VOA News for Wednesday, January 1st, 2014

Thanks to http://gandalf.ddo.jp/ for audio and text Wednesday, January 1st, 2014 From Washington, this is VOA news. New Year's celebrations ring in 2014. Israel releases another group of Palestinian prisoners. I'm Ray Kouguell reporting from Washington. Fireworks are crackling through the night skies around the world as revelers celebrate the first moments of 2014. Crowds gathered in public spaces in major cities across the Asia-Pacific region to ring in the New Year with music, fireworks and revelry. The night skies in New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong started the worldwide celebration of the New Year. Dubai created what it called the world's largest fireworks show. And about a million people are expected to gather in New York's Times Square to watch a giant ball drop at the stroke of midnight five hours from now, New York being the best known of the American New Year's Eve rituals. Russian President Vladimir Putin used a New Year's address to warn terrorists he will fight them until their "total destruction," following the two suicide bombings in the southern city of Volgograd on Sunday and Monday that left 34 people dead. Mr. Putin said that at the country's most trying times, Russia has always been united and consolidated. Representatives of South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar have arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for talks on ending deadly civil unrest that broke out earlier this month. The tribal bloodshed erupted when President Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, accused Machar, an ethnic Nuer, of attempting a coup. The U.N. says the fighting has left more than 1,000 people dead and displaced tens of thousands. Israel released 26 more Palestinian prisoners who were jailed for deadly attacks on Israeli civilians, most of them occurring more than 20 years ago. It was the third scheduled release under an agreement to revive peace talks between the two sides. VOA's Scott Bobb reports. Ramadan Yakoub is tasting freedom for the first time in 21 years. Until a few hours ago, he was in prison convicted of killing an Israeli woman. His release brought to 78 the number of long-term Palestinian prisoners freed as part of confidence-building measures to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The release early Tuesday brought a joyous celebration and a welcome from the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas: "This day is a happy day for all of us, for our people, for our families and for our hero prisoners who were freed today." But the release angers many Israelis who view the former prisoners as terrorists. Scott Bobb, VOA news, West Bank. The United States freed the last three Uighur prisoners from Guantanamo Bay for their new lives in Slovakia. The men, Muslims from China, were among 22 Uighurs arrested in Afghanistan and held as alleged terrorists. The Syrian government missed a Tuesday deadline for moving its most deadly chemical weapons components out of the country, with international monitors attributing the delay to unspecified security concerns and bad weather. Under an internationally brokered deal announced earlier in 2013, Damascus was to have shipped its most lethal chemicals, including about 20 tons of mustard nerve agent, out of the Mediterranean port of Latakia by December 31st. The toxins are slated for destruction at sea, with a mid-2014 deadline looming for the removal of the entire Syrian chemical arsenal. Pakistan's former military President Pervez Musharraf goes on trial for treason today. He says [the change] the charge is unfounded and the result of a political vendetta. Ayaz Gul has details. In a special video message to a gathering of more than 200 retired army generals in Islamabad Tuesday, former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf vowed to "boldly" confront the treason trial and other legal challenges facing him to prove them wrong. "All these cases are framed cases. I have not done anything for myself, for my family's benefit. I only acted for the country and for its people." Pakistani authorities say they have put in place tight security measures to ensure resumption of the legal proceedings. Mr. Musharraf faces the death penalty if found guilty. Ayaz Gul, for VOA news, Islamabad. A senior Iranian nuclear negotiator says Iran and world powers have made "good progress" in talks on how to implement an agreement regarding the country's nuclear program. Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that "some issues remain" after experts from both sides met in Geneva Tuesday. I'm Ray Kouguell, VOA news. These and other stories at voanews.com.