Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 27 Desember 2014 | 20.18
North Korea has blasted the US President following the release of The Interview, which features a fictional plot to kill its leader Kim Jong-Un.
In a statement, the reclusive nation's National Defence Commission (NDC) described the president as a "monkey inhabiting a tropical forest".
The statement, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, accused Mr Obama of encouraging the release of the film, and threatened the United States with "inescapable deadly blows".
It also blamed the US for shutting down its Internet earlier this week, something the United States has denied.
Kim Jong-Un at a military event in a picture released on Christmas Day
The Interview was first screened on Christmas Day after Mr Obama and a number of high-profile Hollywood figures slammed Sony Pictures for pulling the film.
Sony had cancelled the film's release following a cyber attack and threats of violence against cinemas that chose to screen it.
Video:Sony Hack Timeline
Mr Obama accused North Korea of being responsible, warning that the US would respond "in a place and time and manner that we choose".
Pyongyang denied any involvement in the attack.
It went on to suffer internet blackouts, triggering speculation the US had launched a retaliatory attack.
Video:The Interview: Official Trailer
"Obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest," the NDC statement said.
"If the US persists in American-style arrogant, high-handed and gangster-like arbitrary practices despite (North Korea's) repeated warnings, the US should bear in mind that its failed political affairs will face inescapable deadly blows."
The statement once again condemned The Interview, which stars Seth Rogen and James Franco, as "a movie for agitating terrorism".
Video:The Interview Opens In US Cinemas
The film took in a million dollars after its limited release on Christmas Day when it was screened in some 300 largely independent theatres.
It was also released online for rental or purchase.
It is not the first time North Korea has resorted to crude insults to slam foreign leaders.
Video:Sky News Special: The Defectors
Earlier this year it called US Secretary of State John Kerry a wolf with a "hideous" lantern jaw and described South Korean President Park Geun-hye as a prostitute.
In May, it published a dispatch saying Obama had the "shape of a monkey".
A brain dead woman, who was 18 weeks pregnant, has been taken off life support in Ireland after a court found it would not contravene the country's strict abortion laws.
Three judges at Dublin's High Court accepted the testimony of doctors who said the baby would not survive long enough to be delivered safely
The court decided that keeping the young mother alive would deprive her of dignity in death.
It added that keeping her alive would subject her father, partner and two young children to "unimaginable distress" in a "futile exercise".
The panel of judges said it was in the best interest of the unborn child to authorise the withdrawal of life support in what was a "tragic and unfortunate case".
The High Court added that it was a case of "great public importance".
The 26-year-old was pronounced clinically dead on 3 December after suffering a trauma injury last month.
Her family had sought to switch the equipment off to preserve her dignity.
But doctors refused, fearing they might be prosecuted under Ireland's strict Catholic-influenced abortion laws, which give the 18-week-old foetus the same constitutional rights as the mother.
Under the Irish constitution, the foetus is regarded as a citizen.
Coalition forces have launched 39 airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria over the past 48 hours, according to the Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF).
Unmanned drones, fighter jets and bombers launched the attacks as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the name given for the aerial bombardment campaign against IS.
A statement released by the CJTF claimed aircraft hit 19 targets in Syria, while 20 strikes were carried out in Iraq.
It was claimed 17 strikes in Syria concentrated on an area near the city of Kobani and destroyed several Islamic State buildings, vehicles and fighting positions.
Two strikes near Hasakah and one near Raqqa also caused damage while in Iraq, the strikes hit near Al Asad, Sinjar, Mosul, Al Qaim, Baiji, Kirkuk, Falluja and Tal Afar, the statement said.
Video released by the US also showed coalition airstrikes in Syria on 21 December.
An overturned tank near Aleppo's historic citadel in Syria on 26 December
The US and its allies have been targeting Islamic State in Syria since 23 September and waging an air campaign against the group in Iraq for even longer.
The operation aims to push back the organisation after it took over much of Iraq and Syria.
Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates are participating in the Syria airstrikes, with logistical support from Qatar.
The strikes come after the United Nations urged Islamic militants holding a Jordanian pilot whose warplane crashed in Syria to treat him in line with humanitarian law.
IS supporters claimed the plane, which was flying with coalition forces, was hit by a heat-seeking missile near Raqqa city in northern Syria.
Jordan said the F-16 fighter was shot down during a "military mission against the hideouts of the terrorist group", but added it was unclear why the plane crashed.
An army statement read on Jordanian state television said: "Jordan holds the group and its supporters responsible for the safety of the pilot and his life."
Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russian separatists are set to complete a prisoner swap which has already seen the release of almost 370 people.
Ukraine expects another four soldiers to be freed in the coming hours, Svyatoslav Tsegolko, a spokesman for Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.
The number of separatists earmarked for release has not been confirmed.
The swap will complete a two-day mass prisoner exchange which forms part of a 12-point peace plan aimed at ending fighting which has claimed the lives of more than 4,700 people.
The swap was supervised by heavily-armed soldiers
Ukraine handed over a total of 222 prisoners on Friday in exchange for 146 soldiers.
The swap, which took place in an area of no man's land north of the eastern rebel stronghold of Donetsk, was supervised by heavily-armed soldiers.
Video:2 Dec: Rockets Fired Over Donetsk
They were later met by President Poroshenko.
"As a president and as an ordinary citizen my heart is full with joy," he said.
Although hundreds of captives have been released over the past few months, it was the largest single exchange since the conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted in April.
Announcing the swap on Facebook, Mr Tsegolko said Ukraine's security service, the SBU, expected the remaining four soldiers "to be able to celebrate New Year ... with their families".
The peace plan, agreed by both sides in September, also included a ceasefire which has since seen numerous violations.
According to the United Nations, 1,300 people have died since the implementation of the deal. Nevertheless, fighting is reported to have decreased significantly throughout December.
Video:Sept: Trapped Between Battle Lines
Peace talks attended by envoys for Ukraine, Russia, the separatists and European security watchdog the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in the Belarussian capital Minsk ended without resolution on Wednesday.
The talks had been aimed at paving the way for the signing of a comprehensive peace accord on Friday, although the only deal reached was on the least contentious of four agenda points - the prisoner swap.
Ukraine has since suspended all bus and rail links to Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in March, citing security concerns.
The rebel uprising in eastern Ukraine began shortly after Crimea's annexation, and followed the overthrow of Ukraine's Moscow-backed president Viktor Yanukovych.
It is not known exactly how many prisoners are still held by the two sides.
However, Ukraine said this month that about 600 of its nationals were in rebel hands.
Written By Unknown on Jumat, 26 Desember 2014 | 20.18
Mourners Remember Boxing Day Tsunami Victims
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
Video:Tsunami Victims Remembered
Survivors and families of victims have gathered across Asia for memorials to mark 10 years since the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.
Around 230,000 people died after a 9.1-magnitude earthquake off Indonesia's western coast triggered a series of huge waves in the Indian Ocean.
The rising waters caused devastation across the region, striking countries as far apart as Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Somalia.
A man looks at the names of victims at the Aceh Tsunami Museum
The wave swept the whole of the Indian Ocean's shoreline, also hitting the coasts of India, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Maldives and Bangladesh.
Around six hours after the start of the disaster the coasts of east Africa - Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya - were struck by the wave.
1/13
Gallery: Sri Lanka Marks 10th Anniversary of Indian Ocean Tsunami
Tsunami survivors offer flowers as they pray at a graveyard to commemorate the victims of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami on December 26, 2014 in Peraliya, Sri Lanka
A Sri Lankan local dancer stands in a graveyard in Peraliya commemorating victims
]]>
Sri Lankan Buddhist monks attend the Alms Giving Ceremony for remembrance and prayer for the victims
]]>
A young Buddhist monk prays for the victims at the Alms Ceremony
]]>
Sri Lanka was one of the worst hit countries of the 9.1 magnitude quake with around 35,000 deaths
]]>
The tsunami caused widespread destruction to many coastal communities.
Thousands of foreign holiday-makers were also killed.
The vast majority of Indonesia's 170,000 victims perished in Aceh province, among them tens of thousands of children.
Some 7,000 mourners gathered on Christmas Day in Banda Aceh for the first of several memorials.
Aceh governor Zaini Abdullah led the event at the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque.
Video:Charity To Help Tsunami Victims
He thanked Indonesians and the international community for their support in the aftermath of the tsunami, which he said had helped the area recover.
Teuku Ahmad Salman, who joined thousands at the service, said: "I cannot forget the smell of the air, the water at that time ... even after 10 years."
Indonesia's Vice President, Jusuf Kalla, led a prayer ceremony where he and other officials placed flowers at a mass grave where thousands of unknown victims were buried.
In a statement released to mark the anniversary, Prime Minister David Cameron praised the "real resilience" of those who have rebuilt their lives.
He said the UK Government had provided almost £300m to support the reconstruction of affected areas.
Video:Archive Report On The '04 Tsunami
Some 151 British nationals killed in the tsunami.
"Today we think of all those for whom Boxing Day is no longer a happy festive celebration but the day they lost a loved one in the Indian Ocean tsunami," he said.
"At this poignant time, my prayers are with all those remembering people who were caught up in the disaster, including the 151 British nationals who lost their lives.
"In the face of tragedy and adversity, hundreds of thousands of people have demonstrated real resilience to rebuild their lives and millions more have shown extraordinary generosity to help those affected."
More than 100 survivors, along with bereaved relatives, held a memorial service on a beach in Khao Lak, Thailand.
1/7
Gallery: Photos Taken In Indonesia After The Tsunami
Indonesian rescue workers remove a body from the fence of the Grand Mosque in the city of Banda Aceh
Refugees cover their noses from the stench of bodies
]]>
They walked into the waves and laid flowers in the sea, while diplomats placed wreaths on the sand.
Crowds also gathered and laid wreaths at the country's tsunami memorial park in Ban Nam Khem, a southern fishing village which was decimated.
More than 5,000 people were killed in Thailand, about half of them tourists.
In Indonesia, staff members at the German, Austrian and Swiss embassies will hold a minute's silence to remember the victims.
In Sri Lanka, the water swept a train from its tracks, killing almost 2,000 people.
Video:'We Escaped As The Walls Collapsed'
A symbolic recreation of the journey was planned as part of the country's commemorations.
:: A special documentary, Tsunami: Ten Years After The Wave, can be seen on the Sky News Catch Up service.
Recommended by Outbrain Recommended by Outbrain
Top Stories
Breaking News: Archbishop Of Canterbury Has Pneumonia
Hackers Strike Xbox And PlayStation Services
Boxing Day Snow As UK Slides Towards -15C
Breaking News: Planner Of Pakistani School Massacre Killed
Shoppers Hit High Street For Boxing Day Sales
Mourners Remember Boxing Day Tsunami Victims
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
Video:Tsunami Victims Remembered
Survivors and families of victims have gathered across Asia for memorials to mark 10 years since the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.
Around 230,000 people died after a 9.1-magnitude earthquake off Indonesia's western coast triggered a series of huge waves in the Indian Ocean.
The rising waters caused devastation across the region, striking countries as far apart as Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Somalia.
A man looks at the names of victims at the Aceh Tsunami Museum
The wave swept the whole of the Indian Ocean's shoreline, also hitting the coasts of India, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Maldives and Bangladesh.
Around six hours after the start of the disaster the coasts of east Africa - Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya - were struck by the wave.
1/13
Gallery: Sri Lanka Marks 10th Anniversary of Indian Ocean Tsunami
Tsunami survivors offer flowers as they pray at a graveyard to commemorate the victims of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami on December 26, 2014 in Peraliya, Sri Lanka
A Sri Lankan local dancer stands in a graveyard in Peraliya commemorating victims
]]>
Sri Lankan Buddhist monks attend the Alms Giving Ceremony for remembrance and prayer for the victims
]]>
A young Buddhist monk prays for the victims at the Alms Ceremony
]]>
Sri Lanka was one of the worst hit countries of the 9.1 magnitude quake with around 35,000 deaths
]]>
The tsunami caused widespread destruction to many coastal communities.
Thousands of foreign holiday-makers were also killed.
The vast majority of Indonesia's 170,000 victims perished in Aceh province, among them tens of thousands of children.
Some 7,000 mourners gathered on Christmas Day in Banda Aceh for the first of several memorials.
Aceh governor Zaini Abdullah led the event at the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque.
Video:Charity To Help Tsunami Victims
He thanked Indonesians and the international community for their support in the aftermath of the tsunami, which he said had helped the area recover.
Teuku Ahmad Salman, who joined thousands at the service, said: "I cannot forget the smell of the air, the water at that time ... even after 10 years."
Indonesia's Vice President, Jusuf Kalla, led a prayer ceremony where he and other officials placed flowers at a mass grave where thousands of unknown victims were buried.
In a statement released to mark the anniversary, Prime Minister David Cameron praised the "real resilience" of those who have rebuilt their lives.
He said the UK Government had provided almost £300m to support the reconstruction of affected areas.
Video:Archive Report On The '04 Tsunami
Some 151 British nationals killed in the tsunami.
"Today we think of all those for whom Boxing Day is no longer a happy festive celebration but the day they lost a loved one in the Indian Ocean tsunami," he said.
"At this poignant time, my prayers are with all those remembering people who were caught up in the disaster, including the 151 British nationals who lost their lives.
"In the face of tragedy and adversity, hundreds of thousands of people have demonstrated real resilience to rebuild their lives and millions more have shown extraordinary generosity to help those affected."
More than 100 survivors, along with bereaved relatives, held a memorial service on a beach in Khao Lak, Thailand.
1/7
Gallery: Photos Taken In Indonesia After The Tsunami
Indonesian rescue workers remove a body from the fence of the Grand Mosque in the city of Banda Aceh
Refugees cover their noses from the stench of bodies
]]>
They walked into the waves and laid flowers in the sea, while diplomats placed wreaths on the sand.
Crowds also gathered and laid wreaths at the country's tsunami memorial park in Ban Nam Khem, a southern fishing village which was decimated.
More than 5,000 people were killed in Thailand, about half of them tourists.
In Indonesia, staff members at the German, Austrian and Swiss embassies will hold a minute's silence to remember the victims.
In Sri Lanka, the water swept a train from its tracks, killing almost 2,000 people.
Video:'We Escaped As The Walls Collapsed'
A symbolic recreation of the journey was planned as part of the country's commemorations.
:: A special documentary, Tsunami: Ten Years After The Wave, can be seen on the Sky News Catch Up service.
Recommended by Outbrain Recommended by Outbrain
Top Stories
Breaking News: Archbishop Of Canterbury Has Pneumonia
Hackers Strike Xbox And PlayStation Services
Boxing Day Snow As UK Slides Towards -15C
Breaking News: Planner Of Pakistani School Massacre Killed
A 13-year-old girl has said she was made to wear a bomb belt and taken to a market in Nigeria by Boko Haram extremists but refused to detonate the device.
Zahara'u Adam said her father gave her to the Islamist group, but she told her captors she did not want to be a suicide bomber.
She allowed them to strap the bomb on her because they threatened to bury her alive.
She was taken to a market in Kano, Nigeria's second largest city in the north, with two other girls, who detonated the bombs.
The bomb belt that the girl was forced to wear
Four people were killed in the explosion on 10 December.
Zahara'u said she was too scared to detonate the bomb when she saw the aftermath of what her counterparts had done.
Injured by the blasts, the girl found her way to a hospital where police arrested her while she was receiving treatment.
She was presented to journalists by police and instructed to recount how the militants allegedly forced her to take part in the attack - a move police hope will boost public awareness of the group's tactics.
"My father took us to the bush which was surrounded by gunmen, I was asked if I want to go to heaven, when I answered they said I have to go for a suicide mission and if I attempt to run, they will kill me," she recounted at a press conference.
"So from there we were sent to Kano. When we came to Kano market, one of us said we should go separately, but I refused.
"After my friend detonated her own I was wounded."
There was no way to independently verify her story and she had no lawyer present.
Boko Haram has been fighting for five years to establish an Islamist state in Nigeria's northeast.
The group has increasingly used female suicide bombers.
Many survivors of the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 have spent the last decade struggling to deal with grief and trauma, but some chose to channel it into helping others.
In a new documentary to be shown on Sky One this evening, Sky News has spoken to survivors who have set up charities in memory of some of the 230,000 people who died.
Kim and Tristan Peatfield were staying on the south coast of Sri Lanka, in Tangalle, with their five-year-old daughter Isabella when the tsunami hit their hotel bungalow.
Tristan was washed away and Kim was left holding Isabella.
Luke Simon spent five days looking for his brother Piers
"I think I must have been knocked out and I guess that's when I let her go - because I don't remember letting her go. I would never, never have let her go," she said.
Isabella was later found dead.
Video:'It Was Like A Horror Film'
Despite their grief, the couple returned to Sri Lanka a few weeks after Isabella's funeral and set up a charity in her name to help Sri Lankan children.
"Anybody who was there would know children there lost everything, they didn't just lose a sibling or a parent or grandparents or a roof over their head - they lost everything," Kim said.
The charity is still going ten years later. In that time they have helped to rebuild Tangalle Children's Hospital and built 10 playgrounds, among other projects.
"It came out of love, not wanting to let her die, and that's what sustained us, that's what keeps the charity going," the Peatfields said.
Luke Simon works full-time on the charity that he set up after the Boxing Day tragedy.
When the wave hit he was staying with his brother Piers and three friends on the island of Phi Phi in southern Thailand.
Phi Phi was hit from both sides simultaneously - and the thin strip of land in between was engulfed.
"The sea beyond was just boiling up in front of me," Luke said.
"The tsunami turned Phi Phi into canals - the little alleyways became two and a half metres of water filled with debris - a lot of people who lost their lives, they didn't drown, they were just hit by debris."
Piers was trapped under the water as he tried to push another friend to safety. It took five days for Luke to find his body.
Video:Archive Report On The '04 Tsunami
Luke launched the charity - the Piers Simon Appeal - at his brother's memorial service and two weeks after the tsunami he was back in Phi Phi with £10,000 to help local people.
"The charity really came about because we had received so much goodness from Thai people who helped me to find Piers," he said.
Ten years on, and the charity has now become School In A Bag, which sends schoolbags to children affected by the disaster.
"It was born out of a natural disaster - the sad circumstances of losing my brother. I always wanted to be able to help disaster-affected children, mainly because of the experience that I had picked up in the tsunami," Luke said.
"I still feel like Piers is with me now - I feel as though he's tagging along with me, except he's the reason we are doing it."
:: A special documentary Tsunami: Ten Years After The Wave can be seen on the Sky News Catch Up service.
:: If you have been affected by any of the issues in the show, the following helplines can offer help and support:
Samaritans - anyone struggling to cope can talk to Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90.
Mind - for mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress, call the confidential information and support line on 0300 123 3393 (charged as a local rate call) open from 9am - 6pm Monday - Friday.
Cruse Bereavement Care - promotes the well-being of bereaved people and enables people to understand grief and cope with their loss - national helpline on 08444 779 400.
The alleged planner of the Peshawar school massacre has been killed in a shootout, a Pakistani official has said.
The commander was killed on Thursday night in the hour-long gunfight with security forces in the restive Khyber tribal area, which borders the northwestern city of Peshawar, police said.
The militant was known only as Saddam. His six accomplices were injured and arrested in the shootout, said Shahab Ali Shah, head of the local police administration.
Authorities are currently interrogating the six, he said.
On 16 December, Taliban militants strapped with explosives broke into a military-run school in Peshawar, and killed 148 people, including 132 children.
Video:Pakistan Mourns Lost Children
The horrific attack shocked the nation and led Pakistan to crack down on militants.
According to authorities, Saddam helped plan the Peshawar school attack and was also involved in attacks on health workers giving polio vaccinations in the Peshawar valley.
Meanwhile, drone attacks in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region killed at least seven alleged militants on Friday.
1/23
Gallery: Bloody Aftermath Of School Attack
A Taliban massacre that killed 149 teachers and children at an army-run school in Pakistan has left a scene of heart-wrenching devastation
Blood is seen still splattered on the floor and the stairs as local media are allowed inside the school a day after the attack
Written By Unknown on Rabu, 24 Desember 2014 | 20.18
A black teenager has been shot dead by a police officer in the same city where the killing of Michael Brown sparked global protests.
The 18-year-old was killed at a Mobil petrol station in the suburb of Berkeley in St Louis, Missouri, on Tuesday night.
Sergeant Brian Schellman, from St Louis County Police, said a police officer was conducting a routine business check at around 11.15pm when he saw two men and approached them.
He said one of the men pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the officer.
Sgt Schellman said: "Fearing for his life, the Berkeley Officer fired several shots, striking the subject, fatally wounding him."
Police have formed a wall on the forecourt
He added that the second suspect fled.
Detectives said they recovered the dead man's weapon at the scene.
Video:Mother Says Dead Son 'Was Good'
A crowd of up to 300 people gathered at the scene, where a police cordon was set up around the forecourt.
Video, which was live-streamed online, showed a wall of police officers, some wearing riot helmets, guarding the scene with bystanders shouting at them in a tense standoff.
Footage showed fireworks or smoke bombs being let off and bricks were also thrown at officers.
Four people were arrested and there were also reports of people trying to break into local businesses.
1/8
Gallery: Shooting Is Close To Where The Michael Brown Killing Sparked Protests
Black teenager Antonio Martin is shot by a police officer at a petrol station in Berkeley, St Louis
St Louis Police say during a routine check two males approached officers, one of the men pulled a gun
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
Video:Tornadoes Hit Southern U.S.
Four people have been killed and thousands left without power after tornadoes tore across the southern United States.
Heaviest-hit was the state of Mississippi, where the severe weather damaged hundreds of homes and businesses.
Governor Phil Bryant has declared an emergency in Jones and Marion counties where all four victims lost their lives.
Several other people have been injured by the wild weather.
Television footage showed mangled buildings and over-turned vehicles
"We've got whole roofs lying in the road, people trapped in houses, cars flipped over," Marion County Sheriff Berkley Hall said.
County coroner Norma Williamson said two of the victims were killed in Columbia, about 30 miles west of Hattiesburg.
1/7
Gallery: Tornadoes Cause Widespread Devastation In Southern U.S.
Four people are confirmed dead after the tornadoes swept across the south of America Pic: @MS_TeresaM
]]>
The states of Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama were all hit Pic: @MS_TeresaM
]]>
Thousands have been left without power Pic: @MS_TeresaM
]]>
A state of emergency has been declared in two Mississippi counties
]]>
One woman died in a shopping district, while another was killed in a trailer park.
"It's chaos over here. All the lines are down," Ms Williamson said.
The other victims, a man and a woman, were killed in their mobile home in Jones County, where a separate tornado struck, county emergency management spokeswoman Tammy Wells said.
According to the governor's office, more than 7,000 people have been left without power across the two counties.
It is unclear how many people remain trapped in their homes.
The tornados were the result of thunderstorms that originated over Louisiana, a meteorologist for the national Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said.
Tornado warnings have now been issued across parts of southern Alabama, northern Florida and southern Georgia.
Flash flood warnings have also been posted across the Florida panhandle and parts of Georgia after heavy showers hit the region.
Recommended by Outbrain Recommended by Outbrain
Top Stories
Breaking News: Clashes As Black Teen Shot Dead By Police
Breaking News: Coalition Pilot Shot Down And Captured By IS
Glasgow: Woman Saw Daughter And Parents Killed
High Street Sales To Reach £342bn In 2014
Bryan Ferry's Son Hurt In Serious Car Crash
Deadly Tornadoes Strike Southern United States
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
Video:Tornadoes Hit Southern U.S.
Four people have been killed and thousands left without power after tornadoes tore across the southern United States.
Heaviest-hit was the state of Mississippi, where the severe weather damaged hundreds of homes and businesses.
Governor Phil Bryant has declared an emergency in Jones and Marion counties where all four victims lost their lives.
Several other people have been injured by the wild weather.
Television footage showed mangled buildings and over-turned vehicles
"We've got whole roofs lying in the road, people trapped in houses, cars flipped over," Marion County Sheriff Berkley Hall said.
County coroner Norma Williamson said two of the victims were killed in Columbia, about 30 miles west of Hattiesburg.
1/7
Gallery: Tornadoes Cause Widespread Devastation In Southern U.S.
Four people are confirmed dead after the tornadoes swept across the south of America Pic: @MS_TeresaM
]]>
The states of Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama were all hit Pic: @MS_TeresaM
]]>
Thousands have been left without power Pic: @MS_TeresaM
]]>
A state of emergency has been declared in two Mississippi counties
]]>
One woman died in a shopping district, while another was killed in a trailer park.
"It's chaos over here. All the lines are down," Ms Williamson said.
The other victims, a man and a woman, were killed in their mobile home in Jones County, where a separate tornado struck, county emergency management spokeswoman Tammy Wells said.
According to the governor's office, more than 7,000 people have been left without power across the two counties.
It is unclear how many people remain trapped in their homes.
The tornados were the result of thunderstorms that originated over Louisiana, a meteorologist for the national Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, said.
Tornado warnings have now been issued across parts of southern Alabama, northern Florida and southern Georgia.
Flash flood warnings have also been posted across the Florida panhandle and parts of Georgia after heavy showers hit the region.
Recommended by Outbrain Recommended by Outbrain
Top Stories
Breaking News: Clashes As Black Teen Shot Dead By Police
Breaking News: Coalition Pilot Shot Down And Captured By IS
Two men have been arrested in Australia as part of an ongoing counter-terrorism investigation into a group accused of plotting to kill a random member of the public in Sydney.
Police made the announcement a day after Prime Minister Tony Abbott warned of heightened extremist "chatter" in the aftermath of the deadly Lindt cafe siege.
Sulayman Khalid, 20, was charged on Tuesday with possession of documents designed to facilitate an attack, while a 21-year-old was charged with breaching a control order.
Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Michael Phelan said there was no specific threat and the arrests were related to an ongoing counter-terrorism operation that led to a series of raids in Sydney in September.
"There is nothing that indicates at all that (there were) any specific targets or timeframe in relation to this particular activity at all," Mr Phelan said, though he added that the documents seized by police did talk about potential government targets.
1/20
Gallery: Sydney Mourns Cafe Siege Victims
Women comfort each other in Martin Place, near to the scene
A Jordanian pilot has been captured by Islamic State militants after his plane was downed during coalition air raids in Syria, the Jordanian army says.
An army statement read on state television said: "Jordan holds the group and its supporters responsible for the safety of the pilot and his life."
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group quoted pro-IS activists as saying the plane was brought down near Raqqa city, a stronghold of Islamic State fighters in northern Syria.
The IS in Raqqa published photographs on jihadist websites purporting to show its fighters holding the captured pilot and showed a military card identifying him as 26-year-old First Lieutenant Maaz al Kassasbeh.
IS militants with the pilot
Several photographs were released, including one showing the pilot, wearing only a white shirt, being carried from water by four men.
Another showed him on land, surrounded by about a dozen armed men.
1/3
Gallery: Militants Claim To Have Captured Jordanian Pilot In Syria
The plane was said to have been brought down near Raqqa city, a stronghold of Islamic State fighters in northern Syria
Several photographs were released, including one showing the pilot, wearing only a white shirt, being carried from water by four men
Written By Unknown on Senin, 22 Desember 2014 | 20.18
A man heard shouting "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest") has been arrested in France after ploughing his car into crowds of people.
At least 13 people were injured, two of them seriously, after the driver targeted passers-by in five different areas of the eastern city of Dijon.
Witnesses told police he was also heard shouting he was "acting for the children of Palestine" during the rampage, which lasted about half an hour.
It came a day after another man, who was also heard shouting "Allahu Akbar," stabbed three police officers in the central town of Joue-les-Tours.
The motives behind this latest attack remain unclear. French president Francois Hollande has urged authorities to display the "utmost vigilance" following the incidents, and urged the public not to panic.
France's Interior Ministry said the 40-year-old driver was known to authorities for petty offences dating back to the 1990s.
"The man... is apparently unbalanced and had been in a psychiatric hospital," one source said.
There is local media speculation that two other people were in the car at the time of the attack.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has tweeted to express his "solidarity" with the victims, while Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve will travel to Dijon later on Monday.
Two attacks within the space of two days have heightened fears in France over the possibility of further "lone wolf" atrocities.
Islamic State and other terrorist organisations have repeatedly called for attacks against France, partly due to its military participation in US-led strikes in Iraq.
Anti-terrorism police are investigating Saturday's attack at the police station in Joue-les-Tours, which left two of the three officers seriously injured.
The 20-year-old attacker was shot dead at the scene.
Mr Cazeneuve told television station TF1 he was "very unstable".
Police suspect the attack to have been motivated by radical Islam.
The Interior Ministry has said it was too early to tell whether there was any connection between the two incidents.
Pakistan plans to execute around 500 militants after the government lifted a moratorium on the death penalty in terror cases.
It comes after Taliban gunmen killed 149 people, including 133 children, in a school massacre in the northwestern city of Peshawar last week.
Six militants have been hanged since Friday amid rising public anger over the slaughter.
Around nine gunmen stormed the army-run school on 16 December taking teachers and students hostage and killing them in classrooms.
After the deadliest terror attack in Pakistani history, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ended the six-year moratorium on the death penalty, reinstating it for terrorism-related cases.
"Interior ministry has finalised the cases of 500 convicts who have exhausted all the appeals, their mercy petitions have been turned down by the president and their executions will take place in coming weeks," a senior government official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Of the six hanged so far, five were involved in a failed attempt to assassinate the then-military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 2003, while one was involved in a 2009 attack on army headquarters.
Police, troops and paramilitary Rangers have been deployed across the country and airports and prisons put on red alert as the executions take place and troops intensify operations against Taliban militants in northwestern tribal areas.
Mr Sharif has ordered the attorney general's office to "actively pursue" capital cases currently in the courts, a government spokesman said.
The decision to reinstate executions has been condemned by human rights groups, with the United Nations also calling for it to reconsider.
Human Rights Watch described the executions "a craven politicised reaction to the Peshawar killings" and demanded that no further hangings be carried out.
Pakistan began its de facto moratorium on civilian executions in 2008, but hanging remains on the statute books and judges continue to pass death sentences.
Before Friday's resumption, only one person had been executed since then - a soldier convicted by a court martial and hanged in November 2012.
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
Video:Vigil Held For 'Assassinated' Cops
The gunman who shot dead two New York City police officers told passers-by to "watch what I'm going to do", moments before the attack.
Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said witnesses recall Ismaaiyl Brinsley asking them to follow him on Instagram, before making the chilling warning.
Instagram posts attributed to Brinsley, 28, have been described as "very anti-police".
Brinsley shot the officers in the head before turning the gun on himself
One appears to threaten to carry out an attack in retaliation for the death of Eric Garner, who was killed in a New York officer's chokehold, sparking weeks of mass protests.
Part of the caption read: "I'm Putting Wings On Pigs Today. They Take 1 Of Ours ... Let's Take 2 of Theirs."
1/8
Gallery: New York Vigil For Dead Police Officers
Mourners have taken part in a prayer vigil at the location where two NYPD cops who were shot in the head in their squad car in Brooklyn
]]>
Police officers lined up to pay their respects to Liu Wenjin, 32, and Raphael Ramos, 40
]]>
Lucy Ramos, the aunt of Mr Ramos, paid tribute to the officers during a press conference at the vigil
]]>
Click through for more images
]]>
Eric Garner's family have condemned the killings, denouncing revenge attacks.
Joined by civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton, Mr Garner's mother Gwen Carr told reporters: "I'm standing here in sorrow about losing those two police officers, that was definitely not our agenda.
"We want you to not use Eric Garner's name for violence, because we are not about that."
A candlelight vigil was held for the two dead police officers on Sunday, a day after they were ambushed in their squad car while on patrol in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighbourhood of Brooklyn.
They have been named as 32-year-old Liu Wenjin and 40-year-old Raphael Ramos.
Police have said Brinsley shot the pair in the head with "no warning, no provocation".
1/6
Gallery: Everything We Know Following The Shooting Of Two Officers
Officers Liu Wenjin, 32, and Raphael Ramos, 40, were shot dead as they sat in their parked patrol car
The suspect, named as Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, used a silver semi-automatic handgun. It is believed Brinsley had shot and seriously injured his ex-girlfriend earlier on Saturday
]]>
"They were quite simply assassinated," Police Commissioner William Bratton said.
Brinsley then ran inside a subway station and fatally shot himself in the head as responding officers pursued him.
Details have now emerged surrounding his long criminal record and apparent history of mental instability.
Brinsley shot and seriously injured his ex-girlfriend in Baltimore, Maryland, shortly before travelling to New York to carry out Saturday's attack.
He had at least 19 arrests in Georgia and Ohio and had spent two years in prison for gun possession.
Police said Brinsley's mother believed he had been suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness.
1/13
Gallery: Archive: Protests After Eric Garner Grand Jury Decision
Protesters took to the streets after a grand jury decided not to charge a white policeman over the chokehold death of an unarmed black man
]]>
He also reportedly tried to kill himself last year.
The killings have sparked fears of further revenge attacks amid heightened nationwide tensions over the deaths of Mr Garner and another black male at the hands of white police officers.
The unarmed teen Michael Brown was shot dead in Ferguson, Missouri, back in August.
Decisions by US grand juries to not charge either of the officers involved triggered widespread protests.
New York police officers have been told to take extra backup when responding to radio calls and have been urged to wear bulletproof vests when out on the street.
On Sunday a police officer in Florida was shot and killed in what is believed to have been an unrelated incident.
Recommended by Outbrain Recommended by Outbrain
Top Stories
US Families Prepare For 'Modern Day Apocalypse'
North Korea Threatens To Target White House
N Korea's Human Rights 'Worst In The World'
Breaking News: Pakistan To Execute 500 Terror Convicts
Burglary Suspect Dies After Taser Shooting
New York Cop Killer's Chilling Warning Revealed
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
Video:Vigil Held For 'Assassinated' Cops
The gunman who shot dead two New York City police officers told passers-by to "watch what I'm going to do", moments before the attack.
Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said witnesses recall Ismaaiyl Brinsley asking them to follow him on Instagram, before making the chilling warning.
Instagram posts attributed to Brinsley, 28, have been described as "very anti-police".
Brinsley shot the officers in the head before turning the gun on himself
One appears to threaten to carry out an attack in retaliation for the death of Eric Garner, who was killed in a New York officer's chokehold, sparking weeks of mass protests.
Part of the caption read: "I'm Putting Wings On Pigs Today. They Take 1 Of Ours ... Let's Take 2 of Theirs."
1/8
Gallery: New York Vigil For Dead Police Officers
Mourners have taken part in a prayer vigil at the location where two NYPD cops who were shot in the head in their squad car in Brooklyn
]]>
Police officers lined up to pay their respects to Liu Wenjin, 32, and Raphael Ramos, 40
]]>
Lucy Ramos, the aunt of Mr Ramos, paid tribute to the officers during a press conference at the vigil
]]>
Click through for more images
]]>
Eric Garner's family have condemned the killings, denouncing revenge attacks.
Joined by civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton, Mr Garner's mother Gwen Carr told reporters: "I'm standing here in sorrow about losing those two police officers, that was definitely not our agenda.
"We want you to not use Eric Garner's name for violence, because we are not about that."
A candlelight vigil was held for the two dead police officers on Sunday, a day after they were ambushed in their squad car while on patrol in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighbourhood of Brooklyn.
They have been named as 32-year-old Liu Wenjin and 40-year-old Raphael Ramos.
Police have said Brinsley shot the pair in the head with "no warning, no provocation".
1/6
Gallery: Everything We Know Following The Shooting Of Two Officers
Officers Liu Wenjin, 32, and Raphael Ramos, 40, were shot dead as they sat in their parked patrol car
The suspect, named as Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, used a silver semi-automatic handgun. It is believed Brinsley had shot and seriously injured his ex-girlfriend earlier on Saturday
]]>
"They were quite simply assassinated," Police Commissioner William Bratton said.
Brinsley then ran inside a subway station and fatally shot himself in the head as responding officers pursued him.
Details have now emerged surrounding his long criminal record and apparent history of mental instability.
Brinsley shot and seriously injured his ex-girlfriend in Baltimore, Maryland, shortly before travelling to New York to carry out Saturday's attack.
He had at least 19 arrests in Georgia and Ohio and had spent two years in prison for gun possession.
Police said Brinsley's mother believed he had been suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness.
1/13
Gallery: Archive: Protests After Eric Garner Grand Jury Decision
Protesters took to the streets after a grand jury decided not to charge a white policeman over the chokehold death of an unarmed black man
]]>
He also reportedly tried to kill himself last year.
The killings have sparked fears of further revenge attacks amid heightened nationwide tensions over the deaths of Mr Garner and another black male at the hands of white police officers.
The unarmed teen Michael Brown was shot dead in Ferguson, Missouri, back in August.
Decisions by US grand juries to not charge either of the officers involved triggered widespread protests.
New York police officers have been told to take extra backup when responding to radio calls and have been urged to wear bulletproof vests when out on the street.
On Sunday a police officer in Florida was shot and killed in what is believed to have been an unrelated incident.
Recommended by Outbrain Recommended by Outbrain
Top Stories
US Families Prepare For 'Modern Day Apocalypse'
North Korea Threatens To Target White House
N Korea's Human Rights 'Worst In The World'
Breaking News: Pakistan To Execute 500 Terror Convicts
The era of OPEC domination over the global energy market is over, the former head of the oil cartel has told Sky News.
Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, the former energy minister of Qatar, said that the group of 12 oil exporters, which dominated the production and price-setting of energy for half a century, had surrendered its power to single-handedly affect prices.
He urged the organisation to collaborate with Russia and reduce global oil production.
Asked whether the era of OPEC dominance was finished, he said: "It's over. OPEC cannot play alone. This is why when OPEC met at the last moment they cannot decide it because if they will cut there is no meaning it will be the others who will benefit and even increase their production."
His comments, in an exclusive Sky News interview, come after the oil price fell sharply, from $115 a barrel earlier this year to below $60 last week.
Video:How Low Will The Oil Price Go?
The collapse in prices has triggered a currency crisis in Russia and threatens to undermine prosperity in the Middle East, where stock markets have fallen sharply. Mr al-Attiyah said that his country, Qatar, was well-placed to weather the downturn, but added that others might struggle more.
He said that he suspected Russia and others were waiting for OPEC to act - but that they might be mistaken.
"We have to learn from our lessons; we have to be careful.
Video:Why Are Oil Prices Plunging?
"Sometimes we forget the cycle and just close our eyes thinking that the oil price will never go down. But ... it happened before. And it will happen in the future."
He warned that it was conceivable that the oil price remained depressed for as long as 15 years - as it did from the oil price crash in the mid-1980s.
He said that prices needed to be lifted to $90 or $100 a barrel to keep most producers in business. He also disputed claims that OPEC had not cut its production at a recent meeting because it wanted to undermine the viability of shale oil production in the US.
Written By Unknown on Minggu, 21 Desember 2014 | 20.18
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali has been taken to hospital suffering from pneumonia.
The three-time heavyweight champion, who has Parkinson's disease, was admitted to the unidentified hospital on Saturday morning and is expected to recover.
Pneumonia can be a dangerous complication of the debilitating neurological condition.
"Because the pneumonia was caught early, his prognosis is good with a short hospital stay expected," spokesman Bob Gunnell said in a statement.
Ali training for a fight against Brian London in 1966
He declined to give other details about the 72-year-old's condition and the family have requested privacy.
Ali retired from boxing in 1981 and has devoted his time to charitable and humanitarian work.
Video:1974: Ali's Surprise School Visit
He was diagnosed with Parkinson's three years after leaving boxing.
He was seen in public in September at a ceremony for the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards in Louisville, Kentucky.
Ali dazzled the boxing world from 1960 to 1981 with his prowess in the ring and his wit outside it.
He converted to Islam in 1964, changing his name from Cassius Clay, before refusing to join the armed forces in 1967 on religious grounds.
He was convicted of draft dodging and banned from boxing for years, but in 1971 the US Supreme Court overturned the conviction.
A woman has been charged with the murder of eight children at a house in Cairns, northern Australia, police have said.
Mersane Warria, 37, is the mother of seven of the children, who had all been found stabbed to death. The eighth child was her niece.
The youngsters - four girls and four boys - were aged between two and 14 years, police said.
Warria was formally charged following a bedside hearing at Cairns Base Hospital where she appeared before a magistrate.
She remains under police guard in the hospital.
The children were found dead on Friday
Officers were called to the home in the suburb of Manoora on Friday morning after reports of a woman suffering from stab wounds.
The children's bodies were discovered during a search of the house.
Police have not said how the children died, but Queensland Police Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar said they are examining several knives in the home that may have been the weapon used to kill them.
Suffocation was also a possible cause of death.
Det Ins Asnicar said: "We are considering that and that's why it's taking a bit of time.
"It could be a range of things, from suffocation to 1,000 other things."
Police are not looking for any other suspects.
Residents have held a church service, candlelit vigil and laid flowers and toys for the children outside the home.
The family were members of the Torres Strait Islander community, a group of indigenous Australians viewed as distinct from the broader Aboriginal community due to their origins on islands off the Queensland coast.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott described the deaths as "heartbreaking".
He added: "All parents would feel a gut-wrenching sadness at what has happened. This is an unspeakable crime.
"These are trying days for our country."
The deaths came as Australia was reeling from a deadly siege in a Sydney cafe.
When Amanda Rabbow describes the hours she fought for her life in the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004, it is as if she is back in the wave again.
"I just got carried off in the water until I backed into a brick wall - and everything carried in the water piled up against me so I got crushed backwards against this wall - and it started stacking up and rising up above my head and started to push me under," she said.
"Then I remember taking my last breath before I went under - and I just remember thinking - I hope it's quick - because I couldn't breathe.'
Amanda was on holiday in the beach resort of Khao Lak in Southern Thailand with her boyfriend - they were in bed when the wave struck their beachside bungalow.
Miraculously, just as she thought she was going to die, she was pulled out of the water by a local Thai man, who she is convinced saved her life.
Video:10 Years On: Tsunami Memories
She was then washed into the water again and spent three hours battling struggling to survive.
"It took me in it like a washing machine, that's all I can describe it as, and I remember doing massive somersaults and then coming back up to the surface and taking a massive breath and then being taken under again - more somersaults, come up for air, more somersaults," she said.
Amanda was finally able to pull herself up into a tree. When the water receded she climbed down, surrounded by bodies - including the body of the man who saved her.
"I know that he didn't survive and I have a lot of questions in my head in life - if you do the right thing by someone - he should have survived because he saved my life without a doubt."
Video:'I Felt Like I Was Dead'
Amanda managed to find her boyfriend up on the hillside and they stayed in a temple with other survivors until rescue teams finally managed to clear the roads to Khao Lak.
She faced an horrific journey to Bangkok.
"People paid for us to get on this bus but I couldn't sit upright on a chair and so I had to be laid flat in the luggage hold of this bus - and I was sick for 14-and-a-half hours solidly, brown water and I don't know what was coming out of my body - I thought I was going to die."
At last she was back in London, but she faced months of healing both her physical and psychological scars.
Video:'I Saw Dead Bodies In The Water'
"I felt like I should have died, so I felt guilty, felt guilty for surviving and someone else not having the chance to survive," she said.
"I couldn't ever sleep - I didn't want to do anything and ... I was scared to do anything."
As the weeks passed, Amanda became determined to return to Thailand:
'I wanted to go back to Khao Lak and thank the people and to see if I could find the family of the man who I still think saved my life.'
Video:'I Lost 50 Members Of My Family'
She and a group of friends raised more than £50,000, and went back to Khao Lak to help the rebuilding effort:
"There was just a massive community of people that were there - there were survivors that were in back braces still, so injured, but they had stayed on to help.
"We could see where to use our money - there were Thai man mixing cement by hand, so we said - 'Here's some money, let's buy a cement mixer'."
Amanda remembers Boxing Day 2004 as the day her life changed forever.
Video:'It Turned Phi Phi Into A Canal'
'I know I had a life before 2004 - I was born in 1976, I know that - but I survived that day for one reason or another and I was meant to survive to have my children.
'So I think of life as of that day - that day my new life began - and I see life from 2004 - not before.'
You can see more about the Boxing Day Tsunami in a Sky News' documentary Tsunami: 10 Years After the Wave, on Sky News this evening at 9pm, and also on Catch up.
:: If you have been affected by any of the issues in Tsunami: 10 Years After The Wave, the following helplines can offer help and support:
1/14
Gallery: Archive CCTV Stills Of Tsunami
Aceh province in Indonesia was the hardest hit by the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004. CCTV stills from the capital Banda Aceh show how the tsunami destroyed everything in its path.
People still on the street see the debris that is being swept along in the water and begin to run.
President Barack Obama says he does not consider the Sony hack an act of war but an act of cyber-vandalism.
The US is weighing up how to respond to the attack, which prompted Sony to withdraw the movie The Interview, which had been set for release during the holiday season.
The movie, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, parodies North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-Un.
"I don't think it was an act of war. I think it was an act of cyber vandalism that was very costly, very expensive," the US President said in a TV interview set for broadcast later on Sunday.
"We take it very seriously. We will respond proportionately."
Video:Obama: Sony Pulling Film 'Mistake'
Speaking to CNN, Mr Obama also said his government was considering putting North Korea back on a US list of countries that sponsor terrorism.
North Korea spent two decades on the list until the Bush administration removed it in 2008 during nuclear negotiations. Some politicians in the US have called for the designation to be restored following the hack.
Only Iran, Sudan, Syria and Cuba remain on the list, which triggers sanctions that limit US aid, defence exports and certain financial transactions.
The US believes that Pyongyang was behind the hack attack, which also involved the embarrassing leak of scores of private emails of Hollywood stars and industry executives.
Video:The Interview: Official Trailer
North Korea insists it had nothing to do with the cyber-attack on Sony and has proposed a joint investigation with the US.
The White House has rejected the idea.
The decision to pull the film was made after the group claiming responsibility for the cyber-attack - the self-styled Guardians of Peace - made terrorist threats against US cinemas that prepared the show the movie.
It sparked anger and criticism among Hollywood actors, with some saying it set a dangerous precedent.
1/12
Gallery: 'The Interview' Film Pulled: Hollywood Takes to Twitter
