Ukraine Activist 'Crucified And Had Ear Cut Off'

A Ukrainian activist who went missing during anti-government protests has stumbled into a village near Kiev saying he was beaten and tortured.

Dmytro Bulatov, 35, told Ukraine's Channel 5 television: "They crucified me, they nailed down my hands. They cut off my ear, they cut my face. There isn't a spot on my body that hasn't been beaten."

Mr Bulatov, a member of Automaidan, a group of car owners that has taken part in the protests against President Viktor Yanukovich, was reported missing on January 22.

In the television interview his face and clothes were seen covered in clotted blood, his hands were swollen and bore the marks of nails.

Protesters in central Kiev after clashes with riot police

He is among several activists whose disappearances have increased tensions the country.

One of the activists, Yuriy Verbytsky, was found dead in a forest while another, Igor Lutsenko, survived a severe beating and was hospitalised.

Opposition leader Vitali Klitschko, who visited Mr Bulatov in hospital, said: "What was done to Dmytro was an act to frighten all citizens who are being active now."

The UN's human rights office has called on Ukraine to launch an independent investigation into deaths, kidnappings and torture during the weeks of political unrest.

An anti-government protester at the site of clashes in Kiev

Rupert Coville, spokesman for the UN high commissioner for human rights, said the issue "should be promptly, thoroughly and independently investigated".

The UN statement came as Russia's outspoken Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin tweeted that US Secretary of State John Kerry's planned meeting with Mr Klitschko was a "circus".

The talks on Saturday are also expected to include Ukraine's pro-opposition popstar Ruslana.

Russian Deputy PM Dmitry Rogozin ridiculed US talks with the opposition

Mr Rogozin suggested: "It's also necessary to involve Verka-Serdyuchka in the talks," referring to a Ukrainian drag queen popstar.

"Her/his authoritative opinion should be heard by the White House and taken into account!"

Meanwhile, President Viktor Yanukovych, 63, who sparked protests when he backed out of an agreement to deepen ties with the European Union in November, has taken sick leave.

Mr Yanukovych decided the ex-Soviet republic should strengthen ties with Russia.

The embattled leader, who has an acute respiratory illness and high fever, has already lost his prime minister Mykola Azarov, who resigned on Tuesday.

Ukraine's armed forces today urged the president to take "urgent steps" to ease the crisis, entering the fray on a political level for the first time.

"Servicemen and employees of Ukraine's armed forces ... have called on the commander-in-chief (Mr Yanokovych) to take urgent steps within the limits of existing legislation with a view to stabilising the situation in the country and reaching consent in society," the defence ministry said in a statement.

They "noted that a further escalation of the confrontation threatens the country's territorial integrity," the statement added.

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'Suspicious Powder' Found Near Super Bowl Site

A white powder sent to at least five hotels near the Super Bowl site in New Jersey appears to have been a hoax threat, police have said.

The envelopes were posted to hotels close to the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, where more than 80,000 NFL fans are expected for Sunday's game.

They were found at an Econo Lodge, a Renaissance Inn and the Homestead Inn, while two other envelopes destined for a Holiday Inn Express and a Hampton Inn were intercepted by police.

No injuries were reported and an investigation by FBI counter-terrorism officers and hazardous substances teams found the contents of the envelopes were harmless.

A package containing white powder was also posted to an address in New York where the city's former mayor Rudy Giuliani has a consulting firm.

A spokesman for the New York Police Department said the envelope was the only suspicious package they were investigating.

It is thought the envelopes sent to the hotels were all posted from the same source, although it is not known whether they are linked to the package found in New York.

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Knox Says 'Heart In Mouth' Ahead Of Verdict

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter

Amanda Knox has said her "heart will be in her mouth" as she awaits a new verdict expected in the Meredith Kercher murder case.

Knox told Italian television via Skype that she would be at home in Seattle with her mother and family and that her lawyer would inform her of the outcome.

Insisting she was not involved in the murder, she said: "The proof is in the facts. There is no proof that I was there when this happened. I remember Meredith as a person who gave me friendship from the very beginning.

"If I am convicted I understand that I will be seen as a fugitive but I will continue to fight until the end."

Patrick Lumumba lost his livelihood after Amanda Knox wrongly accused him

:: See the latest updates on the Knox and Sollecito verdict here.

In a final appeal to the court her lawyer Luciano Ghirga said his client should be cleared "because there is no proof she was at the scene".

"There is no blood from Meredith on the blade," he said.

Miss Kercher was found with her throat cut

He also added that it was "inadmissible and unfounded" that custodial measures should be imposed on Knox if she was found guilty.

It comes as Patrick Lumumba, the barman Knox wrongly accused of killing Miss Kercher in 2007, urged Knox to come to court "'if she is as innocent as she claims".

Mr Lumumba was held in custody after Knox told police she had ''covered her ears as he killed'' Miss Kercher in the student house the girls shared.

However, he was cleared after two weeks when a university professor provided a watertight alibi, while Knox was charged with murder and sexual assault along with her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito.

The pair's conviction was overturned on appeal but the Italian Supreme Court ordered a retrial of that appeal and the verdict is due this week. Sollecito was in court on Thursday for the fresh verdict.

Arline Kercher, Meredith's mother, told Sky News: "We just want justice," adding that she thinks about Meredith "all the time".

Meredith's sister Stephanie and brother Lyle said: "We just want to find out the truth on what happened on that night and to get justice.

"The only people that can do that are the judges, the jury, who are there with the evidence.

Amanda Knox and Raffaelle Sollecito

"They are the ones who will make the decision based on what they have heard. As we have always said we don't want the wrong people to pay, we are ready to accept whatever decision."

Mr Lumumba, who lost his bar following Knox's allegations and is now an unemployed musician, wants to see the 26-year-old back in the courtroom.

Speaking ahead of Thursday's verdict, he said: ''If she (Knox) is innocent she should come to court for the decision. I will be there. If she is so sure that she had nothing to do with it, then she should be in court to hear the judge's decision.

''I think she is running away - I'm the one who has been left in a real mess because of what she said. My bar closed and my business folded - I have nothing now and no work.

''Because of what she said I was put in jail for two weeks and my bar was impounded by the police for four months. My friends tried to help me as best they could but it wasn't enough because they were all having a hard time as well.

The house where Meredith was killed in 2007

''The false arrest had a real negative impact on my personal life and my business life - things have never really recovered and it's all because of what Amanda wrongly told the police. I haven't even been paid any compensation by her that I'm owed.''

As a result of the false accusation, Mr Lumumba was dragged from his home in front of his children and wife in a dawn raid.

Knox was convicted of slandering him and ordered to pay him €22,000 in 2011.

She and Sollecito, 29, were originally charged in 2007 after Miss Kercher was found semi-naked with her throat cut in the bedroom of her house in Perugia, Italy.

Knox was sentenced to 26 years and Sollecito to 25 years but in 2011 the verdicts were overturned and both walked free.

The retrial began last September in Florence, 100 miles from where the murder took place.

Though Knox has remained in the US, she did email the court to protest her innocence in a statement read out by her lawyer in which she insisted she ''was not a monster".

Judge Alessandro Nencini described the emailed statement as unusual, adding that defendants ''should be in court if they wanted to speak".

It is not entirely clear if the Italian authorities would seek Knox's extradition even though a treaty exists between both countries.

To add to the confusion, any verdict will go to a further automatic appeal at the Supreme Court - so a final decision could be years away.

The retrial has shifted the alleged motive away from a sex game gone wrong to a simple bitter feud of jealousy between Knox and Miss Kercher - with the British girl uncomfortable at her American flatmate's untidiness and habit of bringing men home.

However, Knox and her lawyers insist the theory is rubbish, with Knox herself stressing that the two were ''good friends'' and that she has expressed several times a desire to visit Miss Kercher's grave and meet her family.

Miss Kercher's sister Stephanie and brother Lyle are expected to travel from their home in Coulsdon, Surrey, for the verdict - the third time in seven years they have attended a court trial.

Stephanie said the family "just want everything to be over", adding "we can only accept what the judges say and accept the Italian judicial system".

A third man, Rudy Guede, 27, described as a drifter from the Ivory Coast, is serving a 16-year sentence for murder and sexual assault and is expected to be released on parole next year. He, like Knox and Sollecito, has always protested his innocence.

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Boston Bombing: Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty

Federal prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the Boston Marathon bombing.

The 20-year-old is accused of helping orchestrate the April 15 blasts that killed three people and wounded more than 260 others.

Seventeen of the 30 federal charges levelled against Tsarnaev carried the possibility of the death penalty, including using a weapon of mass destruction to kill.

Tsarnaev is accused of using a weapon of mass destruction. Pic: VK.com

US Attorney General Eric Holder made the decision to press for execution.

He said: "After consideration of the relevant facts, the applicable regulations and the submissions made by the defendant's counsel, I have determined that the United States will seek the death penalty in this matter.

"The nature of the conduct at issue and the resultant harm compel this decision."

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a shoot-out with police

Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty. A trial date has not been set.

Prosecutors allege that Tsarnaev and his 26-year-old brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, built and planted two pressure cooker bombs near the finish line of the marathon to retaliate against the US for its military action in Muslim countries.

The elder Tsarnaev died in a shoot-out with police during a getaway attempt days after the bombing.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found hiding in a Boston surburb

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was wounded but escaped on foot.

He was later found hiding in a boat parked at a suburban Boston home.

Authorities said he wrote about his motivation for the bombing on the inside of the boat.

Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell and Lu Lingzi were killed in the bombings

The bombings stunned the nation during one of Boston's most celebrated events as runners crossed the finish line and friends, families and spectators were gathered to cheer them on.

Eight-year-old Martin Richard, 29-year-old Krystle Campbell and 23-year-old Lu Lingzi were killed in the twin blasts.

Tsarnaev also is charged in the killing of an MIT police officer and the carjacking of a motorist during the brothers' attempted flight from justice.

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Israel 'Must Divide' Ancient West Bank Village

By Tom Rayner, Middle East News Editor, Jerusalem

Israel's Defence Ministry has told a court that it has "no alternative" but to extend its controversial separation barrier through a potential world heritage site.

At a hearing at Israel's Supreme Court in Jerusalem, lawyers for the Ministry said it had made all the security concessions possible, but it remained necessary for the barrier to divide the land of the ancient West Bank village of Battir.

Battir, which straddles a valley in the Bethlehem hills, just miles from Jerusalem, is famed for its unique terraced hills which have been built by hand over millennia.

The fertile lands of the Palestinian village are filled with vegetables, fruit crops and olive groves, all fed by natural spring water which flows through Roman irrigation systems, built more than 2,000 years ago.

A Palestinian farmer irrigates her land in the West Bank village of Battir

However, plans put forward by Israel's Defence Ministry to extend the separation barrier - which in some areas nearby is an eight-metre-high concrete wall - would divide the village off from around 35% of its ancestral land.

The area under threat lies on the opposite side of the valley, across the 1949 armistice line which separates Israel from the West Bank, known as the "green line".

Residents of Battir were guaranteed continued access to the land by the Israeli state after the 1948 war, in return for a pledge that the railway which runs along the line would not be vandalised.

The creation of the wall along the proposed course would end that agreement, and cut the land off both from the water that irrigates it, and the residents of Battir who tend to it.

Israel claims the wall is necessary for security, and says it has prevented suicide attacks in the country.

But many in the international community, as well as the Palestinians, see it as a means of appropriating land beyond Israel's pre-1967 borders.

Akram Badir, the head of Battir Village Council, said claims the routing of the wall through Battir was necessary for security were misplaced.

Battir is famed for its unique terraced hills built by hand over millenia

"This village is living in peace. Destroying this site and taking off nearly 40% of the land of Battir means destroying the peace situation as well as the landscape," he said.

Over the last few years, new Israeli settlements, deemed illegal under international law, have been constructed on hills overlooking the village.

The construction of the separation barrier is also coming closer.

It is already at the gates of the nearby village of Walaja, which has led to a gathering of momentum in the battle to protect Battir.

But there has been some annoyance among residents of the village that more has not been done by the Palestinian Authority to assist them in their bid to protect the land.

As a member of Unesco, the Palestinian Authority has the ability to make an emergency application to the UN body to grant Battir world heritage site status.

Given that Battir has already been awarded a prize by Unesco identifying it as a place of unique importance, there is thought to be a good chance such an application would be swift and successful.

The barrier would cut the land off from the water that irrigates it

World heritage site status would almost certainly rule out the possibility of Israel's barrier being routed through the village's land.

Yet those involved in the lobbying effort to the Palestinian Authority say the application process has been held back for fear of disrupting peace negotiations with Israel, due to an agreement on withholding approaches to UN agencies.

In the meantime, the village has won support from an unlikely quarter - the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority.

The body has backed the appeal against the Defence Ministry's planned routing of the barrier - the first time one arm of the Israeli state has publicly opposed another on this matter.

At earlier court hearings Israel's Defence Ministry insisted residents of Battir would still be able to access the land through special security gates and that the barrier would take the form of a fence, rather than a wall, but Gidon Bromberg, an Israeli spokesman for Friends of the Earth Middle East, said such a plan risked the cultural and environmental importance of the land.

He said: "This site is so unique that we must protect it, not just for Israelis and Palestinians, but for humankind as a whole. We can meet the legitimate security concerns by alternative means."

Construction of Israel's separation barrier, which Palestinians call the "apartheid wall", began in 2002 in the midst of a wave of suicide bombings inside Israel during the Palestinian uprising known as the Second Intifada.

As of July 2012 Israel had completed construction of 62% of the planned 439-miles of separation barrier, and 85% of the route is beyond the "green line" inside the West Bank.

A final ruling in the case of Battir, and other villages in the Bethlehem area, has been delayed to a later date.

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Amanda Knox Court Absence Blasted By Barman

By Nick Pisa, Sky News Reporter

Amanda Knox has been urged to come to court ''if she is as innocent as she claims'' - just hours before a new verdict is expected in the Meredith Kercher murder case.

The comments come from Patrick Lumumba, the barman Knox wrongly accused of killing Miss Kercher in 2007.

Mr Lumumba was held in custody after Knox told police she had ''covered her ears as he killed'' Miss Kercher in the student house the girls shared.

However, he was cleared after two weeks when a university professor provided a watertight alibi, while Knox was charged with murder and sexual assault along with her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito.

Patrick Lumumba lost his livelihood after Amanda Knox wrongly accused him

The pair's conviction was overturned on appeal but the Italian Supreme Court ordered a retrial of that appeal and the verdict is due this week.

Knox has remained at home in Seattle and neither she nor Sollecito will be in court.

Mr Lumumba, who lost his bar following Knox's allegations and is now an unemployed musician, wants to see the 26-year-old back in the courtroom.

Miss Kercher was found with her throat cut

Speaking ahead of Thursday's verdict, he said: ''If she (Knox) is innocent she should come to court for the decision. I will be there. If she is so sure that she had nothing to do with it, then she should be in court to hear the judge's decision.

''I think she is running away - I'm the one who has been left in a real mess because of what she said. My bar closed and my business folded - I have nothing now and no work.

''Because of what she said I was put in jail for two weeks and my bar was impounded by the police for four months. My friends tried to help me as best they could but it wasn't enough because they were all having a hard time as well.

''The false arrest had a real negative impact on my personal life and my business life - things have never really recovered and it's all because of what Amanda wrongly told the police. I haven't even been paid any compensation by her that I'm owed.''

As a result of the false accusation, Mr Lumumba was dragged from his home in front of his children and wife in a dawn raid.

Knox was convicted of slandering him and ordered to pay him €22,000 in 2011.

Knox and Sollecito, 29, were originally charged in 2007 after Miss Kercher was found semi-naked with her throat cut in the bedroom of her house in Perugia, Italy.

Knox was sentenced to 26 years and Sollecito to 25 years but in 2011 the verdicts were overturned and both walked free.

Amanda Knox and Raffaelle Sollecito won't be in court this week

The retrial began last September in Florence, 100 miles from where the murder took place.

Though Knox has remained in the US, she did email the court to protest her innocence in a statement read out by her lawyer in which she insisted she ''was not a monster".

Judge Alessandro Nencini described the emailed statement as unusual, adding that defendants ''should be in court if they wanted to speak".

It is not entirely clear if the Italian authorities would seek Knox's extradition even though a treaty exists between both countries.

To add to the confusion any verdict will go to a further automatic appeal at the Supreme Court so a final decision could be years away.

The house where Meredith was killed in 2007

The retrial has shifted the motive away from a sex game gone wrong to a simple bitter feud of jealousy between Knox and Miss Kercher - with the British girl uncomfortable at her American flatmate's cleanliness and habit of bringing men home.

However, Knox and her lawyers insist the theory is rubbish, with Knox herself stressing that the two were ''good friends'' and that she has expressed several times a desire to visit Miss Kercher's grave and meet her family.

Miss Kercher's sister Stephanie and brother Lyle are expected to travel from their home in Coulsdon, Surrey for the verdict - the third time in seven years they have attended a court trial.

A third man, Ivory Coast drifter Rudy Guede, 27, is serving a 16-year sentence for murder and sexual assault and he is expected to be released on parole next year. He, like Knox and Sollecito, has always protested his innocence.

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Ukraine Scraps Controversial Anti-Protest Laws

By Katie Stallard, Sky News Correspondent, in Kiev

Ukraine's prime minister has resigned, as the country's parliament voted to strike down controversial anti-protest laws.

The measures were forced through parliament two weeks ago, triggering a new wave of mass protests and violent clashes in which two activists were shot dead in front of police lines.

Opposition leader and former world heavyweight boxing champion said it was a "small, but important step".

In a statement posted on the government's website, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov insisted it was his personal decision to stand down "for the sake of peaceful resolution".

He said: "The conflict situation which has come about in the country is threatening the economic and social development of Ukraine, creating a threat to the whole of Ukrainian society and to each citizen.

"With the aim of creating extra means for finding a socio-political compromise, for the sake of a peaceful settlement of the conflict, I took the personal decision to ask the president to accept my resignation." 

A cleric blesses anti-riot protest policemen

In reality, his position had become increasingly untenable after President Victor Yanukovich publicly offered the post to opposition leader Arseniy Yatseniuk on Saturday, along with a deputy prime ministerial job for Vitaly Klitschko.

Both Mr Yatseniuk and Mr Klitschko formally declined the posts today.

Mr Yatseniuk's Fatherland Party commented via twitter: "The resignation of the prime minister does not mean the resignation of the government."

Thousands of protesters gathered in Independence Square to watch the parliamentary vote on a big screen - all actions proscribed under the new laws.

They cheered as one after the other the measures were voted down.

Speaking outside parliament, Vitaly Klitschko said: "The positive thing is that we have revoked those shameful laws.

Vitaly Klitschko says the law changes are a start but more needs to be done

"This is a small but a very important step. Today we also need to bring up a question, a very important question of amnesty to stop the prosecution of all the protesters. This is very important. It is also very important to go back to the question of returning to the constitutional amendment of 2004."

But few were moved by Azarov's offer of resignation, insisting that the president himself should stand down and call new presidential elections.

Azarov is deeply unpopular among protesters, whom he has referred to as "terrorists".  He has accused the opposition of attempting to organise a coup d'etat.

The 66-year-old is considered a loyal lieutenant of President Yanukovich and a key figure in the government's decision not to sign an EU trade deal in November, which brought the first protesters to the the streets.

He has served as PM since 2010.

"All these difficult years I was doing everything so that Ukraine could develop normally as a democratic European country." he said. "I made decisions and took responsibility in the interests of the Ukrainian people.

Russian-speaking east Ukraine backs close ties with Russia

"That's why I can honestly look in the eyes of each citizen of our country.

"I am grateful to all the citizens of Ukraine who supported the government and me personally, who believed - and still believe - that our political course is correct.

"The most important thing to do is to preserve the unity of Ukraine. This is so much more important than someone's personal plans and ambition."

Oleg Tsarev, a member of parliament for the ruling Party of Regions said: "I am very sorry about this, I think in this situation to change the cabinet will add economic instability to political instability - this is a wrong decision."

Parliament will vote later on a proposed amnesty for those detained in the protests, along with a commission to consider changing the constitution back to that of 2004, as it was following the Orange Revolution.

Today's parliamentary session is seen as the first substantive move towards resolving the crisis, and an indication the government is searching for a compromise.

The opposition said talks would continue, but vowed the protests would go on.

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State Of Union: Obama Vows To Bypass Gridlock

President Barack Obama has vowed to bypass a divided Congress and take action to boost the US economy after a troubled year in office.

Facing strong Republican opposition and low approval ratings after the worst year of his presidency, Mr Obama unveiled actions that do not need congressional approval to bypass partisan gridlock that has held back his presidency.

They include raising the hourly minimum wage for new federal contracts to $10.10, helping the long-term unemployed find work and expanding job training programmes.

He said: "Inequality has deepened. Upward mobility has stalled.

"The cold, hard fact is that even in the midst of recovery, too many Americans are working more than ever just to get by - let alone get ahead.

"And too many still aren't working at all."

He was greeted with warm applause as he arrived to give the address to a joint session of Congress.

Speaking on partisan politics that have stalled action, including his flagship Affordable Care Act, he said: "We are not doing right by the American people.

"After five years of grit and determined effort, the US is better positioned for the 21st century than any other nation on Earth.

"Let's make this a year of action. That's what most Americans want - for all of us in this chamber to focus on their lives, their hopes, their aspirations."

He promised to improve US education, by connecting 15,000 schools and 20 million students with high-speed broadband in the next two years.

The initiative will be supported by charitable partnerships with companies including Apple, Microsoft, Sprint and Verizon.

Mr Obama proposed new incentives for vehicles which run on natural gas and alternative fuels, as well as expansion of the earned-income tax credit, which helps boost the wages of low-income families through tax refunds.

He also called on Republicans to stop attempts to stall his health reform.

And he warned Congress he would veto new economic sanctions against Iran as negotiations to limit its nuclear programme continue. An estimated $7bn in international sanctions have been lifted against Iran in exchange for it slowing the programme.

A poll this month found 45% of those surveyed approved of Mr Obama, compared to 53% against.

Republicans have blocked many of Mr Obama's initiatives, including on gun control and climate change, and this year's mid-term elections make it unlikely the will rally behind his proposals.

In the autumn, federal government in the US shut down for 16 days and brought the country to the brink of default as Republicans refused to sign through budget proposals.

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Ukraine PM Quits Amid Unrest

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has resigned, saying he hopes the move will help bring resolution to a crisis that has gripped the nation for two months.

Mr Azarov said he was stepping down to try and encourage a "social-political compromise" to the unrest in the country.

In a statement he said: "Today the most important thing is to preserve the unity and integrity of Ukraine. This is far more important than any personal plans or ambitions. That is why I have taken this decision."

Mykola Azarov'sresignation, which would remove one of the figures most despised by the opposition, came as parliament opened a special session expected to repeal harsh anti-protest laws that were imposed this month.

Those laws set off the police-protester clashes in which at least three protesters died.

The pro-Western protests in Kiev began on November 21 after President Viktor Yanukovych shelved a long-planned political and economic treaty with the EU, then accepted a huge bailout package from Russian President Vladimir Putin instead.

He then approved the anti-protest laws to try to curb the protests.

Demonstrations then spread to other parts of the country, including to some cities in the Russian-speaking east, the base of the president's support.

The crisis has been aggravated in recent days after protesters and police clashed violently.

Police violently dispersed two of those protests, after which crowds grew substantially, angered by the brutality. 

Protesters established an extensive tent camp in downtown Kiev's main square, where demonstrators have gathered around-the-clock since early December.

Not all of Ukraine is in favour with closer ties to the EU.

Many of the Russian-speaking citizens of the east want the country to retain its ties with Russia.

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Egypt: Ex-President Mohamed Morsi On Trial

The trial of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi is due to start in Cairo.

He and some 130 others, including members of his banned Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas and Lebanon's Shia militant group Hizbollah, face charges over prison escapes during the country's 2011 revolution.

Prosecutors have said some of the defendants were also accused of murdering police officers and helped thousands to escape during the jailbreak - Mr Morsi himself was among those who escaped from Wadi Natrun jail.

Mr Morsi flew by helicopter from prison in Alexandria to the hearing which is being held at a heavily guarded makeshift courtroom in eastern Cairo.

The Islamist leader, who faces two other trials, was deposed by the army in July following massive popular protests against his one-year rule.

Torn posters of the ousted president

The hearing comes as senior Egyptian official General Mohamed Saeed was assassinated outside his home in Cairo by two gunmen.

The powerful military is backing army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al Sisi to run for the presidency after he led the ousting of Egypt's first democratically elected president.

The trial is part of a relentless government crackdown against the former leader and his Islamist supporters that has seen more than 1,400 people killed since he was deposed, according to Amnesty International.

Most of those killed have been pro-Morsi demonstrators in street clashes with police and his opponents.

The date of the start of the new trial is symbolic as Tuesday marks the third anniversary of the prison break that occurred during the uprising against Hosni Mubarak.

A poster of Mr al Sisi on the wall of a shop in Cairo

A Brotherhood lawyer has said the trial appears aimed at "denigrating" Mr Morsi and the Brotherhood.

In an earlier court appearance, Mr Morsi insisted he was still the country's legitimate president and challenged the legitimacy of the court, regularly interrupting the judges and prosecutors.

He faces charges in four separate trials, some of which carry the death penalty.

Meanwhile, state news agency Mena reported that gunmen blew up a natural gas pipeline Monday night in the volatile Sinai Peninsula south of el-Arish, the capital of the North Sinai governorate.

Gas pipelines have come under attacks several times since the 2011 downfall of Mubarak with the last attack took place 10 days ago.

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Egypt Army Backs Head To Run For President

Egypt's top military body has backed army chief Abdel Fattah al Sisi to run for the presidency, state media has reported.

Sisi, who ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last July after mass street protests, could officially announce his candidacy within hours, the official news agency MENA reported.

In order to stand the 59-year-old will have to resign from his job as defence minister and from the military.

Earlier on Monday, the country's interim president Adly Mansour issued a decree elevating Sisi to the position of field marshal, a move seen as paving the way for a presidential bid.

Supporters of the army and police in the capital Cairo at the weekend

The promotion came after MENA reported the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces had met to "discuss developments on the security front ... [and] the peoples' demand for the defence minister [Sisi] to run for the presidency".

The state-run Al-Ahram newspaper claimed the group also named Chief of Staff Sedki Sobhi to replace Sisi as army chief and defence minister when he steps down.

The election is due to be held by mid-April and will be followed by parliamentary elections. Sisi, if he wins, is expected to influence the outcome of those elections by forming a party that would attract candidates.

His popularity has increased in line with the perception he is the strongman needed to end violence and instability that has plagued Egypt since 2011 and the fall of President Hosni Mubarak.

Islamists have repeatedly clashed with security forces

But the general faces a determined opposition and frequent terrorist attacks.

More than 1,000 people have been killed in Egypt since the overthrow of Morsi, including dozens of members of the security forces.

Over the weekend at least 49 people were killed in clashes between Islamist protesters and police, as thousands rallied in the capital Cairo to mark the third anniversary of the revolution that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak.

Five soldiers were killed on Saturday when a military helicopter came down in the Sinai. Al Qaeda-inspired jihadist group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis claimed it shot down the aircraft with a missile, but the authorities said it was an accident.

A supporter of Sisi hugs a poster of him

The group also claimed responsibility for a car bombing outside the police headquarters in Cairo on Friday that killed four people.

Also on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Bahaa El-Din resigned in a post on his Facebook page. He is seen as one of the few in the Cabinet who have attempted to limit the crackdown on Morsi's supporters and promote reconciliation with Islamists.

The statement said: "[Bahaa El-Din] indeed tendered a written resignation from his ministerial position to the prime minister this morning so he can resume his political, party and legal activity outside the government."

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Syria Peace Talks 'Deadlocked' Over Assad Future

The Syria peace talks are "deadlocked" over proposals for a transitional government in the war-torn country, say delegates.

The third day of negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, broke down over the issue of President Bashar al Assad's future and possible power-sharing with rebel leaders.

Mediator Lakhdar Brahimi, an Algerian diplomat representing the UN and Arab League, then called a halt to Monday's session.

Opposition delegation member Rima Fleihan said the talks were "not constructive" after the regime insisted on discussing "terrorism" instead of a transition.

Syrian forces have agreed to allow women and children to leave Homs

The Syrian government has ruled out discussions about Mr Assad leaving power and the first two days of the UN-sponsored talks focused on humanitarian issues.

Syrian deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad told Sky News the Assad regime had come to Geneva "with all willingness to contribute to the success of this meeting".

He said his government had presented delegates with a paper containing five essential points "that will make the way smoother for the actual discussion when we come to the hard issues".

The list includes "full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria" and "rejection of all forms of dictate and foreign interference in Syrian internal affairs - directly or indirectly."

Asked by Sky whether that rejection included Iran's backing of the Assad regime, he said: "If we speak about such things, at the end of the whole list will come such names.

The US says aid supplies are urgently needed in Homs

"But before that, we have to combat more than 83 countries that are interfering daily in the internal affairs of the Syrian Arab Republic - sending arms, sending weapons, sending terrorists and sending all that is destroying Syria."

The first tangible - if limited - sign of progress came on Sunday when the regime agreed to allow women and children safe passage from the besieged, rebel-held city of Homs.

Homs, one of the first cities to rise against President Assad, had a pre-war population of one million, but most residents have fled.

UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi called a halt to Monday's talks

Activists say about 800 families are trapped in the rubble-strewn city, without regular access to food, medicine and basic necessities.

Mr Brahimi acknowledged that the agreement to free women and children fell short of his hope of sending aid convoys into the city.

But, he said, "to bring Syria out of the ditch in which it has fallen will take time".

The US has said the evacuation of women and children is not enough, and urged the Syrian government to allow supplies into the city because "people are starving".

The talks are aimed at ending a war which has so far claimed 130,000 lives and made two million people refugees.

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Syria: 'Women And Children Free To Leave Homs'

The Syrian government has agreed to allow women and children safe passage from the besieged, rebel-held city of Homs, says UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi.

Mr Brahimi announced the news at the end of the second day of negotiations at the Syria peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland.

"What we have been told by the government side is that women and children in this besieged area of the city are welcome to leave immediately," he told reporters.

"Hopefully starting tomorrow, women and children will be able to leave the old city in Homs."

Homs, one of the first cities to rise against President Bashar Assad, had a pre-war population of one million, but most residents have fled.

Children will now be allowed to leave Homs

Activists say about 800 families are trapped in the rubble-strewn city, without regular access to food, medicine and basic necessities.

"The regime is blocking all convoys to Homs and has been doing so for months," said a senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the peace talks.

"The situation in Homs is extremely urgent. Anything the government says to the contrary is false."

A young girl pleads for help in the old city of Homs

Mr Brahimi, an Algerian diplomat representing the UN and Arab League, acknowledged that the agreement to free women and children fell short of his hope of sending aid convoys into the city.

But, he said, "to bring Syria out of the ditch in which it has fallen will take time."

He said he was pleased with the general tone of talks between Syria's regime and opposition leaders, and was hopeful of a breakthrough in the nearly three-year-old civil war.

"Now we are approaching a solution - at least for the civilians," said Mr Brahimi.

The talks have yet to touch on President Assad's future

"I am happy, because in general there is mutual respect and they are aware of the fact that this attempt is important and we must continue. I hope that this mood will continue."

The deal is being seen as the first tangible - if limited - sign of progress in talks aimed at ending a war which has so far claimed 130,000 lives and made two million people refugees.

The talks have yet to touch upon Mr Assad's future.

The thorniest topic - a possible transitional government - will not come up until at least Monday, Mr Brahimi said.

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Israel 'Must Lead Battle' Against 'Quenelle'

By Tom Rayner, Middle East News Editor, Jerusalem

An Israeli lawmaker has said his country must lead from the front in banning the use of Nazi language and symbols, if it expects other countries to take tough measures against anti-Semitism.

In an interview with Sky News, politician Shimon Ohayon said the rise of the "quenelle" gesture in Europe should be seen as a reason for the Israeli parliament to fast-track his proposed new law.

The bill he has put forward would criminalise the use of the word "Nazi" as an insult in Israel.

The "quenelle" gesture, coined by French comedian Dieudonne M'bala M'bala, has been perceived by many as an inverted Nazi salute.

French comedian Dieudonne coined the 'quenelle' gesture

Fans have been pictured making the "quenelle" pose outside places such as the Anne Frank museum in Amsterdam and the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.

Dieudonne has numerous convictions for hate speech against Jews, and his show has recently been banned in some French cities.

He denies it is anti-Semitic, saying it is instead a symbol of emancipation.

Shimon Ohayon wants to ban the use of 'Nazi' as an insult in Israel

While Mr Ohayon welcomes the support that France's President Francois Hollande has given to the bans issued to Dieudonne, he says Israel must lead by example when it comes to passing tougher laws.

"We have to lead. Israel as a Jewish state must lead this battle, to be on the front. If we are expecting other countries to pass legislation to prohibit Nazi symbols we have to lead."

Within Israel itself, is not so much anti-Semitism as the use of Nazi references as insults between Jews which prompted the drafting of the law.

At sports fixtures opposing fans have often been heard to sing chants accusing their opponents of being "Nazis".

On Facebook, opposition to particular government policies have sometimes resulted in doctored photographs going being uploaded, showing the ministers responsible with superimposed Hitler-esque moustaches or wearing SS uniform.

Protests against extending the compulsory military draft in the country to ultra-orthodox Jews has also resulted in demonstrations in which holocaust imagery was used.

Ultra-orthodox children have been paraded wearing striped pyjamas and yellow star of David badges - the implication being that the Israeli authorities themselves are behaving like the Nazis.

Children have been paraded wearing yellow star of David badges

Similar use of yellow stars was employed by settlers who were removed from Gaza in Israel's unilateral withdrawal in 2005.

There are fears that use of Nazi references in these ways erodes understanding of the significance and importance of the holocaust, but critics say the proposed new law would be overly draconian and would curtail freedom of speech.

Others, such as Avner Shalev, the director of the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum and memorial in Jerusalem, believe the problem can be tackled with other means.

"I do believe that educational means might do the same function, they have made the difference in the past. I think they can create the right atmosphere in public discourse, and build up the culture of public discourse, which is more important than the bill."

The draft law has passed its first reading in the Israeli parliament.

It will be debated a further two times before it can be voted into law.

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Egypt: Deadly Clashes On Uprising Anniversary

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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Francois Hollande Leaves Valerie Trierweiler

French President Francois Hollande has announced he is leaving First Lady Valerie Trierweiler following allegations he had an affair with an actress.

Mr Hollande, 59, the most unpopular French leader in modern history, announced the news in a telephone call to the Agence France Presse (AFP) news agency on Saturday evening.

Saying he was speaking as a private individual, Mr Hollande was quoted as saying: "I wish to make it known that I have ended my partnership with Valerie Trierweiler."

Earlier, officials in France denied reports that the couple were separating.

A spokesman for the Elysee Palace, the president's official residence, told Sky News the "rumour" was "not true" and said it was not preparing to issue a statement.

Patrice de Beer, former editor of French newspaper Le Monde, told Sky News he believes Mr Hollande announced the news to try to draw a line under the scandal.

Closer magazine published a story about Mr Hollande's love life

He said: "He wants to show there is a difference between his private life and his public life, which would probably mean that there shouldn't be any more first ladies in the future.

"And if he has a partner she won't be attending official functions, she won't have an office or bodyguards, she won't be part of official visits. Things have dragged on far too long."

Earlier this month, Mr Hollande admitted he was going through a "painful time" in his personal life after a French gossip magazine printed photos it claimed showed him spending a night with 41-year-old actress Julie Gayet.

Closer has since removed the report from its website, although it did not order copies of the publication to be pulled from news-stands.

Ms Gayet is suing the magazine for €50,000 (£41,650) in damages and €4,000 (£3,330) in legal costs, claiming it breached French privacy rules.

Mr Hollande threatened to sue over claims he had an affair with Julie Gayet

Mr Hollande, who has himself threatened legal action over the pictures, said he was "totally indignant" about the story, which he claimed threatened the principle of "respect for private life and people's dignity".

Although the president is not married to Ms Trierweiler, they were long-term partners.

She assumed the role of First Lady after Mr Hollande's election in 2012. It is not clear whether she remains First Lady following their announced separation.

Ms Trierweiler, 48, was admitted to hospital on January 10 with depression after the allegations about Mr Hollande's private life were published, and was released only last weekend.

She is due to fly to Mumbai in India on Sunday for a charity trip organised by Action Against Hunger, in what will be her first public appearance since the scandal broke.

Mr Hollande announced his separation from Segolene Royal, a senior member of his Socialist party and a presidential candidate in 2007, just after she lost the election to Nicolas Sarkozy.

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