Sochi Olympic Winter Games at root of residents' housing woes
Russia relocated hundreds of residents in preparation for the Sochi Olympic Games. Dozens were evicted, their homes and land seized.
By Sergei L. Loiko
SOCHI, Russia — Half a mile away, thousands of people waved flags, held balloons and cheered Thursday as the Olympic torch passed by. Nina Toromonyan stood in the gray rubble that remains of her home and cried.
She recalled her elation in 2007 when her city was selected to host this year's Olympic Winter Games. She imagined that wonderful things were coming. She didn't think that riot police would throw 13 family members out of their three-story home to make way for a new highway two miles away. The compensation they received wasn't enough to reestablish themselves, she said.
"There is nothing I hate so much as these Olympic Games, which made me and my family a miserable bunch of bums," said the small, frail 63-year-old.
Rio fare protesters seize main station and let commuters travel free
Riot police, teargas and stun grenades fail to stop passelibremovement taking over Central do Brasil train and bus hub
After street protests, station invasions and turnstile vandalism, Rio de Janeiro’s free public transport movement finally got what it wanted for a few hours on Thursday night with a takeover of the city’s main train and bus hub.
Thousands of commuters were shepherded through demolished ticket gates at the Central do Brasil station amid a violent confrontation over proposed fare rises that resulted in fires, arrests and disruption of transport networks.
The station in downtown Rio echoed with police percussion grenades and the protesters’ celebratory samba drumming as they seized control of the main bank of ticket machines.
Berlusconi planning to stand for European elections
Rivals dismiss likelihood of centre-right leader getting on ballot paper for May polls
Guy Dinmore
Silvio Berlusconi is not giving up. Despite a conviction for tax fraud and a ban on him running for office, the billionaire leader of Italy’s centre-right is said to be planning to register as a candidate for European elections and campaign on an anti-German platform.
Renato Brunetta, parliamentary leader of Forza Italia, told the Financial Times that Mr Berlusconi (77) would take his case to appeals courts in Italy’s five constituencies if he were prevented from running in the May polls.
The likelihood of Mr Berlusconi getting his name on the ballot paper is widely dismissed by his centre-left rivals, but there is little doubt that the veteran of numerous campaigns will be pulling the strings from behind the scenes in what could be a trial run for general elections in Italy.
In Islamabad, Pakistan and Taliban call for verbal ceasefire
Talks between Pakistan’s government and the Taliban have yielded a joint ceasefire call. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif hopes to reach peace with the Taliban, which regularly attacks civilians and Pakistani security forces.
On Thursday, negotiators from the two sides met in the Pakistani capital to discuss a road map aimed at ending more than a decade of violence in the country. In a joint statement issued after over three hours of talks, the sides urged both Pakistan's army and the Taliban to avoid actions that could harm the efforts.
"It is important for the success of the talks that every action which is detrimental to peace and security should be stopped," the statement read.
The leadership of both the nation and the Taliban must approve any major decisions by the representatives attending the talks in Islamabad. The two sides have yet to announce a date for the next round.
Jamaican bobsled team: 'Cool runnings' at Sochi Olympics
Jamaican bobsled team: After their delayed equipment arrived at the Sochi Games, the Jamaicans took two practice runs down the Sanki Sliding Center track on Thursday.
Everything's cool and running with Jamaica's bobsled team.
They're back inside the Olympic rings, and back on the track.
After their equipment was delayed in arriving to the Sochi Games, driver Winston Watts and his teammates got in their first two runs down the Sanki Sliding Center track on Thursday. The Jamaicans, who qualified for the first time since 2002, couldn't train Wednesday because they arrived ahead of their luggage, which was on a later flight to Russia.
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Without their clothing, sliding suits, helmets or the expensive runners for their two-man sled, the Jamaicans couldn't do anything but watch on their first day at the Olympic venue.
Watts said the team got its gear around midnight, enabling them to take part in the second day of "unofficial" training. It wasn't until the Jamaicans got to the track that they realized their belongings had been tampered with. Watts said security opened containers of protein powder and the contents spilled out on his clothes and equipment.
Accord reached for aid to besieged Homs in Syria; evacuations to begin Friday
McClatchy Foreign Staff
GENEVA — The United Nations confirmed Thursday that Syria’s warring sides have agreed to a temporary halt in fighting in the city of Homs so that civilians can leave and a convoy of life-saving supplies can be delivered to the besieged old city district.
When the pause in fighting will take place was uncertain, but officials said it might come as soon as Friday – a step that U.N. officials said would improve the atmosphere ahead of a second round of peace talks that are set to begin Monday among Syrian officials, opponents of President Bashar Assad, and Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations’ special envoy to Syria.
A similar agreement had been expected during the first round of talks, which took place Jan. 24-31, but the two sides could not agree on its terms, and that failure came to dominate the sessions.
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