Syria unrest: Arab League discusses observer mission

Foreign ministers from the Arab League are meeting in Cairo to assess the progress of their mission in Syria and to discuss whether to ask for UN help.

North Korea to top agenda at Lee-Hu summit in China

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will this week ask China to use its influence to lean on North Korea to show restraint amid a delicate transition to a new leadership in Pyongyang focused on projecting a militaristic image.

Lee will hold a summit with China’s president, Hu Jintao, in Beijing and will “discuss ways to develop the strategic partnership between the two nations and cooperative measures for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula”, the South Korean president’s office said in a statement.

Lee’s three-day state trip to China, his second in four years, starts tomorrow.

The South has said its primary foreign policy goal this year is maintaining stability on the divided peninsula as its unpredictable neighbour embarks on a third generation of dynastic rule following Kim Jong-il’s death last month.

Little is known about Kim’s chosen successor, his son Kim Jong-un, who in his late 20s and who will be relying on a small circle of trusted members of the military and political elite to act as minders while he cements his grip on power.

More than 20 feared dead in Kenyan boat crash

Kenyan police officers search for survivors after a passenger boat capsized off the Kenyan island of Lamu on January 2, 2012. At least seven people died and many more were feared missing. — Reuters picormation desk after a passenger boat capsized off the Kenyan island of Lamu on January 2, 2012. At least seven people died and many more were feared missing after a boat carrying dozens of passengers hit another vessel.


More than 20 people were feared dead after a Kenyan ferry carrying more than 80 passengers capsized last night following a collision with a cargo boat off the island of Lamu, a popular tourist destination.

Survivors confirmed earlier suggestions that the small ferry was overloaded when the two vessels collided in the dark at about 9pm (1800 GMT).

The Kenya Red Cross said of the 82 passengers, seven were confirmed dead as of last night, 25 had been rescued and 23 managed to swim to shore. Fifteen people pulled from the water were admitted to hospital.

Abdalla Miraj, regional head of the Kenya Red Cross, told Reuters at least 16 people were still believed missing.

Iran test-fires new missile as Strait of Hormuz posturing continues

Iran test-fired a new Qader missile today, in the latest bout of martial posturing over the country's nuclear program and the security of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping lane for oil.

Iran fires long-range missile during Gulf drill, IRNA reports

An Iranian warship launches a missile in an unknown location in this still image taken from footage released by Islamic Republic of Iran News Network on January 1, 2012

Iran said today it had successfully test-fired a long-range missile during its naval exercise in the Gulf, the official IRNA news agency reported.

“We have test fired a long-range shore-to-sea missile called Qader (capable), which managed to successfully destroy predetermined targets in the Gulf,” the agency quoted deputy navy Commander Mahmoud Mousavi as saying.

Psycho Stapleton: Extraordinary name given to court by man accused of shooting dead Indian student

'I'm Psycho... Psycho Stapleton: Extraordinary name given to court by man accused of shooting dead Indian student

* Kiaran Stapleton, 20, from Salford, is charged with murder
* Anuj Bidve was shot dead at point-blank range on Boxing Day



The man accused of gunning down Indian student Anuj Bidve on Boxing Day gave his name as 'Psycho Stapleton' when he appeared in court today charged with murder.

Kiaran Stapleton, 20, from Ordsall, Salford, was remanded in custody for 24 hours at City of Manchester Magistrates' Court.

A scrum of TV cameramen and photographers crowded the prison van carrying Stapleton as it arrived at court, while inside the courtroom was packed with reporters.

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Anuj Bidve, 23, was shot at close range in the Ordsall district of Salford, Greater Manchester on Boxing Day

Myanmar cuts prison terms but no political amnesty

Laos’s Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong (left) and Myanmar President Thein Sein pose before a gala dinner to mark the Fourth GMS Summit at Myanmar International Convention Centre (MICC) in Naypyitaw on December 19, 2011.



Myanmar President Thein Sein has commuted death sentences to life in prison and cut the terms to be served by other prisoners in a gesture to mark Independence Day, state media said today, but it appeared no political prisoners would be freed.

The nominally civilian government that took office in Myanmar last March has begun to implement gradual political and economic reforms. In October, it released around 230 political prisoners jailed by the former junta.

Several hundred are still thought to be behind bars and some observers had suggested there could be an amnesty early in the New Year.

Independence Day falls on January 4, marking the day when the country, formerly known as Burma, gained independence from British colonial rule in 1948.

Person of interest detained in LA arson fires

Los Angeles police this morning detained and are questioning a "person of interest" in the spate of arson fires occurring around the city since Friday.

Syrian rebels capture troops in north

Demonstrators against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad gather in Derbasia near Hassaka on December 13, 2011. Security forces shot dead 17 people in Syria on Tuesday and rebels killed seven police in an ambush.


Armed Syrian rebels captured dozens of members of the security forces by seizing two military checkpoints in the northern province of Idlib today, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

It said the army deserters also clashed with security forces at a third checkpoint, killing and wounding an unspecified number of troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

Rami Abdelrahman, director of the British-based Observatory, said Monday's operation took place in the Jabal al-Zawiyah region of Idlib. It was not immediately clear how many people had been killed or captured by the rebels, he said.