W O R L D

Syria foes agree on face-to-face talks
Geneva, January 24
Syria's first peace talks were on the verge of collapsing on Friday before they began, with the opposition refusing to meet President Bashar al-Assad's delegation and the government threatening to bring its team home.

Luna Chebel (left) and Bashar-al Jaafari (centre), part of a Syrian government delegation, at a UN office in Geneva on Friday. Reuters

US eyes long-lasting military ties with India 
Washington, January 24
The United States is moving forward to develop a long-term strategic military partnership with India, a top American military commander said, noting that in the long run, India's role in security in a peaceful Indian Ocean is critical.

Syrian peace talks hit roadblock
To meet today after failing to come together on first day of negotiations

The opposition said it would not meet Assad's delegation unless it first agreed to sign up to a protocol calling for a transitional administration. The government rejected the demand outright and said its negotiators would return home unless serious talks began within a day. "If no serious work sessions are held by (Saturday), the official Syrian delegation will leave Geneva due to the other side's lack of seriousness or preparedness," Syrian state television quoted Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem as saying.

Friday was meant to be the first time in three years of war that Assad's government and foes would negotiate face to face. But plans were ditched at the last minute after the opposition said the government delegation must first sign up to a 2012 protocol, known as Geneva 1, that calls for an interim government to oversee a transition to a new political order.

"We have explicitly demanded a written commitment from the regime delegation to accept Geneva 1. Otherwise there will be no direct negotiations," opposition delegate Haitham al-Maleh told Reuters. The government delegation met UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi separately, and said it rejected the opposition demand. — Reuters

UN mediator to meet warring sides separately

Geneva: UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi will meet the Syrian government delegation first and then the opposition separately. "Both meetings will be bilateral,” UN spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci said. Sources within the delegations said the opposition had refused to sit in the same room unless the regime accepted the need for a transitional government without Assad.

US eyes long-lasting military ties with India 

Washington, January 24
The United States is moving forward to develop a long-term strategic military partnership with India, a top American military commander said, noting that in the long run, India's role in security in a peaceful Indian Ocean is critical.

"I think, in the long run, India's role in security in a peaceful Indian Ocean is critical. We welcome that role," Commander of US Pacific Command Admiral Samuel Locklear told reporters at a Pentagon news conference yesterday.

"To the degree that India chooses to take on that role and to participate with us and with other partners in global security, with a central force on the Indian Ocean, this is a good thing," he said.

Locklear said the two countries are working together to strengthen their bilateral military to military ties and remove the difficulties in this regard. And we're moving in that direction," Locklear said. — PTI

Kerry hails diplomat Farah Pandith

Washington: Indian-American Farah Pandith, the first-ever US Special Representative to Muslim Communities, has left her post to join Harvard University. "Farah Pandith has been a trailblazer and visionary. She travelled to more than 80 countries and launched important youth programmes," Secretary of State John Kerry said as the State Department announced the Kashmir-born diplomat's departure on Thursday.

BRIEFLY

30 feared dead in fire at Canadian home for elderly
Montreal: Canadian firefighters on Friday searched the ashes of a Quebec retirement home that burned to the ground on a bleak midwinter night, leaving more than 30 residents feared dead. The home housed around 60 elderly people in 52 units. — AFP

Pop singer Justin Bieber appears in front of Judge Joseph Farina by video link ifrom Miami, Florida, on Thursday. Bieber was arrested in south Florida for drag racing on a main thoroughfare in a rented yellow Lamborghini. REUTERS

6 killed, over 100 injured in spate of blasts in Egypt
Cairo: Four blasts, including a suicide bombing at the police headquarters, rocked the Egyptian capital on Friday, killing six persons and wounding over 100 on the eve of the anniversary of the 2011 uprising.  — PTI

Thai court rules that Feb 2 elections can be delayed
Bangkok: A Thai court on Friday ruled that the February 2 snap polls can be delayed legally. Eight judges unanimously agreed that the vote can be postponed, and they voted 7-1 that the Prime Minister should discuss a new date with the Election Commission. — PTI

NRI banker gets life for killing wife in UK
London: An Indian-origin banker, Manas Kapoor, has been sentenced by a UK court to life imprisonment for strangling his wife, Shivani, to death in July 2013 in a fit of rage on the day he was due to face a disciplinary hearing for an accounting error that cost Morgan Stanley millions of pounds. — PTI

Indian-American indicted for campaign finance fraud
New York: Indian-American filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza, who had made a documentary on US President Barack Obama, has been indicted on charge of illegal campaign contributions of $20,000 to be made to a candidate for the US Senate in 2012. — PTI

Little India riot: Indian to plead guilty to lesser charge
Singapore: An Indian national, Chinnappa Vijayaragunatha Poopathi, one of the 25 people accused of taking part in Singapore's worst riots in over 40 years, is expected to be the first person to plead guilty to a reduced charge, a media report said on Friday. — PTI

NRI on hunger strike in London over right to vote
London: An NRI IT consultant, Nagendra Chindam, today began a three-day hunger strike outside the Indian High Commission to protest India’s failure to introduce absentee ballots for NRIs around the world. — PTI