CAR: More Violence As Foreigners Set To Leave

More violence has broken out in the Central African Republic (CAR) capital of Bangui following the resignation of the country's president and prime minister.

At least three people were killed in the clashes, including a Christian vigilante, an ex-Seleka rebel and a civilian, according to the Central African Red Cross.

The fighting came as the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) prepared to evacuate thousands of stranded foreigners caught up in the fighting. 

Sporadic gunfire was heard in Bangui and there were widespread reports of looting in the city.

The head of the Central African Red Cross, Pastor Antoine Mbaobogo, said many looters were targeting Muslim-owned shops.

Crowds gather in the streets of Bangui after the president's resignation

"Those who were looted when the (mainly Muslim) Seleka arrived (in March last year) are now looting in turn," he said.

President Michel Djotodia, the first Muslim leader in the majority Christian nation, resigned on Friday alongside his prime minister, Nicolas Tiengaye.

During his tenure, Mr Djotodia set up a transitional council and promised open elections but unrest and sectarian fighting began within months of his appointment. 

It was hoped his resignation would help ease tensions in the country.

The CAR has seen spiralling violence between the mainly Muslim Seleka rebels who brought Mr Djotodia to power last year, and Christian militias.

Michel Djotodia was the nation's first Muslim leader

More than 1,000 people have been killed in the past month alone and signs of sectarian conflict remain in Bangui where a mosque was targeted by a gang of young looters.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has called on the African Union to provide promised troops to help end the "terrible crisis" in the nation. 

So far, France has deployed 1,600 troops to help support the African Union MISCA force, which is meant to have up to 6,000 troops but has not yet reached 3,500.

European nations on Friday agreed in principle on a plan to launch a joint military operation in the country, with a final decision expected later in the month.

An interim parliament will hold a special session on Monday to discuss Mr Djotodia's replacement.

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Ex-Miss Venezuela: Funeral For Murdered Model

The funerals are taking place of a former Miss Venezuela beauty queen and her British ex-husband who were murdered as they returned from holiday.

Monica Spear and Thomas Henry Berry are being laid to rest a day after their families held a private wake in Caracas before allowing fans of the model-turned-actress to view her body.

The pair were killed in a robbery on an isolated stretch of highway while they were returning to the Venezuelan capital with their five-year-old daughter.

Mourners line up to pay tribute to the Venezuelan star

Although the weapon used in the robbery has not been found, it has emerged that a digital camera stolen during the attack led police to a criminal group which allegedly preyed on motorists on the stretch of road between Puerto Cabello and Valencia.

The camera was found at the home of one of seven people arrested over the killing and helped officers trace other suspects in the case.

According to Jose Gregorio Sierralta, chief of Venezuela's criminal police, at least 11 people were involved in the crime - four of whom remain on the run.

The pair had been returning to Caracas from holiday with their daughter

The commissioner claimed the 32-year-old alleged ringleader of the group, known as Fat Danilo, supplied younger men in the gang with guns and drugs.

The deaths of Ms Spear and her ex-husband provoked a national uproar over Venezuela's rampant violent crime.

Hundreds of mourners waited in long lines outside the Caracas chapel to pay their respects to the 29-year-old, who had a starring role in a popular TV soap series.

The former Miss Venezuela had become and actress

District mayor Ramon Muchacho said: "It is a crime that shakes the foundation of the country. And that puts in front of our eyes the awful reality we live in.

"Sometimes Venezuelans live in escapism, looking one way or the other, trying to forget what happens every day. But this crime reminds us that there are more than 20,000 families, who are left in mourning every year in Venezuela (due to violence)."

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Ukraine Protests: Ex-Minister Among 10 Injured

Ten people have been injured in early morning clashes between riot police and protesters outside a courthouse in Ukraine's capital, witnesses said.

Police used tear gas and batons to control the crowd of several hundred people who were protesting in Kiev against the sentencing of three activists.

Among those injured is former interior minister Yuri Lutsenko, who served under jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.

Police said they have no information about injuries in the protests

Despite witness accounts, police said in a statement they have no information about injuries during the protest.

Meanwhile, 10km away in central Kiev, several thousand people have set up camp to protest against President Viktor Yanukovich's decision to spurn a European Union trade deal and strengthen Ukraine's economic ties with Russia.

The demonstrations began when Ukraine suspended talks with the EU on November 21 and have grown in size and intensity after unsuccessful attempts by police to clear the protest camp.

Demonstrations began in November last year and have since escalated

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets on December 15 in a huge rally dubbed the 'day of dignity', where they demanded the resignation of the government and called for European human rights.

Ukraine remains deeply divided, between the European-leaning west, and Russian-speaking east.

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'Bulldozer' Sharon Was Ruthless But Courageous

In October 1953, Israeli paratroops and commandos from the Jewish State's first special forces unit, attacked the Arab village of Qibya, on the West Bank.

Some 69 villagers, many of them women and children, were killed. International condemnation followed.

But the raid did nothing to slow down the rise of the then leader of the SF - Unit 101 - Ariel Sharon.

He went on to personify all that Israel stood for - not among moderates but among those who most hated Israel, and among many who most loved it.

Many in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan and beyond will celebrate the final passing of Mr Sharon.

His cunning, tactical finesse, brutality and uncompromising belief in the secular Zionist cause, meant he usually won battles and sometimes wars, against those who would annihilate Israel.

Mr Sharon (c) was an architect of Israel's victory in the 1967 Six Day War

He will be mourned as one of the leading lights of Israeli statesmanship who began fighting for the nation before it existed, who shattered the Egyptians in the Sinai in 1967, and saved Israel from defeat in 1973.

But for one man Mr Sharon's death is a particular blow.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Israeli Prime Minister, will now inevitably face comparisons with Mr Sharon, and be found significantly wanting.

Mr Sharon was brave. He was ruthless. He may even have been murderous. But he also had political courage.

As prime minister of Israel from 2004-2005, he ordered the withdrawal of illegal Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip.

He had been the champion of the settlements as both a Zionist enterprise and a tactical necessity.

But to advance peace with the Palestinians he turned on his own.

Some of his confidantes even believe that when he split with the Likud party to form Kadima, shortly before his stroke eight years ago, he had been planning to pull Israeli troops out of the West Bank too. 

Mr Sharon at the al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, sparking the Second Intifada

Such dramatic moves could only be contemplated by a man who had impeccable hardcore credentials among Israel's right.

He had the medals, and he had earned international opprobrium in defence of Israel.

As defence minister he brought disgrace on the Jewish State after the massacre of Palestinians by Lebanese Christians allied with Israel at the Sabra and Shatila camps in 1982.

An Israeli government investigation found him personally responsible for the atrocity.

In September 2000, he ignited the al Aqsa Intifada by provocatively exercising his 'right' to enter the al Aqsa Mosque complex in a move which sparked immediate bloodletting.

Yet after all this hard-headed belligerence, Mr Sharon recognised that Israel could not survive indefinitely in a regional sea of hatred.

His plans to end the most poisonous aspect of Israel's relationship with her Arab neighbours, the occupation of Palestinian lands, were cut short when he suffered a stroke.

His political heir, Mr Netanyahu, was an officer for a while in Sarayet Metkal, Israel's special force founded by Mr Sharon.

He has led the Likud party and been prime minister for longer than the man they called "the bulldozer".

But his critics fear he does not have Mr Sharon's military credibility, popularity, nor the political backbone or the personal dash that Israel so badly now needs.

This will be the year in which Bibi gets the chance to prove that he is Mr Sharon's political son, not his shadow.

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Ariel Sharon Dead: Israel's Ex-PM Dies

Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has died following a long illness.

The 85-year-old's son was quoted as saying he had died, eight years since a stroke at the height of his powers left him in a coma.

Gilad Sharon said: "He has gone. He went when he decided to go."

Gilad Sharon announces his father's death

Sheba Medical Centre, where he was being treated, said he died at around 2pm (midday UK time).

Mr Sharon's condition suddenly deteriorated on January 1 when he suffered serious kidney problems after surgery.

Sharon's 2000 visit to a disputed Jerusalem site caused the second Intifada

Nicknamed 'The Bulldozer', the veteran soldier fought in all of Israel's major wars before beginning a turbulent political career in 1973.

Long considered a pariah for his personal but "indirect" responsibility for the 1982 massacre of hundreds of Palestinians by Israel's Lebanese Phalangist allies in Beirut's Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, he was elected premier in 2001.

Ministers in Israel's right-wing government and the political opposition mourned a leader who left big footprints on the region through military invasion, Jewish settlement building on captured land and a unilateral decision to pull Israeli troops and settlers out of the Gaza Strip in 2005.

President Shimon Peres said: "My dear friend, Arik Sharon, lost his final battle today.

"Arik was a brave soldier and a daring leader who loved his nation and his nation loved him. He was one of Israel's great protectors and most important architects, who knew no fear and certainly never feared vision."

Mr Sharon was accused over the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre

Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said in a statement: "The nation of Israel has today lost a dear man, a great leader and a bold warrior."

There was no immediate comment on the death from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, with whom Mr Sharon's Likud party successor, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has been holding US-sponsored peace talks.

But in Gaza, Hamas welcomed Mr Sharon's death.

"We have become more confident in victory with the departure of this tyrant," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zurhi said.

"Our people today feel extreme happiness at the death and departure of this criminal whose hands were smeared with the blood of our people and the blood of our leaders here and in exile."

More follows...

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Paedophile Dutroux's Ex-Wife Seeks Italy Refuge

The former wife of notorious serial child killer and paedophile Marc Dutroux is seeking refuge in Italy after nuns in Belgium told her they no longer wanted her to live with them, according to reports.

Michelle Martin was freed on parole in 2012 after 16 years in prison, on condition that she move into a Belgian convent near the central city of Namur.

However, the nuns are now moving to Brussels and do not want her to come with them.

Martin, whose move into the convent caused widespread anger, has now asked the authorities for permission to go elsewhere, possibility to a religious community in Italy.

The Dutroux's house, where three of the bodies of the victims were found

On January 2, she was told she would be allowed to go there for a week, in the hope she would get permission to stay at the Cristo e La Riposta community, in the small village of Bagno a Ripoli near Florence, Sudpresse reported.

"We do not know when she will come," Sudpresse cited the centre's Canadian pasteur Paul Schafer as saying.

"At this point, we have not discussed a permanent residency with us. First of all, there will be a stay of five to seven days so that she can reflect and rest," Mr Schafer said.

Marc Dutroux was denied parole last year

"A Belgian evangelical group told me (of her case) and I responded favourably.

"We know that she is in the eye of the media in Belgium and we are ready to offer her a spiritual retreat in our group, nothing more," he added.

Dutroux was jailed for life in 2004 for the kidnap and rape of six girls, and the murder of four of his victims, in one of the most infamous episodes in Belgium's criminal history.

Protests last September at the prospect of Martin's release

Former schoolteacher Martin, who was arrested in 1996, was sentenced at the same time as her then ex-husband, for helping him hold the girls captive and for complicity in the deaths of two who were found starved to death in a locked cellar.

Martin married Dutroux in 1983 and had three children with him before they divorced in 2003.

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Amanda Knox Wants To Speak To Kercher Family

By Nick Pisa, Sky Correspondent

Amanda Knox has again stressed her innocence - and desire to meet the family of the British student she is accused of murdering.

Knox, 26, currently on trial in her absence, is accused of stabbing Meredith Kercher to death and sexually assaulting her. 

Speaking to Italian newspaper La Repubblica as the case reached its closing stages, she said: "I want to speak to them. I want to tell them I had nothing to do with Meredith's death, that I liked her and we were friends.

"When I saw them (Kerchers) in court I wanted to speak with them and I asked my lawyers if I could do that. My lawyer approached them but their lawyers rejected it."

Knox was initially convicted at that trial in 2009, along with her then boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 30, but two years ago they were sensationally cleared and freed from jail.

Meredith was murdered in the house she shared with Knox in Perugia in 2007

The high-profile case, which has been marked with controversy, sparked further headlines last year when that ruling was overturned and the case sent back to trial. 

Officials switched the hearing from Perugia, where the murder took place seven years ago, to the Florence appeal court where proceedings started in September. 

Knox has not appeared and explained herself saying: "It was a really painful decision not to attend the retrial. I wanted to come. I wanted to be present in court. 

"I was put in jail for four years with no proof but on suppositions."

Knox added she hoped after being eventually cleared of any involvement it would lead to a meeting with the Kercher family. 

She said: "I know they believe I am the killer of their daughter, they are convinced that I murdered her and so even now it's not the right time to speak with them.

"That day will come and I hope it will come soon after my innocence has been definitely proved."

However, she still appeared to be apprehensive over the verdict as she added: "I have spoken to Raffaele ... he is more optimistic than me.

"If I am convicted then I will be, as they say, on the run."

Co-accused Raffaele Sollecito insists he will stay in Italy for the verdict

Sollecito has made an appearance at the retrial giving an emotional 15-minute statement proclaiming his innocence and asking the court to "give him his life back".

Summing up took place on Thursday and a verdict is expected on January 30, with the Kercher family expected to attend the hearing.

Miss Kercher, from Coulsdon, Surrey, was found semi-naked and with her throat cut in her bedroom of the house she shared with Knox in Perugia in November 2007.

Ivory Coast drifter Rudy Guede, 27, has already been convicted of murder and sexual assault and sentenced to 16 years. He is eligible for parole next year.

If she is convicted prosecutors have demanded Knox be jailed for 30 years and they would seek her extradition from the US.

However, she is unlikely to return from her home in Seattle, as her legal team will argue that she has in effect already been tried and then cleared before this latest case.

Sollecito, who was in court for Thursday's hearing and who also risks jail, has insisted he will remain in Italy for the verdict.

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Brazil: Girl Dies After Bus Fire Attack

By Karine Mayer, Senior News Editor in Rio de Janeiro

Inmates of Brazil's most notorious jail are being blamed by police after a six-year-old girl was killed by a gang who torched a packed bus.

Ana Clara Santos Souza died three days after suffering 95% burns when armed men set fire to the vehicle while passengers were still on board.

Hundreds of people attended her funeral, demanding an end to a wave of gang-led terror that has swept the region since December.

Authorities in the northeastern city of Sao Luis believe the attack was ordered by gang leaders in revenge for a crackdown on violence in Pedrinhas prison.

CCTV footage shows a man board the bus and pull a handgun from his trousers.

As he orders people out of the vehicle, other armed gang members appear in the road and train their weapons on the terrified passengers.

The bus suddenly bursts into flames with people still on board, although at least one passenger manages to jump off.

But Ana appears to fall in the footwell of the bus before scrambling off engulfed in flames, which she desperately tries to put out.

Riot police have been deployed to control violence in the Pedrinhas jail

Her family said the gang had ignored her mother's pleas for mercy.

A relative told Brazil's O Globo newspaper: "Her mother asked the criminals not to harm the children, but they showed no mercy and set fire to the girl."

Her father, Wenderson de Sousa, said:  "I've just buried my daughter. It's terrible pain. There is no logic to this - such cruelty." His wife and one year-old daughter are still in hospital.

Four other people - including Ana's mother and older sister - were injured as four buses were set alight and a police station targeted in a drive-by shooting in the city on January 3.

The Maranhao state government says the attacks were ordered by criminals at the notorious Pedrinhas jail, where at least 62 inmates died last year.

Officials said in a statement: "The attacks are in reaction to recent measures to curb jail violence."

Brazil, which has the world's fourth-largest prison population, has been shocked by footage of the beheading of three Pedrinhas prisoners - apparently filmed on a mobile phone by other inmates.

The gruesome film is narrated by the killers, who gleefully display their victim's heads like trophies as they stand over pools of blood.

In October Maranhao asked for government help after several outbreaks of violence between rival gangs and military police were deployed after the beheadings in December.

Eight suspects have been arrested over the violence in Sao Luis and extra troops have been deployed across the city, state security secretary Aluisio Mendes said.

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Syria Chemical Weapons Destruction In Germany

Germany has said it will help destroy Syria's chemical weapons stockpile on home soil to assist international efforts to end the almost three-year conflict.

The country's foreign and defence ministries said they had accepted a request from the United Nations to help destroy some of the waste material from Syrian chemical weapons at a facility in the northern city of Munster.

"The government decided following a request by the UN-Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons that Germany is prepared to make a substantial contribution to the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons," the ministries said in a joint statement.

Speaking in Berlin German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: "Nobody who possesses the technological capabilities required can really refuse.

"The destruction of chemical weapons could be the first decisive step towards enabling a de-escalation of the Syrian conflict."

Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen added: "Germany has safe technology and a lot of experience with destroying remnants of chemical arms. It is sensible for us to use this capability for the sake of the international community and with it, make a worthy contribution to the peace process." 

Under the terms of the agreement, the weapons will first be destroyed onboard a ship at sea. The remnants left by the process will then be transported to the Munster facility. 

Syria's conflict has been ongoing for nearly three years

The first shipment of toxic chemicals was loaded onto a Danish cargo vessel in the Syrian port of Latakia on Tuesday.

Last month Sky News reported that the UK had also volunteered to destroy 150 tonnes of two industrial-grade chemicals. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office stressed that "chemicals, not chemical weapons" would be incinerated in the UK.

The Syrian government agreed to hand over its chemical arsenal last September as part of a deal brokered by the United States and Russia to rid Syria of its chemical arsenal by June 30.

Syria submitted to the deal following US threats of military invention in the wake of a sarin gas attack outside Damascus, which US authorities said left more than 1,400 people dead.

According to UN estimates more than 100,000 have been killed since the uprising against President Bashar al Assad began in March 2011. More than two million people have fled the country, many to neighbouring Jordan and Lebanon.

On Thursday, at least 16 people were killed and dozens wounded when a car bomb was detonated near a school in Syria's central Hama province, state media reported. The Britain-based opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, put the death toll at 18.

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Afghan 'Security Threat' Prisoners To Be Freed

Afghanistan is to free all but 16 of 88 prisoners regarded as a security threat by the United States, the White House has said.

The US is strongly opposed to their release because it says the prisoners are responsible for more than 60 Nato coalition and 57 Afghan deaths.

America also fears they could return to the battlefield as Nato withdraws.

A meeting chaired by Afghan President Hamid Karzai "ordered the Bagram prisoners' dossier review board to free those prisoners who are innocent and against whom there is no evidence", a statement said.

The statement said that of the 88 prisoners at the centre of the dispute, there was no evidence against 45 of them and only circumstantial information against 27. The remaining 16 would be kept in jail.

US General Joseph Dunford, commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan, had lodged an official objection to the plan, saying it was against the agreement signed when Bagram jail was handed over in March.

Last week a group of US senators met Afghanistan's President Karzai in Kabul to warn him that releasing the detainees from Bagram - also known as the Parwan Detention Facility - would be a "major step backwards".

Bagram jail was passed to Afghan control by the US after a public stand-off with Karzai, who has depicted the jail as a symbol of Afghanistan's efforts to regain its national sovereignty.

The move could further damage relations between the two countries, which have been strained over President Karzai's refusal to sign a security deal to shape the US military presence after most foreign troops leave this year.

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Muslim Woman Convicted For Wearing Veil

A French Muslim woman has been fined €150 (£124) for wearing a full-face veil.

Cassandra Belin was also given a one-month suspended sentence for insulting police officers who arrested her in the Paris suburb of Trappes last year.

The confrontation between Ms Belin, her husband and police when she was stopped and given a ticket for breaking the ban on wearing the face covering, triggered riots in the area.

The lower Paris also rejected a request from Belin's lawyer for the ban, which has been in place since 2011, be referred to the Constitutional Court.

Philippe Bataille had argued that the law impinges religious freedoms and unfairly targets Muslims.

Cassandra Belin's husband Michael Khiri and lawyer Philippe Bataille

He pledged to continue his fight to have the ban overturned, saying: "I am not throwing the towel in."

The riots in Trappes reflected tensions between police upholding France's strict policies of secularism and those who accuse authorities of discriminating against Islam, the country's second-most followed religion.

French authorities say the ban is needed for security reasons and to uphold the country's secular traditions.

But critics point out that although the ban covers all face coverings, only women in veils have been arrested.

The European Court of Human Rights is expected to rule later this year on a legal challenge brought by a French Muslim who argues that the ban violates her rights to freedom of religion, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.

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Schumacher Ski Accident Off 'Well-Marked' Slope

Prosecutors investigating Michael Schumacher's ski accident said examination of his helmet camera showed he had left a properly marked out trail at the time of his fall.

Albertville prosecutor Patrick Quincy said the two-minute film from the helmet camera was very clear and showed the former  Formula 1 driver lost his balance in the French resort of Meribel and struck his head on a rock.

The fall left him in a critical condition and he has been in a medically induced coma since December 29.

Investigators said they had established the signage on the slopes was in accordance with regulations, but the area where Schumacher was hurt was "virgin territory" so was not marked and could be dangerous.

"There are French standards setting rules on safety, signalling, demarcation ... The checks we have made show these standards had been respected," Mr Quincy said.

However, he said the investigation would take time to establish whether the area where he was skiing could be classed as an "official piste" in French law.

Investigators have visited the scene of the accident in Meribel

The video will now be examined by a police expert in mountaineering.

Problems with the rented skis Schumacher was wearing have also been ruled out.

Mr Quincy said Schumacher was "obviously a very good skier" but had not been able to slow himself down in the rocky area of the slope where he fell.

Describing the sequence of events after the former F1 driver went off-piste, he said: "At one point his skis touch a rock, he loses balance and falls forward and his head hits a rock which is 3.5 metres below.

"The rock he hit is eight metres from the edge of the piste and Mr Schumacher on the ground, inanimate, is nine metres from the edge of the piste. That's the information we have with regard to the inquiry."

Early viewings of the helmet camera footage appear to confirm this sequence of events.

Prosecutors said Mr Schumacher's wife Corinna had been 'very co-operative'

The inquiry has not yet been able to confirm reports that Schumacher - who was on a family holiday - was going to the aid of a relative when he fell or the speed at which he was travelling, Mr Quincy said. 

Police chief Stephane Bozon said Schumacher's speed increased when he entered the steeper off-piste section and he had tried to slow down but had difficulty because of the nature of the slope.

Mr Quincy said investigators have also spoken to emergency services and doctors and visited the scene of the accident.

The Albertville prosecutor's office carries out around 50 investigations into serious skiing and climbing accidents every year, he added.

On Monday, a source said he had made a "slight improvement" but remained in a stable but critical condition.

There was initially speculation that Schumacher was travelling up to 100kph (60mph) when he crashed, after it was revealed his helmet had split on impact.

But subsequent reports suggested he was travelling at a "leisurely pace" of up to 20kph (12mph).

Schumacher, known affectionately as 'Schumi' by fans, is the most successful F1 driver in history, racking up a record 91 race wins.

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Qatar World Cup 'Will Not Be Held In Summer'

By Paul Kelso, Sport Correspondent

The 2022 World Cup will not be played in Qatar during June and July, Fifa Secretary General Jerome Valcke has said.

Speaking to French radio, Valcke ruled out holding the controversial tournament in the heat of the Gulf state's summer, when temperatures can reach 50C, saying a date between November and January 2023 would be more appropriate.

"The dates for the World Cup will not be June to July," Valcke, the second most powerful man in international football's governing body, told Radio France.

"To be honest, I think it will be held between November 15 and January 15 at the latest.

The Lusail Stadium will host the tournament's opening match and final

"If you play between November 15 and the end of December that's the time when the weather conditions are best, when you can play in temperatures equivalent to a warm spring season in Europe, averaging 25 degrees.

"That would be perfect for playing football."

Valcke's comments appear to pre-judge a consultation he is leading on the instruction of the Fifa executive committee.

Last October, Fifa President Sepp Blatter said he would consult all those affected by a dramatic change to football's traditional calendar before making a definitive decision.

Fans in Doha, Qatar, celebrate winning the right to host the World Cup

Valcke has been speaking to football authorities around the world including the Premier League in order to find a solution to a problem of Fifa's own making.

The Premier League would prefer the tournament not to be moved but will find a November tournament easier to accommodate than one played in January, when the domestic calendar is busier.

Fifa's top inspector, Harold Mayne-Nicholls, said in October that a summer tournament in Qatar would be "impossible" - even with the cooling technology proposed by organisers.

Qatar surprised many when it secured the tournament in a 2010 Fifa vote

FA chairman Greg Dyke also told Sky News that the temperatures "would be impossible for the fans".

Fifa shocked many in the football world when it awarded the World Cup to the Arab state following a vote in December 2010, where it beat the likes of the US and South Korea.

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Footballer Thomas Hitzlsperger Says He Is Gay

Former Aston Villa, West Ham and Germany footballer Thomas Hitzlsperger has announced that he is gay.

The 31-year-old, who also played for Everton and VfB Stuttgart, is the most prominent player to say he is homosexual and the first to have appeared in the English Premier League.

He said he was speaking out in a bid to break the taboo of homosexuality in sport.

The midfielder, who ended his playing career in September due to persistent injuries, told Germany's Die Zeit newspaper that now was "a good time" for him to reveal his true sexuality.

"I'm coming out about my homosexuality because I want to move the discussion about homosexuality among professional sportspeople forwards," he said.

The midfielder played more than 50 times for his country

Hitzlsperger said he had only realised "in the past few years" that he would "prefer to live together with another man", saying the issue is otherwise taboo inside the dressing room.

"I've never been ashamed of the way I am," he said.

He conceded it had not always been easy to live with some of the comments dished out on the subject.

"Just picture 20 men sat around a table together drinking - you've just got to let the majority be, just as long as the jokes are halfway funny and the talk about homosexuality doesn't get too insulting," he said.

"In England, Germany or Italy, homosexuality is not taken seriously as an issue, at least not in the dressing room."

The German government and  the country's football association (DFB) both praised Hitzlsberger's decision to come out.

Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said: "It's good that he talks about something that is of importance for him and that might as well also free him.

"We live in a country in which nobody should be afraid to commit to his sexuality out of intolerant reasons."

DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach said: :"It shows that he is a bright and clever young man. I have always had great respect for him and his message from the interview makes this respect even greater."

Former Leeds and United States winger Robbie Rogers announced he was gay last year.

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Polar Vortex Eases Grip On Frozen US States

An arctic blast that has sent temperatures plummeting to record-breaking levels across much of the United States has begun to ease.

The polar vortex that started in the Midwest and spread to the East and South, affecting more than half the US population, is shifting northwards.

States will start to thaw as it surges across the Atlantic, leaving behind warmer temperatures and calmer winds.

Temperatures fell to -24C in Chicago, Illinois. Pic: Hank Cain

However, a so-called "hard freeze warning" for cold temperatures that are dangerous to both people and pets remains in place for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

The crippling cold left at least 21 people dead, including seven in Illinois and six in Indiana.

Several victims were homeless people who either refused shelter or were unable to find temporary accommodation quickly enough.

New Yorkers wrapped up as temperatures fell to -14C (6.8F)

In Embarrass, Minnesota, temperatures dropped to as low as -37C (-35F), while in Chicago, Illinois, the mercury fell to -24C (-11.2F).

Fountains froze over in Atlanta, Georgia, and residents of New York City shivered in lows of -14C (6.8F).

One street cleaner in New York said: "It's brutal out here. Your fingers freeze off after three minutes, your cheeks feel as if you're going to get windburn and you work as quick as you can."

A woman takes a photograph on the frozen shore of Lake Michigan, Wisconsin

The bitter weather also wreaked havoc on transport services across the country.

More than 500 Amtrak passengers were stranded overnight on three Chicago-bound trains that were stopped by blowing and drifting snow in Illinois.

More than 11,000 flights were cancelled as airlines struggled to load baggage onto planes and refuel aircraft.

Meanwhile, many schools and day care centres across the eastern half of the US were forced to close.

More than 60 million people in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and South were asked to conserve electricity, although there were no reports of widespread power outages.

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Senkaku Islands: Japan Sends Jets in China Row

Japan has scrambled fighter jets to head off a Chinese government plane flying towards islands that are the source of tension between the two countries.

The Chinese Y-12 propeller plane went into Japan's air defence identification zone around 99 miles away from airspace surrounding the uninhabited Senkaku Islands, which Japan controls but Beijing claims as its own and calls the Diaoyu Islands.

A Japanese defence ministry official said the aircraft headed back towards China without entering the contested airspace after the jets became airborne.

The incident in the East China Sea is the first since China created its air defence identification zone (ADIZ) in November, a move which further strained relations.

Chinese government ships and planes have been spotted off the islands numerous times since Japan nationalised them in 2012.

Earlier this week, a Chinese chef crash-landed into the sea while trying to fly a hot-air balloon to the disputed islands.

There are fears an escalation in the row could have far-reaching repercussions, drawing in Japan's ally, the United States.

The islands are strategically important because they are close to international shipping lanes, offer abundant opportunities for fishing and could potentially lie close to rich oil and gas reserves.

Japan and China have also recently been involved in a diplomatic war of words, with ambassadors from both comparing the other country to Lord Voldermort, the Harry Potter villain.

In a Daily Telegraph article last week, the Chinese ambassador to the UK criticised Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to a controversial shrine seen as the repository of around 2.5 million souls of the country's war dead.

This includes several high-level officials who were executed for war crimes after the Second World War, which saw Japan invade China.

Liu Xiaoming wrote: "If militarism is like the haunting Voldermort of Japan, the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo is a kind of horcrux, representing the darkest parts of that nation's soul."

In the same newspaper his Japanese counterpart Keiichi Hayashi said that China risked becoming the "Lord Voldermort of East Asia".

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Iraq Gets US Military Boost Amid Rising Unrest

Iraq Violence Was 'Waiting Powder Keg'

Updated: 1:10pm UK, Monday 06 January 2014

By Tim Marshall, Diplomatic Editor

The fighting in the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Ramadi threatens to hasten the disintegration of a country in chaos.

The upsurge of violence has simply highlighted a pattern of sectarian strife which emerged in early 2013 and shows no signs of ending.

Unlike during the violence of 2006/07, the Americans are no longer around to stand between the sectarian factions.

Fallujah and Ramadi are in Anbar province in the west of Iraq, which is overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim and is the stronghold of al Qaeda in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). 

Under Saddam Hussein, the Sunnis dominated the country but that came to an end after the US led invasion of 2003.

The regional, ethnic, and sectarian tensions in Iraq were always present since its inception as a state in 1920, but the lid was taken off this simmering pot by the American invasion.

The subsequent botched attempts at nation building widened the sectarian divide.

The Americans fought the Shia and Sunni militia, the Sunni and Shia fought one another, and the Kurds in the north warned everyone to keep their distance.

The US forces struggled and only achieved a degree of relative stability during the 'Sunni Awakening'.

The Sunni tribes, realising they were losing control of Anbar province to al Qaeda, allied with the Americans. 

Al Qaeda may have been Sunni, but they were mostly foreign fighters and they had designs on the territory of Anbar. The temporary alliance worked and the violence receded.

In 2011 Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's government refused to allow the Americans even 'basing rights' for a skeleton force and so the US military pulled out completely.

There was now no one left to stand between the factions, or broker deals, if they began to fight again.

The Shia are the majority among the Arabs in Iraq, and under Maliki they have taken control of the main levers of power in the country; the military, the judiciary, the interior ministry, and the cabinet.

Sunnis felt increasingly disenfranchised and the victims of repression.

A year ago they began demonstrations in Ramadi and Fallujah calling for the freeing of tens of thousands of prisoners held without charge by Maliki's forces. The protests spread to other Sunni areas in the country. 

The Prime Minister said the demonstrations and protests camps were a front for al Qaeda and secessionists and ordered the security forces to break them up. Hundreds of people were killed in the ensuing violence and a campaign of terrorism across the country killed thousands.

Subsequent attempts at compromise were undermined by hardliners on both sides in parliament.

Anbar province was a powder keg waiting to explode.

Late last month, Maliki ordered a military raid on an ISIS camp in western Anbar, the arrest of a senior Sunni politician in Ramadi, and the clearing of a protest camp.

The backlash came almost immediately. The Sunni tribes rose up and quickly reformed their militias. They took on the government forces pushing them out of Ramadi and Fallujah.

Some, fearing that Al Qaeda would take revenge for the 'awakening', also targeted ISIS fighters.

Now the Iraqi army is poised on the outskirts of the two cities waiting to take them back. 

As the Americans found, the fighting will be hard, with no guarantee of success. The longer it goes on, the greater the chance that it will spread and the more it will undermine the national elections set for April 30.

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Polar Vortex: 187 Million Hit By Big Freeze

More than half the US population is under a wind chill warning as a blast of freezing Arctic air sweeps south and east across the country, bringing the coldest temperatures for decades.

The whirlpool of dense air known as the "polar vortex" has caused a number of deaths, closed schools and businesses, cancelled thousands of flights and left highly-populated cities facing colder temperatures than Siberia.

Around 187 million people could eventually feel the effects of the freezing temperatures - and Americans have been warned their skin could freeze within minutes if they go outside.

The US East Coast is preparing for the cold front moving in from the Midwest on Tuesday and areas as far south as Brownsville, Texas and central Florida are facing record low temperatures.

Temperatures were 11 to 22C (20 to 40F) below average in parts of Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nebraska and broke records in Chicago, Oklahoma and Texas, according to the National Weather Service.

A satellite image shows the polar vortex sweeping across the US. Pic: Nasa

The US saw colder temperatures than Almaty, Kazakhstan, where it was -22C (8F), Mongolia at -23C (-8F) and Irkutsk, in Siberia, at -33C (-27F).

The National Weather Service has issued life-threatening wind chill warnings for temperatures as low as -51C (-60F) in western and central Dakota and officials in Indiana - hit by high winds and more than a foot (30cm) of snow - urged residents to stay indoors.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard asked schools and businesses to stay closed for another day and said: "The cold is the real killer here.

A tractor is used to clear snow from Woodward Avenue in central Detroit

"You could be dead in 10 minutes without the proper clothes."

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency, announcing that parts of the New York State Thruway in Western New York would be closed due to extreme winter weather conditions.

The weather has caused chaos for US business and industry, threatening to disrupt oil drilling and fracking and hit livestock and grain shipments across the farm belt, even in the Deep South.

Some 4,392 flights were cancelled and 3,577 delayed on Monday, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks airline activity.

Many airlines could not allow their ground crews to remain outdoors for more than 15 minutes at a time.

Birds gather on the partially frozen River Charles in Boston

There were hundreds of cancellations by airlines including United, Southwest and American at airports across the Midwest and Northeast as supplies of fuel and de-icer froze.

The weather has been blamed for a number of deaths across Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.

They included a 48-year-old Chicago man who had a heart attack while shovelling snow on Sunday and an elderly woman who was found outside her Indianapolis home early Monday.

Some states are beginning to turn their focus to recovery, with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and Indiana Governor Mike Pence issuing disaster declarations, paving the way to request federal aid.

There were, however, some signs of things returning to normal in the affected areas.

A commuter wraps up warm in Chicago

JetBlue Airways, which stopped all scheduled flights to and from New York and Boston on Monday, plans to resume some flights on Tuesday morning.

Southwest Airlines operations in Chicago resumed on Monday night, even if it was, as a spokesman for the Texas-based airline called it, "a trickle".

The Minnesota Zoo announced it would reopen to the public on Tuesday and state lawmakers in Indiana plan to open their 2014 legislative session after a day's postponement.

Warmer temperatures - at least near or above freezing - are in store for the Midwest later in the week.

Indianapolis should reach -3C (27F) on Wednesday, and other parts of the central US could climb above freezing later in the week.

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Merkel Sings On Crutches After Ski Accident

Angela Merkel's recent skiing accident where she cracked her pelvis did not stop her attending a reception for carol singers.

The German leader pictured with young carol singers

The German chancellor was pictured on crutches as she sang with children at her government headquarters in Berlin, despite having to cancel talks with European leaders.

Her doctors' orders were to "lie down" and the 59-year-old politician is having to cut back on work for the next three weeks, said her spokesman Steffen Seibert.

Mrs Merkel, who is often called the world's most powerful woman, was injured in a fall while cross-country skiing at "low speeds".

She will continue to preside over cabinet and government meetings.

But she cancelled a visit to Warsaw, Poland, scheduled for Wednesday and Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel called off his trip to Berlin on Thursday.

Mr Seibert said the chancellor suffered what she first thought was just a bruise to her left rear pelvic area.

The accident happened last month during her annual ski trip to Switzerland's Engadin Valley, which includes well-known ski resorts such as St Moritz.

But doctors later decided it was a "incomplete" bone fracture that will require her to rest for three weeks, her spokesman added.

It comes as fellow German Michael Schumacher remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital after a ski accident in France over a week ago.

The ex-Formula One world champion was travelling off-piste when he fell and hit his head on a rock, leaving him fighting for his life.

He has been in a medically induced coma at Grenoble University.

Experts say cross-country skiing is much less dangerous than downhill.

Cross-country trails are mostly flat and the sport is more about endurance than speed.

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Syria: Chemical Weapons Shipment Leaves Port

The first shipment of chemical weapons has been removed from Syria under a deal to rid the country of its chemical arsenal.

The UN mission overseeing the disarmament has confirmed that a Danish vessel is en route to international waters carrying the material.

"A first quantity of priority chemical materials was moved from two sites to the port of Latakia for verification and was then loaded onto a Danish commercial vessel today," the UN said in a statement.

"This movement initiates the process of transfer of chemical materials from the Syrian Arab Republic to locations outside its territory for destruction."

Maritime security is being provided by naval escorts from China, Denmark, Norway and Russia.

The operation to remove Syria's chemical arsenal had been scheduled to take place prior to December 31.

The removal was delayed by the country's worsening civil war, and by poor weather and logistical problems.

A UN Security Council-backed deal arranged by the US and Russia aims to eliminate all of Syria's chemical arms by the middle of this year.

Under the plan, the chemicals will be taken from Latakia to a port in Italy where they will be transferred to a US Navy vessel fitted with equipment to destroy them at sea.

The deal was brokered to head off US military strikes against President Bashar al Assad's regime after hundreds of people were killed last August in a chemical weapons attack outside Damascus.

More follows...

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Iraq: Militants Pledge To Fight Government

Al Qaeda-linked militants and tribal fighters who have taken over parts of the strategic Iraqi city of Fallujah have pledged to fight the government.

An unnamed commander of the anti-government Fallujah military council said: "The revolutionaries of Fallujah tribes are resolved to punish those, the covetous, who are linked to the sectarian government."

But, speaking on Monday on state television, Prime Minister Nouri Maliki urged the city's residents and allied tribesman to "expel" the militants to avoid a full scale battle.

He also called on Iraqi soldiers looking to retake control of the city to avoid strikes on Fallujah's residential areas.

Tribesman have taken up weapons in Fallujah

Al Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) has been steadily tightening its grip in the vast Anbar province in recent months to try to create a Sunni Muslim state straddling the frontier with Syria.

But last week's capture of positions in nearby Ramadi and large parts of Fallujah was the first time in years that Sunni insurgents had taken ground in the province's major cities and held their positions for days.

Iraqi government forces battling an al Qaeda offensive near the Syrian border launched an air strike on Ramadi on Sunday, killing 25 Islamist militants, according to local officials.

In Fallujah, Isil's task has been made easier by disgruntled tribesmen who have joined its fight against the government.

Nouri Maliki called on Fallujah's residents to drive out the militants

The group currently controls the centre of the city, with its black flags being seen on captured police and government vehicles.

Dozens of families from Fallujah and Ramadi have fled to Kerbala to take refuge from Iraqi government bombardments.

Mohammed, a resident of Ramadi, said: "We are going to Kerbala to get food and cooking gas. We are displaced people, we thank the people of Kerbala."

Kerbala resident Abu Faris said: "We are providing the people of Ramadi with foodstuffs and flour. They were affected (by the violence) and they have nothing, so we are providing them with relief aid."

Al Qaeda-linked militants have gained a foothold in Anbar province

The situation in Anbar province ignited at the end of last month when militias formed following the arrest of a Sunni politician and the clearing an anti-government protest camp.

Iraq's government is mainly made up of Shia Muslims.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has made it clear that, although Washington would provide "assistance" to Iraqi security forces, it would not put American "boots on the ground".

Mr Kerry told reporters in Jerusalem: "We are not obviously contemplating returning, we are not contemplating putting boots on the ground, this is their fight.

"But we're going to help them in their fight ... we are going to do everything that is possible to help them."

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Bangladesh Election 'Won' By Ruling Party

Bangladesh's ruling party has been declared the winner of parliamentary elections that have been marred by killings, an opposition boycott, and low turnout.

At least 18 people died in political violence on polling day alone, in a vote which saw fewer than half of the 300 seats being contested.

It meant the result was a foregone conclusion and the ruling Awami League took 232 seats - far more than the 151 needed to form a government.

But the chaos surrounding Sunday's election has plunged Bangladesh deeper into turmoil and fuelled fears of economic stagnation, amid the threat of further violence.

Police kick a protester after a polling booth was set on fire

International observers refused to attend the election, which was branded flawed.

Along with a low voter-turnout, it is set to put pressure on the Bangladesh government to hold talks with the opposition.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and opposition leader Khaleda Zia, who leads the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), are bitter rivals.

The country has been ruled by either of these women - both from powerful political families - for more than two decades.

The boycott was sparked after Ms Hasina refused to agree to opposition demands to step down and appoint a neutral caretaker government to oversee the election.

The poverty-stricken nation of 160 million people has been hit by political violence in recent months as opposition activists staged attacks, strikes and transport blockades.

This has caused disruption to the country's $22bn (£13bn) clothing industry, which accounts for 80% of exports.

More than 100 people were killed in the run-up to the ballot, mostly in rural areas, and fears of violence kept many voters away.

Soldiers line a street blocked by a tree that was cut down by activists

Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, a BNP vice chairman, said: "The turnout is a clear indication that the common people rejected this election and it is almost an election without voters."

Law Minister Mohammad Quamrul Islam said the election was necessary for the democratic process, and repeated that another poll could be held anytime in agreement with the BNP.

"But they must stop violence before dialogue for the next elections could start," he said.

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Polar Vortex: Freeze To Hit 48 States

A whirlpool of freezing, dense air known as a "polar vortex" has pummelled parts of the US with potentially record low temperatures and high snowfall.

More than a foot of snow has been dumped on a large part of the Midwest, forcing officials to close schools in Chicago, St Louis and Milwaukee on Monday.

Temperatures as low as -35C (-31F) are forecast for Fargo, North Dakota, while Madison, Wisconsin, will experience -29C (-21F) and even Chicago and Minneapolis could drop to -27C (-15F).

With the wind chill factor, those temperatures could plummet into the -50s and -60s centigrade.

Packers fans watch the seventh coldest NFL game in history

By Tuesday, the National Weather Service (NWS) is predicting 48 US states will have wind chills of below zero - an area of 1.5 million square miles.

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard has upgraded the city's travel emergency level to "red", making it illegal for anyone to drive except for emergencies or to seek shelter.

The last time the city issued such a warning was in 1978.

In New York City, the temperature was expected to drop sharply from about 11C (52F) to around -12C (10F) overnight as the arctic air moved in.

The polar vortex will hit temperatures in 48 US states by Tuesday

For several states in the Midwest, the bitter cold is adding to problems caused by a snow storm over the weekend.

The NWS said Chicago's O'Hare International Airport saw more than 11 inches of snow on Sunday.

Missouri transport officials said it was too cold for rock salt to be effective and several roads in Illinois were closed because of drifting snow.

The extreme weather is affecting area of 1.5 million square miles

Government offices and courts in several states have also been closed.

In Newfoundland, Canada, around 30,000 customers remain without power because of rolling blackouts over the last few days.

The record cold temperatures are also affecting southern states.

Louisiana citrus farmers have been warned they could lose any fruit they cannot pick as two nights of freezing temperatures are forecast.

Predicted temperatures across the US on Tuesday morning

More than 1,000 flights were cancelled at airports across the Midwest including Chicago, Indianapolis and St Louis. O'Hare International Airport had 400 flights cancelled on Monday morning.

Fans braved subzero temperatures to watch the Green Bay Packers lose 20-23 to the San Francisco 49ers at Lambeau Field on Sunday night.

The game kicked off with temperatures of -15C (5F), making it the seventh coldest NFL game in history.

People in Canada have also been reporting hearing loud "booms" known as "frost quakes"

The phenomenon - or cryoseism - takes place when water underground freezes and then expands, forcing the ground to crack and creating the noise.

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Dennis Rodman: I Love My Friend Kim Jong-Un

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent in Beijing

US basketball star Dennis Rodman has told Sky News he "loves" the North Korean leader and claims that "when the time comes" he will discuss human rights with Kim Jong-Un.

Mr Rodman was speaking at Beijing airport as he departed for his latest trip to the secretive country.

He is travelling to Pyongyang with a group of 11 American basketball players for a match marking Mr Kim's birthday on Wednesday.

He said: "The only thing we are doing right now, as you can see right now, is all the NBA players here to play a game right now.

"And that's the one thing we're trying to do right now."

It is almost universally accepted that North Korea has the worst human rights record in the world.

As many as 200,000 political prisoners are locked up in labour camps around the country. Escapees have said that torture is routine.

Kim Jong-Un recently had his uncle (L) executed

Asked whether he would bring up the subject of labour camps, Mr Rodman said it was not his job.

Given that he is the only American with such unprecedented access to Mr Kim, Sky News put it to him that it was his responsibility to raise the issue.

"That's not my job," he said. "The only thing I am doing right now, I am only doing one thing: this game is for his birthday. It's for his birthday.

"And I hope that if this opens doors and we can actually talk about certain things, then we can do certain things, but I am not going to sit there and go in and say 'hey guy, you're doing the wrong thing'.

"That's not the right thing to do. He's my friend first. He's my friend. I don't give a ****. I tell the world: he's my ******* friend, I love him."

Under the North Korean regime's "three generations of punishment" system, individuals found guilty of a crime are sent to the labour camps with their entire family.

The subsequent two generations of that family are then born in the camp and live their lives locked up inside.

Mr Rodman was asked if he was aware of the 200,000 or so political prisoners in North Korea.

He replied: "Are you aware that lots of people in America is locked up like that too?"

Mr Rodman's unlikely friendship with Mr Kim dates back to February last year when he accompanied the US documentary maker Vice to North Korea with the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team.

The Paddy Power promotional image for the event

Sky News understands that Mr Rodman initially believed he was going to meet the South Korean pop star Psy.

He even tweeted that he might bump into the star behind the hit song Gangnam Style.

For reasons which are yet to become clear, Mr Rodman and Mr Kim became friends.

Sky News has obtained a previously unpublished photograph of Mr Rodman riding one of Mr Kim's horses in August, thought to have been taken at the North Korean leader's ranch outside Pyongyang.

Mr Kim does not speak English and Mr Rodman does not speak Korean.

Their conversations are conducted through North Korean interpreters.

This latest trip was due to be sponsored by the Irish bookmaker Paddy Power.

However, on Christmas Eve, the bookmaker claimed it had pulled its participation.

"Given changed circumstances, Paddy Power has decided to withdraw its association with the Dennis Rodman basketball initiative in North Korea," the company said in a statement.

However, Sky News understands that the bookmaker will continue to provide funding for the trip in order to honour its contractual obligations.

North Korean analysts are split over whether engagement with North Korea by an unusual and eccentric American is an unpalatable publicity stunt or an opportunity for future dialogue.

Dr Daniel Pinkston, North East Asia deputy project director at International Crisis Group, was supportive of the relationship when the Paddy Power event was announced.

"The last few years have been difficult for North Korea watchers seeking new policy prescriptions for dealing with Pyongyang," Dr Pinkston said in a statement on Paddy Power's website in September.

"Thanks to the support of Paddy Power, Rodman's visit had opened a window of opportunity to bring change to North Korea."

In December, Shin Dong-Hyuk, the only person born in a North Korean prison camp known to have escaped to the West, wrote an open letter to Mr Rodman calling on him to engage with Mr Kim.

"I am writing to you, Mr Rodman, because, more than anything else, I want Kim Jong-Un to hear the cries of his people," he wrote.

"Maybe you could use your friendship and your time together to help him understand that he has the power to close the camps and rebuild the country's economy so everyone can afford to eat."

As Mr Rodman left Beijing airport on this latest trip, he left that possibility open.

"When the time comes when I do that I am going to sit down and talk to all the people around the world, when the time comes, I am going to tell you everything that happens.

"But right now I want these guys to go over there and put on a good show for his birthday.

"We will talk about political stuff and anything about refugee camps."

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Angela Merkel Injured In Skiing Accident

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been injured during a cross-country skiing accident in Switzerland.

Mrs Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said the Chancellor suffered a fractured pelvis and must rest as much as possible over the next three weeks.

Mrs Merkel has been forced to cancel a number of official appointments, but will continue to lead the government and hold Cabinet meetings.

The 59-year-old politician will mainly work from home during her period of rest, Mr Seibert said.

She has cancelled a planned trip to Warsaw on Wednesday, as well as a visit to Berlin by Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel that had been scheduled for Thursday.

Cross-country skiiers seen racing in Switzerland's Engadin region in 2011

"It goes without saying that as chancellor, she is capable of acting as well as communicating fully," Mr Seibert said.

Last week Mrs Merkel sent wishes for a speedy recovery to German Formula One driver Michael Schumacher, who suffered a serious head injury while skiing in France.

Mrs Merkel was skiing in the Swiss region of Engadin, which boasts top ski resorts such as St Moritz, when the accident occurred over the Christmas holidays.

The injury was initially thought to be just painful bruising, but after Mrs Merkel's return to Berlin doctors diagnosed a fracture in the pelvic area.

Mr Seibert said that Mrs Merkel's injury occurred "at low speeds", but was unable to say if another person was involved.

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