"We talked today about the possibility of trying to encourage a ceasefire. Maybe a localized ceasefire in Aleppo," Kerry said.

The United Nations Secretary-General will discuss a number of "regional issues, especially the crisis in Syria" next door.

Sixteen of the new appointees are under 80, making them eligible to enter a conclave to elect the Pope's successor.

Commemorations include a Mass and candle-lit procession to mark the exact time that the Concordia slammed into a reef and capsized.

The government confirmed that it will take responsibility for all British government debt should Scotland vote for independence.

Pricing for the 2014 Leaf will range from around $29,000 starting for the S level up to just over $35,000 for the SL.

Volkswagen is currently the world's third-biggest manufacturer, behind Japan's Toyota and U.S. carmaker General Motors.

“I greet the memory and the struggle of the precious child of the Armenian people, our brother Hrant,” Abdullah Öcalan said.

The most fatalities occurred when men with small firearms attacked the army base in Abu Ghraib west of Baghdad, police said.

An Israeli security source said Israel had "passed the message" to Gaza authorities to prevent any rocket fire during the funeral.