John Kerry 'Undeterred' By Messiah Jibe

By Tom Rayner, Middle East News Editor, Jerusalem

The US Secretary of State has said he will work "undeterred" on peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, despite being labelled "obsessive and messianic" by a leading Israeli minister.

Israel's Yediot Aharonot newspaper reported on Tuesday that Defence Minister Moshe Ya'alon had made the comments in private conversations between Israeli and American officials.

The paper claimed Ya'alon had expressed hope that John Kerry would win the Nobel Peace Prize, so that he might focus his energies elsewhere.

"Kerry - who arrived here determined, and who operates from an incomprehensible obsession and a sense of messianism - can't teach me anything about the conflict with the Palestinians," he was reported as saying.

White House spokesman Jay Carney labelled the comments "offensive and inappropriate".

Moshe Ya'alon had made the comments in private

But at a news conference in Kuwait, Mr Kerry said he would not allow "one set of comments to undermine peace efforts".

According to the Haaretz newspaper, he said: "I will work undeterred ... after five months of negotiations, I believe strongly in the prospects for peace and I know the status quo is not sustainable.

"We've always known that as we approach the time for these difficult choices, it's going to be difficult."

Mr Ya'alon's office issued an apology on Tuesday evening following a long meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The defence minister did not intend to insult the secretary and he apologises if the secretary was hurt by the remarks attributed to the defence minister," the statement read.

The statement was issued after a senior US official called on Mr Netanyahu to publicly denounce Mr Ya'alon's remarks, after he was perceived to have offered too soft a rebuke in the Israeli parliament earlier in the day.

Mr Ya'alon apologised after a long meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu

Speaking in the Knesset, Mr Netanyahu had appeared to criticise the wisdom of singling out Mr Kerry individually, but not question the sentiment with regards to the US approach to negotiations.

"Even when we have disagreements with the United States, it is about the matter at hand and not about the person," Mr Netanyahu had said.

The diplomatic spat comes amid Mr Kerry's efforts to revive the faltering peace process and push for the establishment of a two-state solution.

The parties were brought back round the negotiating table in August and since then, Mr Kerry has made more than 10 visits to the region.

The current negotiating phase has a deadline on April 29, by which time Mr Kerry hopes both sides will have arrived at a framework agreement that could pave the way for a final deal on borders, refugees, natural resources and the status of Jerusalem.

Ariel Sharon's funeral took place on Monday

But the comments by Mr Ya'alon have stoked already existing tensions between the Obama administration and the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel was stinging in its opposition to the US-backed deal with Iran, that aims to see parts of the country's civil nuclear programme rolled back and made more transparent in return for sanctions relief.

The US administration also slammed last week's Israeli government announcement of 1,800 new permissions for settlement construction in the West Bank as "illegitimate".

Speaking at the funeral of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday, US Vice President Joe Biden insisted, despite some disagreements over specific policies, that American support for Israel was unwavering.

However, when speaking at the same service, Mr Netanyahu made specific reference to Mr Sharon's ability not to be pushed around by the US.

"He understood the importance of our relationship with the United States, but also knew how to stand for Israel's rights," he said during his eulogy.

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Iraq Car Bomb Attacks Kill Dozens In Baghdad

At least 44 people have been killed in a series of bomb blasts in Iraq, authorities in the country have said.

Car bombs exploded across the Iraqi capital Baghdad's mostly Shi'ite districts, killing dozens and wounding many more, police and hospital sources said.

In the deadliest single incident, a bomb blew up in a funeral tent in Buhriz - 35 miles north of Baghdad - where mourners were marking the death of a Sunni Muslim pro-government fighter.

At least 16 people were killed and 26 wounded, according to one report.

In Baghdad itself, a series of bombings killed at least 28 people.

Five shoppers were killed by a parked car bomb in the northern Shula neighbourhood, and another three also died in another blast nearby.

In Baghdad's southern suburb of Hussainya, a car bomb killed four civilians, officials said, while in the capital's eastern Palestine Street, a car bomb killed three civilians.

Civilians gather at the site of one of the explosions

Another market bombing killed three civilians in the eastern Maamil area, police said.

An explosion in the Shaab neighbourhood killed four people, while two bombs in the Karrada area killed six more people, medical officials said.

Nearly a hundred people were injured in the Baghdad attacks.

These latest attacks indicate that, two years after US troops left Iraq, violence has climbed back to its highest levels since the Sunni-Shi'ite bloodshed of 2006-2007, when tens of thousands of people were killed.

No organisation immediately said they were responsible but al Qaeda-linked militants are believed to be behind the attacks which were mostly directed at state targets, Shi'ite civilians and Sunnis seen as loyal to the Shi'ite-led government.

The violence occurred amid a continuing standoff between the Iraqi army and Sunni militants who overran the city of Fallujah west of Baghdad more than two weeks ago in a challenge to prime minister Nouri al Maliki's government.

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Tiger Attacks: 'Man-Eater' Kills Seven People

The number of people killed by a tiger on the loose in India has reportedly risen to seven, as thousands of terrified villagers are forced to stay inside.

Hunters are looking for the female "man-eater" who has been prowling for food across a forested area spanning 80 miles in Uttar Pradesh state for the past fortnight.

The animal is said to be still hungry as it has been "running without rest and adequate food", according to the principal chief conservator of forests, Rupak De.

He said: "A hunt has been launched to kill the tigress that has turned into a man-eater."

Reports began surfacing late last year that a killer tiger was on the loose when a 65-year-old man was mauled in Sambhai district.

Its latest victim was a woman whose body was found on Tuesday.

People are terrified and have been told not to go into forested areas alone, according to an official.

Three hunters have been hired to kill the tigress, who is believed to have strayed into the area from Jim Corbett National Park.

But wildlife activist and MP Meneka Gandhi has asked the regional government not to shoot her.

In a letter to officials, she said the animal was only attacking people because it was hungry and would spare humans once it returns to its natural habitat.

She said the government should capture the tiger and release it in the neighbouring state of Uttarakhand.

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German Economy Slips As World Forecast Raised

The World Bank raised its forecast for global growth for the first time in three years just as Germany reported its worst economic performance since 2009.

The bank's latest Global Economics Prospects report predicts world output will firm from 2.4% in 2013 to 3.2% this year and 3.4% in 2015.

The growth would be led, the study said, by advanced economies starting to pick up pace following the financial crisis.

But just hours after the upbeat report was released, Germany confirmed its economy - Europe's biggest - slowed more than expected last year.

GDP output growth was measured at just 0.25% in the fourth quarter.

Germany, unlike many other countries in the 18-nation eurozone, avoided recession as the continent struggled to put its debt crisis behind it but the effects of the downturn hit demand as exports weakened.

Consumer spending is the main driver of German growth currently

Nevertheless, the Bank's rosier outlook suggests the wider world economy is finally breaking free of the shackles caused by the credit crunch and resulting depression - led by improving growth in the United States.

Its chief economist Kaushik Basu said: "For the first time in five years, there are indications that a self-sustaining recovery has begun among high-income countries - suggesting that they may now join developing countries as a second engine of growth in the global economy."

The bank again shaved its forecasts for developing countries, to 5.3% for 2014 from the 5.6% it predicted in June.

Emerging markets have grown at their slowest pace in a decade for the past two years, after chalking up growth rates of around 7.5% before the financial crisis hit.

However, the report warned that growth prospects remain vulnerable.

It cited the threat from rising interest rates and potential volatility in capital flows as the US Federal Reserve eases up on the extraordinary stimulus it has been providing to the US economy.

However, the bank said it expected the Fed and other major western central banks to keep their core interest rates low for at least another year.

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China Defends Blocking Some Western Websites

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent in Beijing

China's ambassador to the UK has defended his country's long-standing decision to block some Western media companies, in an interview with Sky News.

Speaking to Sky's Jeff Randall, Ambassador Liu Xiaoming said the websites of the New York Times, Bloomberg, Facebook and Twitter would remain blocked because "they have to fall in the law of China and they have to serve the interests of the people".

"Are you really saying that you want propaganda rather than the truth?" Randall asked the ambassador.

"No. That's not true. We are looking for truth," the ambassador replied.

"We manage the media according to the law. The important thing is that the media, whether it's foreign or Chinese, they have to fall in the law of China and they have to serve the interests of the people.

"What we are concerned about is the healthy content, is whether it's in the interests of improving mutual understanding in China."

Asked what the media companies could possibly publish that would damage China's interests, Mr Liu said: "You should ask them.

Twitter and Facebook are among the websites blocked

"We expect them to be a good citizen in China rather than spreading rumours and bias against China, and we don't see that's the purpose of increasing mutual understanding between China and the outside world."

The blocking of the New York Times and Bloomberg websites is believed to stem from investigative journalism done by both organisations which exposed the huge wealth of China's leaders including the country's current president and general secretary of its Communist Party, Xi Jinping.

Twitter and Facebook are both unavailable inside China because of their ability, as the ambassador put it, to "spread rumours".

China has its own very popular version of Twitter called Weibo, but because it is controlled domestically, the authorities are able to censor it and delete posts which they deem damaging to their interests.

They are unable to do the same with Facebook and Twitter.

Many users in China, including most foreigners, manage to get round the so-called "Great Firewall of China" using virtual private networks (VPNs) which trick their computer or smartphone into believing it is operating outside China.

Since Mr Xi took office in March 2013, there has been a marked increase in the number of people detained for speaking out online against corruption or other aspects of displeasure with their local or national government.

This is the message that comes up if you try to access Bloomberg in China

Those detained include known "dissidents" of the Chinese Communist Party, but also other regular citizens, lawyers and academics.

Despite this, Mr Liu insisted that China was reforming in several key areas.

"Comprehensive deepening reform … five major areas including economic reform, political reform, education, cultural, environmental …," he said.

"So I think the country will be completely changed as a result of this reform."

Mr Liu said he believed the West suffered from a significant lack of knowledge of China, and said it was up to the Western media to "open their eyes" in China.

"Unfortunately, Western countries know not enough of China," he said.

"There is a big imbalance about how much Chinese people know about the outside world and how much the outside world knows China, especially in the Western world, there's still some people haunted by this so-called Cold War mentality.

"They see China through the stained glass and they see China through their stereotype mindset of China.

"So I think it's really up to the media, for Western journalists, they have to open their eyes to see the comprehensive picture of China."

However, foreign journalists operating in China are routinely blocked from carrying out their work objectively.

In March, Sky News faced detention for four hours after mentioning the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

And in November we were forcibly prevented from meeting the wife of the Nobel Peace prize winner Liu Xiaobo.

He remains in jail, convicted of subversion of the government.

Even seemingly simple reports are off limits: a comprehensive look at China's remarkably impressive high-speed rail network had to be filmed in the guise of tourists because a year-long attempt to get permission to film on trains and stations was rejected by the government with no reason given.

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NSA 'Using Radio Waves To Snoop On Computers'

The National Security Agency has reportedly planted secret radio wave software in nearly 100,000 computers across the world that allows it to spy on those machines.

Most of the software is inserted by gaining access to computer networks, but the US spy agency has increasingly made use of a technology that allows it to enter computers not connected to the internet, The New York Times reported.

NSA documents, computer experts and US officials cited by the paper said the technology could be used to create a digital highway for launching cyber attacks.

It has been used by the agency since 2008, and relies on radio waves that can be transmitted from tiny circuit boards and USB cards secretly inserted into computers, the paper said.

In some cases, they are sent to a briefcase-size relay station that intelligence agencies can set up miles away from the hacked computer.

The agency's main target has been China's military forces, but it has also used the technology to spy on the Russian military, drug cartels, the European Union, and sometime US allies such as Saudi Arabia and India, it is claimed.

NSA spokeswoman Vanee Vines insisted the technology has not been used to target computers in the US.

Parts of the spy programme were leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden

"NSA's activities are focused and specifically deployed against - and only against - valid foreign intelligence targets in response to intelligence requirements," she said in a statement.

"We do not use foreign intelligence capabilities to steal the trade secrets of foreign companies on behalf of - or give intelligence we collect to - US companies to enhance their international competitiveness or increase their bottom line."

Parts of the programme were disclosed in documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The Times said it withheld some of those details - at the request of US intelligence chiefs - when it reported on American cyber attacks on Iran last summer.

The US regularly accuses China of launching attacks on American industrial and military targets, often to steal secrets or intellectual property.

When Chinese hackers have placed similar software on US computer systems, American officials have protested, the newspaper said.

Zhu Feng, an international security expert at Peking University, said: "Those spying activities show that the US says one thing while doing another thing, and the spying activities are being conducted in an irregular way without rules.

"Other countries may follow suit, leading to a fierce arms race on the internet. So, it is time to set up rules and regulations in cyberspace with co-ordination from the international community."

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Kenya Mall Attack: Westgate Guard Speaks Out

A witness to the Westgate Mall massacre in Kenya has told a court that gunmen began opening fire seconds after arriving at the complex.

Westgate guard Stephen Juma said he saw three gunmen leap out of a white car that pulled up outside the mall on September 21 last year.

One, he said, immediately shot dead a shopper.

Mr Juma said: "I began to hear gunshots, I made a radio call for help while running to the main entrance.

"I took shelter in a residential compound until when I saw policemen come.

"I couldn't recognise them since they had covered their heads and faces with black headscarves," he added.

The shopping centre partially collapsed during the siege

The guard, who had worked at the mall for five years, was giving evidence on the opening day of the trial of four men charged in connection with the massacre in Kenya's capital Nairobi.

Mohamed Ahmed Abdi, Liban Abdullah Omar, Hussein Hassan, and Adan Mohamed Ibrahim are accused of giving support and shelter to the al Qaeda-linked militants behind the four-day siege.

They have been charged under Kenya's anti-terrorism laws with committing a "terrorist act" and using false documents.

The accused have all denied the charges.

At least 67 people were killed during the siege. With numerous bodies buried under the wreckage of the building, which partly collapsed following the raid, some officials suggest the death toll could be as high as 94.

CCTV pictures captured two of the gunmen walking through the mall

Kenyan police and Western experts, who have assisted in the investigation, now suspect that four gunmen carried out the attack, far fewer than the 12 initially reported.

All four men are believed to have died in the attack.

Interpol and the FBI have assisted local authorities in identifying bodies thought to be those of the attackers.

However, a lack of concrete evidence means it is possible they may have escaped, according to a New York police report on the massacre.

Somali Islamist group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack. 

It said it was carried out in retribution for Kenya's involvement in fighting extremists in southern Somalia.

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Thailand February Elections 'To Go Ahead'

Elections due to take place in less than three weeks will go ahead despite opposition calls for a delay, prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has insisted.

Her statement followed an overnight shooting attack on anti-government protesters in Bangkok which left two people wounded and added to rising tensions in the country's deepening political crisis.

Ms Yingluck had offered to meet rivals to discuss an Election Commission proposal to delay the February 2 ballot but protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban and the opposition Democrat Party refused to take part, saying reform to get rid of corruption in politics must happen first.

The PM told reporters after meeting senior government officials that there was no legal way for a delay.

An anti-government protester wears a mask during a rally in Bangkok

"The rights of the people are important," she said, a day after rejecting calls by demonstrators to resign.

Thailand's air traffic communications body says it has back-up operations to ensure no disruption to air travel if protesters try to shut down its main control centre.

More than 800,000 Britons visit the country each year and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office warns tourists to "take extra care and avoid all protests, political gatherings and demonstrations".

Thailand has been wracked by repeated bouts of unrest since the military ousted the PM's brother - ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra - in 2006 amid charges of corruption and alleged disrespect for the monarchy.

Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban speaking to his supporters

Protesters say Ms Yingluck is her brother's puppet, and they accuse her government of corruption and misrule.

But the majority of rural poor in Thailand's countryside, particularly in the north, support the Shinawatra family because of the populist policies it has implemented, including virtually free health care.

The crisis boiled over again late last year after a failed ruling party bid to push through an amnesty bill that would have allowed Thaksin to return from exile.

Yingluck Shinawatra is accused of being her brother's puppet

Although that effort was quashed, protests intensified and, so far, at least eight people have been killed and more than 450 have been injured.

Ms Yingluck has tried to ease the crisis by dissolving parliament and calling for elections.

But there are growing doubts next month's vote will take place because the protest movement, which has vowed to bring down her government, is trying to derail it.

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Hollande 'Affair': Actress Denied Arts Job

Hollande: Like The Others But Without Charisma

Updated: 12:20pm UK, Tuesday 14 January 2014

By Jason Farrell, Sky News Correspondent, in Paris

The whole thing is very French - the Actress and Le President. What's more, it is the one thing the French refuse to get angry about.

They'll bring Paris to a standstill over proposed changes to taxi laws - as happened on Monday - but it would be positively English to take issue with a two-timing head of state.

"It's private," is the most common response from Parisiennes asked about their President's alleged affair. The only question they seem to have is whether French taxpayers should be funding the lifestyle of the First Lady, Valerie Trierweiler, if she is no longer the President's girlfriend.

Francois Hollande must clarify, almost as if it were a cabinet decision, whether the First Lady will be reshuffled out, mid-term.

There is one other issue, however, which plays into Mr Hollande's general character. "He is as a man who can't commit," one Parisienne woman commented. "It's not good to be indecisive, if you are a President."

Mr Hollande never married his first long-term girlfriend, the politician Segolene Royal - herself a former presidential runner - with whom he had four children.

Despite moving Valerie Trierweiler into the Elysee palace there's been no suggestion of marriage since they got together in 2007.

While he spent Christmas with the First Lady and her family, under the cover of a moped helmet he was also allegedly sneaking one street away from the Elysee Palace to the appropriately named Rue du Cirque (Circus Road) for flings with French actress Julie Gayet.

"If he can't decide on his girlfriend, how can he make a decision on the economy?" ask his opponents. "And if the First Lady can't trust him can we?"

Up until now he has managed to convey a straight-laced image; a man who may have been failing to re-energise the French economy but his one endearing quality was his workmanlike approach to the job.

So if it turns out he's just like all the others, but without the charisma, what's left to like?

Political analyst Dominique Moisi said: "The fact is that this is the most unpopular president in the history of the Fifth Republic. He wanted to impress the French with the fact that he was a normal man, that he was a man of dignity, simplicity and moral rigour. And suddenly the French are discovering that he is like others, but in a less glorious manner, and really a more ridiculous manner.

"A president who has to hide under a helmet, driving with a bodyguard on a scooter to see his alleged mistress."

A sex scandal is the last thing France's president needs.

It has opened him to ridicule as well as dislike, and from now on he will forever be portrayed by cartoonists as a man wearing a helmet - with all the negative connotations that evokes.

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India: Danish Tourist 'Gang-Raped In New Delhi'

A Danish tourist has allegedly been gang-raped near a popular shopping area in India's capital city.

The tourist said she was attacked near Connaught Place in New Delhi after losing her way and asking for directions, police said.

Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said the woman, who also reported that she was beaten and robbed, managed to reach her hotel where staff called the police.

The hotel owner said: "When she came, it was miserable." He added that she was crying and "not in good shape".

"I am really ashamed that this happened," he said.

Local media reports said 15 men have been rounded up in connection with the case, although police have refused to confirm that figure.

Deepak Mishra, special commissioner of police, said: "We have detained a group of men and we are questioning them over the incident.

"The woman reported the attack to police and we are investigating. She has declined to undergo a medical examination (to confirm the rape)."

Sexual violence in India has been the focus of international attention since a 23-year-old woman was gang-raped and murdered on a moving bus in the capital in December 2012.

Public outrage over the incident prompted the government to double prison terms for rape to 20 years.

The woman was travelling alone in the city

Fast-track courts were also created for rape cases and stalking and voyeurism were criminalised.

Government figures indicate the number of rapes being reported has grown in recent months, suggesting women now feel more able to approach authorities.

Between January and October last year 1,330 rapes were reported in the capital alone, compared to 706 for the whole of 2012.

However critics say there has been little progress in tackling sexual violence, with many women, particularly the poor, suffering daily abuse.

Shobha Ojha from India's ruling Congress Party said: "It is very unfortunate that such incidents happen in our country, and this throws India in a very poor light and people comment that India has become the rape capital of this world.

"We have to be extra cautious, the entire society, the police, politicians have to make extra efforts to ensure that we change the mindset of men in our country. So that such incidents do not happen and we make India a rape free country."

Police apathy, cultural stigmas and a weak legal framework to deal with abuse cases have long served as obstacles for bringing offenders to justice.

Last month a 21-year-old girl was abducted and raped by two gangs while visiting a friend in Karaikal, a port city in Pondicherry state.

In March 2012, a Swiss woman was gang-raped while cycling with her husband in central India.

India's Tourism Ministry has launched an "I respect women campaign" in a bid to prevent such cases from deterring visitors to the country amid fears it may not be safe for female travellers.

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