Simon Furness

US Secretary of State John Kerry welcomes a decision by Syria’s main political opposition group to attend next week’s peace talks in Switzerland.
BBC News – Middle East

Mexico’s authorities say top security officials will be replaced in the western state of Michoacan that has recently been rocked by violence.
BBC News – Latin America & Caribbean

Ukraine’s pro-EU demonstrators are preparing for a large rally in Kiev – in defiance of recently adopted laws aimed at curbing public protests.
BBC News – Europe

The mother of three-year-old Mikaeel Kular has been arrested and charged in connection with the death of her son after a body was found in Fife.
BBC News – UK

President Barack Obama says he will not let controversial surveillance by US intelligence services undermine Washington’s ties with Germany.
BBC News – US & Canada

South Sudan’s military recaptures the key town of Bor from rebel forces, with Uganda confirming it helped in the operation.
BBC News – Africa

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell issues a profit warning after it made less money than expected in the final quarter of 2013.
BBC News – Business

The Syrian government says it is ready to offer a prisoner exchange with rebels, as the opposition meets to discuss attendance at peace talks.
BBC News – Middle East

Mexican Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong tells vigilantes to trust the security forces to do their job and urges them to lay down arms.
BBC News – Latin America & Caribbean

Nearly 400 priests were defrocked in only two years by the former Pope, Benedict XVI, over claims of sexual child abuse, the Vatican confirms.
BBC News – Europe

A body has been found and a person detained in connection with the disappearance of three-year-old Mikaeel Kular.
BBC News – UK

President Obama orders curbs on the use of bulk data collected by the NSA, which he says must respect privacy and civil liberties.
BBC News – US & Canada

Uganda’s president refuses to approve a bill to toughen punishments for homosexuals, saying gay people should be “rescued” not killed or imprisoned.
BBC News – Africa

The number of UK homes sold per surveyor has more than doubled since the depth of the housing market downturn, a survey suggests.
BBC News – Business

The in-absentia trial of four men accused of murdering Lebanese ex-PM Rafik Hariri in 2005 begins at an unprecedented tribunal at The Hague.
BBC News – Middle East

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announces changes to the team handling the economy and vows to continue fighting “sabotage and speculation”.
BBC News – Latin America & Caribbean

Vatican officials are expected to face tough questions over the sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy as they attend a UN panel in Geneva.
BBC News – Europe

A report condemns “shocking cases where a sense of humanity was lost” at an immigration removal centre in west London.
BBC News – UK

The deadly September 2012 attack on the US consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi could have been prevented, a US Senate committee finds.
BBC News – US & Canada