Anguish as Islamic State hostage swap hopes fade

The agony of the families of a captured journalist and fighter pilot is continuing after a sunset deadline for a possible prisoner swap allegedly set by their Islamic State (IS) kidnappers passed with no clue whether they are still alive.

Japan had no new progress to report after a late night that ended with the Jordanian government saying it would release an al-Qaida prisoner from death row only with proof the airman was alive.