- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
James Foley's mother, brother testify at trial of IS 'Beatle'
The mother of slain American journalist James Foley said Monday at the trial of one of his alleged Islamic State captors that she initially hoped reports her son had been executed were "some cruel joke."
"I didn't want to believe it," Diane Foley testified at the trial of El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, who is charged with the murders of James Foley and three other Americans in Syria.
"It just seemed too horrific," Foley said. "I was hoping it was just some cruel joke."
Foley said it sank in later that day when US president Barack Obama went on television to confirm that James had indeed been executed by his IS captors.
Elsheikh, a former British national, is accused of involvement in the murders of Foley, Steven Sotloff, who was also a journalist, and aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.
Diane Foley, who worked tirelessly to try to obtain her son's release, said James, a seasoned combat reporter, left for Syria in October 2012 and promised to be back for Christmas.
The family began to worry when he did not call in November on Thanksgiving.
"Jim always called us on the holidays," she said. "There was a deafening silence when we did not hear from him."
She said the family was informed by a colleague of James that he had been kidnapped.
"Those first nine months, we didn't know if Jim was alive or not," she said.
The first tangible proof that James was alive came when his captors provided emailed answers to three questions that only he would know.
- 'Ridiculous' demands -
Michael Foley, 46, James's younger brother, also testified on Monday and told the court the kidnappers never engaged in any serious negotiations.
At one point, he said, they asked the Foleys to "pressure the government to release Muslim prisoners."
They then asked for a ransom of 100 million Euros.
"This was as ridiculous as the previous one," he said. "There was no ability to secure either of those demands."
There were no communications from the kidnappers from December 2013 to August 2014, when the Foleys received a threatening email.
It warned that James would be executed in retaliation for a US bombing campaign against the Islamic State.
He was killed several days later in a gruesome video that was released on the internet.
Michael Foley said he was also informed of his brother's death in a call from a journalist seeking reaction.
He said he went online and watched the video of his brother in an orange jumpsuit and the knife-wielding IS executioner known as "Jihadi John."
"I watched it once or twice," he said. "I haven't seen it since but it's burned into my brain."
Elsheikh was allegedly a member of the notorious IS kidnap-and-murder cell known to their captives as the "Beatles" because of their British accents.
The group abducted at least 27 people in Syria between 2012 and 2015, including a number of European journalists who were released after ransoms were paid.
Videos of the brutal executions of Foley, Sotloff and Kassig were released by IS for propaganda purposes. Mueller was reportedly handed over to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who allegedly raped her repeatedly before killing her.
Elsheikh and another former British national, Alexanda Amon Kotey, were captured in January 2018 by a Kurdish militia in Syria while attempting to flee to Turkey.
They were turned over to US forces in Iraq and flown to Virginia in October 2020 to face charges of hostage-taking, conspiracy to murder US citizens and supporting a foreign terrorist organization.
Kotey pleaded guilty in September 2021 and is facing life in prison. Under his plea agreement, Kotey will serve 15 years in jail in the United States and then be extradited to Britain to face further charges.
"Beatles" executioner Mohamed Emwazi was killed by a US drone in Syria in November 2015, while the fourth member of the cell, Aine Davis, is imprisoned in Turkey after being convicted of terrorism.
Elsheikh has denied the charges, and his lawyers claim his arrest is a case of mistaken identity. He faces life in prison if convicted.
R.J.Fidalgo--PC