BBC News with Jonathan Izard
A Syrian opposition delegate arriving in Switzerland for a peace conference has called for President Assad and his government to stand trial at the International Criminal Court in the light of newly released photographic evidence. It suggested that the government has starved, tortured and killed about 11,000 prisoners in detention centers. A spokesman for the Syrian government said the report was a political instrument to put pressure on President Assad. The conference in Montreux on Wednesday will bring together for the first time representatives from the government and the main opposition umbrella group, the National Coalition. Bridget Kendall reports from Montreux.
It's no coincidence that this new report has been released on the eve of the Swiss talks, for President Assad's opponents had reinforced their claim that his regime is murderous and criminal. But the UN Secretary General won't want his peace talks to collapse into a shouting match. Already there’s talk of possible local truces and humanitarian access to besieged areas. But even that may be a tall order, given the uncertainty that the Assad government will make real concessions and the lack of sway the opposition delegation has over many rebel groups fighting in Syria.
One of the main parties in the Libyan government has withdrawn its 5 ministers in protest against the policies of the Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. But Justice and Construction Party, which is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, holds Mr. Zeidan responsible for the deteriorating security conditions in the country. Mr. Zeidan has again said he will not step down. Rana Jawad reports from Tripoli.
The Justice and Construction Party, the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, has withdrawn its five ministers serving in the cabinet, these include the ministers of economy, oil and electricity. The latest announcement comes after repeated failed attempts within the country's legislative body, the National Congress to secure a no-confidence vote against the Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. The latest political developments are likely to introduce bigger challenges in Libya's continuous struggle to rebuild its institutions and to stabilize the country.
A senior Vatican churchman and accountant has been served with an arrest warrant on charges of money laundering and fraud. Prosecutors allege Monsignor Nunzio Scarano siphoned off charitable donations made to a home for the terminally ill in southern Italy to pay off his mortgage. Monsignor Scarano is already under house arrest and on trial for an alleged plot to smuggle $20m from Switzerland.
In its latest assessment, the International Monetary Fund says the global economic recovery is strengthening but warns that the improvement is also weak and uneven. The IMF has raised its growth forecast for this year and predicts accelerating expansion after that. But it says that as recovery takes hold in rich countries notably the United States, stimulus policies will be curtailed which could disrupt financial markets. The IMF predicts that emerging economies will ultimately benefit because increasingly confident richer nations will buy more from them.
BBC News
The Georgian government has accused Russia of moving its border 11 km inside the breakaway Georgian territory of Abkhazia for the duration of the Winter Olympic Games. The Foreign Ministry in Tbilisi says it's deeply concerned about what it calls the illegal expansion into land that was a focus of a war between Russia and Georgia in 2008. Rayhan Demytrie reports from Tbilisi.
In its statement the Georgian foreign ministry said Russia's decision to move its border deeper into Abkhazia was an illegal expansion into Georgia's sovereign territory and a violation of international law. Abkhazia, a breakaway region internationally recognized as part of Georgia, is situated close to the Russian city of Sochi which is hosting the Winter Olympics early next month. As part of its extensive security measures ahead of the Games, Russia has created a temporary border zone, expanding 11 km into several Abkhaz settlements. The area will be patrolled by Abkhaz security forces and local residents will have to carry ID cards at all time.
A Court of Appeal in France has upheld a ruling that will grant the first compensation payments to women fitted with defective breast implants. It concerns a German company TUV Rheinland which certified the implants. Christian Fraser reports from Paris.
The Appeal Court upheld a lower court decision that TUV Rheinland, the German company that certified PIP's implants, must start making interim compensation payments now to over 1,600 women who were part of the first class action. TUV had wanted to delay the initial payments of 3,000 euros per victim until a broader appeal is heard later this year on the decision they were part responsible.
World football governing body FIFA has warned the Brazilian authorities that the southern city of Curitiba may be excluded from this year's World Cup. The Secretary General of FIFA Jerome Valcke described the issue as delicate and said FIFA would announce in a month’s time whether Curitiba would remain a host.