Exclusive: Dieudonne Breaks Silence On Quenelle

Lifting The Lid On Player's Gesture

Updated: 11:37pm UK, Monday 30 December 2013

By Tim Marshall, Foreign Affairs Editor

Nicolas Anelka may or may not have known what he was doing with his Nazi-like salute, but his great friend, the French comedian Dieudonne M'bala M'bala, almost certainly does.

Dieudonne is smart. Very smart.  He's smart enough to invert an idea, and invent a gesture, and direct them towards the same place – modern anti-Semitism.

His "quenelle" inverts the Heil Hitler salute.

It signals what it is, but in a manner allowing apologists to argue it has nothing to do with anti-Semitism.

He inverts the idea of anti-Semitism by saying that in fixating on Jews he is actually the good guy, standing up against what he believes are the ultra-powerful Zionists and their control of the world.

This is a world view he shares with the French National Front and one which has gained popularity in France and may help it to make huge gains in the May European elections.

It also plays into the reasons behind the wave of attacks on Jewish people and their property over the past decade. 

In recent years he has done this in an insidiously clever way. 

In an increasingly post-Christian Europe it's no good using the 1,600-year-old canard that the Jews killed Christ, because it is past its sell-by date.

Also dated is the "they keep themselves to themselves" card as Jewish emancipation has allowed people out of the ghettos and into society to play full lives as citizens.

Dieudonne instead inverts this to argue, as we heard in the 1930s, and again more recently, that a powerful Jewish lobby is now "controlling" the system.

He is on record as having said this several times, most recently to Iranian television.

He appeals to "anti-racists" who can point to a Jewish influence in the slave trade, and to Muslims, by celebrating the Palestinian cause.

Thus you can support him, pretend you believe the nonsense he spouts about the quenelle not being anti-Semitic and move on to bask in the warm glow of the self-righteously prejudiced.

Dieudonne has been convicted seven times in French courts for incitement against Jews.

To get around the strict laws on Holocaust denial he has again used his guile.

The Hebrew word for holocaust is "Shoah". The French word for pineapple is "Ananas".

So, Dieudonne talks close to the line about the Holocaust but calls it the "Shoananas".

This is so amusing to some people that they take photographs of themselves performing the "quenelle" alongside pineapples.

If the "quenelle" is not anti-Semitic, why then has a trend spread across Europe in which young people, usually men, pose for photos, doing the salute in front of a variety of Jewish buildings and symbols?

Can it be a coincidence that these are as varied as the Auschwitz death camp, the Western Wall, the Anne Frank house, various synagogues, Jewish-owned shops, and the Holocaust memorial in Berlin?

The Harry's Place site has even turned up a photograph of a man doing it front of the school where earlier this year a gunman killed three Jewish children and their teacher.

What is it about Dieudonne that has caused hundreds of people to come to the same conclusion and fixate on one idea? 

He can dissemble, linguistically slip and slide, verbally duck and dive, but the people who chose their location for these photos cannot.  

Dieudonne is an activist, a provocateur, a satirist; he thrives on controversy and has read which way the wind is blowing, especially in France. He rails against many things in life, but time and time again returns to one theme.

Why? You'd have to be stupid not to know.

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Gang Rape Ordered By Indian Village Elders

By Neville Lazarus, Sky News India Producer

A woman in India has been allegedly gang-raped by 13 men on the order of village elders.

The 20-year-old was reportedly attacked by the men in Subalpur village in West Bengal's Birbhum district.

She told the police she was gang-raped through the night so many times that she lost count.

"People from the village, men my father's age, and those who I knew as neighbours, as uncles and brothers raped me," she said.

She was accused of breaking tribal rules by having an affair with a man from a different tribe.

The pair were found by the villagers who set up a kangaroo court and levied a fine of 50,000 Indian rupees (£500) on the couple.

The girl's family could not afford to pay the crime and as punishment ordered the gang rape.

The following day the family sneaked out of the village and reported the matter to the police.

The woman was accused of an affair with a man from another tribe

Birbhum's police superintendent PC Sudhakar said: "Our preliminary investigation has revealed that the villagers held a meeting and the morol  (village headman) ordered that the girl be gang-raped.

"Family members took her to the block hospital in Labhpur and after preliminary treatment, the girl went to the police station with her mother and lodged the complaint."

All of the accused, including the village head man who allegedly ordered and led the assault, have been arrested.

The village is the home district of the Indian President Pranab Mukherjee.

A few years ago a tribal teenager was paraded naked on the orders of a similar medieval-style village court in the same district.

The government of West Bengal is facing immense anger over atrocities against women.

In October last year a woman was gang-raped twice by the same men for complaining to the police. She was set ablaze and died of burn injuries.

All suspects have since been arrested.

Large protests took place in Kolkatta over the handling of the case by the police and government and now the courts have set up a separate investigation into the matter.

The gang rape of a woman on a Delhi bus sparked protests across India

India has been reeling under the problem of violence against women.

The horrific Delhi bus gang rape and murder in December 2012 brought the issue into the lime light.

Unprecedented protests took place in the national capital and across the nation, and the government brought in new laws to protect women.

Fast-track courts were established to try cases of violence against women and punishments were made more severe.

Even with the changes there has been a spate of sexual violence against women.

Last week a 51-year-old Danish tourist was gang raped in the heart of Delhi.

She had asked for directions to her hotel before five men took her to an isolated spot near the New Delhi railway station and gang-raped her.

Last year a British tourist jumped off her balcony out of fear that she would be raped by the hotel manager where she was staying.

According to India's National Crime Records Bureau, rape is the singular fastest-growing crime in India.

From 1971 to 2012 the number of reports has grown by 900%. The conviction rate is just 1%.

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Syria: Al Qaeda Boss Urges Halt To Infighting

Al Qaeda's leader has called on rival Islamist groups in Syria to stop fighting between themselves and use their energies instead to fight against President Bashar al Assad's forces.

The call from Ayman al Zawahri came as activists claimed that fighting between the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq, the Levant and an array of other Islamic militant groups has killed more than 1,000 over the past three weeks, mostly fighters on both sides.

Al Zawahri says the internal fighting "has bloodied our hearts" and that it should stop immediately.

An image of the al Qaeda leader taken from a video posted on a website

In a five-minute audio message posted online, he called on groups in Syria to set up an Islamic court that would mediate and resolve their differences.

The message was posted as Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said elections would be the best way of ending the civil war in Syria and warned the West it could not impose a political solution on Tehran's neighbour and ally.

Speaking as fledgling Syrian peace talks entered a second day in Switzerland, President Rouhani told the World Economic Forum that the Syrian people should be allowed to decide their own destiny.

President Rouhani in Davos - Iran was 'uninvited' to the Syria talks

"The best solution is to organise free and fair elections inside Syria," Mr Rouhani said at the forum in Davos.

"No outside party or power should decide for the Syrian people and Syria as a country."

Meanwhile, in talks on Syria in Geneva, UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi was meeting Syria's warring sides behind closed doors on Thursday to gauge if they are willing to sit down face-to-face after the first day of a peace conference ended in bitter exchanges.

Walid al Muallem, Ahmed Jarba, John Kerry, Ban Ki-Moon are at the talks

Mr Brahimi is holding separate meetings with delegations from Mr Assad's regime and the opposition before full talks resume in Geneva on Friday.

The UN-sponsored conference - the biggest diplomatic effort yet to resolve Syria's devastating three-year civil war - opened in the Swiss town of Montreux on Wednesday with heated disagreements among the two sides and world powers.

Officials have said the talks could last between seven to 10 days and possibly resume after a break.

Expectations are low for a breakthrough at the conference, but diplomats believe that simply bringing the two sides together for the first time is a mark of some progress and could be an important first step.

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Thailand Elephants 'Trample' American Tourist

An American tourist has been found dead in a reserve in Thailand after apparently being trampled by elephants, park rangers said.

The woman went missing after leaving a camping ground in Kaeng Krachan National Park, the country's largest, last week.

Seventy people were involved in a five day search for her and when her body was recovered, the severity of the injuries indicated she was likely trampled to death.

"Her arms, her wrists and other parts of the body were broken, so we assumed she was trampled by elephants because no humans could have caused such powerful damage to the body," said police Colonel Woradet Suanklaai.

"Looking at the pictures she took in her camera, we see a lot of animals, birds, snakes, lizards," he said.

"We assumed she wanted to take pictures of elephants because that's what the Kaeng Krachan National Park is famous for."

The woman, who was in her 20s, was travelling alone.

Kaeng Krachan covers nearly 3,000 square metres (32,300sq ft) of forest. It is about  124 miles (200km) southwest of Bangkok.

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Ukraine PM Slams Protests As 'Attempted Coup'

Police and protesters in the Ukrainian capital Kiev were locked in a tense standoff, as the president called an emergency parliamentary session over the street battles which have claimed three lives.

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov accused opponents of attempting to stage a coup and dismissed demands for a snap election as "unrealistic".

"A genuine attempt at a coup d'etat is being carried out," he said, while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Fires continue to rage in central Kiev

Opposition leaders earlier called for "calm" and an eight-hour truce ahead of fresh talks with President Viktor Yanukovych, which witnesses said appeared to be holding.

They had told them to go on the offensive on Thursday morning after they said Wednesday's peace talks had proved useless.

Vitali Klitschko said if this involved going onto the streets under bullets - that is what he and they were prepared to do.

They have called on Mr Yanukovych to announce early elections within 24 hours - by 6pm (UK time) - or face more violence on the streets.

And they have demanded he dismiss the government and scrap harsh anti-protest legislation.

The leader of the opposition Fatherland party Arseniy Yatsenyuk said he was ready to die for the cause.

Demonstrators have made their own shields out of wood to defend themselves

"If he does not go down that path then we will go forwards together and if it means a bullet to the head, then it is a bullet to the head. Viktor Yanukovych you have 24 hours. Take a decision. I have taken my decision," he said to cheers, speaking to around 40,000 people in Kiev's Independence Square.

Mr Klitschko added: "Early elections will change the situation without bloodshed and we will do everything to achieve that."

Medical staff in Kiev told Sky News that three people have been killed during the clashes.

Two protesters died after being shot, while another died from injuries sustained in a fall. One of the dead protesters was named locally as Serhiy Nihoyna.

Mr Azarov said the police did not have live ammunition and that opposition leaders should be held responsible for the deaths.

Police and protesters clashed again overnight, turning an area at the heart of the city into a virtual war zone with demonstrators setting fire to barricades, hurling stones and Molotov cocktails and police using tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets.

Opposition leaders have told protesters to go on the offensive on Thursday

Sky's Katie Stallard, in Kiev, said: "Protesters also burned tyres, mattresses, whatever they could find to keep going, and reinforcing barricades too.

"They have made homemade shields out of planks of wood and are rehearsing their tactical formations - how they plan to stand together and how they plan to protect themselves."

Police have thrown stun grenades and broken through protesters' barricades, made from burnt-out buses.

Protesters have also lobbed petrol bombs at police during ferocious clashes in the city's snow-covered streets.

During confrontations on Wednesday, riot police beat and shot at protesters, volunteer medics and journalists.

The Interior Ministry said 73 protesters had been arrested and 53 of them were being investigated for "mass riots". It is a charge that was recently introduced and carries a jail sentence of up to eight years.

The US State Department has threatened to impose sanctions against the Ukraine in response to the continued use of violence against protesters.

Image said to show one of the dead, Serhiy Nihoyna (Pic: Serhiy Proskurnia)

Spokeswoman Marie Harf said the US would continue to call upon Mr Yanukovych "to protect the democratic rights of all Ukrainians, including the rights of peaceful protest".

"I don't have more details on what those sanctions might look like, but we will continue to consider additional steps, as I said, including sanctions, in response to the use of violence," she said.

The rioting intensified when some 200,000 took to the streets at the weekend in a show of anger over the new anti-protest laws rushed through by Mr Yanukovych.

The laws allow for jail terms of up to five years for those who blockade public buildings. They also ban protesters from wearing masks or helmets.

Meanwhile, Russia said it would not intervene, according to President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

"We consider we do not have the right to intervene in any way in the internal affairs of our brother Ukraine. That's unacceptable and Russia has not done this and will not do it," he said in an interview published on the website of Komsomolskaya Pravda.

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China Executes Man Who Murdered Sex Slaves

A Chinese man who killed two of six women held as sex slaves in his basement has been executed.

Former clerk Li Hao, 36, from the central province of Henan was put to death after being convicted of "murder, rape, illegal detention, organised prostitution and manufacturing pornography for profit", the state news agency Xinhua reported.

In 2009, Li dug a "dungeon" in his basement where he imprisoned and repeatedly raped the six women for periods ranging from between two and 21 months.

Seven metal doors had been installed to stop them escaping.

Five of the women were prostitutes whom he had tricked into his prison by soliciting their services, and one was selling birth control products, the People's Daily website reported.

The victims were aged between 16 and 23. One, who was 20 at the time of kidnap, became pregnant, the website revealed.

Li forced three of the women to kill two of the others - one was strangled and another died after being repeatedly beaten, the reports said.

One woman who participated in both murders was sentenced to three years' prison while the rest were put on probation.

In 2011 Li had his surviving captives make obscene videos online and have sex with customers.

He spent two weeks a month with the women while telling his wife he worked nights as a guard, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported in 2011.

Li was caught in September that year after one captive escaped and went to the police.

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Sochi: US To Deploy Warships During Olympics

The US is preparing plans to have two warships on standby in the Black Sea during the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

The warships would be used to evacuate Americans in case of a terror attack or other emergencies, according to government officials quoted in US media.

The US is also looking to have helicopters and other transport aircraft ready in nearby bases, such as Germany, which is about two hours away.

American officials stressed  that under the plan, first reported by CNN, the ships or aircraft would be used only in coordination with Russian officials.

Thousands of police will be deployed under Russia's massive security plan

"Air and naval assets, to include two Navy ships in the Black Sea, will be available if requested for all manner of contingencies in support of - and in consultation with - the Russian government," said Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby.

Concerns over security have heightened after Islamist militants threatened attacks during the Games, which start in Sochi on February 7.

A video posted online claimed responsibility for deadly suicide bombings in the southern city of Volgograd in December and threatened further attacks.

The attacks at Volgograd railway station and on a city tram last month killed 34 people and injured more than 100.

Russian President Vladimir Putin insists the event will be safe. His government has prepared a huge security plan, including 40,000 police officers, to protect Olympic venues and other potential targets.

The State Department has warned Americans planning to attend the Games to be vigilant about their security because of potential terrorist threats.

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Syria: Brutal Photos 'Are Evidence Of Torture'

Syria is facing fresh war crimes allegations after "clear evidence" of the "systematic torture and killing" of up to 11,000 people was published.

The claims were made by a group of top international lawyers, who were handed 55,000 images of dead prisoners.

The lawyers, who are all former war crimes prosecutors, said the photographs showed emaciated corpses with severe injuries and would support findings of crimes against humanity by Bashar al Assad's regime.

Some detainees appeared to have been beaten, strangled or electrocuted, they claimed.

Sir Desmond De Silva, one of the report's co-authors, described the photographs as "very harrowing" and said victims had suffered the "most awful" injuries.

Photos appeared to show Syrian detainees with ligature marks on their necks

"These killings were clearly methodical, daily and systematic as a consequence," he told Sky News. "They could certainly underpin a charge of crime against humanity."

He added: "This industrial killing of people in detention is clearly the work of the Syrian government."

The report draws on evidence smuggled out of Syria by an ex-military policeman, known only as Caesar.

He was described as a "truthful and credible witness" by the inquiry team, who said he was "carefully interviewed" and showed "no signs of being sensational".

Caesar told the inquiry team he was asked to take photographs of numbered corpses - a demand that is "wholly consistent with the need of the regime to ensure that orders for the killing of persons in detention facilities had been carried out", according to the report.

Syrian President Bashar al Assad denies his regime has massacred civilians

"The need to photograph those who were killed is a strong pointer to the fact that the killings were systematic, ordered and directed from above," it added.

Mr Assad, who describes opponents to his regime as "terrorists", previously rejected claims that his troops have killed civilians.

"These organisations do not have a single document to prove that the Syrian government has committed a massacre against civilians anywhere," he said.

"The army does not shell neighbourhoods. The army strikes areas where there are terrorists."

The report, which was commissioned by Qatar, one of the main supporters of the Syrian opposition, was released the day before crucial peace talks are due to get under way.

Officials from around 40 countries are due to meet in Switzerland, although Iran will not be present after its invitation was withdrawn by the UN.

Mr Hague and Mr Zarif (pictured last year) spoke on the phone on Tuesday

After strong objections from the United States and the Syrian opposition, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Monday uninvited Iran, the Damascus regime's main regional ally, less than 24 hours after it was issued.

On the eve of the talks, Foreign Secretary William Hague told Parliament that Mr Ban had been right to withdraw the invitation because of Tehran's refusal to declare its support for a transitional government in Syria.

Mr Hague said Iran's involvement in any future peace settlement would be "extremely important", saying it needed to urgently rethink its Syria policy.

He spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on the phone after making his comments, telling him that the idea of brokering a transitional government by mutual consent was the way to end the conflict in Syria and that Britain remained open to working with Iran on that basis in future.

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Lebanon: 'Four Killed' in Beirut Car Bomb

At least four people have been killed in an apparent suicide bombing in a Shiite neighbourhood of Beirut, according to official state media.

The blast struck a busy commercial street in the Haret Hreik area in the south of the city. 

According to Red Cross communications director Ayad al Monzer four people died in the attack and 35 were injured.

The official National News Agency said it appeared to have been a suicide bombing.

"Body parts apparently belonging to a suicide bomber were at the scene," it reported.

Onlookers flocked to the site of Tuesday's blast, some offering assistance

It is the latest in a series of attacks in recent months targeting strongholds of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hizbollah. The attacks are thought to be in retaliation for the Iran-backed group's intervention on the side of President Bashar al Assad in neighbouring Syria.

Al Nusra Front in Lebanon has said it carried out Tuesday's bombing. The group is believed to be a franchise of the prominent al Qaeda-linked Al Nusra Front in Syria.

In a statement published on Twitter, the group said: "With the help of God almighty we have responded to the massacres carried out by the party of Iran (Hizbollah)... with a martyrdom operation in their backyard in the southern (Beirut) suburbs."

The blast is the third to hit Hizbollah strongholds in January alone.

On Thursday a car bomb struck the northeastern town of Hermel, killing three people and wounding more than 20. That attack was also claimed by the group.

On January 2 a car bomb struck metres away from Tuesday's attack, killing five. 

Attacks have also targeted Lebanon's Sunni community as sectarian tensions, stoked by Syria's civil war, run high.

In December, prominent Sunni politician Mohammed Chatah was killed in a car bomb in Beirut.

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Internet's Worst Password List Revealed

The number sequence "123456" is the internet's worst password, according to a software company.

The six-digit pass phrase was hacked more times than any other in 2013, leapfrogging the previous year's winner, "password".

Other common passwords were "abc123", "admin", "iloveyou", "1111111" and "photoshop".

New to the list this year are easy-to-guess passwords like "1234" and "000000".

Morgan Slain, CEO of SplashData, the company which compiled the list, said: "Seeing passwords like 'adobe123' and 'photoshop' on this list offers a good reminder not to base your password on the name of the website or application you are accessing.

"Another interesting aspect of this year's list is that more short numerical passwords showed up even though websites are starting to enforce stronger password policies."

SplashData, which makes password management applications, compiles its list every year, saying it hopes to encourage users to come up with more original and stronger passwords.

The list is made from files containing millions of stolen passwords posted online during the previous year.

The company also offered advice on how to make passwords harder to hack.

It recommends long words - at least eight characters long - with mixed types of characters, though it suggests avoiding common substitutions such as "dr4mat1c".

Passwords with spaces or characters separating them are good because they are long but easy to remember, it said.

The company also recommends avoiding using the same password on multiple sites.

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Thailand Explosions: Dozens Hurt In Bangkok

Dozens of people have been hurt after two grenade attacks at the site of an anti-government demonstration in Bangkok.

It is the latest violence in a political crisis dividing Thailand as the army urges both sides to settle their differences.

According to witnesses, the explosions in the capital happened two minutes apart, with the first about 100-200 metres from a stage set up by protesters.

The blast left a small crater beside a market stall, while the second was near a row of stalls selling anti-government T-shirts.

At least 28 people were injured, including seven seriously, in the explosions near Victory Monument in the north of the city, medics claimed.

Police said the blasts were caused by fragmentation grenades similar to one that killed a man and wounded dozens of other people on Friday in a similar explosion in Bangkok targeting protesters.

It is the latest in a series of attacks

Then on Saturday night, a gunman opened fire on anti-government protesters in the city's Lad Prao district, where demonstrators have taken over a key road junction.

A 54-year-old volunteer guard was shot in the back and seriously wounded in the attack about 300 metres from a protest stage.

It is still unclear who is behind the violence.

It is the latest episode in an eight-year-old crisis that broadly pits Bangkok's middle class and royalist establishment against poorer, mainly rural supporters of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her self-exiled brother Thaksin.

Hundreds of anti-government protesters at a rally in Bangkok

The demonstrators, who control several small areas of the city, are trying to overthrow her government and derail the upcoming February 2 elections.

​Ms Yingluck's opponents - a minority that can no longer win at the polls - argue the Shinawatras are using their electoral majority to impose their will and stifle democracy.

They accuse former Mr Shinawatra of corruption and nepotism. He has lived abroad since 2008 to avoid a prison sentence after being convicted of corruption.

The crisis boiled over again late last year after the ruling party attempted to push through an amnesty bill that would have allowed him to return from exile.

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Asiana Airlines Crash Passengers Sue Boeing

A group of passengers on the Asiana Airlines flight that crash-landed in San Francisco last summer are suing Boeing, it has emerged.

About 80 of the plane's 291 passengers who survived the fatal crash are claiming some of the equipment on the Boeing 777 was defective.

Three Chinese schoolgirls were killed and 180 passengers were injured when Asiana Flight 214 came down on July 6.

The tail was knocked off and the fuselage of the plane burst into flames as passengers were fleeing down escape chutes.

The flight came down on July 6, 2013

Monica Kelly, an attorney for Chicago-based Ribbeck Law Chartered, told CNN: "We are asking for damages to be paid to the passengers and asking the court to hold Boeing partially liable."

The personal injury lawsuit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court, Illinois, on Friday.

The lawsuit alleges that because some of the equipment was improperly installed, or was defective, the pilots did not receive adequate warnings about low airspeed.

Debris was strewn across the crash-landing site

The suit says that Boeing knew or should have known its 777 passenger jet did not have inadequate auto-throttle control and low airspeed warning systems, according to the Chicago Tribune newspaper.

All of those who are named on the lawsuit were injured and were left with "pain and suffering, disability, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, medical treatment, loss of income, and medical expenses" it says.

Boeing has yet to comment.

A lawsuit was previously launched against Boeing by three San Francisco Bay families who claimed that the air giant failed to provide adequate training for pilots in South Korea.

The cause of the crash is still being investigated. 

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Child Marriage 'Legitimises Lifetime Of Abuse'

By Niall Paterson, Sky News Correspondent

Child marriage often leads to a lifetime of abuse for girls, according to a new report.

Campaign group Equality Now says such underage unions, often when the children involved are too young to understand even the concept of marriage, are part of a "continuum of abuse" often linked to genital mutilation, rape, violence and sex trafficking.

It says ending child marriage should be a priority internationally - and suggests that it should be tackled not as a single incident of abuse, but in relation to other example of discrimination and violence against women and girls.

Jacqui Hunt, the London director of Equality Now, said "Child marriage directly affects approximately 14 million girls a year. It legitimises human rights violations and the abuse of girls under the guise of culture, honour, tradition, and religion.

"It is part of a sequence of discrimination that begins at a girl's birth and continues throughout her entire life.

"Furthermore, when a child bride gives birth, the vicious cycle of poverty, poor health, curtailed education, violence, instability, disregard for rule of law and legal and other discrimination often continues into the next generation, especially for any daughters she may have."

Child marriage affects about 14 million girls a year

Drawing together evidence from both the developed and developing world, the report concludes that without a comprehensive, joined up approach to tackling child marriage, linking together healthcare, education, a properly enforced legal framework and community and political leaders, girls will "remain vulnerable, not only to being married off at a young age, but to a lifetime of abuse".

Unicef estimates that between 2011 and 2021, 100 million girls will have become child brides - which equates to 25,000 a day.

Sky News spoke with one child bride who now campaigns against underage marriage.

Alematsahye Gebrekidan, the founder of the Former Child Wives Foundation, was married aged 10 in Ethiopia, to a boy himself only 16 years old.

"I was married when I was a little girl. The decision was taken by the parents, we [she and her husband] did not know. I was playing outside and they called me in and told me I was going to be married.

"I was scared, and ashamed, and embarrassed."

Alem Gebrekidan's was forced into marriage when she was just 10

Alem's wedding day was, for her, no happy occasion.

"I was crying, I was very upset and angry because I was scared. I didn't know what was happening to me.

"It is the culture [there]. If you are 15 years old they say you are old, too old, so you should be married.

"It's tradition."

She gave birth to a child at age 13. One month later, her husband was killed in the war. Forced to grow up at such a young age, she deeply regrets the loss of her childhood.

"I feel shamed. I feel empty inside, empty.

"When I see a child playing with a doll ... I miss those things."

And she has a simple message for others who have similar experiences: "Don't be ashamed, come out and get support.

"It's not your fault. It's not your choice."

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Norway Fire: Laerdal Inferno Engulfs Village

At least 90 people have been taken to hospital as a huge fire rips through a Norwegian village famous for its unique wooden buildings.

The blaze has destroyed at least 23 buildings in Laerdalsoyri

Scores of people have been evacuated from their homes in Laerdalsoyri and dozens taken to hospital with "light injuries", the municipality of Laerdal said in a statement.

Farmers have been helping as firefighters tackle the fire

The blaze has destroyed at least 30 buildings, including 16 homes, industrial buildings and community centres.

It also destroyed at least three buildings in the protected area of the village of Laerdalsoyri.

Parts of the village are on the Unesco World Heritage list

It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, which started on Saturday night and quickly spread, fanned by strong winds.

Local firefighters, helped by farmers, have been struggling to contain the inferno.

The scale of the fire is clear from some distance away

Villagers are hoping a firefighting helicopter due to arrive on Sunday will help to contain the flames.

The inferno ripped through some of the village's famous wooden buildings

The Laerdal district is a popular tourist destination, known for its stave church and well-preserved 18th- and 19th-century wooden houses.

Parts of the western Norway village, which has a population of around 1,150, have made it on to the Unesco World Heritage list. 

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Syria's Assad 'Not Ready To Give Up Power'

Syrian President Bashar al Assad has reportedly said he is not ready to give up power and the issue is not up for discussion.

According to Russia's Interfax news agency, Mr Assad said: "If we wanted to surrender, we would have surrendered from the start (of the nation's civil war)."

He reportedly added: "We are on guard for our country. This issue is not up for discussion."

The president apparently made the comments to Russian MPs ahead of an internationally backed peace conference on Syria.

The main opposition group has voted in favour of attending the talks next week aimed at ending the conflict.

The Syrian National Coalition (SNC) confirmed it will participate in the discussions after 58 of its 73 delegates voted in favour of attending.

Western and Arab sponsors of the opposition group have pressured the SNC to attend the talks, which are due to begin on Wednesday in the Swiss city of Montreux.

Mr Assad's language continues to be defiant

The Syrian government had already committed to attending the talks, which are backed by the United Nations.

Sky correspondent Robert Nisbet in Damascus says security has been increased in the capital ahead of the conference.

He said: "There are roadblocks everywhere around the city. Our local producer says he has never seen security as tight as it is today.

"It would suggest the Assad government is nervous that perhaps an armed opposition group may want to stage some kind of event in the capital to show that the president hasn't regained control of the biggest city in Syria."

The conference will be the first face-to-face meeting between representatives of Mr Assad's government and the opposition since war broke out in March 2011.

More than 100,000 people have been killed since the conflict began and millions have been displaced.

The US and Russia have been trying to hold the peace conference since last year, and it has been repeatedly delayed.

Both sides finally agreed to sit together at the negotiation table after dropping some of their conditions.

The aim of the conference, which has been dubbed Geneva 2, is to agree on a roadmap for Syria's future based on one adopted by the US, Russia and other major powers in June 2012.

The plan includes the creation of a transitional government and eventual elections.

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