Syria conflict: First Russian planes leave after Putin surprise move

Russian forces have started leaving Syria after Monday's surprise withdrawal announcement by President Vladimir Putin.

The first group of aircraft left Hmeimim air base in Syria on Tuesday morning, the Russian defence ministry said (in Russian).

Western officials cautiously welcomed the move, saying it could pressure Syria's government to engage in talks.

Peace talks aimed at resolving the conflict are entering a second day.

UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura, who is mediating in the talks, welcomed the Russian decision.

"The announcement by President Putin on the very day of the beginning of this round of Intra-Syrian Talks in Geneva is a significant development, which we hope will have a positive impact on the progress of the negotiations," he said.

The Russian force reduction was announced during a meeting between Mr Putin and his defence and foreign ministers. 

Russia is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and his office sought to reject speculation there was a rift between the two countries, saying the move was mutually agreed.

The Russian air campaign started last September, tipping the balance in favour of the Syrian government and allowing it to recapture territory from rebels.

No details have been given on how many planes and troops would be withdrawn from the Hmeimim base, in Latakia province, or a deadline for completing the pullout.

"The first group of Russian planes has flown out of the Hmeimim air base for their permanent bases on the territory of the Russian Federation," the defence ministry statement said.

Russian TV earlier showed aircraft being refuelled and crates being loaded with equipment.

Aircraft from the base would make the flight to Russia - more than 5,000km - in small groups each led by Il-76 or Tu-154 transport planes, the ministry added.

They would then go their separate ways to their own bases after crossing the Russian border, it said.

Su-24 tactical bombers, Su-25 attack fighters, Su-34 strike fighters and helicopters were returning home, the TV said.

Russia's military intervention bolstered president Assad's forces on key front lines where they were close to collapse.

Russia now wants to see an end to this war - and it is known to be concerned about the Syrian government's tough line on talks which have just resumed in Geneva, as well as president Assad's recent comments in an interview that he would one day take back, militarily, all the territory he lost.

That is not a war president Mr Putin can afford to be part of.

And he has a bigger game here - his wider relationship with the West and most of all Washington which is also anxious to find a way out of this crisis in Syria - as hard as that is.

It is not clear how many military personnel Russia has deployed, but US estimates suggest the number ranges from 3,000 to 6,000, AP reports.

Mr Putin, however, said Hmeimim and Russia's Mediterranean naval base at Tartus would continue to operate as normal.

Senator Viktor Ozerov, head of the Federation Council defence committee, said as many as two battalions - some 800 servicemen - could remain in Syria after the withdrawal to guard the two bases, Interfax news agency reported.

Military advisers training Syrian government troops would also stay, he added.

Russia had long insisted its bombing campaign only targeted terrorist groups but Western powers had complained the raids hit political opponents of President Assad.

In a statement, the Syrian government said the plan was agreed between the two countries.

What did Russia achieve in Syria?

• Russian aircraft flew more than 9,000 sorties
• Destroyed 209 oil production and transfer facilities 
• Helped Syrian government troops to retake 400 settlements
• Helped Damascus to regain control over more than 10,000 sq km (3,860 sq miles) of territory

Source: Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, quoted by Russian media

Most participants in the Syria conflict agreed to a cessation of hostilities, which has been largely holding despite reports of some violations on all sides.

Meanwhile, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria will present its report on war crimes committed by all sides in Syria's war to the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday in Geneva.

In a phone call, Mr Putin and US President Barack Obama discussed the situation in Syria and the "next steps required to fully implement the cessation of hostilities" agreed last month, the White House said.

The Kremlin said both "called for an intensification of the process for a political settlement" to the conflict.

The Russian move has received a guarded welcome from Western diplomats and the Syrian opposition.

An unnamed US official quoted by Reuters said Washington was encouraged by the Russian move, but it was too early to say what it means or what was behind it.

Norway killer Breivik gives Nazi salute on return to court

Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik has given a Nazi salute upon his return to court to accuse the government of violating his human rights by holding him in isolation.

He has previously compared his conditions in prison to "torture".

Breivik killed 77 people in 2011 when he bombed central Oslo before going on a shooting spree at a Labour Youth camp on the island of Utoya.

He was sentenced to 21 years in prison in 2012.

Entering the court in a grey suit shortly before 09:00 (08:00 GMT), he shook hands with his lawyers.

He made the salute after police removed his handcuffs. Breivik, 37, accuses the Norwegian government of breaching two clauses of the European Convention on Human Rights.

One of the clauses guarantees the right to respect for "private and family life" and "correspondence" and the other prohibits "inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".

His lawyer, Oystein Storrvik, told AFP news agency that Breivik had been "very stressed due to his isolation" in Skien prison, about 100km (60 miles) south-west of the capital Oslo.

"One of his main things to do (in prison) was to study and he has stopped that now, and I feel that is a sign that isolation has been negative to his psychological health," he said.

Authorities say Breivik's correspondence is censored to stop him setting up an "extremist network". His visits are almost all with professionals across a glass partition.

The attorney general's office has insisted that Breivik's prison conditions are "well within the limits of what is permitted" under the convention.

The court hearing, which is being held in the gymnasium of Skien prison, is expected to run until Friday. Breivik is expected to testify on Wednesday.

If the court decides that Breivik's prison conditions are so strict that they cause him harm and violate his human rights, it could order an easing of restrictions.

Last September, Breivik threatened to starve himself to death in protest at his treatment in prison.

His cell at Skien prison has a TV and computer but he has no access to the internet.

letter to media outlets in Norway and Sweden, he said he was kept in almost total isolation, with time outside his cell limited to one hour a day.

He said the harsh prison conditions had forced him to drop out of a political science course at the University of Oslo.

Breivik was first held at Ila Detention and Security Prison near Oslo before being moved to Skien in 2013.

At Ila, he also complained of being held in "inhumane" conditions.

In a letter to prison authorities, he said his cell was poorly decorated and had no view. He also complained that his coffee was served cold, he did not have enough butter for his bread, and he was not allowed moisturiser.

Firefighters Tackle Wythenshawe Hall Blaze

More than 50 firefighters have been battling a serious blaze at historic building in Manchester.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said it was called to Wythenshawe Hall just after 3.30am when a fire broke out in the roof.

Ten fire engines were called to the 16th century former museum and art gallery and a cherry-picker style device was being used to get water into the roof space as quickly and effectively as possible.

The fire service said no-one was thought to be inside the building - but warned they expected it to be badly damaged.

Part of the roof and first floor are said to have been destroyed

Fire service area manager Warren Pickstone said: "We are doing everything we can to save as much of this building as we can. The fire is in the roof and is difficult to access but we have specialist resources at the scene and we are doing our best.

"The fire is in the main black and white traditionally-clad Tudor building with the historic clock tower, which was also on fire.

"So far we believe we have lost the roof and the first floor."

Wythenshawe Hall, set in 250 acres now known as Wythenshawe Park, was home to the Tatton family for almost 400 years.

It was built in about 1540 and was unsuccessfully defended by Robert Tatton against Oliver Cromwell's forces in 1643, during the English Civil War 

It was donated to local people in 1930 was a museum and art gallery in recent years until it was closed in 2010 by Manchester City Council.

It reopened to visitors in 2012 with help from the Friends of Wythenshawe Hall volunteer group.

Close Suu Kyi confidant elected Myanmar's president

Htin Kyaw, a confidant of Myanmar's Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, was chosen on Tuesday by parliament to be the country's new president.

Htin Kyaw, 70, was nominated by the lower house as the opposition party National League for Democracy (NLD) takes power.

Because Suu Kyi was married to a foreign national, she is constitutionally unable to become president, though she has stated she will be in charge of the government.

Another Super-Popular App Is Joining the Encryption Battle

The New York Times reports that government officials are debating how to gain access to encrypted WhatsApp messages that have been approved for monitoring by a federal judge in a criminal investigation. Paralleling the ongoing fight between the FBI and Apple, some investigators believe that a judge should force WhatsApp to decrypt the relevant information.

That may or may not even be possible. WhatsApp has already faced similar pressure in Brazil, where an executive of parent company Facebook was jailed after a Brazilian court demanded that WhatsApp decrypt messages wanted in a drug-trafficking investigation. As Fortune reported in that instance, WhatsApp’s recent implementation of end-to-end encryption likely makes it impossible for the company to provide any information to law enforcement using existing resources.

With close to a billion monthly active users, WhatsApp is a prime target for investigators looking to expand their monitoring capabilities. But as the Timespoints out, it is also a company with firm anti-surveillance values, in part thanks to founder Jan Koum’s roots in Soviet-controlled Ukraine. An anti-encryption suit against the company could further solidify tech companies’ already strong stance against providing governments or law enforcement any “back door” access to users’ encrypted communications and data.

The nature of the specific case involving WhatsApp messages isn’t clear, though it reportedly is not terrorism-related. Observers have alleged that the FBI chose to pressure Apple to open the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino terrorist attackers because they believed public sentiment around the specific case would break in their favor. That support, though, has proven less than universal, and a less clear-cut case could deepen public skepticism.

Authorities, however, may see little choice but to widen their efforts to get around encryption. As the Times puts it, electronic monitoring has long been a vital tool for law enforcement, and with unbreakable encryption, “the future of wiretapping is in doubt.”

Parents Of Meningitis Victim To Address MPs

The parents of a toddler who died from meningitis B, sparking support for every British child to be vaccinated against the infection, will give evidence to MPs today.

Jenny and Neil Burdett's daughter, Faye, lost her life after an 11-day battle - and a distressing image of the two-year-old when she was seriously ill prompted hundreds of thousands of people to sign a petition calling for all youngsters to be protected.

They will be joined by the former England rugby captain Matt Dawson, whose son survived meningitis C, as he believes the lack of a universal scheme is causing "needless heartache".

Lee Booth, who instigated the campaign after learning one of his young daughters was too old to receive the vaccine on the NHS, will also attend the hearing.

His petition was the most signed in parliamentary history, and closed on Tuesday after attracting 823,341 signatures. A date for debate by MPs is yet to be set.

Earlier in March, the Department of Health responded to the petition - and said it would not be cost-effective for the NHS to offer meningitis B vaccines to all children under 11.

The current system immunises babies when they are two months old, and the Government said it "would not represent a good use of NHS resources" to expand it to older age groups.

But on Monday, Mr Booth said a price should not be put on a child's life - and argued the NHS would get better value for money vaccinating all children compared to the cost of treating meningitis survivors for the rest of their lives.

In February, the Burdetts said they were "campaigning for change in Faye's memory" - as they are suffering "a pain you cannot describe".

Parents who want to vaccinate children not covered by the Government's immunisation scheme currently need to pay for a private procedure.

However, some private clinics have had to turn away families because there has been a global shortage of the Bexsero vaccine.

The pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has said UK supplies may not increase until the summer - but the NHS programme for babies is unaffected.

Afghan refugees in dilemma over European offer

Kabul - More than 200,000 Afghans have left their country in pursuit of a better life. But upon arriving in Europe, many of them are left disappointed.

Faced with a cold welcome and the hardships of living in a foreign land, some are accepting cash incentives to return to Afghanistan.

Ismail Usofzi, who spent five months and more than $7,500 getting to Germany, is one of them.

"They gave me a document and it was written in red that I could be subjected to deportation and there were no guarantees of a bright future for me," Usofzi told Al Jazeera.

He said he paid $7,500 to the smugglers and went to Germany for the future of his family.

"It said it could take years for me to be accepted into society," Usofzi said.

He said he could not find work and could not get permission for his wife and three children to join him.

In the end, he accepted a payment of $2,000 from the German government to leave and return home.

However, of the 200,000 who fled Afghanistan, fewer than 1,000 have taken the cash deal to return.