Russia says Syria will attend peace talks aimed at ending the civil war, Toronto’s Mayor finally talks about allegations he uses crack, and helping the poor gets one leader a 90 percent approval rating.

Moscow says Syria will attend a joint US-Russian conference aimed at ending the bloodshed of the Civil War, now in its third year.  The opposition doubts Damascus’ sincerity.  Most details about the conference are still up in the air, including the date, the agenda, the timetable and the participants.

UK Police arrested two men claiming to have a bomb aboard a Pakistan to Manchester flight.  Pakistan International Airlines Flight PK709 had to be diverted from its original destination to Stansted under escort from Royal Air Force fighters.  The aircraft was searched and no bomb was found, and the two men might have been just mouthing off.  Britain is understandably on edge over terrorism after the gruesome murder of a Royal Artillery Drummer on a London street.

US officials are searching for a temporary replacement bridge for part of the main North-South artery along America’s West Coast, Interstate 5.  The road runs from Vancouver, British Columbia to San Diego.  Part of a bridge north of Seattle collapsed when truck hauling an oversized load hit a girder.  Two cars were sent into the Skagit River but the occupants were only slightly injured.  Traffic is likely to be messed up for weeks.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford finally came out to address allegations he was caught on video smoking crack.  Ford told reporters the video does not exist, and he can’t comment on something that doesn’t exist. Ford was sporting a new, much shorter haircut, and made a point of talking about the lack of evidence.  Reporters for the Toronto Star newspaper and the Gawker gossip website saw the video, which reportedly shows the Mayor of Canada’s major city smoking crack, but it has not been made public.  Crack dealers were reportedly shopping it around for $200,000.

Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa has been sworn in for an unprecedented third term, which he says will be his last.  The Leftist leader enjoys an approval rating around 90 percent for his anti-poverty program, which has lifted the economic status of more than a million people. 

The Nigerian Military says it has destroyed a number of terrorist camps operated by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.  A general says a fuel depot and a bomb-making operation were taken down in the coordinated attacks.  Nigerian troops also rescued three women and six children kidnapped by Boko Haram last year.

Two surviving World War II “comfort women” have called off a meeting with the Mayor of Osaka, Japan, who had earlier stated that it was “necessary” for Imperial Japan to enslave thousands of women from conquered territories China, Korea, and the Philippines as sex partners for Japanese troops.  The two women were worried the meeting would be “politically exploited” by Mayor Toru Hashimoto, who hasn’t exactly retracted his stupid remarks.

The suspect in the murders of four family members in the Czech Republic has been caught at Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C.  20-year old Kevin Dahlgren Palo Alto, California was arrested as he tried to enter his home country from Europe.  The victims, it turns out, are his Aunt and Uncle and two cousins.  He had reportedly been sent to live overseas because behavioral issues at home.