South Sudan's government and rebel forces have started direct peace talks for the first time since deadly fighting broke out in the country last month.

The talks have been held in Ethiopia between representatives of President Salva Kiir and former vice president Riek Machar.

The rebels are demanding the government release 11 senior politicians.

The government has rejected the proposal, saying the detainees can only be released in accordance with the laws. 

As part of the international mediation efforts, the government of Sudan has announced that its president Omar al-Bashir is to visit South Sudan.

Zhong Jianhua, Special Representative of the Chinese government for African affairs, has also held talks with Sudanese officials in connection with the violence in South Sudan.

Meanwhile, government troops say they are preparing to retake Bor, the capital of the state of Jonglei.

At least a thousand people have been killed and some 200-thousand displaced.

 

Xue Long opens 1-km runway

Chinese icebreaker Xuelong has created a kilometer-long runway in preparation for breaking through the ice.

The icebreaker has been trapped by heavy floes in Antarctica since Friday after rescuing all 52 passengers on a Russian vessel which has been stranded since the Christmas Eve.

A cyclone is expected to roll through the area today or tomorrow which may change the wind direction, which may help the vessel break thought the ice.

A U.S. icebreaker is on its way from Sydney to assist the Chinese and Russian vessels.

It is expected it will take about 7 days for the US ice-breaker to reach the Xuelong.

 

Bangladesh polling stations close due to violence

Bangladesh's main opposition has called a nationwide 48-hour strike starting today.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party is demanding a cancellation of the results of this weekend's election. 

This comes hours after series of bomb blasts which left 18 people dead.

Attackers also torched at least 127 schools that were to be used as polling stations. 

The opposition left 153 of of the 300 seats in Parliament uncontested.

The ruling Awami League candidates are running unchallenged in more than half of the country's constituencies.

Results of the election are expected later on this morning.

 

Talks with Israel and Palestine positive: John Kerry

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says progress has been made in his talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials.

Kerry made the comments after meeting up with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during his tenth visit to the region in the past 12 months.

The U.S. Secretary of State also says any peace plan he will submit for consideration will be fair and balanced.

The U.S.-brokered peace talks between the Palestinian and Israeli officials re-started last year after a three-year deadlock.

An initial deadline to reach a deal has been set for April.

 

Chinese frigate on Syrian chemicals removal mission arrives in Cyprus

A Chinese navy frigate has arrived in the Cypriot port of Limassol at the start of its mission to provide security support to the operation for removing Syria's chemical weapons.

The Chinese Ambassador to Cyprus says Yancheng's arrival in Cyprus for the escort mission of removing Syrian chemical weapons showed the Chinese government's support to the effort of the United Nations and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). 

Vessels from China, Russia, Denmark and Norway will escort the transportation of the chemical weapons.

 

Suspect captured for arson attack on Chinese consulate in SF

A suspect has been arrested in connection with the arson attack on the Chinese consulate general in San Francisco last week.

The U.S. National Security Agency says they apprehended the suspect on Friday.

More details are due to be released later today.

The attack took place Wednesday night.

A person poured gasoline onto the front door of the consulate then lit it on fire.

No one was hurt.

 

US expects coldest weather in 2 decades

Temperatures in parts of the U.S. are forecast to drop to their lowest in two deacades.

Forecasters are warning an arctic front is bringing snow and cold temperatures.

Meteorologists are warning temperatures in certian parts of the US will reach minus-50 with the wind chill. 

Good portions of the north and east of the United States are being engulfed in snowy and frigid temperatures.

The city of Chicago is being pounded with massive amounts of snow, forcing the cancellation of some 12-hundred flights.

In New York, heavy snowfall has also forced the suspension of flights at the John F. Kennedy Airport.

 

China reports new human H7N9 cases

A new human case of the H7N9 bird flu has been recorded, this time in Zhejiang.

The patient is a 34-year-old woman who is listed in critical condition.

The detection of the new case comes on the heels of a confirmed case in Shanghai on Saturday.

Meanwhile, in Guangdong, the bird flu virus has been found in a live poultry market this weekend.

The market in Zhuhai has been shut down.

 

China's Forbidden City implements Monday closure

The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, in central Beijing will be closed to the public every Monday for renovation and maintenance starting on Jan. 6.

On public holidays and Mondays during July and August, the museum will be open.