity government earlier said it would not co-operate with its international "troika" of creditors - the EU, ECB and the International Monetary Fund.
Greece's finance minister Yanis Varoufakis said that despite warnings his country would shortly run out of money, his government preferred to do without fresh funds and instead renegotiate its entire €240bn (£180bn) bailout package.
Athens has been promised another €7.2bn (£5.4bn) in funds from the troika if it completes reforms required by its lenders by 28 February, when the bailout programme runs out.
Erkki Liikanen, a member of the ECB's policymaking Governing Council, said that funding could dry up if Greece does not remain in an agreed programme.
Video:Greece On EU Collision Course
On Friday Mr Varoufakis slammed the current system: "This government was elected on the basis of analytically questioning the very logic of the programme now being applied."
"We don't want the €7bn ... We want to sit down and rethink the whole programme."
Greece believes repayments pegged to the economic growth rate would better support the fragile economy.
Mr Varoufakis said Athens was willing to negotiate with its lenders but not with the troika, which he described as a "committee built on rotten foundations".
Video:Greek People Ready To 'Turn A Page'
The troika was formed in 2010 to rescue debt-riddled Greece with the bailout on the condition Athens imposed huge spending cuts and fiscal reforms.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was elected last Sunday on a platform of ending austerity and erasing most of the country's national debt.
Mr Varoufakis meets French counterpart Michel Sapin in Paris on Sunday and British Chancellor George Osborne on Monday.
Mr Tsipras will meet Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Tuesday and French President Francois Hollande on Wednesday, but has no plans to visit Germany - Europe's biggest economy and its effective paymaster.
At the psychiatric hospital in western Donetsk, an elderly man stands reciting Pushkin.
The shelling has been getting closer, the patients are being told what is happening, but it's difficult for many of them to understand.
Inside, on the ward, the staff are trying to keep things as normal as possible, but they're frightened too.
The doctor shows us a picture of one of their nurses - Irinia Radchenko - she was killed in shelling at home a few days ago.
"It was Wednesday," Dr Valentina Vozovikova told us.
"She was at home after work when the place was heavily shelled and she died.
"She was killed by a big piece of shell. It went through her chest.
MSF is providing medical aid on both sides of the frontline
"We are really afraid. Today on my way to work when I was almost at the bus station the shelling began so I lay on the ground.
"It was really scary, but I made it to work because the shells didn't land too near to me."
Video:Civilians Killed In Eastern Ukraine
Dr Vozovikova showed us around the ward and asked us to film a 92-year-old retired schoolteacher - neighbours found her lying on the floor at home.
The doctor hoped relatives abroad might recognise the frail lady and be able to help.
"Her name is Vera Feodorovna Pismenova," Dr Vozovikova said, "She has nephews in Russia, maybe someone will see that she is alive, that she cannot look after herself."
"We brought her here and we don't know if we can save her or not but we hope we can."
In another room, we met 77-year-old Nina Pavlovna, she was found begging near a church.
Video:Donetsk: Life In A City Under Siege
"The shelling began … I had nowhere to live," Mrs Pavolovna explained.
"I was begging on the street so they took me here, washed me, changed my clothes and I'm grateful for that."
Staff said their salaries had not been paid for four months, and the hospital was running low on food and medication, that they only had a few days' supply of some drugs left.
Medical aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) - also known as Doctors Without Borders - has warned of an increasingly dire situation in the region, as hospitals are stretched to breaking point with dwindling supplies, and an increasing number of patients.
MSF is working on both sides of the conflict zone, transporting medical supplies to frontline hospitals, but heavy fighting is restricting access to some areas.
Video:Inside A Donetsk Bomb Shelter
We filmed Dr Wael Abdelrahman Ahmed delivering medication to an elderly care home in Makiivka, north-east of Donetsk, who explained the difficulties facing doctors in the region.
"There is a really big problem with medications," he said.
"We're getting different requests from different hospitals - they need support."
"We are doing our best now to support them - for instance with maternity and chronic disease kits."
The organisation said their teams had twice been turned back over the last week, trying to reach the hospital in the frontline city of Gorlovka, and urged both sides to allow humanitarian aid to reach those who desperately need it.
By Tom Rayner, Middle East Reporter, Karak, Jordan
The brother of the Jordanian pilot held captive by Islamic State has urged his country's leaders to leave the international coalition targeting the group, saying: "It's not our war."
His comments reflect the growing domestic pressure being put on the Jordanian government, as the fate of Mu'ath Al Kassasbeh remains unknown.
In the pilot's home town of Ay, which sits in the Karak Mountains 90 miles south of the capital Amman, there have been demonstrations against the country's involvement in the US-led coalition.
Speaking to Sky News, Mu'ath's brother Jawdat Al Kassasbeh said such sentiments were widely held.
"The Jordanian people in general and our cousins here in this village are saying this war is not our war. It is not our war," he said.
Video:I.S. Assault On Kirkuk Hotel
Asked whether he believes his brother is still alive, he said: "God bless him. I really don't know. I really don't. I just hope."
Islamic State (IS) had said it would kill Mu'ath by sunset on Thursday unless Iraqi jihadist Sajida al Rishawi was released in exchange for Japanese hostage, Kenji Goto.
The Jordanian government had said they were prepared to make the exchange if Mu'ath was also released, but that they had not received proof the pilot was alive.
On Saturday, hours after officials said negotiations were "deadlocked," the Japanese government said a video apparently showing the murder of Mr Goto seemed to be genuine.
Jordan "strongly condemned" the killing and vowed to do "everything" to save Mu'ath's life.
The Kassasbeh family are part of one of the largest tribes in Jordan and one of the most loyal to the Royal Family.
But in the last week they have increasingly taken their frustrations to the streets, calling for more information about the talks and for Jordan's leadership to do more to save their son.
Analysts have suggested IS is set on exploiting the captured pilot to cause instability in Jordan, driving a wedge between the Western-backed government and the network of tribal communities.
Video:Deadline Passes For Bomber Release
However, those close to the Royal Family believe the organisation is underestimating the bonds that hold the Hashemite Kingdom together.
"They're not going to get anywhere. The tribes have always been the pillars of the country and the pillars of the army," said retired Jordanian General Ali Shukri.
General Shukri served for 23 years as the Director of the Private Office of the late King Hussein.
He says Jordan's current leadership is right to be fully involved in the international coalition, alongside other Arab states, in their battle with Islamic State.
"Do we wait for them until they appear on our borders or in our towns? Or do we join the coalition and pre-empt all their plans?" said General Shukri
"We simply cannot turn our backs and say: 'It's not our problem.' It is our problem," he added.
Mu'ath Al Kassasbeh was taken captive by Islamic State when his fighter jet crashed in Syria in late December.
The Japanese government says a video showing the apparent murder of hostage Kenji Goto appears to be genuine.
The one minute-long footage was apparently released by Islamic State (IS) on Saturday evening.
It purportedly shows the beheading of the Japanese freelance journalist and film-maker, who was a father of three.
The man was wearing an orange jumpsuit and the video was similar to previous beheading footage the militant group has released.
The video was called "A Message to the Government of Japan" and the apparent murderer spoke with a British accent.
He blamed Mr Goto's beheading on Japan's support for the US-led coalition fighting IS in the Middle East.
The kneeling hostage did not speak in the footage.
Junko Ishido, Kenji Goto's mother, said she was heartbroken by his death
The Japanese, UK and US governments strongly condemned IS, with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visibly upset as he spoke to reporters in Tokyo.
"I am extremely angry about these heinous and despicable terrorist acts. We will never forgive terrorists," he said.
Video:'This Is A Generational Struggle'
"We will co-operate with the international community to make them atone for their crimes."
US President Barack Obama said America condemned the "heinous murder" and would continue to work with allies to destroy the jihadist group.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said it was a "further reminder that ISIL is the embodiment of evil, with no regard for human life".
And Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, speaking in Sydney, added: "It is important that we do recognise that although the current challenge is focused around Iraq and Syria, we have to recognise that the underlying challenge of extremist Islamism is going to be with us for a long while.
"This is a generational struggle against this ideology and we are going to have to fight these battles not just in the Middle East, but in other parts of the world as well. There is nowhere that is safe from this challenge."
Speaking from her home in a suburb of Tokyo, Mr Goto's mother Junko Ishido said: "Kenji has died, and my heart is broken.
"Facing such a tragic death, I'm just speechless."
Video:Negotiations With IS Are 'Futile'
Mr Goto's wife, Rinko, added: "He was not just my loving husband and father to our two beautiful children, but a son, brother and friend to many around the world.
"While feeling a great personal loss, I remain extremely proud of my husband who reported the plight of people in conflict areas like Iraq, Somalia and Syria."
The family of another IS hostage, Jordanian fighter pilot Lt Mu'ath al Kassasbeh, said they were "devastated" by Mr Goto's murder.
His uncle, Yassin Rawashda, has urged the Jordanian government to "tell us the truth", amid concerns that they have not had an update on how negotiations for his release are going.
Mr Goto travelled to Syria in October seeking to secure the release of Japanese hostage Haruna Yukawa, according to friends and business associates.
Earlier this month, IS released a video of Mr Goto and Mr Yukawa and threatened to kill them unless a $200m (£133m) ransom was paid.
Last week, Mr Abe slammed "an outrageous and unforgivable act" after a video reportedly showing an image of Mr Goto holding a picture of a beheaded Mr Yukawa was posted online.
Video:I.S. Assault On Kirkuk Hotel
Mr Goto's family made public pleas to Mr Abe to negotiate his safe release.
Earlier on Saturday, a top Japanese diplomat said there was a "state of deadlock" in negotiations to release Mr Goto.
Japan's deputy foreign minister Yasuhide Nakayama made the comments in the Jordanian capital Amman, where he had been leading Tokyo's team attempting to secure the freedom of the veteran war reporter.
Mr Goto, 47, had appeared in videos released by IS in which his fate was linked to Jordanian pilot Lt Mu'ath al Kassasbeh.
Jordan and Japan held indirect negotiations with the militants, who control around a third of Iraq and Syria, for the release of the men in exchange for a jailed jihadist.
Jordan demanded evidence that the airman who crashed in Syria on December 24 is still alive before freeing the would-be suicide bomber, who is on death row.
IS had said it would kill Jordan's captured pilot by sunset on Thursday unless Iraqi jihadist Sajida al Rishawi was released.
An Al Jazeera journalist, who has served 400 days in an Egyptian jail on charges including helping the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, has been deported.
Australian Peter Greste was released from a Cairo prison earlier and is now on a flight to Cyprus.
He is expected to travel on to his home country and is believed to have been deported following a presidential "approval".
Mr Greste (L), Mohamed Fahmy (C) and Baher Mohamed (R) in court
Mr Greste, along with Al Jazeera colleagues, Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian Baher Mohamed, have been held in prison since December 2013.
The trio were sentenced last June to between seven and 10 years in jail on charges including spreading lies to help a "terrorist organisation" - a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Video:December - Peter Greste's Parents
Egyptian authorities had accused Al Jazeera of acting as a mouthpiece for the movement, which had swept to power after the country's 2011 revolution.
The three were arrested followed the ousting of Egypt's Islamist president and Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi by the military, which was headed by Abdel Fattah al Sisi who is now president.
Their case provoked an international outcry and widespread calls for their freedom.
Human rights groups and several media outlets condemned the guilty verdicts as political, saying the three were doing their job during a tumultuous time.
A security official said Mr Fahmy was expected to be released from prison within days and his fiancee said she was hopeful he would be deported soon.
Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera welcomed Mr Greste's release but demanded both the remaining inmates were freed.
It said all three have to be exonerated, and the convictions against other journalists from the network who were tried in absentia also have to be lifted.
Last month, Egypt's Court of Cassation overturned their convictions but decided the trio would face a retrial and denied them bail.
Video:June - Reaction To Jailing
Mostefa Souag, acting Director General of Al Jazeera Media Network, said: "We're pleased for Peter and his family that they are to be reunited.
"It has been an incredible and unjustifiable ordeal for them, and they have coped with incredible dignity.
"Peter's integrity is not just intact, but has been further enhanced by the fortitude and sacrifice he has shown for his profession of informing the public.
"We will not rest until Baher and Mohamed also regain their freedom."
Amnesty International's Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui said: "The news that Peter Greste will finally be allowed to leave Egypt after more than a year in prison comes as a welcome relief, but nothing can make up for his ordeal.
"It is vital that in the celebratory fanfare surrounding his deportation the world does not forget the continuing ordeal of Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy who remain behind bars at Tora prison in Cairo."
