Pennsylvania town’s $1,000-a-day fine is for the birds, residents say

A retired Pennsylvania couple is facing a $1,000-a-day fine for feeding birds at their Bethlehem Township home, The Morning Call reported.

The couple has been feeding the birds for 25 years at their home, which is north of Philadelphia, but their bird feeder has been deemed out of compliance with town code.

Those who support the fine say the bird-feeding ordinance is in place to deter the habitation of squirrels and other rodents in the area, the report said. The ordinance, in part, calls for a squirrel-proof top and catch basin affixed at the bottom of all bird feeders. 

Increased enforcement of the ordinance appears to be the result of a resident complaining about bird feeders in the area attracting deer.

"After all this, it's all about deer," said Diane Ganssle, the homeowner who was visited by a code enforcement officer in December. "Deer are there without the feeders."

Ganssle said after the officer left her house, she took down the dozen feeders, but left up a 3-foot tube feeder, the report said. But that tube feeder was found to be not in compliance.

"And I am required to empty [the basin] at least once a day," Bill Ganssle, her husband, told the paper. "But sometimes I do it twice, and sometimes I'm out there six, eight times a day chasing the squirrels."

Commissioners President Tom Nolan told the paper that the ordinance has flaws and said, "The board will get together to review this ordinance. There is something quite valid in what you are saying ... and we do feel compassion for the animals.''

UK storms wash away railway line and leave thousands without power

The railway line in Dawlish is hanging in mid-air, as Jon Kay reports

Parts of Britain are being hit by a powerful storm which has washed away a stretch of railway line and left thousands of homes without electricity.

The Environment Agency says around 328 homes have been flooded since Friday evening - with more heavy rain forecast into the weekend.

A section of the sea wall in Dawlish, Devon, collapsed and left the main railway line suspended in mid-air.

David Cameron has announced an extra £100m for flood works.

At Prime Minister's Questions he pledged £75m for repairs over the next year, £10m for urgent work in Somerset - where several rivers have flooded - and £15m for maintenance.

He said: "Whatever is required, whether it is dredging work on the rivers Tone and Parrett, whether it is support for our emergency services, whether it is fresh money for flood defences, whether it's action across the board, this government will help those families and get this issue sorted."

'Force of nature'

Forecasters have warned the storm is heading east, with rain, thunder and hail expected, along with winds of up to 50mph in London.

Dawlish resident Robert Parker said the storm was "like the end of the world".

He said: "It was like an earthquake. I've never experienced anything like it. I've been in some terrible storms in the North Sea, but last night was just a force of nature."

Western Power Distribution said about 44,000 customers had been affected by power cuts since Tuesday afternoon and 9,680 were still without power across the South West. In Cornwall, 7,800 are cut off.

The company said around 800 staff were working to restore supplies.

On the Somerset Levels, residents of more than 150 homes at Fordgate and Northmoor are being advised to leave their properties.

Avon and Somerset Police said flood defences were in danger of being overwhelmed.

Mr Cameron is chairing a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee to discuss the floods following widespread criticism of Environment Secretary Owen Paterson's handling of the crisis.

A section of rail track dangles over the sea after the wall collapsed at Dawlish

Waves continued to lash the seafront

Earlier, First Great Western said all lines between Exeter St Davids and Penzance were closed because of the collapsed track at Dawlish and adverse weather conditions. It advised against travel for the rest of the day.

Patrick Hallgate from Network Rail, who is assessing the damage at Dawlish, said it could take between four and six weeks to fix the line, which is the main rail link between south Devon and Cornwall.

"This is probably the biggest structural engineering feat we've faced in the South West for at least the last decade," he said.

First Great Western said some branch lines in Devon and Cornwall were starting to operate.

The Environment Agency has nine severe flood warnings in place, meaning "danger to life", covering much of the south coast from Cornwall to Dorset and two areas of Somerset.

High winds and stormy seas have led to further damage to the Grade I listed West Pier in Brighton, East Sussex

The Met Office said gusts of up to 70mph and 20mm of rain had spread from the South West to south-west Wales and eastern Northern Ireland overnight.

Overnight 'pasting'

Teams of engineers worked through the night to fix the faults, and the company said it would also switch circuits to work around individual problems.

Robert Parker, from Dawlish, was evacuated from his home overnight

Phil Davies, network service manager for the company, said they had had "quite a pasting in the South West overnight".

"We are importing some staff from south Wales and the Midlands to help and we are confident we can get everybody back [with power] today."

In other developments:

• Twenty people were evacuated from Kingsand in Cornwall because their homes were being damaged by stones washed ashore and coming through their windows
• Devon and Cornwall Police received 300 emergency calls overnight. About 100 trees were reported blown over
• In Brighton, a significant section of the West Pier skeleton collapsed in high winds and stormy seas
• Homes were evacuated on the seafront in Torcross, Devon, after waves smashed the front of four buildings
• Portsmouth Historic Dockyard was closed because high winds were causing roof tiles to blow around
• Southeastern said Network Rail had put a 40mph speed restriction in place across parts of its network, making journeys on some services longer
• South West Trains said a speed restriction of 50mph would be imposed on some routes between 10:00 and 19:00 GMT on Wednesday
• Winds of up to 92mph (148km/h) were reported in the Isles of Scilly
• Labour MP for Exeter, Ben Bradshaw, said damage to the railway infrastructure could "absolutely devastate" the economies of Devon and Cornwall
• Coastal areas of Devon suffered severe damage
• Looe quay, in Cornwall, is awash with sea water.

In Wales, a number of main roads were closed by fallen trees or flooding.

Firefighters have also been called out to deal with dangerous structures. There have been two incidents in the Tenby area of Pembrokeshire with roofing being blown off buildings.

The Met Office has an amber severe weather warning - meaning "be prepared" - for wind for south west England and Wales until 19:00 GMT on Wednesday, as well as warnings for wind and rain for other parts of the UK.

The Environment Agency's severe flood warnings cover South Cornwall, South Devon from Start Point to Dawlish Warren, South Devon from Exmouth to Lyme Regis, Lyme Regis harbour, West Bay in Dorset, Weymouth seafront, Chiswell on the Isle of Portland, and two areas of Somerset - the A361 East Lyng to Burrowbridge, and Salt Moor and North Moor.

It also has about 60 flood warnings and more than 200 flood alerts in England and Wales.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has one flood warning for Kirkcaldy in Fife, and several flood alerts.

On Tuesday, the Prince of Wales met residents on the Somerset Levels where thousands of hectares of land remain under water and whole villages have been cut off for weeks.

Somerset residents have expressed anger at the pace at which the Environment Agency and the government have responded.

Many said there has been a slow response from the authorities to the flooding, which has affected many parts of the Levels since December.

In Cornwall, the local authority estimated storms had caused more than £4m of damage across the county in the past month.

The Met Office said another band of rain was expected to arrive from the south on Thursday.

Jack Lew: US could default on debt by 'end of month'

Mr Lew said now was not the time to cut the US government's budget dramatically

US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has warned the US may default on its debt by the end of the month if Congress does not raise its borrowing limit.

Mr Lew said he could rely on emergency measures to pay US debts after the limit is reinstated on 7 February.

But he anticipated the treasury's reserves would quickly be exhausted as it issues annual income tax refunds.

Congress suspended the debt limit in October as part of a deal to reopen the federal government after a shutdown.

The $16.7tn (£10.2tn) cap will be reinstated on Friday.

"Without borrowing authority, at some point very soon, it would not be possible to meet all of the obligations of the federal government," Mr Lew said at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington on Monday.

The treasury secretary said the US treasury department could resort to accounting mechanisms to avoid breaching the limit until the end of February.

But soon after, the US will only be able to pay its debt and other obligations with cash on hand.

And in the spring, Mr Lew noted, the US issues tax refunds to Americans who overpaid income taxes last year, straining its cash reserves.

While Republicans have in the past demanded budget cuts in return for agreeing an increase in the borrowing limit, the party's leaders have signalled reluctance to do so this time around.

Long-term fiscal challenges

In any case, the White House has said it will not negotiate budget policy in exchange for raising the debt limit.

And Mr Lew argued that dramatically cutting back on the federal government's spending was unnecessary for the moment.

"I'm not sure this is the year for the long-term fiscal challenge to be dealt with," he said, adding the US deficit had been declining. "I actually believe that we've made so much progress in the short and medium term, we have a little time to deal with the longer term."

During the partial government shutdown in October, Republican lawmakers threatened to block a rise in the debt limit unless the Democrats agreed to undermine or repeal President Barack Obama's signature healthcare reform law.

In 2011, the Republicans won reductions in US government spending in return for agreeing to raise the limit.

Now, the debt limit debate returns to the fore as the Democrats and Republicans appear to have called a momentary truce in their long-running budget fight.

Cross-party negotiations in Congress in December and January yielded a two-year federal budget.

Guttmacher: US abortion rate drops to lowest since legalisation

Inside Mississippi's last abortion clinic

The rate at which US women had abortions fell between 2008-11 to the lowest level since abortion was legalised in 1973, a study suggests.

The Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, also reported the total number of abortions fell 13%.

Researchers said the drop coincided with a declining pregnancy rate and increased use of contraceptives.

They said the decline predated passage of a recent wave of state laws restricting access to abortion.

"Contraceptive use improved during this period, as more women and couples were using highly effective long-acting reversible contraceptive methods, such as the IUD," the study's lead author Rachel Jones said in a statement accompanying the report.

"Moreover, the recent recession led many women and couples to want to avoid or delay pregnancy and childbearing."

The report, which took into account numbers of abortions reported by clinics and state health departments, found the US abortion rate fell to 16.9 abortions per 1,000 women in 2011, down from the 1981 peak of 29.3 per 1,000.

It was the lowest rate since 1973, when the rate was 16.3 abortions per 1,000 women.

In 1973, the US Supreme Court legalised abortion across the country, in a landmark decision known as Roe v Wade.

In the 2008-11 period of the study, the number of clinics offering abortion only decreased 1%.

But Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee, said the overall drop in abortion numbers was evidence that the anti-abortion movement's efforts were working.

"It shows that women are rejecting the idea of abortion as the answer to an unexpected pregnancy," she said.

The highest abortion rates were in New York, Maryland, Washington DC, Delaware and New Jersey.

The lowest were in Wyoming, Mississippi, South Dakota, Kentucky and Missouri.

However, Guttmacher said many women in Wyoming and Mississippi, where there are very few providers, go out of state to get abortions.

Republicans made extensive gains at the state level in the 2010 elections, using their new-found power to pass anti-abortion measures in states across the country.

According to a Guttmacher Institute tally, a total of 205 abortion restrictions were passed between 2011-13, more than in the entire previous decade.

Stars pay tribute to actor Philip Seymour Hoffman

Tributes paid to Seymour Hoffman

Tributes are pouring in following the death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman at his home in New York on Sunday.

The Oscar-winning actor, 46, was found by a friend who called emergency services. He was declared dead at the scene.

A police spokesman said investigators found two small plastic bags and a substance suspected of being heroin.

Robert De Niro was among many fellow actors expressing their sorrow, describing him as "a wonderful actor".

"I'm very, very saddened by the passing of Phil. He was a wonderful actor. This is one of those times where you say: 'This just shouldn't be'," he said.

In a statement, his family said: "We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Phil."

A memorial for Hoffman was placed outside a restaurant in Manhattan

Hoffman had spoken of receiving treatment for drug abuse

Hoffman is survived by his partner Mimi O'Donnell, and their three children.

Jennifer Lawrence, who starred with Hoffman in The Hunger Games, described him as an "such a incredible actor."

"You played an excellent Plutarch. So sad," she wrote.

Julianne Moore, who co-starred with Hoffman in Boogie Nights, Magnolia and The Big Lebowski, said: "I feel so fortunate to have known and worked with the extraordinary Philip Seymour Hoffman, and am deeply saddened by his passing."

George Clooney, who appeared alongside Hoffman in The Ides of March, said: "There are no words... It's just terrible."

Philip Seymour Hoffman

• 1 best actor Oscar for Capote, 2005
• 3 supporting actor Oscar nominations
• 51 feature film releases, 1991-2014
• 29 dramas, 21 comedies, 1 animation
• 3 real life characters played: Lester Bangs, Truman Capote, Art Howe

Source: IMDB, The Numbers

The actor Ken Stott, who became friends with Hoffman while making Charlie Wilson's War, described the actor as "compelling" on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"It was a real shock. We were always in touch... he demanded respect, he had a quiet, friendly attitude to his work."

When asked about the circumstances of Hoffman's death, Stott said: "This event I believe to be misadventure."

Director Mike Nichols, who directed Hoffman in Charlie Wilson's War and in Death of a Salesman, said: "No words for this. He was too great and we're too shattered."

Hoffman won an Oscar for best actor with his portrayal of writer Truman Capote

Kevin Costner told the Associated Press: "Philip was a very important actor and really takes his place among the real great actors. It's a shame.

"Who knows what he would have been able to do? But we're left with the legacy of the work he's done and it all speaks for itself," he added.

Hoffman had candidly spoken in the past of his struggle against drug addiction, including a 2006 interview in which he told CBS he had at times abused "anything I could get my hands on. I liked it all".

Comedian and actor Steve Martin praised Hoffman's 2012 Broadway performance in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.

'Unspeakable loss'

And Gary Oldman told Sky News: "He was on a list of mine as an actor to work with and hoped to be directing.

"He had that little bit of danger to him and vulnerability to him, all those qualities that I think make somebody watchable and very special."

Kevin Spacey tweeted: "A tragedy to lose as supremely talented an actor as Philip Seymour Hoffman. An unspeakable loss for film, theatre & all who knew him. RIP."

Eddie Marsan starred opposite Hoffman in God's Pocket, which premiered at Sundance last month.

He tweeted his tribute to his co-star.

Hoffman won a best actor Oscar in 2005 for Capote and was nominated a further three times - for The Master, Doubt and Charlie Wilson's War.

He also picked up three Tony nominations for his work on Broadway, including Death of a Salesman.

One of his earliest movies was Scent of a Woman in 1992 and he had a breakthrough role as a gay member of a porn film crew in Boogie Nights, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, who he also collaborated with on other films including The Master.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Hoffman had completed his work for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, and had only seven days remaining to shoot on The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2.

It is thought the films' scheduled release dates of 21 November 2014, and 20 November 2015, respectively, will not be affected by Hoffman's death.

He was also set to star in his first major TV series, Happyish, for Showtime but theHollywood Reporter said the series was not yet in production.

Showtime issued a statement following the news of Hoffman's death, saying: "Philip Seymour Hoffman was one of our generation's finest and most brilliant actors. He was also a gifted comedic talent.

"It was a great privilege and pleasure to work with him and we are all absolutely devastated by this sudden loss. Our thoughts go out to his family at this very difficult time."

Meanwhile, Screen Daily reported that Ezekiel Moss, to be directed by Hoffman, will not now be presented as planned at the European Film Market in Berlin this week.

The Prohibition-era film was to star Jake Gyllenhaal and Amy Adams.

"Exclusive Media is deeply saddened to learn the shocking news of Philip Seymour Hoffman's passing," the company said in a statement.

Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano spews ash and lava

Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano sent huge clouds of ash and smoke into the sky

The Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador has been spewing lava and ash, covering villages hundreds of kilometres away with a white dusting.

The ash travelled as far as Loja province, on the border with Peru.

The volcano, which became active again in 1999 after a long period of dormancy, lies 135km (85 miles) south-east of the capital, Quito.

The latest series of eruptions began on Saturday with two moderate explosions followed by a third of greater size.

There have been three eruptions since Saturday

Ash clouds reached a height of 8km (5 miles)

The blasts launched an 8km-high column of ash above the volcano.

The lava reached the Acupashal mountain pass, blocking the route to the town of Banos, local authorities said,

The authorities have declared an orange alert, the second highest, but the president of the Emergency Operations Committee, Hermuy Calle, said the activity was "simply a release of pressure", and that the volcanic activity was not expected to increase further in the coming hours.

El Salvador presidential poll to go into run-off

Mr Sanchez Ceren could become the first former rebel to lead the country

Left-wing candidate Salvador Sanchez Ceren of the FMLN party has a convincing 10-percentage-point lead in El Salvador's presidential election, according to preliminary results.

However, Mr Sanchez Ceren fell short of the 50% needed to avoid a run-off.

Mr Sanchez Ceren, a rebel during the country's civil war, will face right-winger Norman Quijano on 9 March.

The poll reflects the deep political rift which still divides the Central American nation 22 years after the war.

Popular policies

Mr Sanchez Ceren's party, the Farabundo Marti Liberation Front (FMLN), turned from a rebel group into a political party at the end of El Salvador's civil war (1980-1992).

Norman Quijano came second in the presidential poll, preliminary results suggest

When the FMLN won the 2009 presidential election, Mr Sanchez was named vice-president.

Analysts say the party's welfare programmes, such as free school supplies, were popular with voters.

Mr Sanchez Ceren, 69, won 48.9% of the votes, with the right-wing Arena party candidate, Norman Quijano, trailing with 38.95%.

Former president Antonio Saca (2004-2009) came third with 11.4%.

It is not clear who Antonio Saca's supporters will back in the 9 March run-off, which will pitch the top two candidates against each other.

Gang war

Mr Quijano, who quit his post as mayor of San Salvador to run for president, campaigned on a promise to crack down on the country's criminal gangs.

Candidates have clashed on how to deal with gangs, as Will Grant reports

El Salvador has one of the world's highest murder rates, which is blamed largely on the fights between two rival gangs: Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18.

The two gangs entered into a truce in 2012, but the number of murders has recently been going up again and some analysts fear it may not hold much longer.

Mr Quijano said he would deploy the army against the gangs and accused the FMLN government of negotiating with criminals.

If Mr Sanchez Ceren wins the run-off, he will become the first former rebel to serve as El Salvador's president.

'Outsider' Solis leads in Costa Rica presidential vote

In a surprise turn-around, Luis Guillermo Solis gained the lead in Costa Rica's presidential election

With more than 80% of the votes counted in Costa Rica's presidential election, Luis Guillermo Solis of the left-leaning Citizens' Action Party has a one-percentage-point lead.

Mr Solis, 55, edged ahead of the governing National Liberation Party's Johnny Araya, 56, who had led in opinion polls and early vote returns.

If Mr Solis wins in the 6 April run-off, it would be another victory for centre-left parties in Latin America.

He ran on an anti-corruption ticket.

Continuity v change

With 82% of the votes counted, Mr Solis was ahead with 30.9%, followed by Mr Araya on 29.6% and Jose Maria Villalta of the left-wing Frente Amplio (Broad Front) with 17.2%.

Pre-election opinion polls had suggested Johnny Araya was the favourite to win

As none of the candidates has won the 40% of the vote needed for an outright victory, the poll is expected to go into a run-off between the top two candidates on 6 April.

While his first-round lead is very slim, analysts say Mr Solis would be likely to pick up the votes of Mr Villalta's supporters in the second round.

They say Mr Araya's support was eroded by a series of corruption scandals involving his predecessor in office, Laura Chinchilla, and the governing National Liberation Party.

Mr Araya had promised to reduce poverty and to maintain a stable economy.

"We represent the safe road, the responsible road, to maintain political, economic and social stability in Costa Rica," he told supporters as the counting was under way.

But as he lost his early lead he admitted his party had not done enough to distance itself from recent scandals.

"There's no doubt that the result shows that we've not made it clear to the people that we're going to correct [our course], that we want responsible change," he said.

Euphoric

Mr Solis, whom pre-election opinion polls had never shown as a favourite, was euphoric at the surprise turn-around.

Mr Solis and his supporters were ecstatic when the counting started to show him in the lead

"Costa Rica's time has come," he said.

"From coast to coast, the rising wave has become a great tsunami that has washed away traditional politics forever."

The winner of the run-off will replace president Laura Chinchilla, who became the first female president of Costa Rica in 2010.

Ms Chinchilla was barred from running again under the country's constitution, which does not allow presidents to serve for consecutive terms.

Her successor in office faces a deeply divided Congress with representatives from nine parties, none of which has a clear majority.

Analysts say the new president will also have to tackle growing government debt and rising unemployment.

Moscow school shooting: Student held after killing two

The BBC's Steve Rosenberg reports from outside the school

An armed student who entered a school in Moscow and shot dead two adults before taking more than 20 teenagers hostage has been arrested.

Police said the student had killed one officer and a teacher. Another policeman was shot and injured.

The hostages were freed after the student's father went in to the school.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the incident as "tragic", while Moscow's mayor called for a review of school security.

In comments at a meeting with theatre workers in the city of Pskov, Mr Putin suggested improved arts education could help prevent such incidents.

"A new generation of spectators with good artistic taste should be brought up - capable of understanding and appreciating theatrical, dramatic and musical arts," he said.

"Had we been doing this properly, maybe there would have been no tragedies similar to today's tragedy in Moscow."

'Breakdown'

The gunman was a pupil at School No 263 on the northern outskirts of Moscow.

Russian investigators named him as Sergei Gordeyev, and said he was an excellent student who appeared to have had an "emotional breakdown".

He was armed with two rifles legally owned by his father.

Images of the scene showed emergency vehicles and police

Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for Russia's main investigative agency, said a school security guard had been unable to stop Gordeyev from entering the school when he arrived carrying the weapons.

But the guard did manage to hit an alarm before following the student to his classroom, he said.

Gordeyev shot dead a geography teacher before locking more than 20 10th grade students - aged about 15 - inside a classroom.

He then fired at least 11 shots at police officers who had responded to the alarm, wounding one and killing another, Mr Markin said, in the statement quoted by Russian news agencies.

The stand-off was resolved when the student's father was called to the school; wearing a bullet-proof vest, he went into the building to speak to his son.

The hostages were freed unharmed and all children and teachers were evacuated from the school.

Soon after, the student was disarmed and taken into custody.

Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said he had "made a decision to conduct a complete review of how our school security system is working, and to take additional steps".

The BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Moscow says school shootings are incredibly rare in Russia.

In the worst ever such incident, Chechen separatists took over a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, holding more than 1,000 people hostage. More than 300 people, mostly children, were killed as security forces stormed the school to end the siege.

The latest incident comes amid heightened security across Russia as the country prepares to host the Winter Olympics in Sochi, in the far south, next week.

Last month, 34 people were killed in two bomb attacks in the southern city of Volgograd. That incident was blamed on Islamist militants based in the Caucasus republics of Dagestan.

Parents come to collect children at the school after the incident

A student walks out of the school with a relative

A crowd of bystanders and students' relatives gathered outside the school

A security-service member used a mine and metal detector outside the building after the shooting

Russia warns Ukraine opposition as protests continue

Protests continued as President Viktor Yanukovych went back to work on Monday

Russia has urged Ukrainian opposition leaders to end their campaign of "ultimatums and threats" and to step up negotiations with the government.

Russia's foreign ministry said Moscow was concerned by activists' attempts to "inflame" the situation.

Protesters in Kiev have repeated their calls for the resignation of President Viktor Yanukovych, who is now back at work after four days of illness.

The EU and US are considering a big loan to help debt-laden Ukraine.

"We are looking at how we could support the Ukraine in the times of the crisis when it comes to the economic and political situation," a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Monday.

Both EU and US officials say the aid package would be conditional on Kiev embracing "real reform".

No further details of the plan have been revealed.

'Deep crisis'

Protests have continued since November, when President Yanukovych backed away from closer EU ties and agreed a loan with Russia.

Thousands of people joined a new rally in the centre of the capital, Kiev, on Sunday, with opposition leaders calling for international help.

The Russian foreign ministry denounced their actions in a statement on Monday, saying they were particularly "puzzling" in the wake of asummit held in Munich last week on Ukraine's future.

"We expect the opposition in Ukraine to avoid threats and ultimatums and step up dialogue with the authorities in order to finding a constitutional way out of the country's deep crisis," the foreign ministry said.

Protesters want to see closer ties with the EU rather than Russia

Activists gathered in freezing conditions in Kiev's Maidan square on the eve of the president's return to work

Russia has announced it is delaying the next instalment of a $15bn (£9bn) aid package to the Ukraine.

The next tranche is dependent on the formation of a new Ukrainian government, it says.

Concessions

President Yanukovych's first task on returning to work is to name a new prime minister to replace Mykola Azarov who resigned last week.

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian parliament will debate calls for a broader amnesty for people detained during the protests and for a return to a previous constitution, which will restrict the powers of the presidency.

Mr Yanukovych had been on sick leave since last Wednesday. His office said he had been suffering from a fever and breathing problems.

Opposition leaders had previously expressed scepticism about his illness - on Sunday they again called on him to stand down while speaking to crowds of protesters in Kiev's Maidan square, which has become a focal point for the opposition.

Mr Yanukovych has offered a number of concessions and his cabinet quit their jobs.

But the demonstrators, many of whom want to see closer ties with the EU rather than Russia, have not been placated.

Meanwhile, the severely injured Ukrainian opposition leader Dmytro Bulatov has arrived in Lithuania for medical treatment.

Mr Bulatov appeared on TV last week saying he had been abducted and tortured.