Syria Accuses Opposition Of Chemical Attack

Syria's state media has accused opposition fighters of firing a chemical weapon in the north of the country, killing up to 25 people.

The opposition quickly denied the report and claimed regime forces fired the weapon.

Neither of the accusations could immediately be verified but Russia's foreign ministry accused the opposition of being responsible and said that it represented an "extremely dangerous" development.

But White House spokesman Jay Carney said the US had seen no evidence that rebels had used chemicals.

The report by the official SANA news agency marks the first time the government has accused forces seeking to topple President Bashar al Assad of using chemical weapons.

It said "terrorists" fired a rocket "containing chemical materials" into the Khan al Assal area in the northern province of Aleppo on Tuesday. The regime regularly uses the term terrorists to refer to rebels fighting Mr Assad's forces.

A Free Syrian Army member jumps off a destroyed military tank

It quoted the government's information minister Omran al Zoabi as saying the attack was a "dangerous escalation" in the violent conflict.

He said the firing of the weapon is the "first act" by the opposition interim government announced in Istanbul.

Mr Zoabi added that Turkey and Qatar, which have supported rebels fighting to overthrow President Assad, bore "legal, moral and political responsibility" for the attack, state television reported.

An activist in the area said the opposition had recently seized much of Khan al Assal, including a facility that housed a military academy.

The Aleppo Media Centre, affiliated with the opposition, said there were cases of "suffocation and poison" among civilians in Khan al Assal after a surface-to-surface missile was fired at the area.

It said in a statement the cases were "most likely" caused by regime forces' use of "poisonous gases".

SANA said around 25 people, most of them civilians, were killed and up to 100 more wounded.

An activist in Aleppo province who identified himself as Yassin Abu Raed, not his real name, confirmed the attack and said there were at least 40 cases of suffocation in the area and several deaths.

But he said no details were available as casualties were being taken to a government-controlled area in Aleppo.

President Assad, fighting a two-year uprising against his rule, is widely believed to have a chemical arsenal.

Syrian officials have neither confirmed nor denied having a chemical weapons capability but have said that if it existed it would be used to defend against foreign aggression, not against Syrians.

Western nations have warned Damascus against any use of chemical weapons and have also expressed concern about stockpiles falling into the hands of militant groups.

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India: Bus Plunges Off Bridge Killing Dozens

At least 37 people have been killed after a bus packed with passengers crashed through a barrier and fell several metres off a bridge in western India.

The vehicle was travelling overnight from the beach resort state of Goa to Mumbai when the driver suddenly lost control in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, police said.

Most of the wounded, including the driver, suffered head and arm injuries and were being treated at a local hospital.

The cause of the accident, which happened in the Khed area about 125 miles south of Mumbai, was not immediately clear.

Pictures from the scene showed the bus lying on its roof next to a bridge after falling to the banks of the Jagbudi river.

The vehicle had landed on a dried-up patch of land next to low-lying water.

Police said the driver suddenly lost control

It had a capacity of 55 passengers, but police official Mahendra Singh Pardeshi said it was not known how many people were on board.

About 110,000 people were killed in Indian road accidents in 2011 - more than 300 every day - according to figures from the National Crime Records Bureau.

Bad roads, speeding vehicles and poor driving were among the contributing factors, and bus crashes with death tolls in double figures far from rare.

The Ratnagiri crash came a day after a senior official revealed over 800 people have died in accidents on the Mumbai-Goa highway in the last three years.

Maharashtra's home minister R R Patil said 828 people died and 2,411 were seriously injured between 2010 and the end of 2012, the Press Trust of India reported.

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North Korea 'Blows Up White House' In Video

A North Korean military progaganda video posted online shows the White House and the US Capitol building being hit in a missile attack.

The video on the semi-official Uriminzokkiri website shows North Korea's military might on parade before a target appears on America's government buildings.

"The White House is caught by our sighting device. The inner citadel is within our striking range of an atomic bomb," subtitles for the video said.

The North has threatened a nuclear war with the United States in response to new United Nations sanctions over its latest nuclear test.

It also has also vowed to strike back at South Korea and the US for conducting joint military drills, which they see as rehearsals for war.

US B-52 bombers today participated in the ongoing joint military drill, Foal Eagle, to demonstrate a strong alliance between the two countries in the face of North Korea's threats.

Foal Eagle is an annual drill that runs between March 1 and April 30.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Saturday the country planned to deploy 14 additional anti-missile interceptors in response to a growing nuclear threat from North Korea.

Although experts say the North is still years away from being able to hit the continental US with a nuclear weapon, rhetoric from its leaders has increased in recent weeks.

Earlier this month the North announced it would no longer adhere to the 1953 armistice that ended the war on the Korean peninsula.

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Teen Guilty Of Irish Student Murder In Tokyo

A Japanese court has found an American teenager guilty of the murder of Irish student Nicola Furlong in Tokyo last year.

The 21-year-old Dublin CIty University exchange student was found strangled in an upmarket hotel early on May 24, 2012, after attending a hip-hop concert.

Richard Hinds, of Memphis, Tennessee, stood silently as he was found guilty of what the presiding judge called a "vicious" attack.

The court ruled that he had strangled the exchange student with a towel or tank top in the Keio Plaza hotel in the city's Shinjuku district.

The 19-year-old was ordered to serve a minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 10 years.

Hinds and another American were accused of taking Ms Furlong and one of her friends to the hotel after they had passed out in a bar.

The Tokyo District Court ruled that Hinds strangled Ms Furlong when she regained consciousness to keep her quiet.

Nicola Furlong's family leaving court

The other man, James Blackston, a 23-year-old dancer from Los Angeles, was seen with Hinds bringing Ms Furlong and her unnamed friend unconscious into the hotel on CCTV footage which was played to the court.

He was convicted last week of sexually assaulting the second girl and sentenced to three years in jail.

The judge said Hinds had shown no sign of remorse and had tainted Ms Furlong's honour.

Regarded as a minor under Japanese law, a 10-year sentence was the maximum Hinds could receive.

But outside the court, Ms Furlong's family expressed anger, saying they had wanted a heavier punishment.

Her mother Angela said: "Nicola's life was worth more than that."

She added: "It's good that they (judges) cleared her name. Nicola has done nothing wrong. It was all him and his lies that brought us out here.

"We still don't know the truth of what happened in that room but we know Nicola did nothing wrong, we knew that coming out anyway."

Her sister Andrea said: "I'm so angry and I'm so hurt. We had so much faith in the Japanese doing justice for us, and I don't feel we got it. I'm disgusted."

The defence had maintained Hinds' innocence, arguing that Ms Furlong died after a cocktail of alcohol and drugs.

Ms Furlong had been studying and living about 62 miles (100km) north of Tokyo, at Takasaki City University of Economics as part of an exchange programme.

According to evidence in both trials, Ms Furlong and her friend, who is also Irish but whose name was withheld in court, went to the city to see a concert by US rapper Nicki Minaj.

After the concert, the two met Hinds and Blackston and went with them to a bar. At some point both of the women passed out.

Prosecutors suggested they were drugged.

Security camera footage presented as evidence showed Blackston sexually assaulting Ms Furlong's friend in a taxi on the way to the hotel, where the men borrowed wheelchairs to get the unconscious women to the rooms.

After the verdict, Hinds, a Christian musician, said a brief farewell to his family before he was escorted away to prison.

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Pope Francis To Embrace Poor As Papacy Begins

Pope Francis has vowed to embrace the world's "weakest and poorest" and called on world leaders to shun "destruction" at his inaugural mass in St Peter's Square.

Francis was interrupted by applause several times during his homily, including when he spoke of the need to serve one another with love and tenderness and not allow " hatred, envy and pride to defile our lives".

The Pope must "open his arms to protect all of God's people and embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important," Francis, the first Jesuit pope, said.

"He must be inspired by lowly, concrete and faithful service," said Francis, who as a Jesuit has taken a vow of poverty.

Francis is the world's first Jesuit pope

"I would like to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life ... Let us not allow omens of destruction and death to accompany the advance of this world.

"It means respecting each of God's creatures and respecting the environment in which we live.

"It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about."

The Fisherman's Ring

The new pontiff officially began his ministry as the 266th pope and leader of the world's 1.2bn Roman Catholics when he earlier received the ring and pallium symbolising his new papal powers at the Vatican.

The pallium is a strip of lambswool that represents the Pope's role as a shepherd and the Fisherman's Ring is named in honour of the first pope St Peter, a fisherman by trade.

The grand ceremony started at 8.30am GMT in a sun-drenched St Peter's Square before about 200,000 people, including royalty, political and religious leaders.

The biggest delegation came from Argentina, led by President Cristina Kirchner, who held a private meeting with Pope Francis on Monday.

Britain was represented by the Duke of Gloucester, Kenneth Clarke MP and Baroness Warsi. The Queen and Prime Minister David Cameron did not attend.

The Pope kissed several babies as he toured the square

Controversial Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, a practising Catholic, also made the journey to Rome in defiance of an EU travel ban, which does allow him to attend events within the Vatican state boundary. 

Before the proceedings began, Francis toured a crammed St Peter's Square, kissing babies and blessing a disabled man.

In another sign of the informality that is already a mark of his papacy, Francis abandoned the bullet-proof popemobile frequently used by his more formal predecessor Benedict, to tour the square.

After the Mass, Francis met with Mr Mugabe and other leaders

Francis wore a plain white papal cassock and black shoes in contrast to the luxurious red loafers that attracted attention under Benedict.

"Go Francis! We Will Be With You Wherever You Go!" read a sign held up by a group of Brazilian nuns in St Peter's Square.

Sister Rosa, an elderly Italian nun, said she expected the pope would be "another St Francis on Earth for love, goodness, poverty and humility".

Crowds had been pouring into the square and surrounding streets since before dawn.

The former archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was the surprise choice at a conclave of cardinals to find a successor to 85-year-old Benedict, who last month brought a sudden end to a papacy, saying he was too old to carry on.

The crowds had begun gathering from the early morning

After the Mass, Pope Francis met many of the world leaders, including Mr Mugabe, before having lunch.

Leaders of the Eastern Catholic Rite were also at the ceremony, including Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

Bartholomew I became the first patriarch from the Istanbul-based church to attend a papal investiture since the two branches of Christianity split nearly 1,000 years ago.

Also attending for the first time was the chief rabbi of Rome.

Francis abandoned the bullet-proof popemobile

Their presence underscores the hopes for ecumenical and interfaith dialogue in this new papacy given Francis' own work for improved relations and his namesake St Francis of Assisi.

In a gesture to Christians in the East, the pope prayed with Eastern rite Catholic patriarchs and archbishops before the tomb of St Peter and the Gospel was chanted in Greek rather than the traditional Latin.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Francis will hold meetings at the Vatican before he holds a face-to-face meeting with Benedict at Castel Gandolfo, just outside Rome, on Saturday.

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Brit Injured 'Escaping Sex Assault' In India

By Alex Rossi, Sky News Asia Correspondent

A British woman is recovering from injuries to her legs after jumping out of her hotel window to escape an alleged sex attack in Agra in India - the home of the iconic Taj Mahal.

According to police, the incident happened in the Cantonment area of the city about four o'clock on Tuesday morning.

Deputy Superintendent Simranjit Kaur told Sky News that the 31-year-old woman escaped from the second floor window of her room after the hotel owner tried to enter "demanding" a massage.

"The woman became scared and leapt from the balcony. We have arrested the owner and may cancel the licence of the hotel depending on our investigations," she said.

The victim was taken to hospital by a rickshaw driver and was treated for muscle damage to her legs.

She has also given a statement to officers and is now "safely" in another hotel under police protection.

The police said she will be flying home to the UK shortly, even though she was planning to visit China after touring India.

The Foreign Office said it was "urgently" investigating the reports.

A spokesman said: "We are aware of the reports and we are urgently looking into it. We are in contact with our colleagues in India."

The FCO has changed its advice to female travellers visiting India in the last forty eight hours following the gang rape of a Swiss cycle tourist in Madhya Pradesh on Friday night.

British female tourists are now being advised to"exercise caution" in India, even when travelling as part of a group.

Advice on the FCO website states: "Reported cases of sexual assault against women and young girls are increasing; recent sexual attacks against female visitors in tourist areas and cities show that foreign women are also at risk.

"British women have been the victims of sexual assault in Goa, Delhi, Bangalore and Rajasthan and women travellers often receive unwanted attention in the form of verbal and physical harassment by individuals or groups of men."

Women travelling through the country are advised to respect local dress codes and customs and avoid visiting isolated areas, including beaches, alone, at any time of day.

The FCO also warns women against travelling alone on public transport, in taxis or auto-rickshaws, especially at night.

The Swiss woman was camping in a forested area with her husband when they were attacked by men brandishing sticks. She was repeatedly raped according to local police.

That attack came just a few days after the man accused of leading the fatal gang rape of a student on a New Delhi bus was found hanged in his prison cell.

India has seen anger and public protests against rapes and sexual attacks on women since the gang-rape in New Delhi in December.

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Iraq: Deadly Bombings On Invasion Anniversary

A wave of bombings has ripped through the Iraqi capital, killing at least 56 people on the 10th anniversary of the US-led invasion.

About a dozen blasts, mainly car bombs, exploded in a busy Baghdad market, near the heavily fortified Green Zone and in other districts across the capital.

The Green Zone houses major government offices and the embassies of several countries, including the United States and Britain.

A suicide bomber also attacked a police base in a Shiite town south of the capital, officials said.

"I was driving my taxi and suddenly I felt my car rocked. Smoke was all around. I saw two bodies on the ground," said Ali Radi, a taxi driver caught in one of the blasts in Baghdad's Sadr City, a poor Shiite neighbourhood.

"People were running and shouting everywhere."

Along with the 56 killed in the mainly Shiite areas, more than 200 people were wounded, officials said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the Baghdad blasts, but Islamic State of Iraq, a wing of al Qaeda, has vowed to regain ground lost in its war with US troops.

A minibus was bombed in Sadr City

This year the group has carried out a string of high-profile attacks intended to undermine public confidence in the Shiite-led government.

Tuesday's violence started at around 8am local time when a bomb exploded outside a popular restaurant in Baghdad's Mashtal neighbourhood, killing four people and wounding 15.

It blew out the restaurant's windows and left several cars in the street destroyed.

Minutes later, two labourers were killed and eight wounded when a roadside bomb hit the place where they meet daily in an area of New Baghdad.

A decade after Western troops swept Saddam Hussein from power, Iraq still struggles with insurgents, sectarian friction and political feuds among Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish factions.

The latest bombings came 10 years to the day that Washington announced the start of the invasion on March 19, 2003 - though by that time it was already the following morning in Iraq.

Attacks have dropped since the peak of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007, but tensions simmer and militants remain a potent threat to Iraq's security forces.

A popular market in Baghdad was targetted

In a sign of concern over security, Iraq's cabinet have postponed local elections in two provinces, Anbar and Nineveh, for up to six months because of threats to electoral workers and violence.

Syria's war next door is also whipping up Iraq's volatile mix. Iraq is exposed to a regional tussle for influence between Turkey, which backs Sunni rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad, and Shiite Iran, the Syrian leader's main ally.

The political crisis in Iraq has worsened since American troops left Iraq in December 2011, removing the symbolic buffer of the US military power and weakening Washington's influence.

Former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix maintains that the invasion was a terrible mistake.

He told Sky News that Iraq was "not a danger to anyone at that time" and it was therefore "a violation of the UN charter which allows states to use arms in self-defence against an armed attack".

He said former US president George Bush and Britain's ex-prime minister Tony Blair "demonstrated poor judgement" in going to war.

But he said their decision had not been taken in bad faith.

"If they had exercised the slightest critical thinking I think they would have abstained, they would have delayed and then seen the results of more inspections," he said.

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US Marines Killed By Explosion While Training

Seven US Marines have died in an explosion at a military ammunition storage facility in western Nevada.

The US Marine Corp confirmed the deaths early on Tuesday.

"A fatal incident occurred during a training exercise shortly before 10pm Monday at Hawthorne Army Depot, Nevada, killing seven service members and injuring several others with 2nd Marine Division," a statement said.

Several other Marines were injured and taken to nearby hospitals for treatment and further evaluation.

A Marine Corps official said a 60mm mortar exploded unexpectedly.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was not immediately clear whether the mortar exploded prematurely inside its firing tube or whether more than a single round exploded. 

Hawthorne Army Depot is made up of hundreds of buildings. Pic: KABC.

An indefinite moratorium on the firing of all such mortars worldwide was imposed while an investigation was conducted.

The identities of those killed were not being released until their families had been informed.

"We send our prayers and condolences to the families of Marines involved in this tragic incident. We remain focused on ensuring that they are supported through this difficult time," said the force's commander, Major Gen. Raymond C. Fox.

"We mourn their loss, and it is with heavy hearts we remember their courage and sacrifice."

The explosion was unrelated to the ammunition that is stored at the 147,000-acre site, about 140 miles southeast of Reno.

Hawthorne became the key staging area for ammunition, bombs and rockets in World War II.

The site was chosen for the location because of its remoteness in the wake of a devastating explosion at the government's main depot in New Jersey in the 1920s.

It now serves several purposes for the military, including storing ammunition and explosives and providing what the military calls an ideal training facility for special forces preparing for deployments to similar desert terrain in places like Afghanistan.

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School Shooter Gives Finger As He Gets Life

Ohio teenager TJ Lane, who admitted killing three students in a high school cafeteria in February 2012, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The 18-year-old chuckled as the term was imposed for the deadly shootings at Chardon High School, 30 miles east of Cleveland.

Lane had arrived in court on Tuesday wearing a white T-shirt with the word "killer" scrawled on the front.

He stuck his middle finger up to the courtroom packed with relatives of his victims after making a short statement.

TJ Lane at a previous hearing

The prosecutor said it just went to prove how much the killer is a "disgusting human being".

Lane had pleaded guilty in February this year to three counts of aggravated murder, among other charges, in a deal with prosecutors.

Prosecutors agreed to drop the death-penalty specifications from the counts.

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Cyprus Bailout: Cash Flown Out To British Troops

A plane has left Britain for Cyprus with one million euros onboard to ensure soldiers have access to cash.

Soldiers stationed on the island and their families would be able to borrow the money if cash machines and debit cards stop working, the Ministry of Defence said.

Banks in Cyprus have been closed since before the weekend and will not reopen until Thursday in order to prevent a run on the banks as the government discusses taxing all savers in order to secure an EU bailout.

Meanwhile, just before the Cypriot parliament  was due to vote on the bailout and the levy on personal savings, Cyprus' finance minister reportedly offered his resignation.

More follows...

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