Syrian authorities says women and children who have been trapped in the besieged city of Homs are being allowed to leave immediately.

The deal comes as the peace talks between the Syrian government and the main opposition roll into a 4th straight day today.

The UN's mediator at the Syrian peace talks Lakhdar Brahimi also says the opposition delegation has agreed to a government request to provide a list of detainees held by armed rebel groups. 

But the two sides have failed to reach agreement on a prisoner exchange, as Brahimi had hoped.

The current peace talks are expected to run for seven days.

The second phase of talks follows a previous meeting joined by delegations from nearly 40 countries.

Leading the Chinese delegation at the meeting, Chinese Foregin Minister Wang Yi has made repeated calls for a political solution and an immediate cease fire between the warring parties.

 

Mansour says presidential vote to be held before parliamentary poll

Egyptian authorities have decided to call the presidential elections before the parlimentary polls.

This comes after voters adopted a new consititution earlier this month which allows a presidential election to be held before the end of April.

The parlimentary vote is to be held before the end of July.

The exact date of the election hasn't been revealed.

Many expect army chief General Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi to run for president. 

The general has not yet made a formal announcement as to whether he will enter the race.

Egyptians remain divided among supporters and opponents of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. 

Egyptian officials say that the death toll from recent clashes is approaching 50.

 

At least 21 dead in tourist ferry capsize in Andaman Islands of India

At least 21 people are dead following the capsizing of a tourist ferry near the Indian-controlled Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean.

A number of others remain missing.

So far searchers have found only 13 survivors.

A total of 43-people were on the boat when it capsized late Sunday afternoon.

Many of the vicitms are believed to be from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a popular tourist destination located off the southwestern coasts of Myanmar.

 

Five dead in SW China village fire

A fire has swept through a rural village in Guizhou, leaving at least 5 people dead.

The first started in a home in Congjiang county, on Guizhou's southeast border with Guangxi, killing the five occupants.

The fire then spread to other buildings throughout the village.

In total, the fire damaged over 20 homes, affecting over 130-people in the village.

Meanwhile, a forest fire has broken out near the tourist city of Lijiang in Yunnan.

No casualties have been reported.

Around 200 fire fighters and 500-locals have been mobilized to try to fight that blaze.

 

Police reveal details of Xinjiang terrorist attack

Police in Xinjiang are revealing more details about last Friday's deadly assault which left a dozen people dead.

Authorities say a group of 17 terrorists set off a series of bombs Friday in the county seat of Xinhe county, which is located on the northern rim of the Tarim Basin, about 400-kilometers southwest of the regional capital, Urumqi.

Police say a man named Ibrahim Qahar had been organizing religious extremeists since May, and organzied a group of 17-followers to launch the bombings on a local hair salon and vegetable market.

Six of the attackers were eventually shot and killed by police.

Six others were killed by the bombs they were carrying.

Five others were arrested.

Authorities say one police officer was slightly injured, and no bystanders were hurt.

 

China takes measures against H7N9

Health authorities here in China are putting more pressure on local health departments to be more vigilant when it comes to the spread of the H7N9 strain of the bird flu.

Three more human infections from this strain of the bird flu have been reported yesterday.

The new cases have emerged in Guangdong and Zhejiang.

This now brings the number of human cases of the H7N9 strain of Avian Influenza in Zhejiang alone this year upto 49.

New cases of the bird flu have been emerging in that province every day for the last 18-days.

Chinese vice Premier Liu Yandong has issued a call for more coordination among local health departments to better manage the spread of the virus.

Authorities are worried about the spread of the virus as more and more people travel and come in contact with poultry during the Spring Festival holiday.

 

China braces for holiday travel peak

The number of Chinese passengers is expected to top 100 million a day during the next few days as the week-long Spring Festival holiday approaches.

Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, is the country's most important traditional holiday for family reunions. China's transport system will be put to the test during "Chunyun", the 40-day travel period around the festival, which falls on Jan. 31. 

The Ministry of Transport says a total of 860,000 coaches have begun journeys already, and during the weekend, trains have been increased to 5,000, carrying an average 6.8 million passengers each day.