2 January 2014 Last updated at 08:19 GMT
Former Rwandan spy chief Patrick Karegeya's body has been found in a Sandton hotel room, along with a bloodied towel and rope.
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — As U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry returns to the region Thursday, the American message to the Israeli and Palestinian leaders is clear: It's time to start making hard decisions.
Antarctic rescue of Akademik Shokalskiy ship under way
An operation is under way in Antarctica to rescue passengers from the ice-bound research vessel Akademik Shokalskiy.
A helicopter from a Chinese ship set down nearby, bringing in a crew to assess the landing situation.
The aircraft left but then returned to begin ferrying the first passengers out to an Australian ice-breaker.
The Shokalskiy has been trapped since Christmas Eve. Its 22 crew are expected to remain on board once the 52 scientists and tourists have left.
The Shokalskiy was trapped by thick sheets of ice driven by strong winds, about 1,500 nautical miles south of Hobart - the capital of the Australian state of Tasmania.
The vessel is being used by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition to follow the route explorer Douglas Mawson travelled a century ago.
Romania says there will be no influx of migrants seeking jobs and state benefits
Governments under pressure to justify intake as anti-immigration parties set to do well in European elections
Daniel McLaughlin
Nine EU states have lifted work restrictions on Romanians and Bulgarians, stoking fears in some countries of a huge influx of migrants seeking jobs and state benefits. EU and Romanian and Bulgarian officials insist there will be no such surge, however, and have denounced populist rhetoric from some politicians and newspapers – particularly in Britain – about the impending arrival of hordes of low-skilled workers, pickpockets and welfare cheats.
The two Balkan states joined the EU in 2007, but until yesterday their citizens had limited access to jobs and benefits such as healthcare in nine member states, including Britain, Germany, France and Spain. Ireland lifted restrictions in 2012.
With anti-immigration parties poised to perform strongly in elections to the European Parliament this year, governments have come under pressure to explain how weak job markets and strained welfare systems could cope with a large number of new arrivals from eastern Europe.
Thousands march in Hong Kong in escalating battle for democracy
January 2, 2014 - 11:13AMJames Pomfret
Thousands protested in Hong Kong on Wednesday pressing China to allow full democracy in the city as a battle intensifies over Beijing's attempts to control the outcome of a planned direct election for the city's leader in 2017.
Beijing had promised direct elections in the former British colony as the goal for 2017, but the devil is in the details of the rules governing who can run.
Pressure has been building between democratic forces in the financial hub, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, and China's stability-obsessed Communist Party leaders who fear a rival democrat being voted into office.
Protesters at the annual New Year's Day democracy rally shouted slogans demanding full democracy in 2017, with a key condition being the open nominations of candidates so that anyone, including China critics, can run for office.
Bloodied towel found in former Rwandan spy chief's room
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Former Rwandan spy chief Patrick Karegeya's body has been found in a Sandton hotel room, along with a bloodied towel and rope.
A former Rwandan spy chief has been found murdered in his Sandton, Johannesburg, hotel room, Gauteng police said on Thursday.
Patrick Karegeya's body was found on Wednesday around 5.30pm at the hotel on Maude Street, with his neck swollen, Lieutenant-Colonel Katlego Mogale said.
A bloodied towel and rope were found in the hotel room safe.
"There is a possibility that he might have been strangled," she said.
Karegeya (53) booked into the hotel on Sunday.
"A case of murder has been opened by the Sandton police and investigations are underway," said Mogale.
Earlier on Thursday, Rwanda National Congress (RNC) said in a statement: "The Rwandan opposition is deeply saddened to announce the assassination of Colonel Patrick Karegeya in Johannesburg."
Analysis: Israel, Palestinians face hard choices
By KARIN LAUB
Kerry is bringing his own ideas for the outlines of a peace deal, and early indications are that the plan will include hard-to-swallow choices for both sides.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would likely have to recognize Israel's pre-1967 war frontier as the starting point for border talks with the Palestinians, an ideological reversal that would put him on a collision course with his hardline base.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fears he'll be pressured to recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, a step he believes would abrogate the rights of Palestinian refugees and their descendants.
2 January 2014 Last updated at 02:34 GMTTen things: North Korea's film industry
In Hollywood, North Korea is a favourite movie villain. But few know that the communist country has its own film industry, which serves as both a propaganda machine for the state and a passion project for late leader Kim Jong-il.
1. Some of the top hits were made by a South Korean
Kim Jong-il was a massive movie buff who ensured the film industry had ample funding during the 1970s and 1980s. However, he was reportedly unhappy with the quality of films produced by his countrymen.
He ordered the abduction of South Korean Shin Sang-ok in 1978, and forced the director to make films for his regime. Shin's ex-wife, actress Choi Eun-hee, was also kidnapped.
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