The UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi has apologized to the people of Syria after the second round of peace talks in Geneva ended without progress. Mr. Brahimi said the sticking point was the Syrian government's refusal to discuss a transitional governing body. He said a limited agreement on evacuating civilians from the war-torn city of Homs had raised full expectations of further progress. Lyse Doucet is there.
It's a cold, rainy and miserable night here in the Syrian city of Homs, and the news coming from faraway Geneva will do nothing to lift spirits. The second round of peace talks has ended with the UN envoy Lakadar Brahimi admitting no progress was made. Not even the date has been set for a third round of negotiations involving the government and the opposition. But what people here want most of all is tangible signs that both these war and deepening humanitarian crisis are going to end soon.
Supporters and opponents of the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro are taking to the streets of Caracas in rival marches. The demonstrations come at a time of growing political tension in Venezuela. Three people were killed during anti-government protests on Wednesday.Irene Caselli reports from Caracas.
President Nicolas Maduro kissed his wife for several seconds during the public rally to celebrate what he has called the day for peace and against fascism. Thousands of people accompanied him in downtown Caracas during a march that was broadcast on live television. The President has accused Venezuela's right wing of attempting to stage a coup with the support of Colombia's former president Alvro Uribe. On the other side of Caracas, protests against the government continued.
French and African peacekeepers have seized weapons from militia in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. Troops conducted house-to-house searches in a neighborhood believed to be a base for Christians to carry out attacks on Muslims. Richard Hamilton reports.
More than 250 military personnel were deployed to disarm the Christian militia. The peacekeepers hope to secure the district of Boy Rabe, the centre of operations for the anti-balaka formed in response to killings by Muslim rebels. The operation wasn't entirely successful, some of the militia refused to disarm and one of its top leaders escaped capture. The French Defence Minister Jean-Yves le Drian admitted that Paris had underestimated the level of violence and hatred in the Central African Republic.
The German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she will consult France about the creation of an European communications network to avoid e-mails and other data automatically passing through the Untied States. Mrs. Merkel said she would raise the issue with President Francois Hollande during her visit to Paris next week.
World News from the BBC
Police in Montenegro have fired teargas and stun grenades to break up the crowd of hundreds of protesters who were demanding the resignation of the government. Some demonstrators threw stones as they complained about high unemployment and the state of the economy in the former Yugoslavia Republic.
A North Korean cargo ship seized in Panama last July with undeclared weapons on board has left for Cuba after Pyongyang agreed to pay a fine of nearly $700,000. Most of the North Korean crew have left with the ship. But the captain and 2 others will remain in Panama to face arm smuggling charges.
In one of the highlights so far of the Sochi Winter Olympics, the United States have beaten Russia in an exiting men's ice hockey match. The group stage game ended 2:2 before being decided in penalties. Alex Capstick is in Sochi.
Intense and feisty, the two heavyweight of group A went totally to turn one of a fast and exciting game. It's just watched by a ruckus crowd the volume amplified each time a Russian player approached his opponents' goal. The thrilling spectacle justified the pre-match hype, Russia's narrow defeats followed a prolonged penalty shoot-out. It was finally settled when TJ Oshie scoreed for the Americans as President Vladimir Putin looked on.
Elsewhere, the French athlete Renaud Lavillenie has broken the 21-year-old world record for the indoor pole vault. He cleared the bar comfortably at 6.16 meters in a competition in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk. That's a centimeter higher than the previous record set in the same venue in 1993 by the Ukrainian Sergey Bubka.
The Chinese film Black Coal, Thin Ice has won the Golden Bear for best picture the Berlin international film festival. The work for the Chinese director Diao Yinan also on the best actor award. Liao Fan got the prize for his role as a former policeman turned to detective investigating a mysterious series of killings.
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