22/01/2014 Newsround


22/01/2014

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Hi, guys, Ayshah here with news of Murray's worries down under on the

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way. Plus, the amazing story of the winter Olympian forced to walk on

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her hands until she was six. This is Newsround. First, peace talks aimed

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at ending three years of war in Syria have started today. They'll

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bring the country's government and the opposition they're fighting

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against face-to-face for the first time. But already there've been

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angry scenes with representatives of both sides blaming the other for

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what's going on. I've been looking into whether these talks have any

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chance of bringing real peace to the country. Three years since it

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started, the war in Syria has devastated lives and landscapes.

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Almost 2.5 million people have fled the country, including more than a

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million children. And it's claimed the lives of more than 100,000

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others. It started when people began protesting against the way the

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country's president, Bashar Al-Assad, was running things. His

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family has ruled Syria for more than 40 years and people have never been

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able to vote him in or out. His army forces reacted violently to try and

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stop the protests and the rebels fought back. The battles have been

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raging ever since, and have seen many of Syria's towns and cities go

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from this... To this. Now, after lots of negotiating, the two sides

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have been brought together for the first time, here at a special

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meeting in Switzerland, organised by the United Nations. The fact that

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these peace talks are taking place is hugely important. It's the first

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time the government and the opposition have met face-to-face

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since the conflict began. Alongside Syria, 30 other countries are also

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at the talks, all hoping to have a say on Syria's future. But will

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these talks lead to any kind of peace in Syria? The opposition wants

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Syria's President Assad to leave power. The government doesn't want

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to discuss that at all. So everybody here is saying these negotiations

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will be slow and difficult. There's no quick fix. But for the real

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victims of Syria's walk, and especially for all those children, a

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simple cease-fire would be at a start. The peace talks are planned

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to carry on in Switzerland until Friday. But back in Syria, ordinary

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people wait, and the fighting continues. And you can check out

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loads more about what's going on in Syria over on the Newsround website.

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In other news, America is in the grip of another big freeze. New York

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City has had up to 12 inches of snow and Washington is expecting its

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heaviest snow fall in three years. It's just two weeks since the polar

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vortex caused freezing temperatures in the same areas. Andy Murray's

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hopes of winning the Australian Open are over. He lost his quarterfinal

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with Roger Federer in four sets, despite a brief comeback in the

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third. Federer will now play Rafa Nadal in the semis. Meanwhile, Team

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GB has named their biggest Winter Olympic squad in a quarter of a

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century for the Sochi games in Russia next month. There's a record

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19 skiers and snowboarders, including freestyle silver medallist

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James Woods. Former Olympic sprinter Craig Pickering has also been picked

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for the bobsleigh crew. And the Sochi Paralympics are likely to

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feature one of the most inspiring athletes the world has ever seen.

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Tatyana McFadden may not be a name you've heard before but I promise

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you, her story's one you're unlikely to forget. Like thousands of other

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winter Olympic hopefuls Tatyana McFadden is training hard. But her

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base in Utah in America is a long way from where it all started. Born

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in Russia and put in an orphanage as a baby, she had a condition called

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spina bifida, which meant she had to walk on her hands until she was six.

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Then she was adopted and taken to America where her amazing talent for

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sport was discovered. Last year, Tatyana won every wheelchair race

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going, including a record six world titles and all four major marathons.

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And now she's decided to swap the track for the slopes and add winter

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medals to her summer successes. She puts her determination down to her

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early life experience. Life is about winning the mental battle. So

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whether you put that in sports or your personal life, I think that

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makes me who I am. In her first full-season as a cross country skier

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she's already won the US national Championships, which should see her

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picked for Sochi. And she's already planning for life after the Winter

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Games - she's due to defend her London marathon title ten days after

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they finish. And you can watch more of Tatyana's amazing story over on

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the Newsround website, along with some of the most amazing pictures

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from America's big freeze. Newsround is back at 6.50pm. I'll see you

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then.

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