BBC News with David Austin
The European Union says it regrets the decision by Swiss voters to abandon an agreement on the free movement of people. The vote passed by the narrowest of margins 0.3 of a percent, with rural areas said to be in favour of prestoring quotas and cities against. Imogen Foulkes reports from Berne.
This is a result the Swiss government and business leaders most feared, a yes to immigration quotas. The government will have to tell the EU that Switzerland does not want free movement of people. Already, Brussels has said it regrets the vote, adding ominously that it will examine the implications on EU-Swiss relations as a whole. That means all Switzerland’s other treaties with the EU are at risk, including its crucial access to European single market where over half of all Swiss exports are sold.
The Syrian Red Crescent says that about 600 women, children and elderly men have been evacuated today from a besieged area in the Syrian city of Homs despite shelling and gunfire. Jim Muir is following events from Beirut.
As happened the day before, mortars were fired into the old city as civilians were assembling for evacuation and there were reports of casualties. But that didn't deter the UN and Syrian Red Crescent from pushing on with their mission. A convoy with released supplies went in and then group by group, vulnerable civilians were brought out. This was the final day of what was agreed at a three-day humanitarian truce. Although hundreds of civilians were evacuated despite the shooting and shelling today, the governor of Homs said the ceasefire may be extended by a further three days to allow all those who might want to leave the chance to do so.
At least 8 people, including an eight-year-old girl have been shot dead by unidentified gunmen at a faith healer's house in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi. Officials said 12 others were wounded when the armed men broke into the house of a Sufi cleric, the cleric was serious injured. No group has admitted responsibility for the attack. Karachi, Pakistan's largest city has been rocked by sectarian, ethnic and political violence in recent years.
British officials have met flood control experts from the Netherlands and the United States, seeking advice on how to deal with continuing severe floods affecting the south and southwest of Britain. A wide area known as the Somerset Levels has been underwater for weeks. The British Meteorological Office senior scientist Julia Slingo says climate change has almost certainly contributed to the storms.
“We're beginning to detect an increase in intensity of daily and hourly rainfall rates over the UK. We're looking at ongoing sea level rise and there are now some studies emerging that suggest the storminess is increasing if we look at the long-term trends over the last century also.” ——Julia Slingo
World News from the BBC
Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been holding a protest rally against President Viktor Yanukovych in Kiev. At the rally, the leader of the Fatherland Party, Arsenyi Yatsenyuk gave this warning.
“My true will depends on whether this president is ready yet to hammer out the deal. If no, Ukraine is to face another circle of violence, and this will be the personal responsibility of this president.”
Ukraine's state security service placed anti-terrorist units on alert, saying it'd received threats to airports and transport hubs, but it's not clear if it was related to the rally. The protests began in November after the President abandoned a trade agreement with the EU in favor of closer ties with Russia.
Protesters in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo have accused the police of assaulting people arrested following Friday's violent demonstrations. Parents of teenagers detained during the unrest gathered outside the city's main police station after rumours had spread that the police had been beating them in custody. A 15-year-old who just has been released told the BBC that he'd been kicked unconscious, the police deny any wrongdoing.
Russia has won its first gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Sochi in team figure skating, a new event. From Sochi, here's Alex Capstick.
A blissful moment for Russian sports fans, the ice dance pair of Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov had held their nerves. It was the final events of the competition, the mainly Russian crowd, including President Vladimir Putin inside the iceberg arena roared his approval at every twirl, every lift and every embrace. Relief and joy for the Russians, they hope this will be the first of many celebrations over the next two weeks. Alex Capstick reporting.