Ukraine: Barricades Burn As Concessions Fail

Sporadic clashes between police and protesters have spread across Ukraine despite President Viktor Yanukovych announcing concessions to demonstrators to try to restore calm to the country.

Mr Yanukovych offered to reshuffle his government and to grant an amnesty to dozens of activists arrested during weeks of rioting that has left four protesters dead and dozens of police injured.

But within hours of his offer, the sky in Kiev was filled with black smoke as protesters set fire to barricades built with bags of ice, car tyres and furniture as opposition leader and former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko said only Mr Yanukovych's resignation would mollify the protests.

President Viktor Yanukovych and opposition leader Vitali Klitschko

Protesters wearing ski masks and armed with sticks hurled firebombs, rocks and fireworks at riot police while officers retaliated with tear gas and baton charges in a repeat of violent scenes earlier in the week that subsided after Mr Yanukovych began talks aimed at a truce.

"We will force the authorities to respect us," 27-year-old protester Artur Kapelan said. "Not they, but we will dictate the conditions of a truce."

The rallies in Kiev began in November last year after Mr Yanukovych scrapped a treaty with the European Union in favour of a bailout loan from Russia, following lobbying by Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Political activists began by calling for stronger unification with Europe rather than a new alliance with Russia but the protests have since evolved to call for Mr Yanukovych's resignation and the scrapping of harsh anti-protest legislation.

The fighting stopped earlier in the week after opposition and religious leaders began talking with Mr Yanukovych to find a political solution to the unrest.

The protest map tweeted by Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt

The president had offered to meet some of their demands as thousands of protesters laid siege to government buildings in several cities in the country.

But Mr Klitschko declared the protests would continue until Mr Yanukovuch offers to resign.

Reporting from Kiev, Sky's Katie Stallard said the protesters intend to hold their ground.

"The protesters insist the police fired first, they say that means this truce is off and they're returning fire with whatever they can find.

"They're sending fireworks up to the police lines and throwing Molotov cocktails towards them. The police lines are 40 metres in front of them, (the protesters) are up on top of burnt-out buses and waving the national flag.

"All the time tyres are being taken through to put on these flames. They're trying to build up as much smoke as they can to obscure their view.

"Behind them there are hundreds more here cheering them on behind the barricades, beating on whatever they can find. They're shouting 'glory to Ukraine' and they're determined to hold their ground."

Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt suggested Mr Yanukovych was losing control over his country. He posted a map of Ukraine on Twitter showing which regions had succumbed to protests.

"If Kiev regime tries a military solution to this situation, it will be very bloody and it will fail," he tweeted.

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Syria Peace Talks Get Under Way in Geneva

The two sides in Syria's bloody civil war have met for the first time at peace talks in Geneva.

The negotiations in have been dogged by delays with both factions blaming each other for a lack of progress.

Syria's Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad has told Sky News he will propose the best way for the country to move forward is to hold fresh elections.

Both sides, sat at a U-shaped table, communicated through the international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi, rather than speaking directly to each other.

The talks are being overseen by the special envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi

The talks are seen by many diplomats as the best hope for an eventual end to Syria's three-year conflict, which has left at least 130,000 people dead.

Sky's Sam Kiley said: "It's going to be a long, slow process."

Further talks are planned with humanitarian and 'transition' issues to be discussed.

Opposition spokesman Monzer Akbik said the regime had had to listen to them and the 'voice' of the Syrian people.

"The Syrian people want transition from dictatorship to democracy," he said.

He also revealed there had been no handshake.

Both sides shelved the major stumbling block regarding the future of President Bashar al Assad, to allow the talks to proceed.

They had looked to be in doubt on Friday after the Syrian government delegation threatened to leave the convention if "serious" discussions did not start within 24 hours.

The ultimatum followed the refusal by the country's opposition to hold face-to-face talks with the Assad regime, after it refused to concede to the formation of a transitional government.

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Bomb Blast Near Cairo Police Academy

Egypt Bombings Bear The Mark Of Al Qaeda

Updated: 8:35pm UK, Friday 24 January 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

Not unprecedented, not unpredicted, the Cairo bombings blamed on radical Islamist groups do have a new distinctive signature - al Qaeda.

The global Jihadi movement has specialised for years in what the military call "complex attacks" - the assault of several targets in close chronological order.

The Egyptian capital was rocked by three explosions in one morning.

They were mostly targeting the organs of the state but, by hitting a metro station, they also signalled to the Arab world's most populous state that violence is going to continue to be a way of life.

Ironically, the terror attacks suit the military-dominated government of Egypt as much as it furthers the agenda of the violent groups who want to bring it to its knees.

The massive car bomb outside the state security building in Cairo, which left a gaping hole in the street and at least four dead, was easily predicted.

It flows directly from the massacre of supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi during July and August last year as they protested against the military coup that deposed him.

The former president's Muslim Brotherhood has foresworn the use of violence, and continues to insist that this is its position.

But the scale of the killing of Egyptian citizens by their own military last year inevitably led to a violent backlash.

This started in the Sinai where local tribes have been infiltrated by al Qaeda agitators, and further radicalised through violent Islamist groups from neighbouring Gaza, a Palestinian territory.

It has been inflamed by the banning of the Brotherhood late last year and the arrest of many of its leaders who have, therefore, been denied a peaceful platform.

Poor, disenfranchised, youth across the Middle East have been easy prey for the radicalising messages of al Qaeda-style groups who offer a simple means - violence - to a simple solution to their many woes - the establishment of an Islamic caliphate.

By launching attacks on the capital, the terrorists have played into the narrative of the military - that ridding the country of the Brotherhood is part of a necessary fight against terrorism.

The bombs are likely to signal greater attacks on personal freedoms by the government which have already resulted in the rounding up of non-Islamic pro-democracy activists and even the extended detention of foreign journalists.

The military calculation, which has the support of many Egyptians, is that it can crack down on radical Islamic groups so hard that it can crush them - much as it did for decades before the revolution which ended military rule in January three years ago.

The difference today is that al Qaeda-style violence is a global phenomenon which is tearing into the Middle East in Iraq, Syria, the Lebanon, and parts of the Palestinian territories.

It is ultimately self-sustaining, but it is fuelled by oppression.

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Thirty Feared Dead After Old People's Home Fire

Thirty residents of an old people's home in Quebec are missing after fire swept through the building killing five people and injuring 20 more.

Firefighters called to the blaze early on Thursday morning took five hours to extinguish the flames in freezing temperatures of - 22C which turned the water from their hose pipes into sheets of ice.

Canada's prime minister said the death toll would likely rise

Some of the residents were suffering from Alzheimer's disease and were wheelchair users according to acting Mayor Ginette Caron.

Many of those unaccounted for were confined to wheelchairs

It is estimated the number of dead could reach 30 although some residents could have been visiting friends or family when the fire started.

Most residents were older than 75 and 37 of them were older than 85

Police have been carefully sifting through what is left of the three-storey building in L'Isle-Verte, which lies some 140 miles (230km) northeast of Quebec City, to preserve any victims.

It was reported that a document filed by the residents suggested the building only had a partial sprinkler system.

The fire broke out in -20C temperatures

Quebec police spokesman Guy Lapointe, said: "The biggest issue for us now is the difficulty at the scene given the fact that a lot of water was used to put out the flames, given the fact that this water is frozen, (and) that we're talking about a three storey building that has collapsed.

"It's very important to go very delicately because we want to make sure to preserve potential victims that might have been inside the blaze."

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Ukraine: 'Very High' Chance Of Ending Violence

One of Ukraine's main opposition leaders has said there is a "very high" chance of finding a way to end the violence and political unrest in the country.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk, leader of the Fatherland party, made the comment after four hours of talks with President Viktor Yanukovych in Kiev.

Former boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, leader of the Punch party, and nationalist leader Oleg Tyagnybok were also at the discussions.

Riot police and protesters in the Ukrainian capital have been locked in a tense standoff following days of street battles which protesters say have left five people dead.

"We had the task of halting the bloodshed. The chance (of this) is very high," said Mr Yatsenyuk as he emerged with the other two leaders after the talks.

President Yanukovych has also called an emergency parliamentary session - likely to be held on Tuesday - which will discuss the protesters' demands, which include the government's resignation and the scrapping of a new anti-protest law.

Street battles have raged for days

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov earlier accused opponents of attempting to stage a coup and dismissed demands for a snap election as "unrealistic".

"A genuine attempt at a coup d'etat is being carried out," he said, while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Opposition leaders had urged "calm" ahead of Thursday evening's talks, but warned of fresh clashes if early elections were not called.

Earlier in the day, Mr Yatsenyuk told a crowd of around 40,000 people in Kiev's Independence Square that he was ready to die for the cause.

"If he does not go down that path then we will go forwards together and if it means a bullet to the head, then it is a bullet to the head," he said.

"Viktor Yanukovych, you have 24 hours. Take a decision. I have taken my decision."

Mr Klitschko added: "Early elections will change the situation without bloodshed and we will do everything to achieve that."

Opposition leaders address the protesters

Activists claim that of the protesters killed in recent days, four were shot and one died in a fall.

One of the dead was named locally as Serhiy Nihoyna.

Prime Minister Azarov has said police are not carrying live ammunition and that opposition leaders should be held responsible for the deaths.

Police and protesters have been turning an area at the heart of the city into a virtual war zone with demonstrators setting fire to barricades, hurling stones and Molotov cocktails, and police using tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets.

Sky's Katie Stallard, in Kiev, said: "Protesters also burned tyres, mattresses, whatever they could find to keep going, and reinforcing barricades too.

"They have made homemade shields out of planks of wood and are rehearsing their tactical formations - how they plan to stand together and how they plan to protect themselves."

Image said to show one of the dead, Serhiy Nihoyna (Pic: Serhiy Proskurnia)

The Interior Ministry said 73 protesters had been arrested and 53 of them were being investigated for "mass riots". It is a charge that was recently introduced and carries a jail sentence of up to eight years.

The US State Department has threatened to impose sanctions against the Ukraine in response to the continued use of violence against protesters.

The rioting intensified when some 200,000 took to the streets at the weekend in a show of anger over the new anti-protest laws rushed through by Mr Yanukovych.

The laws allow for jail terms of up to five years for those who blockade public buildings. They also ban protesters from wearing masks or helmets.

Discontent in Ukraine began last year when Mr Yanukovych refused to sign up to closer ties with the European Union in favour of a new accord with Russia.

Meanwhile, Russia said it would not intervene in the crisis, according to President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

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Three Bomb Blasts Kill At Least Five In Cairo

Three bombings just hours apart in Egypt's capital have killed at least five people and wounded dozens.

The bombings came on the eve of the anniversary of the start of the 2011 uprising that toppled Egypt's ruler Hosni Mubarak.

A suicide car bomber rammed a vehicle into the fence surrounding Cairo's police headquarters, killing four people and badly damaged a nearby Museum of Islamic Art.

Policeman Mahmud Mushref, his head bandaged, said: "The car crashed into the fence, and the explosion happened." 

Several floors of the high-rise building were wrecked, with air conditioning units dangling from broken windows. The pavement outside was covered with piles of shattered glass, pieces of bricks and rocks. 

The explosions happened in the Egyptian capital

The front of the nearby museum was also badly damaged.

State television quoted witnesses as saying gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on buildings and guards after the explosion.

Interior ministry spokesman Hany Abdel Latif said: "Casualties were relatively small given the size of the blast."

Friday is the Muslim day of prayer and rest and so relatively few people were on the streets.

The police headquarters was hit by a car bomb

The suicide attack was followed by two more, smaller explosions - one at a metro station which killed one person, and another at a police station near the pyramids.

Sky's Tom Rayner said the explosion by the pyramids was possibly caused by a grenade.

Militants have escalated attacks since the military overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July.

The president's office vowed to "avenge our martyrs" following the bombings.

A statement read: "Whoever planned, participated, financed, or incited (the attack) will be punished with the worst form of punishment."

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Gang Rape Ordered By Indian Village Elders

By Neville Lazarus, Sky News India Producer

A woman in India has been allegedly gang-raped by 13 men on the order of village elders.

The 20-year-old was reportedly attacked by the men in Subalpur village in West Bengal's Birbhum district.

She told the police she was gang-raped through the night so many times that she lost count.

"People from the village, men my father's age, and those who I knew as neighbours, as uncles and brothers raped me," she said.

She was accused of breaking tribal rules by having an affair with a man from a different tribe.

The pair were found by the villagers who set up a kangaroo court and levied a fine of 50,000 Indian rupees (£500) on the couple.

The girl's family could not afford to pay the crime and as punishment ordered the gang rape.

The following day the family sneaked out of the village and reported the matter to the police.

The woman was accused of an affair with a man from another tribe

Birbhum's police superintendent PC Sudhakar said: "Our preliminary investigation has revealed that the villagers held a meeting and the morol  (village headman) ordered that the girl be gang-raped.

"Family members took her to the block hospital in Labhpur and after preliminary treatment, the girl went to the police station with her mother and lodged the complaint."

All of the accused, including the village head man who allegedly ordered and led the assault, have been arrested.

The village is the home district of the Indian President Pranab Mukherjee.

A few years ago a tribal teenager was paraded naked on the orders of a similar medieval-style village court in the same district.

The government of West Bengal is facing immense anger over atrocities against women.

In October last year a woman was gang-raped twice by the same men for complaining to the police. She was set ablaze and died of burn injuries.

All suspects have since been arrested.

Large protests took place in Kolkatta over the handling of the case by the police and government and now the courts have set up a separate investigation into the matter.

The gang rape of a woman on a Delhi bus sparked protests across India

India has been reeling under the problem of violence against women.

The horrific Delhi bus gang rape and murder in December 2012 brought the issue into the lime light.

Unprecedented protests took place in the national capital and across the nation, and the government brought in new laws to protect women.

Fast-track courts were established to try cases of violence against women and punishments were made more severe.

Even with the changes there has been a spate of sexual violence against women.

Last week a 51-year-old Danish tourist was gang raped in the heart of Delhi.

She had asked for directions to her hotel before five men took her to an isolated spot near the New Delhi railway station and gang-raped her.

Last year a British tourist jumped off her balcony out of fear that she would be raped by the hotel manager where she was staying.

According to India's National Crime Records Bureau, rape is the singular fastest-growing crime in India.

From 1971 to 2012 the number of reports has grown by 900%. The conviction rate is just 1%.

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Ukraine Protesters 'Ready For Bullet To The Head'

Police and protesters in the Ukrainian capital Kiev were locked in a tense standoff early on Thursday, as the US threatened to impose sanctions over street battles which have claimed three lives.

Opposition leaders called for "calm" and an eight-hour truce ahead of fresh talks with President Viktor Yanukovych, which witnesses said appeared to be holding.

Police and protesters clashed again overnight, turning an area at the heart of the city into a virtual war zone with demonstrators setting fire to barricades, hurling stones and Molotov cocktails and police using tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets.

Sky's Katie Stallard, in Kiev, said: "Protesters also burned tyres, mattresses, whatever they could find to keep going, and reinforcing barricades too.

Fires continue to rage in central Kiev

"They have made homemade shields out of planks of wood and are rehearsing their tactical formations - how they plan to stand together and how they plan to protect themselves."

Earlier, opposition leaders had told them to go on the offensive on Thursday. They said Wednesday's peace talks had proved useless.

Vitali Klitschko said if this involved going onto the streets under bullets - that is what he and they were prepared to do.

They have on Mr Yanukovych to announce early elections within 24 hours or face more violence on the streets.

And have demanded he dismiss the government and scrap harsh anti-protest legislation.

Demonstrators have made their own shields out of wood to defend themselves

The leader of the opposition Fatherland party Arseniy Yatsenyuk said he was ready to die for the cause.

"If he does not go down that path then we will go forwards together and if it means a bullet to the head, then it is a bullet to the head. Viktor Yanukovych you have 24 hours. Take a decision. I have taken my decision," he said to cheers, speaking to around 40,000 people in Kiev's Independence Square.

Mr Klitschko added: "Early elections will change the situation without bloodshed and we will do everything to achieve that."

Medical staff in Kiev told Sky News that three people have been killed during the clashes.

Two protesters died after being shot, while another died from injuries sustained in a fall. One of the dead protesters was named locally as Serhiy Nihoyna.

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said the police did not have live ammunition and that opposition leaders should be held responsible for the deaths.

Opposition leaders have told protesters to go on the offensive on Thursday

Police have thrown stun grenades and broken through protesters' barricades, made from burnt-out buses.

Protesters have also lobbed petrol bombs at police during ferocious clashes in the city's snow-covered streets.

During confrontations on Wednesday, riot police beat and shot at protesters, volunteer medics and journalists. The Interior Ministry said 70 protesters have been arrested.

The US State Department has threatened to impose sanctions against the Ukraine in response to the continued use of violence against protesters.

Spokeswoman Marie Harf said the US would continue to call upon Mr Yanukovych "to protect the democratic rights of all Ukrainians, including the rights of peaceful protest".

Image said to show one of the dead, Serhiy Nihoyna (Pic: Serhiy Proskurnia)

"I don't have more details on what those sanctions might look like, but we will continue to consider additional steps, as I said, including sanctions, in response to the use of violence," she said.

The rioting intensified when some 200,000 took to the streets at the weekend in a show of anger over the new anti-protest laws rushed through by Mr Yanukovych.

The laws allow for jail terms of up to five years for those who blockade public buildings. They also ban protesters from wearing masks or helmets.

Meanwhile, Russia said it would not intervene, according to President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

"We consider we do not have the right to intervene in any way in the internal affairs of our brother Ukraine. That's unacceptable and Russia has not done this and will not do it," he said in an interview published on the website of Komsomolskaya Pravda.

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Australia Raid On Drugs Linked To Terror

Australian authorities have seized more than Aus $580m (£300m) worth of drugs and assets as part of an investigation into money laundering that could be linked to terrorist activities.

The haul included $26m (£13.5m) in cash.

The Australian Crime Commission (ACC), which has tracked a global network of criminals in more than 20 countries for a year through special covert taskforce Eligo, says funds were syphoned off to groups such as Hizbollah.

Paul Jevtovic, acting chief executive of the ACC, said: "This money, we need to be very clear, was destined to facilitate further criminal activity such as drug importations and drug trafficking which affects our nation both in a harm context of our citizens and of course, our economy.

"The reality is - and it's well-recorded - that terrorist groups have relied on these exchange houses located all over the world and are involved with them.

"What our operation has indicated to date is that the monies that we have been following do go to these very same exchange houses."

Police stand guard over the seized cash

The operation has disrupted 18 criminal syndicates and resulted in the arrest of 105 people, the commission said.

Mr Jevtovic said that criminal groups are using new methods such as money transfer services to launder their money and send it around the world.

Authorities allege that the groups are made up of motorcycle gangs, drug cartels, people smugglers and other criminals.

One of those arrested was a 58-year-old US citizen who appeared in court on Wednesday in connection with a record haul during the past week of $5.7m (£3m) found in cash in suitcases in an apartment in Sydney.

The man, who has not been named, arrived in Australia from Costa Rica two days before his arrest on Saturday at an apartment near Sydney airport, police said.

The Australian authorities have been working with the US Drug Enforcement Administration to try to disrupt the illegal flow of money internationally.

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Sochi Olympic Teams Receive Terrorist Threats

Countries including Slovenia and Hungary have received terror threats ahead of the Winter Olympics in Russia, it has been claimed.

Slovenia's Olympic Committee said it had been sent a terrorist threat letter written in Russian.

"We've had it translated and have forwarded it to the police," spokesman Brane Dmitrovic told Reuters.

Earlier, Hungary's committee said that it and other nations had received an email written in Russian and English, threatening attacks against athletes at the games.

Hungarian Secretary General Bence Szabo told the sports daily Nemzeti Sport that the message also urged the Hungarian delegation to stay away from the Winter Olympics, which run from February 7 to 23.

Hungary's committee president Zsolt Borkai said the threat was being taken seriously and the International Olympic Committee, the Sochi organizers, and Hungarian security forces had been informed.

He told state news wire MTI that other countries' Olympic committees had also received similar messages.

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Boy Dies Saving Relatives From New York Fire

An eight-year-old boy has saved six relatives from a fire at a trailer home in New York, but died trying to rescue a disabled uncle.

Tyler Doohan's body was found in the bedroom of his grandfather's small trailer in Penfield, a suburb of Rochester.

Nine people were inside the trailer when a fire broke out shortly before 5am on Monday.

Tyler managed to wake six people up, including his grandmother, aunt and two children aged four and six.

He then went back inside to help the remaining occupants of the trailer.

The scene of the fire in Penfield

Tyler was found near the bed of his uncle Steve Smith, a wheelchair-user, and investigators believe he was trying to wake him up.

Mr Smith and Tyler's grandfather Louis Beach also died.

The family's pets - cats, a dog and hamsters - were also killed in the blaze, according to local newspaper Democrat & Chronicle.

Tyler had gone to his grandfather's trailer on Monday, the Martin Luther King Day holiday, because he did not have school.

Penfield Fire Chief Chris Ebmeyer said the death toll would likely have been much worse were it not for the boy's bravery.

"He saved those other six people," he was quoted as saying by USA Today.

The boy was hailed as a hero by neighbours and officials at his school.

"The kid has more guts than I know of," an uncle, Joseph Bereyette, told Rochester-based station WHEC.

"I mean, to run back in there and go through what he went through to try to save his uncle - what can you say for the kid?

"He was a great kid."

A statement released by East Rochester Central School District said: "It is extremely important to remember that according to emergency personnel, (Tyler) was the person who discovered the fire and tried to wake the eight other people in the residence at the time.

"In bravely and selflessly giving his own life, he was able to save the lives of six others, and he is truly a hero."

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Syria: Clash Ends 'Constructive' Start To Talks

The Syrian foreign minister and the UN Secretary-General have clashed at the start of crucial peace talks aimed at ending the country's bloody civil war.

Walid al Muallem ignored Ban Ki-moon's appeal for him to end an opening speech that lasted more than 30 minutes, saying: "You live in New York. I live in Syria. I have the right to give the Syrian version here in this forum."

He also launched a blistering attack on the Syrian opposition, asking them: "Where is your vision for this great country? Where are your ideas? Where is your political programme? What are the tools on the ground? I am quite sure you have nothing."

Mr Ban said the "constructive mood" with which the talks began had been shattered and warned: "I hope this will not be repeated."

Earlier, the US Secretary of State said world leaders have an "opportunity and an obligation" to find a way to end a conflict that has killed more than 100,000 people and created an estimated 2.3 million refugees.

John Kerry said millions of Syrians "are relying on the international community to find a solution to save their lives and their country".

He said it had taken "a lot longer than many of us wanted" for world leaders to attempt to thrash out a resolution but said he was "as determined as ever" to end what he described as the "horrors of human catastrophe".

The conference on the banks of Lake Geneva is going ahead despite a last-minute dispute over the UN's decision to withdraw an invitation to Iran, after it refused to endorse a plan for a transitional governing body in Syria.

The city of Montreux, Switzerland, is hosting the Geneva II talks

Groups fighting the rule of Bashar al Assad, who counts Iran as one of his closest allies, had threatened to pull out of the so-called "Geneva II" talks unless the invitation was rescinded.

In his opening exchange, opposition leader Ahmed Jarba accused the Syrian president of war crimes comparable to those committed by the Nazis during World War Two.

He demanded Mr Assad stand down as president and called on the government to commit to a transition of power - an issue expected to be central to the success of the talks.

However, Mr al Muallem has rejected any discussion of Mr Assad quitting his post.

US Secretary of State arrives in Switzerland ahead of the talks

"The subject of the president and the regime is a red line for us and the Syrian people and will not be touched," he said on the eve of the talks, according to the SANA news agency.

The conference also begins in the shadow of allegations of large-scale torture and execution of prisoners by government forces.

The day before the talks, a group of international lawyers published allegations of the "systematic torture and killing" of up to 11,000 people by the Syrian regime.

Foreign Secretary William Hague urged both sides in Syria to "seize the chance" to end the civil war as he arrived in Switzerland.

Smoke rises after a bomb blast in the Syrian city of Aleppo

"Opposition has been tested and has come. Now regime must be tested on willingness to seek a political solution," Mr Hague wrote on Twitter.

Mr Hague added that it was a "great shame" that Iran, which has enjoyed a thawing of relations with the West in recent months, had failed to endorse the principles of the talks.

US President Barack Obama and Russia's Vladimir Putin had a "business-like" conversation about the Syrian conflict by phone on Tuesday.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also met Mr Kerry in Montreux ahead of today's opening of negotiations.

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Sochi: US To Deploy Warships During Olympics

The US is preparing plans to have two warships on standby in the Black Sea during the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

The warships would be used to evacuate Americans in case of a terror attack or other emergencies, according to government officials quoted in US media.

The US is also looking to have helicopters and other transport aircraft ready in nearby bases, such as Germany, which is about two hours away.

American officials stressed  that under the plan, first reported by CNN, the ships or aircraft would be used only in coordination with Russian officials.

Thousands of police will be deployed under Russia's massive security plan

"Air and naval assets, to include two Navy ships in the Black Sea, will be available if requested for all manner of contingencies in support of - and in consultation with - the Russian government," said Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby.

Concerns over security have heightened after Islamist militants threatened attacks during the Games, which start in Sochi on February 7.

A video posted online claimed responsibility for deadly suicide bombings in the southern city of Volgograd in December and threatened further attacks.

The attacks at Volgograd railway station and on a city tram last month killed 34 people and injured more than 100.

Russian President Vladimir Putin insists the event will be safe. His government has prepared a huge security plan, including 40,000 police officers, to protect Olympic venues and other potential targets.

The State Department has warned Americans planning to attend the Games to be vigilant about their security because of potential terrorist threats.

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Syria Peace Talks: UN Cancels Iran Invitation

The UN Secretary-General has withdrawn his invitation to Iran to join this week's peace conference on Syria.

Ban Ki-moon was forced to act after the exiled Syrian opposition threatened to withdraw from the talks if Iran - a major backer of Syrian President Bashar al Assad - takes part in the conference.

It came as a group of top lawyers published what they described as "clear evidence" of the "systematic torture and killing" of up to 11,000 detainees by the agents of the Syrian government.

The lawyers, who are all former international war crimes prosecutors, were handed 55,000 images smuggled out of the country by an ex-military policeman.

In a report, they said the photographs showed emaciated corpses with severe injuries and would support findings of crimes against humanity by the Assad regime.

Some of the victims appeared to have been beaten, strangled or electrocuted, they claimed.

More than 100,000 people have been killed in the Syrian war

Mr Ban said the Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had repeatedly assured him that he "understood and supported" the aim of the peace conference.

But Iran's UN ambassador declared his country would not join the peace talks, due to open in Switzerland on Wednesday, if it was required to accept a Syria declaration adopted by major world powers in Geneva in 2012.

The roadmap calls for a transitional government to guide the country out of the three-year war which the UN says has killed more than 100,000 people.

During a news conference in New York, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said: "The Secretary-General is deeply disappointed by Iranian public statements today that are not at all consistent with that stated commitment."

The Syrian National Coalition has said it will join the talks now that Iran's invitation has been retracted.

Spokesman Monzer Akbik said: "We appreciate the United Nations and Ban Ki-moon's understanding of our position. We think they have taken the right decision."

High-ranking delegations from around 40 countries - including Russia, which said the decision to pull Iran's invitation was a mistake but not a catastrophe - are attending the talks.

However, Abbas Araqchi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, said a "comprehensive solution" would not be found unless "all influential parties" are involved in negotiations.

"Everyone knows that without Iran the chances of a real solution to Syria are not that great," he said.

Face-to-face negotiations between the Syrian government and its opponents - the first since the conflict began three years ago - are to start on Friday in Geneva.

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Syria: Brutal Photos 'Are Evidence Of Torture'

UN Cancels Iran's Invitation To Syria Peace Talks

Updated: 7:57am UK, Tuesday 21 January 2014

The UN Secretary-General has withdrawn his invitation to Iran to join this week's peace conference on Syria.

Ban Ki-moon was forced to act after the exiled Syrian opposition threatened to withdraw from the talks if Iran - a major backer of Syrian President Bashar al Assad - takes part in the conference.

It came as a group of top lawyers published what they described as "clear evidence" of the "systematic torture and killing" of up to 11,000 detainees by the agents of the Syrian government.

The lawyers, who are all former international war crimes prosecutors, were handed 55,000 images smuggled out of the country by an ex-military policeman.

In a report, they said the photographs showed emaciated corpses with severe injuries and would support findings of crimes against humanity by the Assad regime.

Some of the victims appeared to have been beaten, strangled or electrocuted, they claimed.

Mr Ban said the Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had repeatedly assured him that he "understood and supported" the aim of the peace conference.

But Iran's UN ambassador declared his country would not join the peace talks, due to open in Switzerland on Wednesday, if it was required to accept a Syria declaration adopted by major world powers in Geneva in 2012.

The roadmap calls for a transitional government to guide the country out of the three-year war which the UN says has killed more than 100,000 people.

During a news conference in New York, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said: "The Secretary-General is deeply disappointed by Iranian public statements today that are not at all consistent with that stated commitment."

The Syrian National Coalition has said it will join the talks now that Iran's invitation has been retracted.

Spokesman Monzer Akbik said: "We appreciate the United Nations and Ban Ki-moon's understanding of our position. We think they have taken the right decision."

High-ranking delegations from around 40 countries - including Russia, which said the decision to pull Iran's invitation was a mistake but not a catastrophe - are attending the talks.

However, Abbas Araqchi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, said a "comprehensive solution" would not be found unless "all influential parties" are involved in negotiations.

"Everyone knows that without Iran the chances of a real solution to Syria are not that great," he said.

Face-to-face negotiations between the Syrian government and its opponents - the first since the conflict began three years ago - are to start on Friday in Geneva.

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Sochi Olympics: Militants Issue Attack Threat

Islamist militants have issued a terror threat to organisers of next month's Winter Olympics, warning: "If you hold the (Games) you will receive a present from us."

A video posted online claims two men - named as Suleiman and Abdurakhman - carried out deadly suicide bombings in the southern city of Volgograd in December.

It also threatened further attacks to coincide with the Games, which start in Sochi on February 7.

Police are patrolling major transport hubs, including Sochi airport

"It will be for all the Muslim blood that is shed every day around the world - be it in Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria, all around the world," a man says in Russian on the video.

"This will be our revenge."

The attacks at Volgograd railway station and on a city tram last month killed 34 people and injured more than 100.

Security has been ramped up at train stations ahead of the Winter Olympics

The video claims the blasts were the work of militant group Vilayat Dagestan and linked to an Iraqi faction called Ansar al Sunna.

Last year, Chechen rebel Doku Umarov, the leader of the Islamist insurgency in Russia's disputed North Caucasus region, which is close to Sochi, threatened to stage attacks to stop the Games from taking place.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin insists the event will be "safe and secure".

Vladimir Putin insists athletes and visitors will be safe during the Games

An unprecedented security operation will see 40,000 police officers from across the country deployed alongside troops to protect Games venues and other potential targets.

Drones will be used to spot suspicious activity and the Federal Security Service (FSB) will monitor telephone calls and internet traffic.

Around 6,000 athletes, coaches and officials from 90 countries are expected to take part in the Games.

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Syria Peace Talks: Storm Over Iran Invite

Syria's opposition has said it will not attend this week's peace talks in Switzerland unless the United Nations withdraws an invitation for Iran - a key backer of President Bashar al Assad - to attend.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon said Iran had pledged in talks to play a "positive and constructive role" in efforts to end Syria's civil war, which broke out in March 2011.

But the Syrian National Coalition threatened on Twitter to withdraw from the negotiations, which are due to start on Wednesday in Montreux, unless the invitation is retracted.

The warning came just hours after international leaders had hailed the coalition's decision to take part in negotiations.

The United States also said Mr Ban should withdraw the invitation unless Iran gives "explicit" support to the conference's aim of setting up a transitional government in Syria.

Mr Ban told a news conference on Sunday he had extended a late invitation after intense talks over two days with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

"Foreign Minister Zarif and I agree that the goal of the negotiations is to establish, by mutual consent, a transitional governing body with full executive powers," Mr Ban said.

"He assured me again and again that Iran, if they are invited, then they will play a very positive and constructive role."

The Syrian government has already committed itself to attending the talks

If Iran does go, there will be 40 countries and a group of regional bodies at the opening meeting, which will be the most intensive diplomatic effort yet to end a war that the UN says has left well over 100,000 dead.

Mr Ban said that, as host of the peace conference, he also extended last-minute invitations to Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Greece, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Korea and the Vatican.

He said the additional countries would be "an important and useful show of solidarity in advance of the hard work that the Syrian government and opposition delegations will begin".

The US and Russia played key roles convincing the opposition and Mr Assad to send delegations to the conference, which has been pushed back several times.

They will attend alongside the other permanent members of the UN Security Council - China, Britain and France - and additional countries suffering fallout from the war, including Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon.

More than 2.3 million people have fled the country and some 6.5 million are displaced inside Syria.

At least 30 people died in violence in Syria on Sunday, including 15 killed when government planes dropped bombs on rebel zones in the northern province of Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

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American Jailed In North Korea Appeals To US

An American jailed in North Korea for more than a year has appealed to the US government to secure his release.

Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American Christian missionary, appeared before reporters in what he called a press conference held at his own request.

Kenneth Bae is the longest-serving US detainee in the country in years

Mr Bae was arrested in November 2012 while leading a group of tourists in the northeastern region of Rason in North Korea.

He was accused of crimes against the state and sentenced to 15 years of hard labour. 

During his brief appearance, Mr Bae, wearing a prisoner's uniform with the number 103 on his chest, spoke in Korean and remained under guard.

"I believe that my problem can be solved by close cooperation and agreement between the American government and the government of this country," he said.

He expressed hope that the American government would do its best to secure his release, and said he has not been treated badly in confinement.

Mr Bae was moved from a prison camp to a hospital last summer because he was in poor health and had lost more than 23kg (50 pounds). 

His mother visited him in hospital in October.

Mr Bae's mother, Myunghee Bae, said she was worried about her son

Mr Bae, who had been living in China for several years before his arrest, is the longest-serving American detainee in North Korea in recent years.

It is not unusual for prisoners in North Korea to say after their release that they spoke in similar situations under duress.

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Child Marriage 'Legitimises Lifetime Of Abuse'

By Niall Paterson, Sky News Correspondent

Child marriage often leads to a lifetime of abuse for girls, according to a new report.

Campaign group Equality Now says such underage unions, often when the children involved are too young to understand even the concept of marriage, are part of a "continuum of abuse" often linked to genital mutilation, rape, violence and sex trafficking.

It says ending child marriage should be a priority internationally - and suggests that it should be tackled not as a single incident of abuse, but in relation to other example of discrimination and violence against women and girls.

Jacqui Hunt, the London director of Equality Now, said "Child marriage directly affects approximately 14 million girls a year. It legitimises human rights violations and the abuse of girls under the guise of culture, honour, tradition, and religion.

"It is part of a sequence of discrimination that begins at a girl's birth and continues throughout her entire life.

"Furthermore, when a child bride gives birth, the vicious cycle of poverty, poor health, curtailed education, violence, instability, disregard for rule of law and legal and other discrimination often continues into the next generation, especially for any daughters she may have."

Child marriage affects about 14 million girls a year

Drawing together evidence from both the developed and developing world, the report concludes that without a comprehensive, joined up approach to tackling child marriage, linking together healthcare, education, a properly enforced legal framework and community and political leaders, girls will "remain vulnerable, not only to being married off at a young age, but to a lifetime of abuse".

Unicef estimates that between 2011 and 2021, 100 million girls will have become child brides - which equates to 25,000 a day.

Sky News spoke with one child bride who now campaigns against underage marriage.

Alematsahye Gebrekidan, the founder of the Former Child Wives Foundation, was married aged 10 in Ethiopia, to a boy himself only 16 years old.

"I was married when I was a little girl. The decision was taken by the parents, we [she and her husband] did not know. I was playing outside and they called me in and told me I was going to be married.

"I was scared, and ashamed, and embarrassed."

Alem Gebrekidan's was forced into marriage when she was just 10

Alem's wedding day was, for her, no happy occasion.

"I was crying, I was very upset and angry because I was scared. I didn't know what was happening to me.

"It is the culture [there]. If you are 15 years old they say you are old, too old, so you should be married.

"It's tradition."

She gave birth to a child at age 13. One month later, her husband was killed in the war. Forced to grow up at such a young age, she deeply regrets the loss of her childhood.

"I feel shamed. I feel empty inside, empty.

"When I see a child playing with a doll ... I miss those things."

And she has a simple message for others who have similar experiences: "Don't be ashamed, come out and get support.

"It's not your fault. It's not your choice."

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Syria's Assad 'Not Ready To Give Up Power'

Syrian President Bashar al Assad has reportedly said he is not ready to give up power and the issue is not up for discussion.

According to Russia's Interfax news agency, Mr Assad said: "If we wanted to surrender, we would have surrendered from the start (of the nation's civil war)."

He reportedly added: "We are on guard for our country. This issue is not up for discussion."

The president apparently made the comments to Russian MPs ahead of an internationally backed peace conference on Syria.

The main opposition group has voted in favour of attending the talks next week aimed at ending the conflict.

The Syrian National Coalition (SNC) confirmed it will participate in the discussions after 58 of its 73 delegates voted in favour of attending.

Western and Arab sponsors of the opposition group have pressured the SNC to attend the talks, which are due to begin on Wednesday in the Swiss city of Montreux.

Mr Assad's language continues to be defiant

The Syrian government had already committed to attending the talks, which are backed by the United Nations.

The conference will be the first face-to-face meeting between representatives of Mr Assad's government and the opposition since war broke out in March 2011.

More than 100,000 people have been killed since the conflict began and millions have been displaced.

The US and Russia have been trying to hold the peace conference since last year, and it has been repeatedly delayed.

Both sides finally agreed to sit together at the negotiation table after dropping some of their conditions.

The aim of the conference, which has been dubbed Geneva 2, is to agree on a roadmap for Syria's future based on one adopted by the US, Russia and other major powers in June 2012.

The plan includes the creation of a transitional government and eventual elections.

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'Exorcism' Mother 'Stabs Children' In Maryland

A mother accused of stabbing her two toddler children to death believed she was performing an exorcism, police have said.

Zakieya Avery, 28, and her friend Monifa Sanford, have been charged with murder over the deaths of Norell Harris, one, and Zyana Harris, two.

The two women were also charged with attempted murder after Avery's older children Taniya Harris, five, and Martello Harris, eight, were seriously injured.

Police - who said they found a "very bloody" crime scene - believe the children may have been knifed to death as they slept in their beds.

Officers were called on Friday to the home in Germantown, Maryland, where the women were living.

A neighbour called 911 after noticing a knife lying next to a blue car with the door left open.

The crime scene in Germantown was surrounded by police cars

The keys were still in the ignition and the car was covered in blood, police said.

Montgomery County Police said Avery was arrested as she tried to flee from the house. 

Officers had to force their way into the property, where they found Norell and Zyana dead in their bedrooms with multiple stab wounds.

Their siblings were taken to hospital along with Sanford with injuries.

Sanford was arrested on Saturday after being released from the hospital.

Officers believe a small red knife may have been used in the attack

Stunned neighbours organised a small memorial of stuffed animals near the crime site.

One neighbour, Gabriella Lemus, said: "It's just such a tragedy, because who could do that to their own children?"

Another, Roger Florencio, said: "I have a child myself, and I can't imagine what person could do that to their children."

The injured children are being treated in Children's Hospital in northwest Washington.

The two women each face two counts of first degree murder and two counts of attempted first degree murder. 

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