Syria opposition asks UN to stop troubled talks: negotiator

Here is a round-up of global news developments:

• The Saudi-backed Syrian opposition has asked the UN envoy to postpone the peace talks in Switzerland. The opposition says the Syrian government needs to accept discussing political transition in order for the talks to resume. Damascus has repeatedly rejected formation of a transitional government without President Bashar al-Assad.
• Syria’s ambassador to the UN has slammed an Israeli cabinet meeting in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. Bashar Ja’afari has described the move as provocative and reckless. Ja’afari also said Damascus has lodged a complaint with the UN Secretary General and the Security Council over the issue.
• The UN Special Envoy for Yemen says planned peace talks between warring sides have been postponed. The talks were set to start in Kuwait on Monday. Yemen’s Ansarullah movement has accused Saudi Arabia of violating a UN-brokered truce.
• Israeli officials say at least 20 people have been injured in an explosion on a bus in Jerusalem al-Quds. Ambulances have been rushed to the scene to rescue the casualties. Israeli officials are investigating the incident. The exact cause of the blast is not known yet.
• The French transport minister says Iran’s purchase of 118 airbus passenger aircraft could be finalized as soon as next week. The French official made the remarks in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart in Tehran. Meanwhile, French flag carrier Air France has resumed its direct flights to Tehran after eight years.
• Italy’s president says hundreds of refugees appear to have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea. Sergio Mattarella has called for a solution to avoid similar disasters. The asylum seekers were reportedly fleeing from Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea. Their boats capsized near Egypt.
• In Brazil, supporters and opponents of embattled President Dilma Rousseff rally in major cities following a parliamentary vote to impeach her. Rousseff has been accused of manipulating budgetary accounts for her election campaign. She has rejected the charges and says the vote is a coup attempt by the opposition.
• A court in Ukraine has sentenced two Russian servicemen to 14 years in jail on terrorism charges. The two were captured in Ukrainian territory last May. Kiev says the soldiers were working for the Russian army. But Moscow insists they had quit duty.

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