5 technologies that will disrupt climate change

Disruption is by now a commonplace occurrence in the technology world.  It means when a new technology or business practice comes around and changes things in a revolutionary, rather than evolutionary way.   For businesses, to be disrupted may mean that they can no longer compete in the same way with new contenders that are using this disruption.  We haven't had any major disruptions in the fight against climate change.  Yes, we are making great strides, but for the most part our wins have been incremental - solar panels getting a little more efficient every year, wind turbines deployed more widely - those kinds of changes.

What would climate change disruption look like?

In this article, we're exploring five technologies that are on the verge of disruption, that may remake the landscape of energy consumption and provide a radical, revolutionary change in our battle with climate change.  Hold on to your hat, here we go.

Google's prototype self-driving electric car (credit: Google)

Autonomous electric vehicles

Transport makes up to 15% of manmade CO2 emissions, and it's not just personal cars we're talking about, freight trucks and buses are up to 18% of vehicle pollution.  Although we've seen incremental changes in the way we consume energy when we drive, thanks to electric cars like the Tesla, a radical disruption in the transport space would look very different.  The first step in that direction, may be a fleet of small electric autonomous cars like the ones unveiled by Google.  The diminutive autos are the opposite of high-performance, a small battery-powered electric motor pushes the cars to a top speed of 40 kilometers an hour.  If you are a car-enthusiast and you're shaking your head at this, keep in mind that there is also no steering-wheel.  These cars are all about getting from point A to point B, without all of the car culture trappings that you would expect.  In fact - it's unlikely that anyone would own these cars, instead - they would be called up, on demand through your smart phone whenever you need a ride.

On the freight side, you may have seen Amazon's recent move into "drone delivery vehicles".    Deliveries to the home may soon be accomplished by flying or driving autonomous vehicles bringing you exactly what you need when you want it.  Roads and increasingly the airspace over our heads may be seen more as a circulatory system moving people and goods around in a coordinated, automated fashion.  In this scenario, there's not much room for the car enthusiast.  Motor fans may find that they only get to practice their pastime on closed tracks, much in the same way that horse riders are not allowed to gallop down freeways.

Cree 200 lumen per watt white LED technology (Credit: Cree)

LEDs taking over how we light the world

LED lights have been around since the 1960s but it's only in the last 10 years that white LEDs have started to take over from traditional incandescent and fluorescent type bulbs.  This takeover has been accelerated by government programmes encouraging, and sometimes forcing consumers to make the switch.  The reason are stark.  Typical usage of a 6 - 8 watt retrofit bulb is only US $1.10 per year, where a corresponding 60 watt incandescent bulb would be  US $10.95 per year.  That's a 10X savings.
Lighting makes up 6.5% of the world's energy consumption, The Economist warns us that in the past when we've switched lighting technologies (say from gas lights to bulbs) all that has happened is that we've used more lighting and the world has gotten brighter - but  to make a real impact on energy consumption and climate change, we'll need to make sure that our switch to LED corresponds with real conservation as well.  Smart lights are the way we'll make this happen.  We need lighting that knows when humans are in the room and turn on and off as required.  Have a look at this great Kickstarter video for a project that does just that.

A simple diagram showing how BECCS works (credit: Global status of BECCS projects 2010)

Bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)

BECCS is a technology that produces negative emissions.  That means that it actually removes CO2 from the atmosphere while making energy instead of creating pollution.  The way it works is that trees and crops are grown for use in generating power.  These crops, through their growth, remove CO2 from the atmosphere and incorporate the carbon into plant biomass.  The harvested plants are then used for fuel.  If the plants are just combusted, that results in a "net 0" CO2 level, the CO2 captured in the plants would leave the generator as exhaust -- but if carbon capture technologies are used to trap the CO2 on combustion, that's when the negative emissions are achieved.  As a final step, the CO2 is then stored geologically, deep in the earth's crust.

BECCS has been called out (PDF link) by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as a "key technology" to help the world meet it's climate change targets.  Decarboni.se has a lot of information on bio-energy with CCS which you can find here.  (full disclosure: Decarboni.se is backed by the Global CCS Institute)

The largest solar plant in the world, Agua Caliente Solar Project (Credit: First Solar)

Near exponential growth in PV panels

When discussing disruption in technological innovation, it's often paired in the same breath with Moore's Law.  This is the famous axiom coined by Gordon Moore, the founder of semi-conductor company Intel.  It states that the number of transistors on a computer chip doubles approximately every 24 months.  This has held true since he made the statement in 1965 until the present.  Does the same rule hold for solar PV panels?  At first glance they would seem to be a comparable technology; wafers of silicon made in high-tech factories to exacting specifications.  Moore's law however,  is all about "die shrinks" -  that means fitting the same amount of transistors on an ever smaller wafer of silicon.  Photovoltaic cells however, are limited in how much they can shrink - they need to be big enough to receive the maximum amount of sunlight possible on their surface area.  Instead of Moore's Law,  solar panels are said to be governed by Swanson's Law - really just an observation made by Richard Swanson, CEO of PV manufacturer SunPower.  Swanson's Law states that PV prices drop 20% for every doubling of manufacturing capacity.  Although it's not exponential growth like Moore's Law, it does mean that the price per watt of solar energy gets cheaper as economies of scale kick in.

Source: The Economist
What does this mean for the future?  The jury's still out on whether Swanson's Law will have the longevity of Moore's Law.  A great deal of the capacity for PV comes from Chinese companies subsidised by the government to produce panels at a very cheap price.  It's unclear whether this practice will be sustainable for the long term.  The future is also hazy around technological improvements that will allow panels to produce more watts for less money.  Some look to concentrated solar power paired with PV panels as a way to amplify the energy potential of the sun and keep Swanson's Law going.  For a more in depth look at Swanson's Law and solar panels I have a blog post that focuses on it here.

One person who is very optimistic about the disruptive power of solar panels to serve all of of our energy needs is Ray Kurzweil.  He's an inventor, futurist and now heads up Google's artificial intelligence lab.  Watch this short video if you'd like to hear a bright, sunny view on where solar energy could be heading:

 

Nuclear fusion: an energy revolution waiting to happen

Nuclear fusion seems like a clean energy solution that is perpetually 20 years away.  Breathless articles tell us that it's very near and yet --  we're definitely not there yet.    In our recent interview with Focus Fusion board member Dennis Peterson, he compared the work being done on a fusion energy to a computer:

If commercial fusion does arrive in the next few decades, it has the potential to radically disrupt how we use energy.  Here's Dennis again:

The most ardent supporters of fusion even say that it could usher in a post-scarcity economy - that is,  a society where the system of trade for energy, goods and services is no longer based on the scarcity of those items.  Is this the sci-fi fever dream of a scientific fringe? - only time will tell, but the science behind fusion power is real, and getting closer every year.
I hope you enjoyed this look at 5 technologies with the power to disrupt climate change - this is certainly not an exhaustive list and I'd love to hear your ideas on disruptive clean energy tech.  Drop us a line in the comments section  below or leave a comment on our Facebook page.

 

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FBI says it created fake story to catch bomb suspect

The FBI has confirmed it faked an Associated Press story to catch a bomb threat suspect in 2007.

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NEW DELHI/SEATTLE: The FBI has confirmed it faked a story to catch a bomb threat suspect in 2007.

According to Seattle Times, the FBI created a bogus webpage of the Washington-based newspaper and planted an AP story on it to nab a juvenile suspect.

The FBI, however, denied the report, saying that it did not spoof a Seattle Times webpage as part of the investigation.

Seattle FBI spokeswoman Ayn Dietrich said the FBI tricked the 15-year-old suspect into revealing the location and internet address of his computer by sending a link for the fake AP article to a social media account associated with the threats.

Documents obtained by the Electronic Freedom Foundation suggested the bogus story was posted on a fake Seattle Times site, but Dietrich says that's wrong. Instead, she says an undercover agent sent the teen a hyperlink that simply said "article" and the Seattle Times was not referenced.

Both news organizations objected to the FBI's actions.

"We are outraged that the FBI, with the apparent assistance of the US attorney's office, misappropriated the name of the Seattle Times to secretly install spyware on the computer of a crime suspect," said Seattle Times editor Kathy Best.

Police in suburban Lacey, near Olympia, had sought FBI's help when repeated bomb threats prompted a week of evacuations at Timberline High School in June 2007.

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Heads roll in Russia over crash that killed Total CEO

 The 63-year-old De Margerie was killed along with three crew members when the plane hit the snowplough as it was taking off shortly before midnight and burst into flames.

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MOSCOW: Heads rolled in Russia on Thursday over the plane crash that killed the CEO of French oil giant Total, with top airport managers resigning and four more staff detained.

The driver of the snowplough that collided with Total boss Christophe de Margerie's plane as it was taking off from a Moscow airport late on Monday was also ordered to be held behind bars for two months.

The new staff detained include a trainee air traffic controller who reportedly directed the doomed plane, her supervisor, the heads of the air traffic controllers at Vnukovo airport and runway cleaners.

"The investigation suggests that these people did not respect the norms of flight security and ground operations, which led to the tragedy," the powerful Investigative Committee in charge of the probe said.

Vnukovo airport also said its general director and his deputy had resigned "due to the tragic event" after the management was accused of "criminal negligence" by investigators.

However they have not been detained by investigators. The 63-year-old De Margerie was killed along with three crew members when the plane hit the snowplough as it was taking off shortly before midnight and burst into flames.

He will be buried on Monday in a private funeral in Normandy in northern France, local officials said.

A Moscow court ruled that the 60-year-old snowplough driver, who was held immediately after the crash, be held behind bars for two months after investigators said he was drunk at the wheel.

They said Vladimir Martynenko had a blood alcohol content of 0.6 grams of ethanol per litre of blood, compared to the legal limit of zero for driving in Russia.

Interfax news agency reported that he had admitted drinking coffee with a liqueur.

Martynenko, still wearing his work uniform, did not speak at Thursday's hearing.

But his lawyer Alexander Karabanov said afterwards that Martynenko "does not admit guilt, he admits his involvement".

He told reporters the accident could have been the result of "someone's incorrect instructions".

"It's a tragedy that happened by chance," Karabanov said. Martynenko told investigators in footage of his questioning shown on television this week that he "lost my bearings" and didn't notice he was on the runway.

"The plane was running up to takeoff and I practically couldn't see it because my equipment was on. There weren't even any lights, nothing."

Investigators, who have been joined by French experts, are analysing the jet's black boxes, which record the flight history and cockpit conversations.

A source at the airport had told AFP that a young woman who was hired only in August was overseeing the takeoff of the executive jet.

Investigators named the detained trainee as Svetlana Krivsun. However, media reports quoted an air traffic controller as saying such novices would always be supervised by a more experienced colleague.

In Paris on Wednesday, Total named new bosses to replace De Margerie. The board brought back Thierry Desmarest — who was both chairman and chief executive at Total from 1995 to 2007 — as chairman of the group.

Philippe Pouyanne, who currently heads the refining and chemicals division, was named chief executive.

De Margerie had been chief executive of Total since 2007 and spent his entire 40-year career at the group, which employs 100,000 people and posted revenues of 189.5 billion euros ($240 billion) in 2013.

A descendant of a family of diplomats and business leaders, De Margerie was the grandson of Pierre Taittinger, founder of the eponymous champagne and luxury goods dynasty.

Married with three children and highly regarded within the oil industry, he was known for his jolly nature.

Not one to shy from controversy, De Margerie was an outspoken critic of Western sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis.

Even as relations between the West and Russia deteriorated to the worst since the Cold War, he had criticised the sanctions as a "dead-end".

Vedomosti business daily said in an editorial Thursday that De Margerie was "one of the most active investors of the Russian oil and gas sector" and that his death — caused by "elementary" management failures — was emblematic of Russia's increasingly dire investment cli

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China's ruling party pushes for better judiciary

BEIJING: China's ruling Communist Party says it will take steps to improve judicial independence and put checks on political interference in the courts, as its central committee concludes its annual meeting.

A communique, released Thursday after the conclave ended in Beijing, pledges support for ruling the country in accordance with the Constitution and the law.

The document provides a guiding policy framework for the party-led government in the upcoming year, which will draw up detailed measures to execute the orders.

The central committee says major policies should be subject to legal review, files should be kept to record any involvement by party officials in legal matters, courts should be removed from the jurisdiction of local officials to boost independence and judges should be chosen from legal professionals.

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Obama admits US underestimated threat from IS

President Barack Obama has acknowledged that US intelligence agencies underestimated the threat from Islamic State militants and overestimated the ability and will of Iraq’s army to fight.
The president described the US intelligence assessments in response to a question during a CBS “60 Minutes” interview that was airing tonight. He was asked about how Islamic State fighters had come to control so much territory in Syria and Iraq and whether it was a surprise to him.
He said that during the Iraq war, US military forces with the help of Iraq’s Sunni tribes were able to quash al Qaida fighters, who went “back underground”.
“During the chaos of the Syrian civil war, where essentially you have huge swathes of the country that are completely ungoverned, they were able to reconstitute themselves and take advantage of that chaos,” Mr Obama said.
He noted that his director of national intelligence, James Clapper, has acknowledged that the US “underestimated what had been taking place in Syria.” Mr Obama also said it was “absolutely true” that the US overestimated the ability and will of the Iraqi army.
The Obama administration has cited its intelligence weaknesses before.
At an August news conference, MR Obama said “there is no doubt” that the Islamic State group’s advance “has been more rapid than the intelligence estimates” suggested it would be.
US intelligence agencies, he said, did not have “a full appreciation of the degree to which the Iraqi security forces, when they’re far away from Baghdad, did not have the incentive or the capacity to hold ground against an aggressive adversary”.
At an intelligence conference this month, National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers expressed regret that his agency had not been “a little stronger” in tracking the Islamic State’s shift “from an insurgency to an organization that was now focused on holding ground, territory, the mechanism of governance”.
Mr Obama called Syria ground zero for jihadis around the world, and said military force was necessary to shrink their capacity, cut off financing and eliminate the flow of foreign fighters.
Questioning Mr Obama’s strategy to destroy IS, House Speaker John Boehner said the US may have “no choice” but to send in American troops if the mix of US-led airstrikes and a ground campaign reliant on Iraqi forces, Kurdish fighters and soon-to-be trained Syrian rebels fails to achieve that goal.
Mr Boehner, in an interview broadcast today, did agree with the White House that Mr Obama had the power to order airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, but said he believes Congress should consider a resolution authorising the use of force for this specific mission.
He said he would bring lawmakers back to Washington – they are not set to return until after the November 4 election – if Mr Obama were to seek such a resolution.

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Ferguson police chief apologizes to Michael Brown's family

Police Chief Tom Jackson during a video apology to the community of Ferguson and the family of Michael Brown in this frame grab from a video. (Credit: AP)

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ST. LOUIS - The Missouri police chief whose officer fatally shot an unarmed 18-year-old last month released a video Thursday apologizing to the family and the community, acknowledging that Michael Brown's body remained in the street for too long after he was killed.

The video featuring Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson was released by a public relations agency on the same day Brown's parents were in Washington pressing for a full federal investigation. A state grand jury is considering whether criminal charges are warranted, but a decision isn't expected for several weeks.

Brown was unarmed when he was fatally shot Aug. 9 during a confrontation with Officer Darren Wilson, and his body remained in the street for more than four hours. At the time, police said they needed the time to gather evidence from the street, Can field Drive, which is lined with apartment buildings.

"But it was just too long and I'm truly sorry for that," Jackson, dressed casually in a red polo shirt instead of his police uniform, said on the video. "Please know that the investigating officers meant no disrespect to the Brown family, to the African-American community or the people of Can field (Drive). They were simply trying to do their jobs."

To the Brown family, Jackson said: "I'm truly sorry for the loss of your son."

Brown's parents declined comment when told about Jackson's video during a news conference with civil rights leaders at the National Press Club. Their attorney later said they hadn't heard about the video but would review it.

The shooting of Brown, who was black, by the white police officer sparked racial unrest and numerous protests in Ferguson, including some that turned violent and involved looting. Some residents and civil rights activists have said officers were overly aggressive, noting their use of tear gas and military-style vehicles and gear. The responding officers included Ferguson police and St. Louis County police.

In the video, Jackson also apologized to any peaceful protesters who felt their rights were violated. He also acknowledged that "pain and mistrust" existed between the African-American community and police.

"It is clear that we have much work to do," Jackson said.

The U.S. Department of Justice is looking into possible civil rights violations. On Wednesday, investigators with the agency's Civil Rights Division hosted a meeting in Ferguson to allow residents to express concerns about police. About 300 people attended the meeting, including many who met individually with investigators. Many said afterward that they shared stories of police brutality and harassment.

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US, partners begin air strikes in Syria, Pentagon says

The United States and partner nations launched their first airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Syria, as fighting raged on Monday between the extremist group and Kurdish forces near the border with Turkey, triggering a surge of tens of thousands of refugees.

The Pentagon said a mix of fighter jets, bombers and Tomahawk missiles fired from ships in the region targeted the Islamic State group. Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said that because the military operation is ongoing, no details could be provided yet. He said the decision to strike was made early Monday by the military.

The strikes are part of the expanded military campaign that US President Barack Obama's authorized nearly two weeks ago in order to disrupt and destroy the Islamic State militants. The US has already launched 190 airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq since an aerial campaign began Aug 8.

As the fighting in Syria has moved closer to Turkey, the government is facing increasing pressure to step up efforts to take on the Islamic State extremists.

Turkey is resisting because it fears that arming Kurdish men to fight the group could complicate peace talks with Turkish insurgents within its own borders.

The Islamic State group's offensive against the Syrian city of Kobani, a few miles from the border, has sent 1,30,000 refugees to seek safety in Turkey in the last few days. The conflict in Syria had already led to more than 1 million people flooding over the border in the past 3 years.

But in addition to the refugee crisis, hundreds of Kurds in and around this city near the frontier have clashed with Turkish police, who fired tear gas and water cannons. The Kurds say Turkey is hampering their efforts to let them cross into Syria and help their brethren.


Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said the decision to launch the strike was taken by the military early Monday. (AP photo)

An 18-year-old Turkish citizen in Suruc said he wanted to join the Kurdish fighters in Syria. He identified himself only by his first name of Azam for fear of reprisal from authorities.

"The Islamic State is on the other side of the border and moving freely, slaughtering people, but they are just sitting and watching," he said of the Turkish authorities.

"If I get a chance to get a weapon, I'll go to help our brothers by end of the day," he said. "Kobani is our land, too, and people there are our people."

Syrian Kurdish fighters were crossing back and forth over the border, while other Syrian Kurds were seen selling livestock to raise money for weapons.

Not far away on the border, the black flag of the Islamic State could be seen flying in a captured Syrian village along with the smoke from mortar fire.

Spillover from the Syria poses a problem for Turkey. The only local fighters capable of resisting the Islamic State group are Syrian Kurds aligned with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has fought a three-decade insurgency in southeastern Turkey.

Turkish officials have said PKK militants from Turkey are streaming to Syria to join the fight. The conflict in Syria already is inflaming tensions with Turkish Kurds and could undermine peace talks with the PKK. Turkey's ambivalence about the fight between Kurds and the Islamic State group, which could leave the PKK either drained or emboldened, could further complicate its participation in a US-led coalition against the Islamic State group.

While joining the coalition, Turkey had declined to take part in combat, citing the Turkish hostages held by the Islamic State group in Mosul, Iraq. But even after the 46 Turks and three Iraqis were freed, Turkey has not changed its stance.

READ ALSO — Turkey: 49 hostages have been freed

Turkish government officials have not revealed how they managed to secure the release of the captives. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denied paying a ransom but has been vague on whether there was a prisoner swap.

Erdogan indicated for the first time on Monday that his country may have traded Islamic State group prisoners it held captive in exchange for the Turkish hostages held by the militants.

Asked about it in New York on Monday, Erdogan said "such things may be possible." He said Israel released 1,500 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for one Israeli hostage. "So you see, it's possible," he added.

Speaking at the Council of Foreign Relations in New York, Erdogan tried to sidestep the question.


A supporter of the Kurdistan Workers' Association holds a placards reading 'Stop ISIS' during a demonstration in The Netherlands. (EPA photo)

"This process that took 102 days involved an operation by the national intelligence agency ... it was a historic, very important process," he said.

US secretary of state John Kerry said Washington now expects Turkey to step up in the fight against the militants.

Erdogan has said that Turkey will discuss its participation in the coalition during this month's UN general assembly. The US ally and member of the Nato military alliance has made commitments of only limited help in the fight against the Islamic State group, which has seized large parts of Syria and Iraq and rules by its harsh version of Islamic law.

The US is looking for major participation from nations in the region in the campaign to destroy the Islamic State group. President Barack Obama has pledged that no American troops will be involved in combat missions against the group, and the US expects nations in the region to provide those.

The Islamic State group released a new audio recording online late Sunday in which a spokesman urged Muslims worldwide to kill civilians of those nations that join the fight. A French citizen was kidnapped in Algeria by an al-Qaida splinter group that said it will kill him unless France ends its participation in airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq, officials said.

Army Gen Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, said he remained hopeful that Turkey would participate in the coalition.

"We need Turkey, frankly," he said during a visit to Croatia, because of its military capability, regional influence and political gravitas in the Muslim world.

But Turkey may also have questions for the US, if the support that Washington gives to Kurds in Iraq is extended to the Kurds fighting in Syria. Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters are already starting to get training by Iraq's Western allies in fighting the Islamic State group.

"The US says it will make sure that arms won't go to the PKK, but this isn't possible," said Hasan Koni, a professor of international law at Istanbul's Kultur University. He added that the tensions have brought the peace process to its most difficult phase as Kurds question Turkey's ambivalent stance in their fight in Syria and Iraq.

"The Kurds could say: what kind of a peace is this? We are being strung along," he said.

Turkish authorities may have concerns that Turkey's Kurds, bolstered by Western arms and emboldened by battlefield success, could harden their demands on the government in Ankara.

Beyond the political questions, the conflict is adding to a huge burden for Turkey. On Monday, deputy prime minister Numan Kurtulmus warned that the number of Syrians crossing the border could rise further to "a refugee wave that can be expressed by hundreds of thousands."

"This is not a natural disaster ... What we are faced with is a manmade disaster," Kurtulmus said of the surge of mostly women, children and the elderly that started late Thursday.

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A peaceful, selfless man: Wife of captive Alan Henning begs ISIS to let him go

The wife of British hostage Alan Henning pleaded Saturday with ISIS to release him, describing her husband as a "peaceful, selfless man" who was only in Syria to help people in need.

"I cannot see how it could assist any state's cause to allow the world to see a man like Alan dying," Barbara Henning said, according to a message released by the UK Foreign Office. ISIS refers to itself as "the Islamic State."

Friend: As sister of Islam, spare him

Wife of hostage pleads with ISIS

Alan Henning, a taxi driver from near Manchester, England, was part of a team of volunteers that traveled to Syria in December to deliver food and water to people affected by the Middle Eastern country's devastating civil war.

He was abducted the day after Christmas by masked gunmen, according to other people in the aid convoy.

Henning's family pleads for his life

Appeals for ISIS Hostage

In a videotaped execution of British aid worker David Haines, made public last weekend, ISIS displayed Henning and threatened to kill him next.

No response to messages

The Sunni extremist group, which controls large areas of Iraq and Syria, has already beheaded three Western captives in recent weeks -- Haines, and the American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.

The videos of the executions have pointed to U.S. airstrikes against ISIS forces in Iraq as the motivation. In Haines' case, the militant group described the killing as "a message to the allies of America."

Henning's wife said her husband, a father of two, was only trying to do good in Syria.

"Alan is a peaceful, selfless man who left his family and his job as a taxi driver in the UK to drive in a convoy all the way to Syria with his Muslim colleagues and friends to help those most in need," she said in the statement.

She expressed concern that his captors weren't answering her calls for his release.

"I have sent some really important messages but they have not been responded to," she said.

ISIS, ISIL or the Islamic State?

'Executing this man is not the answer'

ISIS has shown no regard in recent weeks for pleas from the families of its Western hostages.

Days before Foley's killing was made public on August 19, his family sent the extremists a message, asking them to show mercy. But they never heard back.

Remembering aid worker David Haines

Statement from Family of Executed Amer.

Diane Foley: Our country let Jim down

The week before Sotloff's execution became known, his mother released a video pleading with ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi not to kill him.

And news of Haines' death came the same day that his family released a brief message to his captors through the UK Foreign Office.

Henning's wife urged the militants to respond.

"I pray that the people holding Alan respond to my messages and contact me before it is too late," she said. "When they hear this message, I implore the people of the Islamic State to see it in their hearts to release my husband, Alan Henning."

Leading Muslim figures in the United Kingdom have also called for Henning's release in a video posted on YouTube in which they say that killing him isn't permitted by Islamic law.

"Whatever your grievance with American or British foreign policy, executing this man is not the answer," said Shaykh Haitham Al Haddad, a judge on the Shariah Council in London. "We ask you to adhere to the Shariah ruling on this matter and release him immediately and unconditionally."

How many more Western captives?

The only non-Muslim

Henning was making his fourth trip to Syria with an aid convoy when he was abducted.

While part of the convoy stopped at the Turkish border, Henning -- the only non-Muslim in the group -- volunteered to cross into Syria with a 10-person advance party.

In video shot on that day, he explained part of his rationale for answering the call to help. "It's all worthwhile when you see what is needed actually gets where it needs to go," he said, before hugging a colleague.

Henning was kidnapped the next day.

Dr. Shameela Islam-Zulfiqar, a volunteer doctor who stayed behind the main part of the convoy at the Turkish border, said they got a phone call saying Henning had been taken by masked gunmen.

"This was something that we thought was just a temporary measure, with him being a non-Muslim and being visibly English," she told CNN.

The other members of the convoy thought "that they would just question him further and then they would let him go," she said. But amid clashes between ISIS and rival rebel factions in the area, that didn't happen.

'He is not to blame'

Now, Islam-Zulfiqar says she has a message for the people holding Henning.

"As your sister in Islam, I would implore you and beg of you: please spare the life of this innocent man," she said. "He is not part of your struggle. He is not to blame for the actions of Western governments that you fight."

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Imprisoned American wanted to become 'second Snowden'

An American sentenced in North Korea ripped up his visa so he could go to prison and expose human rights violations there, state media said Saturday.

Matthew Todd Miller was convicted of committing "acts hostile" to North Korea and sentenced to six years of hard labor last week.

Saturday's report in the state-run Korean Central News Agency boldly heaped blame on Miller, claiming his acts were a preconceived plan to gain notoriety.

The 24-year-old from Bakersfield, California, arrived in North Korea as a tourist in April.

After his arrival, he tore his visa at Pyongyang's airport and shouted his desire to seek asylum, according to KCNA.

'Rudely behaved'

State media described him as "rudely behaved," saying he was sent to infiltrate prison as part of a United States campaign against North Korea.

"He perpetrated the above-said acts in the hope of becoming a world famous guy and the second Snowden through intentional hooliganism," state media said.

Edward Snowden got asylum from Russia, where he fled last year after leaking classified U.S. government documents.

Photos: Americans detained abroad

N. Korea: American gets 6-year sentence

Once sentenced, Miller hoped to meet Kenneth Bae, another American detained in North Korea.

He planned to secure Bae's release so both can serve as "witnesses" to the human rights violations in the nation, state media said.

"The crime committed by Miller Matthew Todd was prompted by his sinister political aim to deliberately slander the DPRK," it said.

DPRK refers to North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Its government is a communist dictatorship renowned for human rights abuses.

Washington demands release

The U.S. State Department has demanded that North Korea release Miller and Bae, and American Jeffrey Fowle.

Fowle, 56, was arrested in June while traveling as a tourist.

Bae, who was detained in 2012, has been accused of planning to bring down the government through religious activities. He was moved from a hospital to a labor camp.

Miller talks to CNN

Earlier this month, Miller told CNN's Will Ripley that he "prepared to violate the law of DPRK before coming here. And I deliberately committed my crime."

But Miller didn't elaborate on what his "crime" was. He said he wouldn't learn of his charges until he went to trial.

It's unclear whether his statements were made freely or under coercion.

First stop was South Korea

Miller's family lives in Bakersfield, and he is a 2008 graduate of Bakersfield High School, according to CNN affiliate KBAK.

In a July interview, a neighbor told The Associated Press that Miller went to South Korea about four years ago to visit his brother and started teaching English.

He traveled to North Korea this year after arranging a private tour through the U.S.-based company Uri Tours, which takes tourists into North Korea.

Uri Tours has said it doesn't have "any understanding of why" Miller ripped up his visa.

The company offers tours despite U.S. State Department warnings about arbitrary arrest and detention in North Korea.

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Obama Insists U.S. Will Not Get Drawn Into Ground War in Iraq

TAMPA, Fla. — President Obama on Wednesday repeated his vow to destroy Islamist terrorists in Syria and Iraq, but he insisted that the United States would not go it alone and promised a military audience that he would not send them back into direct combat.

“Whether in Iraq or in Syria, these terrorists will learn the same thing that the leaders of Al Qaeda already know: We mean what we say,” Mr. Obama said at MacDill Air Force Base. “We've always known that the end of the war in Afghanistan didn't mean the end of threats or challenges to America.”

But Mr. Obama also hailed the official end of America’s combat mission in Afghanistan at the end of the year and said he was not starting another extensive war in the Middle East. He said the American troops currently in Iraq — they will soon number 1,600 — were not there to fight on the ground.

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“The American forces that have been deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission,” he said. “I will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in Iraq.”

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Mr. Obama was at the base to meet with his top military commanders at United States Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, and his national security team, including Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. A week ago the president told the nation that he was expanding the American military campaign against the extremists of the Islamic State, known as ISIS or ISIL.

Afterward Mr. Obama told servicemembers in a packed gym on the base that the United States had a unique responsibility and capability to lead the world in attacking the extremists, also known as ISIS.

But he vowed that “we are not going to do this alone” and said that more than 40 countries had offered to help the United States in assisting Iraqis and rebels in Syria to fight against the terrorists. He did not give any new information about which countries might provide ground troops in Iraq or Syria, but he said America’s military partners would include a “broad coalition of countries that have a stake in this fight.”

Aides described the president’s visit to the base as part of an effort to convince Americans of the need to confront the extremists in the Middle East. They said Mr. Obama was in a period of intensive focus on national security, which began with the speech announcing broader military action last Wednesday and will continue next week in New York when Mr. Obama attends the annual meeting of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly.

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President Obama met with his top military commanders at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. CreditDoug Mills/The New York Times

Mr. Obama’s comments at the base came just a day after Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the president’s top military adviser, generated headlines when he said that he might eventually recommend deploying ground troops in Syria if airstrikes were not sufficient to defeat the Islamic State extremists.

Aides later said that despite General Dempsey’s comments to a committee on Capitol Hill, Mr. Obama would not deploy combat forces on the ground in Iraq or Syria. They said Mr. Dempsey was merely describing contingency plans that the military is responsible for developing as operations in the region move forward.

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The president’s appearance at the military base is also aimed at lawmakers in Washington, who will soon vote on whether to authorize the president’s request for funding to provide arms to the Free Syrian Army, a group of rebels that the United States government wants to build up as a counter to the Sunni extremists in that country.

Administration officials are strongly lobbying lawmakers to back the proposal, in part hoping that it will send a signal of American resolve. But the idea is meeting resistance from some Republicans, who say it is not aggressive enough, and from some Democrats, who say they are nervous about the danger of being dragged into an extended conflict by providing weapons to a group whose loyalties are uncertain.

Senior administration officials praised Republican leaders on Capitol Hill for working in a collaborative way with the White House to address those concerns. One official said he was pleasantly surprised by the bipartisan effort to reach an agreement on how to confront the extremists in Syria and Iraq, given the conflict and gridlock between the House and the president in recent years.

Mr. Obama also faces new evidence that the public is skeptical of the president’s handling of the terror threat and is wary of being dragged into another lengthy, costly military conflict in the Middle East.

In a New York Times/CBS News poll released on Wednesday, Americans said Republicans were more likely to do a better job of dealing with terrorism. Just 34 percent said they approved of the job Mr. Obama was doing on foreign policy, a lower approval rating on that issue than George W. Bush had in September 2006, as anger about the Iraq war swelled. Mr. Bush’s approval rating for foreign policy eventually sank to 25 percent.

Mr. Obama’s advisers dismiss such poll results, saying there is little reason to expect people to be positive about a president’s foreign policy when they are bombarded daily with gruesome news like the beheading of Americans held in Syria by Islamic extremists.

White House officials point to polls that suggest a majority of Americans support the president’s approach in the Middle East, including his decision to rule out sending ground troops into combat.

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US does not rule out sending ground troops to Iraq

Washington: Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday that US ground troops could be called into battle against the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria if circumstances require.
So far, US President Barack Obama has deployed about 1,600 military advisers to Iraq, but has stressed that "boots are not on the ground" in a combat role.
However, Dempsey said Obama has ordered him to come back on a "case-by-case basis" if the use of ground forces need to be reconsidered.
"My view at this point is that this coalition is the appropriate way forward. I believe that will prove true. But if it fails to be true, and if there are threats to the US then I, of course, would go back to the president and make a recommendation that may include the use of US military ground forces," Dempsey said during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Dempsey said one circumstance that could require the use of ground troops would be if Iraqi or Kurdish forces were poised to retake Mosul, which IS forces captured in Ju"It could very well be part of that particular mission to provide close combat advising or accompanying for that mission," Dempsey added.
The general's remarks opened the door to increased US military involvement in Iraq at a time when liberals in Congress are increasingly anxious about President Obama's request to train rebel forces in Syria.
Dempsey emphasised that military actions would be "part of a whole of government effort that works to disrupt IS financing, interdict the movement of foreign fighters across borders, and undermine the IS message."
"Within a coalition of capable, willing regional and international partners, I believe we can destroy IS in Iraq, restore the Iraqi-Syrian border, and disrupt IS in Syria," he said.

"ISIL will ultimately be defeated when their cloak of religious legitimacy is stripped away and the populations on which they have imposed themselves reject them.

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Scottish minister insists of using pound even if gets independence

Edinburgh: Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond Tuesday insisted that an independent Scotland could not be prevented from using the pound.
In an interview with Sky TV news, Salmond reiterated his desire to hold on to sterling, saying that the words about "being able to be vetoed from using the pound" actually is not true and no one can stop Scotland from using the pound.
He noted that it is sensible to hold on to sterling, adding that England is Scotland's biggest trading partner and Scotland is England's second-biggest trading partner after the US.
"There will be a common sense agreement for a common currency," Salmond said.
On Tuesday, British Prime Minister David Cameron, leader of the Conservative, Labor Party Leader Ed. Miliband and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democratic Pary, published a joint vow on the Scottish Daily Record to offer more powers for Scotland starting Sep 19, if there is a "No vote" in Thursday's Scottish independence referendum.
"People want to change. A no vote will deliver faster, safer and better change than separation," concluded the vow.
The Yes campaign said that voters would not be fooled into voting to stay in Britain by the promise of greater powers and questioned why they had not been on offer before.
Official figures showed that about 97 percent of those eligible to vote in Scotland signed up to vote in referendum as independence poll is set to be the biggest poll in Scotland's history, with more people registered to vote than ever before.

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Malta boat sinking 'leaves 500 dead

Photo courtesy-- BBC

DHAKA: About 500 migrants are feared dead after their ship was rammed by another boat near Malta last week, a migration body said.

Two Palestinian survivors told the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that the boat had been intentionally sunk by traffickers, reports BBC.

They said boat had left Damietta in Egypt earlier in early September.

News of the sinking near Malta emerged as another vessel carrying 250 people sank off the coast of Libya.

Over 200 people are feared to have drowned in that incident.

Thousands of migrants have drowned in recent years as they attempt to reach Europe from North Africa and the Middle East.

Many do so in unsafe and overcrowded vessels.

IOM spokeswoman Christian Berthiaume said that the two survivors were rescued on Thursday; the day after their boat sank.

They said traffickers rammed the boat after an argument on board. The IOM said there were nine known survivors in total.

The boat had been carrying Syrians, Palestinians, Egyptians and Sudanese, they said. The passengers included women and children.

The passengers were reportedly told to move to a smaller, less safe boat.

When they refused, the traffickers sank the larger vessel, the eyewitnesses said.

The Maltese authorities have not yet commented on the incident.

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