Thai Beach Murders: Tests Rule Out All Suspects

Relatives of Hannah Witheridge, who was killed alongside David Miller on a beach in Thailand, have arrived in Bangkok to meet police as DNA tests ruled out all their suspects.

The British backpacker's family hugged each other outside the headquarters of the Royal Thai Police, as they waited for an update on the investigation into her death.

Preliminary tests have indicated unidentified DNA found on Miss Witheridge's body, as well as on a cigarette butt at the crime scene, does not be matched any of the 13 suspects identified by police.

Hannah Witheridge's family hug each other as they prepare to meet police

Police said after the results that brothers Christopher and James Ware, childhood friends of Mr Miller, were now free to fly back to the Channels Islands.

The pair from Jersey had been questioned by police, but were never detained or declared to be suspects.

Eleven Burmese migrants on Koh Tao who were arrested after bloodstains were found on some of their clothes have been eliminated as suspects.

The results also indicated that semen discovered on Miss Witheridge's semi-naked body was not from Mr Miller.

David Miller died from drowning and a blow to the head

On Wednesday night, police had said there was forensic evidence to suggest that the 23-year-old from Great Yarmouth might have been raped.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Thailand, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, has been forced to apologise after apparently suggesting female tourists might be putting themselves in danger by wearing bikinis.

Earlier this week, he was quoted as saying: "Can they be safe in bikinis ... unless they are not beautiful?"

But the military ruler later has now issued an apology.

General Prayuth Chan-ocha questioned if it was safe to wear a bikini

"I am sorry that my statement caused uneasiness," he said. "I affirm that I did not look down on or criticise anyone. I simply wanted to warn them to be careful at certain places and certain times."

Miss Witheridge and Mr Miller were found in the early hours of Monday morning with head wounds. A bloodstained garden hoe - believed to be the murder weapon - was found nearby.

It has been revealed that Mr Miller died from drowning in conjunction with a blow to the head, while wounds on his hands indicate a struggle had taken place.

Police are looking for a man seen running past a CCTV camera near the beach

Both of their families have paid emotional tributes, with Miss Witheridge's relatives describing her as "a beautiful, intelligent, loving young woman who poured joy into the lives of all who knew her".

Mr Miller was described as "hardworking, bright and conscientious, with everything to look forward to".

Police have said they are keen to trace an Asian man captured on CCTV footage near the scene of the murders.

He was seen running past a security camera at 3.44am on Monday, and walked down the same street an hour later.

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Honeymoon Briton Killed In Jet Ski Crash

By Anthee Carassava, in Greece

A British man has been killed in a jet ski crash two days into his honeymoon in Santorini, Greek police have said.

The 39-year-old, who has not been named, is thought to have been rammed into by another British jet skier.

He was picked up by coast guard crews, who ordered an emergency airlift to the nearby island of Crete.

The man died of severe head and chest injuries before arriving at hospital. His family has been told.

Greek authorities said the owner of the water sports rental was arrested along with a 29-year-old Briton - a friend of the groom.

The Briton was detained at Athens International Airport.

Both of the accused are due to appear before a state prosecutor on the island of Naxos on Friday.

Authorities have refused to disclose details of the Britons.

The coast guard have launched an investigation and expect the Briton to be charged with negligent homicide.

The Foreign Office is looking into the death.

A spokesman said: "We are aware of the death of a British national in Greece on September 17. We are providing consular assistance to his family at this sad time.

"We are aware of the arrest of a British national in Greece and are providing consular assistance."

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Poland Sets Up Military Unit With Ukraine

Poland will establish a joint military unit with Ukraine and Lithuania to be based in the east of the country.

The Polish president's office said the new unit will be commanded from Lublin, in eastern Poland.

The proposed brigade will be made up of Ukrainian, Lithuanian and Polish soldiers who will be located close to their home countries.

A defence ministry spokesman said the project is aimed at creating a unit for peacekeeping operations.

The brigade may also become the basis to build a Nato battle group in the future, the spokesman added. 

It comes as the United States pledged $53m (£32m) in aid to Ukraine, including radar equipment to counter mortar attacks.

The assistance includes $46m (£28m) to bolster Ukraine's security in its conflict with Russian-backed separatists, and $7m (£4m) in humanitarian aid.

The package does not include the type of lethal weaponry that some Republican politicians wanted the US to provide.

Mr Poroshenko speaks during a joint meeting of Congress in Washington

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko appealed to US Congress for lethal and non-lethal aid during his visit to Washington on Thursday.

He asked for more aid for the military, beyond the basic equipment such as night-vision goggles which the US has already supplied.

"I strongly encourage the United States to give Ukraine a special security and defence status which reflects the highest level of interaction with non-NATO allies," Mr Poroshenko said.

"They need more political support throughout the world. They need more military equipment, both lethal and non-lethal.

"Blankets, night-vision goggles are also important, but one cannot win the war with blankets.

Mr Poroshenko also pushed for more sanctions to be put in place against Russia.

"I also asked that the United States be forceful and reflect its principles with the respect of further sanctions against the aggressor," he said.

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian parliament passed a law granting greater autonomy to rebel-held parts of Ukraine's east and an amnesty for separatist fighters.

A ceasefire was also declared on September 5 which has been threatened by violations, and both sides have promised to regroup and continue fighting if required.

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Plot Suggests Grip Of Extremists Is Widening

IS Planned Beheading In Australia, PM Says

Updated: 2:23pm UK, Thursday 18 September 2014

Fears supporters of Islamic State were planning to kidnap a random person and carry out a "demonstration killing" prompted Australia's largest ever anti-terror raids, the prime minister has said.

Asked about reports that the planned attack involved a plot to behead a person in Sydney, Tony Abbott said: "That's the intelligence we received.

"The exhortations - quite direct exhortations - were coming from an Australian who is apparently quite senior in ISIL (also known as IS or ISIS) to networks of support back in Australia to conduct demonstration killings here in this country.

"This is not just suspicion, this is intent and that's why the police and security agencies decided to act in the way they have."

More than 800 officers took part in the operation which saw at least 15 people detained and one charged with a serious "terrorism-related" offence.

The suspects had purchased machetes, balaclavas and military fatigues and planned to record the killing to be released on social media, Australia's ABC News reported. 

Pictures in the Australian media showed a sword being removed from one of the properties

The early morning raids of homes and businesses in Sydney and Brisbane came just days after Australia raised its national terror threat level to "high" for the first time, citing the likelihood of terrorist attacks by Australians radicalised in Iraq or Syria.

One of the suspects arrested made a brief appearance in court on Thursday.

Prosecutors said Omarjan Azari - who is charged with conspiracy to prepare for a terrorist attack- was involved in an alleged plan to "gruesomely" kill someone, an attack that was "clearly designed to shock and horrify" the public.

Court documents accused the 22-year-old of conspiring with former Sydney nightclub bouncer Mohammad Ali Baryalei, 33, who is suspected to be Australia's most senior member of IS in Syria and Iraq.

Prosecutor Michael Allnutt said the charge followed from the interception of a phone call made in recent days.

Police have also issued an arrest warrant for Baryalei.

Sydney is home to around half of Australia's 500,000 Muslims, with the majority living in the western suburbs where the raids were carried out.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said the operation showed the reality of the threat facing Australia.

He said: "You know it is of serious concern that right at the heart of our communities we have people that are planning to conduct random attacks.

"Today we work together to make sure that didn't happen. We have disrupted that particular attack."

Australia, which is due to host the G20 Leaders Summit in Brisbane in mid-November, is concerned over the number of its citizens believed to be fighting overseas with Islamist militant groups.

Mr Scipione said: "Our police will continue to work tirelessly to prevent any such attacks but certainly can I stress that right now, is a time for calm.

"We don't need to whip this up.

"We need to let people know that they are safe and certainly from our perspective we know that the work this morning will ensure that all of those plans that may have been on foot have been thwarted."

Up to 160 Australians have either been involved in the fighting in the Middle East or actively supporting it, officials said.

At least 20 are believed to have returned to Australia and pose a national security risk, the head of the country's spy agency said when raising the threat level last week.

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Obama Again Rules Out Iraq Combat Role For US

President Barack Obama has reiterated there will be no US combat troops in Iraq, a day after his top general raised that very possibility.

Mr Obama spoke upon receiving an update from military chiefs at US Central Command in Tampa, Florida, about the US campaign of airstrikes against the Islamic State militants.

"The American forces that have been deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission," he told troops at MacDill Air Force Base.

"They will support Iraqi forces on the ground as they fight for their own country against these terrorists.

President Obama and US Central Command chief, General Lloyd Austin

"As your commander in chief, I will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in Iraq."

Army General Martin Dempsey told Congress on Tuesday he might recommend to the president that US troops fight alongside Iraqi forces if the current strategy of airstrikes failed to break the Islamic State group.

Since last month, the US has conducted more than 160 airstrikes to weaken the extremists.

Secretary of State John Kerry said the group must be stopped "end of story"

Mr Obama plans to rely on US air power as well as Iraqi and Kurdish forces and the Syrian opposition to carry out the fight on the ground.

The House of Representatives approved by 273-156 Mr Obama's request for authority to equip and train "moderate" Syrian rebels to take on the Islamic State.

Testifying before a Senate committee on Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry said Islamic State forces "must be defeated. Period. End of story".

A displaced Iraqi child displays his drawing at a refugee camp in Irbil

US Vice President Joe Biden, meanwhile, appeared to leave the door ajar for US combat troops, as he visited Iowa.

Asked about Gen Dempsey's remarks, he said: "We'll determine that based on how the effort goes."

But Iraq's new prime minister said foreign ground troops were "out of the question".

Haider al Abadi, who took office this month, said: "Not only is it not necessary, we don't want them. We won't allow them. Full stop."

Shia fighters, who have joined the battle against IS, train in Najaf

However, Gen Dempsey, who is chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said half of Iraq's army is incapable of working with the US to recapture territory from Islamic State.

Only 26 of 50 Iraqi army brigades were capable partners for the US, he said, as he flew to Paris for a meeting with his French counterpart.

The others were too dominated by Shias to be part of a credible national force, he added.

Meanwhile, Islamic State has released a video warning the US that fighters await it in Iraq if troops are sent there.

Islamic State fighters have seized large parts of Iraq and Syria

The 52-second clip, entitled Flames Of War, shows fighters destroying tanks, wounded US soldiers and others about to be killed.

It ends with a text overlay that reads "fighting has just begun".

The CIA estimates the Sunni militant group has somewhere between 20,000 and 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria.

On Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told NC News the Islamic State militants want to "kill humanity".

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Toronto Mayor Has 'Rare And Difficult' Cancer

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is suffering from a rare and difficult cancer that will require aggressive chemotherapy, his doctor has confirmed.

The 45-year-old has been in hospital for a week and Dr Zane Cohen, a colorectal surgeon at Mount Sinai hospital, said tests confirmed Mr Ford has a malignant sarcoma.

He will undergo intensive chemotherapy within the next two days after it was discovered the cancer is spreading.

The mayor withdrew his re-election bid last week, ending a campaign he had continued despite calls for him to quit amid drug and alcohol scandals and a stint in rehab.

The mayor's doctor Zane Cohen said Mr Ford will undergo chemotherapy

Doug Ford is running for mayor in his brother's place.

The mayor checked himself into a hospital last week after complaining of stomach pain while eating breakfast with his brother.

"He's having some pain still," Dr Cohen said. "We are managing that."

He said the initial biopsy came back inconclusive but said a second biopsy led them to conclusive diagnosis.

Dr Cohen told a news conference: "The diagnosis is a malignant liposarcoma. A few things I would like to say about that tumour: it comprises about 1% only of all cancers.

"It arises from soft tissue structures, so it's not within an organ. It's not in the colon. It's not in the liver. It's in the tissues, such as fatty tissue, blood vessels, nerves, connective tissue, muscle.

Doug Ford is running for mayor in his brother's place

"It has 60 different cell types, and that's what makes it a very rare tumour, and a very difficult tumour."

He added: "The plan will be, initially, chemotherapy.

"Pending on the response, will depend on what we do next. It may require further cycles of chemotherapy.

"There may, or may not be radiation involved. There may, or may not be, surgery involved.

"It will all depend on the response to initial treatment and subsequent treatment as well."

Doug Ford Sr, the mayor's farther, died of colon cancer in 2006.

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Drag Queens Angry Over Facebook Stage Name Ban

Angry drag queens have complained to Facebook after their accounts were deleted for failing to comply with the company's policy that users must post under their real name.

The social media giant has locked hundreds of accounts because they do not comply with site's policy in recent weeks.

But drag queens say the use of aliases protects them from other employers, family members and stalkers.

Many also see their stage names as an integral part of their identity and use their Facebook pages to promote gigs.

Sister Roma, a member of a group of drag queen performers and activists, said: "Abused women, bullied teens, transgender people ... [there are] a million different people with a million different reasons to use fake names."

The group, along with other performers and a San Francisco politician met Facebook representatives on Wednesday to demand it change its policy, but the company only agreed to reinstate the profiles so they could be amended to use a real name or be converted into fan sites.

Among those who had their accounts suspended were San Francisco artists Pollo Del Mar and Heklina.

Pollo Del Mar is one of the drag queens who had her profile suspended

Pollo Del Mar said on her temporarily restored page: "I chose to create a profile which allows people to address me as the vast majority knows me.

"Many of the people connected to me via this account have never once interacted with me sans makeup, much less knew (or needed to know) my birth name.

"That said, I should never have to justify my decisions regarding this matter.

"What name I opt to be known by should be MY decision; not society's, not my parents, not friends and family and CERTAINLY not Facebook's."

Facebook said its policy "helps prevent bad behaviour, while creating a safer and more accountable environment".

It added that performers and others have additional ways of keeping their stage identities on the site, including creating pages that are meant for businesses and public figures.

The drag queens plan a series of protests and boycotts if the company does not change its policy.

Some political activists, especially those living in countries with hardline governments, have also criticised the policy, saying they could face danger if their real identities are revealed.

In 2011, it emerged that Chinese blogger and activist Michael Anti, whose legal name is Zhao Jing, had his profile deleted because he was not using his given name.

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IS Planned Beheading In Australia, PM Says

Fears supporters of Islamic State were planning to kidnap a random person and carry out a "demonstration killing" prompted Australia's largest ever anti-terror raids, the prime minister has said.

Asked about reports that the planned attack involved a plot to behead a person in Sydney, Tony Abbott said: "That's the intelligence we received.

"The exhortations - quite direct exhortations - were coming from an Australian who is apparently quite senior in ISIL (also known as IS or ISIS) to networks of support back in Australia to conduct demonstration killings here in this country.

"This is not just suspicion, this is intent and that's why the police and security agencies decided to act in the way they have."

A sword was removed from one of the properties

More than 800 officers took part in the operation which saw at least 15 people detained and one charged with a serious "terrorism-related" offence.

The suspects had purchased machetes, balaclavas and military fatigues and planned to record the killing to be released on social media, Australia's ABC News reported. 

Pictures in the Australian media showed a sword being removed from one of the properties

The early morning raids of homes and businesses in Sydney and Brisbane came just days after Australia raised its national terror threat level to "high" for the first time, citing the likelihood of terrorist attacks by Australians radicalised in Iraq or Syria.

A suspect is detained by armed police during the operation

One of the suspects arrested made a brief appearance in court on Thursday.

Prosecutors said Omarjan Azari - who is charged with conspiracy to prepare for a terrorist attack- was involved in an alleged plan to "gruesomely" kill someone, an attack that was "clearly designed to shock and horrify" the public.

Court documents accused the 22-year-old of conspiring with former Sydney nightclub bouncer Mohammad Ali Baryalei, 33, who is suspected to be Australia's most senior member of IS in Syria and Iraq.

Prosecutor Michael Allnutt said the charge followed from the interception of a phone call made in recent days.

A police forensic expert gathers evidence at a property in Sydney

Police have also issued an arrest warrant for Baryalei.

Sydney is home to around half of Australia's 500,000 Muslims, with the majority living in the western suburbs where the raids were carried out.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said the operation showed the reality of the threat facing Australia.

He said: "You know it is of serious concern that right at the heart of our communities we have people that are planning to conduct random attacks.

"Today we work together to make sure that didn't happen. We have disrupted that particular attack."

Australia, which is due to host the G20 Leaders Summit in Brisbane in mid-November, is concerned over the number of its citizens believed to be fighting overseas with Islamist militant groups.

Police chiefs said the operation highlighted the reality of the threat

Mr Scipione said: "Our police will continue to work tirelessly to prevent any such attacks but certainly can I stress that right now, is a time for calm.

"We don't need to whip this up.

"We need to let people know that they are safe and certainly from our perspective we know that the work this morning will ensure that all of those plans that may have been on foot have been thwarted."

Up to 160 Australians have either been involved in the fighting in the Middle East or actively supporting it, officials said.

At least 20 are believed to have returned to Australia and pose a national security risk, the head of the country's spy agency said when raising the threat level last week.

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Apple's New iOS 8 Health Feature Put On Hold

One of the stand-out features of Apple's latest operating system has not been included on launch.

The super-hyped HealthKit API on iOS 8.0 has been pulled due to a bug in the technology.

iOS 8 was made available to download on Wednesday and HealthKit supposed to be included to allow apps to collect and share information about a person's exercise and physical condition.

It emerged there was a problem when app developers started to complain their products were being withheld from the App Store.

Apple confirmed to a number of news sites, including TheRegister.co.uk, that it had pulled HealthKit apps from its store as the Application Program Interface (API) was not ready.

The iPhone 6 is due to go on sale on Friday

TheRegister reported Brian Mueller, the developer of a fitness app called Carrot, revealed the release delay on Twitter.

He said: "Sounds like HealthKit won't be working at all this week. And there's no ETA for when a bug fix will go live."

Blogger Federico Viticci said he was was told about the problem by programmers who had asked to remain anonymous.

He said on Twitter: "Apparently, Apple found a HealthKit issue on their end and have temporarily removed all HealthKit compatible apps. No ETA on fixes."

The addition is said to be crucial to the functioning of Apple's new watch

HealthKit's development follows an explosion in applications on the App Store to help people keep in trim and monitor their health.

It is thought to be critical to the launch of the forthcoming Apple Watch, which has in-built sensors to monitor vital signs.

The problem comes a day ahead of the release of the new iPhone 6, which goes on sale on Friday.

The Financial Times later reported Apple had issued a statement which said: "We discovered a bug that prevents us from making HealthKit apps available on iOS 8 today.

"We're working quickly to have the bug fixed in a software update and have HealthKit apps available by the end of the month."

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New IS Video Shows Another British Hostage

British Muslims Plea For 'Mercy' For UK Hostage

Updated: 8:39am UK, Thursday 18 September 2014

British Muslim leaders have united to call for the Islamic State extremist group to release the UK hostage Alan Henning.

They have urged the militants to show mercy to the 47-year-old from Salford, and to let him go unharmed.

The father of two travelled to Syria with charity workers in December, but was kidnapped and now faces beheading at the hands of the terrorist dubbed Jihadi John.

The intervention came as a friend of Mr Henning, who was on the same aid convoy, made a direct appeal to IS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, to show "compassion and mercy".

In the video the man describes travelling "several times" to Syria with Mr Henning.

"On all occasions, we - your Muslim brothers - brought him with us under our care and protection," he says.

"Alan was so moved by the suffering of the Syrian people, in particular the children, that he devoted all his free time in raising money and awareness about their suffering.

"He washed cars to raise money, he collected aid, he talked to everybody he met about crimes committed against the Muslims in Syria."

More than 100 Muslim leaders have signed a statement to IS pleading for Mr Henning's release, and branding them "monsters" for the brutal murder of fellow hostage David Haines.

In a letter published in the Independent newspaper, they said: "We, the undersigned British Muslim Imams, organisations and individuals, wish to express our horror and revulsion at the senseless murder of David Haines and the threat to the life of our fellow British citizen, Alan Henning."

They said those holding Mr Henning hostage must accept that what they are doing is against the Koran and "constitutes the worst condemnable sin".

The Muslim Council of Britain was among the signatories.

Dr Shuja Shafi, the council's Secretary General, said: "Such a man should be celebrated, not incarcerated. Taking such people hostage, and murdering them, are against the principles laid out in the Qur'an and our Prophetic traditions."

It comes as new footage shows Mr Henning en route to Syria, saying it is "all worthwhile" to make sure aid gets to where it is needed.

Mr Henning, a taxi driver, was kidnapped within 30 minutes of crossing from Turkey into Syria.

He had volunteered to drive an ambulance full of medical aid as part of a community-funded charity trip organised by volunteers from Bolton and the UK Arab Society.

It is believed he was abducted by IS in Al Dana, a town 38km (24 miles) from Aleppo.

Reports suggest he was separated from Muslim counterparts by masked men.

Friends who travelled with him said they made desperate attempt to get him freed before returning to the UK.

The man in the video appeal describes Mr Henning's commitment to raise as much money as he could for refugees of Syria's civil war.

The YouTube appeal was partly co-ordinated by Cage - a group campaigning against the so-called "war on terror".

Emotionally overwhelmed at the end of the video, the man urges IS leader al Baghdadi to "please, please, please, release Alan."

"He has no affiliation with any political agenda," he says.

"Show him compassion and mercy as he showed compassion and mercy to Muslims of Syria."

Mr Henning appeared at the end of the video released on Saturday in which Mr Haines was beheaded by IS - with a threat that he would be next.

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