San Francisco - Twitter, which is preparing for its initial public offering, said on Wednesday it will help users receive special alerts from government agencies and aid agencies during emergencies.
Users who sign up will receive smartphone notifications via the Twitter app as well as SMS text messages - assuming they agree to handover their cell phone numbers - from any of several dozen agencies who have signed on to the program.
The US Federal Emergency Management Agency, Tokyo's Disaster Prevention service and the World Health Organization are among those participating.
The alerts program starts a year after Twitter showcased its potential as a lifeline during Hurricane Sandy, when stranded residents on the eastern US seaboard reported the storm's progress and sought help on the mobile network.
A similar lifeline service played a part in the rescue efforts in Japan following the devastating 2011 tsunami, Twitter said. The program is initially available in the United States, Japan and Korea and will be expanded to other countries.
Craig Fugate, the FEMA administrator, said the service was at the cutting edge of disaster management in the age of smartphones.
"Today we have a two-way street — residents are informed about hazards in real time and emergency managers receive immediate feedback on the consequences of a disaster," Fugate said in a statement.
The program reflects the evolution of Twitter from its earliest days, when it gained a reputation as a hangout for geeks to share the minute details of their most recent meal or who they encountered at the South by Southwest Festival.
But the crowd-sourced information of today's Twitter has also proved problematic.
Even as the New York City Fire Department used Twitter to communicate with residents during Hurricane Sandy, there were pranksters who spread misinformation on the service, including a rumor that the New York Stock Exchange was submerged underwater.
And in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, the name of a missing Brown University student went viral on Twitter after many users, including journalists, mistakenly identified him as a suspect.
Twitter, for its part, has maintained a strictly hands-off attitude toward monitoring its content and denied responsibility for ensuring its accuracy.
Earlier this month, Twitter filed with regulators for an initial public offering. Reuters reported last week that Twitter was in talks looking to add additional banks to its underwriting syndicate.
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| Attacks of this nature, locally known as “insider” or “green on blue” are common in Afghanistan where Afghan troops turn on Nato and US allies.—AFP/File Photo |
KABUL: An Afghan soldier opened fire Thursday on his Nato trainers, killing one and wounding several others in the country’s east, officials said.
Attacks in which Afghan forces turn their guns on their international partners have killed scores of US-led troops, breeding mistrust and undermining efforts to train local forces before Nato combat troops withdraw next year.
The latest shooting was at a military training facility and base in the eastern province of Paktia, known to be one of the hotbeds of the Taliban insurgency, an Afghan official said.
The soldier attached to Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was inside the base when attacked, Rohullah Samoon, the local administration spokesman, told AFP from the provincial capital Gadez.
ISAF said the attacker, described as “wearing Afghan national security forces uniform”, was killed in return fire from other troops on the ground.
ISAF did not provide further details including the exact location of the incident or the nationality of the victim.
Attacks of this nature, locally known as “insider” or “green on blue” are common in Afghanistan where Afghan troops, some of them reportedly affiliated to insurgent groups, turn on Nato and US allies.
An Afghan soldier shot dead three US soldiers during a training exercise in Paktia last Saturday.
BAGHDAD: A bomb exploded in a crowded market in the Iraqi capital on Thursday, killing at least seven people and wounding 15, officials said.
The blast in the Dura area of south Baghdad marks the latest in a spate of attacks at markets, which are frequently targeted by militants seeking to cause maximum casualties.
Iraq is witnessing the worst violence since 2008, when the country was just emerging from a brutal sectarian conflict.
There are persistent fears that Iraq will return to the all-out Sunni-Shia sectarian violence that peaked in 2006-2007 and killed tens of thousands of people.
With the latest violence, more than 680 people have been killed this month and over 4,500 since the beginning of the year, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources.
Diplomats and analysts say the Shia-led government's failure to address the grievances of the Sunni Arab minority, who complain of political exclusion and abuses at the hands of the security forces, has driven the spike in violence this year.
Sectarian tensions created by the civil war in neighbouring Syria have also fuelled the violence rocking Iraq.
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| Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in the second half to give Real Madrid a hard-fought 2-1 away win at Elche in the Spanish league Wednesday. — File Photo by Reuters |
MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in the second half to give Real Madrid a hard-fought 2-1 away win at Elche in the Spanish league Wednesday.
In a lackluster, strategic match, Elche defender Eduardo Albacar struck a free kick that David Lomban back-headed toward goal, forcing an athletic save from goalkeeper Diego Lopez in the 10th minute.
Ronaldo scored from a direct free kick in the 50th minute which bounced just in front of goalkeeper Manuel Herrera, who got a touch but was unable to deflect the ball.
''It was a very difficult match in which our opponents played very well and caused us some problems, and there was that goal near the end that we shouldn't have conceded,'' said Lopez.
Ghanaian striker Richmond Boakye who is on loan to Elche from Juventus, headed a perfectly-aimed shot into goal from an Albacar cross in injury time.
Madrid was then awarded a much-argued penalty one minute later as defender Pepe wrestled with Elche midfielder Carlos Sanchez in the penalty area during a free kick.
Ronaldo stepped up to convert the shot, six minutes into injury time.
''We have to be realists, but they have scored two goals against us from two actions that from my point of view should not have gone against us,'' said Albacar. ''I end up with the sensation that they have robbed us. From having got a draw against a very good team, I go away feeling we've been mugged.''
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said that as a general rule he did not like talking about referee's decisions. ''It's difficult to comment because my position from the bench is not so good, but I spoke to Pepe and he told me the penalty was clear.''
Madrid's recent star signing Gareth Bale was sidelined due to a left thigh injury sustained during training last week.
Elsewhere, two goals each by Ivan Rakitic and Carlos Bacca gave Sevilla a 4-1 win over nine-man Rayo Vallecano.
An injury time goal by Brazil midfielder Jonas gave Valencia a 1-0 win over Granada.
Barcelona leads the standings with Atletico Madrid second-place, also on 18 points after six matches, but on a worse goal differential.
Real Madrid is third on 16 with Valencia seventh on nine, while Granada is 14th on five, Elche is 18th on three and Rayo is bottom, also on three.
SRINAGAR: Militants stormed a police station and an Indian army base in Kashmir on Thursday, killing at least nine in an attack the state's chief minister said was aimed at derailing peace talks between India and Pakistan.
“This attack in Jammu is aimed at derailing the dialogue process,” said Omar Abdullah, chief minister of the Indian administered Kashmir.
The group of militants who attacked a police station and army camp in India administered Kashmir on Thursday had crossed the border from Pakistan the previous day, the state's chief minister said.
Omar Abdullah told reporters that the raid appeared designed to upset plans for a meeting in New York this week between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
“Given the history, timing and location, the aim is to derail the proposed meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart,” Abdullah said. “There are forces that are inimical to peace and want to derail any peace process.”
The militants, all wearing army fatigues, lobbed grenades and opened fire at the Hiranagar police station near the border with Pakistan, police said.
Around the same time attackers struck at an army base in the nearby Samba district in the southern-most part of the the Indian-administered state where a fierce gunbattle with soldiers took place and Indian tanks were deployed.
The attacks are set to overshadow a meeting by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this weekend, the first top-level dialogue in three years.
Manmohan Singh condemned “the heinous terrorist attack” in a statement but said that that it “will not deter us and will not succeed in derailing our efforts to find a resolution to all problems through a process of dialogue”.
Militant attacks have a history of stalling stop-start peace efforts between the two neighbours, who have fought three wars since independence, because New Delhi accuses Pakistan of abetting the groups which strike Indian targets.
The NDTV channel reported that Thursday's attackers may have driven from the police station to the army camp in a hijacked truck, but other security sources cautioned that there might have been separate groups.
“I was inside the dhaba (a roadside eatery) when I saw three men entering the camp firing a barrage of bullets. They opened the gates and entered,” one eyewitness told reporters outside the army camp in Samba.
Gunshots could be heard ringing out from inside the walled compound, while two officers could be seen running out carrying an injured man over their shoulder.
At least five policemen and two civilians were killed in the first attack on the police station in Kathua district, a police officer told AFP, and at least two soldiers including an officer died in the second assault, a separate army source who asked not to be named confirmed.
Indian premier Singh confirmed on Wednesday that he would meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif despite calls from the opposition to take a hardline with Islamabad.
Formal peace talks known as the Composite Dialogue are currently off and India has been keen to downplay any expectation they might restart as a result of Sunday's talks.
“Primarily we will see whether the dialogue process that started between the two countries, that stopped and got derailed, can that be brought back on track,” Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid told reporters at the UN on Wednesday.
Kashmir, a picturesque Himalayan territory, is divided between India and Pakistan by a de facto border known as the Line of Control (LoC) but it is claimed in full by both countries.
MADRID: Neymar scored his first league goal and helped Barcelona ease past Real Sociedad 4-1 in the Spanish league on Tuesday and stay perfect after six rounds.
Atletico Madrid also stayed perfect thanks to goals by Diego Costa in a 2-1 win against Osasuna, giving it 18 points, although Barcelona stay top with its better goal differential.
Neymar opened the scoring in the fourth minute before two more goals from Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets inside 25 minutes left Real Sociedad reeling at the Camp Nou.
The Brazil forward made the most of hesitation between two Sociedad defenders and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo to rush forward and poke the ball home for his first goal since joining the champions in the close season for 57 million euros ($76 million).
''It doesn't matter that it was a scrambled goal, what is important is that it went in,'' said Neymar. ''The team is getting better all the time.''
Messi lunged headlong four minutes later to score past Bravo from Neymar's cross for his seventh league goal this season.
A minute later Bravo was forced to sprint forward and punch away a head-high ball as Neymar arrived alone into the penalty area.
Sociedad captain Xabier Prieto fell to the ground clutching his right thigh and had to be substituted in midfield by Imanol Agirretxe in the 21st.
Busquets scored Barcelona's third two minutes later after the ball had bounced off the crossbar from Messi's close-range shot.
Mascherano was substituted at half time by Marc Bartra, and Barcelona upped the pressure on Bravo, who was forced to save twice and watch another shot go just over the bar in a 10-minute spell.
Sociedad pulled one back when Agruirretxe beat Gerard Pique and passed the ball across the goalmouth for Alberto de la Bella to tap into goal past a stranded Victor Valdes in the 64th.
''One of our starting premises was not to allow them to score in the first few minutes, which is something we've done in other years, and look what happened,'' said de la Bella. ''Playing like this in the Camp Nou makes it very difficult for us.''
In the 76th minute, Messi dribbled past three defenders before crossing to Bartra who flicked the ball into goal to complete the rout.
Costa scored his sixth league goal of the season for Atletico when he deftly flicked in a cross in the 18th and he then doubled his tally with a sublime header from a Jorge ''Koke'' Resurreccion assist in the 25th. Oriol Rieira pulled one back for Osasuna in the 43rd.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone chose to rest striker David Villa and began with an all-Brazillian attack of Baptistao and Diego Costa.
Elsewhere, Levante drew 1-1 with Valladolid. Baba Diawara opened the scoring for Levante in the 35th minute and Javier Guerra equalised six minutes later.
Malaga beat Almeria 2-0 with goals by Fernando Tissone and Francisco Portillo.
On Wednesday Real Madrid travels to Elche, Sevilla hosts Rayo Vallecano and Granada plays Valencia.
SYDNEY: Former England batsman Graeme Hick was Wednesday named high performance coach at Cricket Australia's Centre of Excellence, tasked with developing the next generation of scorers and turning around the side's recent batting malaise.
Hick, 47, replaced former Australian Test player Stuart Law who became head coach at Queensland Cricket after Darren Lehmann left the position in June to become Australia's national coach.
“Graeme knows what it takes to compete at the top level and has had many years' experience playing in different conditions, which will be vital to the development of our young batters,” said Cricket Australia's Pat Howard.
“His main role will be working with our development teams including Australia A, Under 19 players and those in our current pathway system,” said Howard, who is executive general manager team performance.
One of the first tasks for Hick will be attending a Cricket Australia batting forum in Sydney next month.
“The forum will bring together a number for former Australian cricketers and current coaches and will provide information that will feed into the creation of a national batting programme that Graeme will be charged with developing and implementing,” said Howard.
Australia's performance in the recent five-match Ashes series in England, won by England 3-0, highlighted their susceptibility to top-order collapses, including one in Durham which saw Australia lose the fourth Test by 74 runs.
Hick, who retired from first-class cricket in 2008 with 136 centuries and 41,112 first-class runs, said he had developed a “huge amount of respect for Australian cricket” over the years.
“I am excited about the chance to work with Australia's young talent and being able to assist in their growth and development,” said Hick who played for Zimbabwe before moving to England where he played 65 Tests.
“This is going to be a great challenge for me and one I am really looking forward to.”
The Centre of Excellence is based in Brisbane.
ROME: Three boats carrying more than 700 asylum-seekers — some of whom were Syrian refugees — landed in Italy on Wednesday, the Coastguard said.
The new arrivals reflected a sharp increase in boats landing with people fleeing conflict-torn parts of the Mediterranean region and the Horn of Africa.
Two of the boats arrived on the island of Lampedusa, Italy's southernmost point and a major gateway for undocumented migration into the European Union.
The first boat had 398 Syrians on board, the second had 111 whose nationality was yet to be determined.
The latest arrivals have caused severe overcrowding in the temporary migrant centre on the tiny island, which can only house 350 people and was already too full.
A third boat, which was spotted by a patrol plane on Tuesday, arrived in the port of Syracuse in Sicily with around 200 people on board, including 70 children.
The UN refugee agency earlier this month said that at more than 20,000, the number of asylum-seekers arriving in Italy was already around triple the whole of 2012, with most coming from Eritrea, Somalia and Syria.
A 22-year-old Syrian woman was found dead on a boat that arrived on Saturday with 339 people on board. Her funeral was held in Sicily on Wednesday.
NAIROBI: Somalia's Shebab insurgents claimed Wednesday 137 hostages they had seized died in a Nairobi shopping mall siege, figures impossible to verify and higher than the number of people officially registered as missing.
The Al-Qaeda-linked fighters, in a message posted on Twitter, said “137 hostages who were being held by the mujaheddin” had died.
They also accused Kenyan troops of using “chemical agents” to end the four-day stand-off.
“In an act of sheer cowardice, beleaguered Kenyan forces deliberately fired projectiles containing chemical agents,” one tweet read.
“To cover their crime, the Kenyan government carried out a demolition to the building, burying evidence and all hostages under the rubble.” President Uhuru Kenyatta announced an end to the 80-hour bloodbath late Tuesday, with the “immense” loss of 61 civilians and six members of the security forces.
Police said the death toll was provisional, with the Kenyan Red Cross listing 63 people as still missing.
There was no immediate response from Kenya's government, but the Shebab have in past made repeated outlandish claims, especially on their Twitter site.
The Shebab said they carried out the attack in retaliation for Kenya's two-year battle against the extremists' bases in the country.
In one of the worst attacks in Kenya's history, the militants marched into the four-storey, part Israeli-owned mall at midday Saturday, spraying shoppers with automatic weapons fire and tossing grenades.
Kenya on Wednesday began three days of official mourning, with flags flying at half mast, while rescue workers scoured the wreckage of the mall for bodies.
Close to 200 were wounded in the four-day siege, which saw running battles between militants and security forces in the complex, Nairobi's largest shopping centre and popular with wealthy Kenyans, diplomats, UN workers and other expatriates.
Russia will give the Security Council evidence implicating Syrian rebels in a chemical attack on 21 August, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.
Syrian officials supplied the evidence, which Mr Lavrov has not yet seen.
A UN report released on Monday concluded the nerve agent sarin was used in the attack in Damascus, in which hundreds were killed.
The US blamed government forces for the attack, but Russia and Damascus have insisted that rebels were responsible.
The UN report did not apportion blame for the attack, which sparked diplomacy that culminated in a deal for Syria to hand over its chemical arsenal by mid-2014.
The report's author, Ake Sellstrom, told the BBC he believed that the task of finding and destroying Syria's chemical stockpile would be "stressful work", but was "doable".
Continue reading the main story
Jim MuirBBC News, Beirut
Analysis
Jim MuirBBC News, Beirut
The war of words over the use of chemical weapons in Syria - much of it aimed at saving face - was predictable.
But the fact is that Russia persuaded Syria to declare its weapons and let them be destroyed. What counts now is what actually happens, not what people say.
The first agreed deadline comes on Saturday, by which time Damascus is supposed to provide an inventory of its chemical arsenal. If that slides, doubts about its sincerity - and Moscow's credibility - will start to grow.
Before and since the Kerry-Lavrov agreement, Syria and Russia argued publicly that the rebels had used chemical weapons, either in the 21 August attack or elsewhere. But that did not prevent Syria agreeing to disarm at Moscow's behest.
He said much depended on whether the Syrian government and the opposition were willing to negotiate.
The disarmament deal was brokered by the US and Russia.
The penalty for any possible breaches by Syria are now being thrashed out by the UN Security Council permanent members.
Selective and incomplete
Mr Lavrov said there was plenty of evidence that pointed to rebel involvement in chemical attacks similar to the Damascus attack.
"We will have to find out who did it," he said.
Earlier Mr Lavrov's deputy, Sergei Ryabkov, said he had been given the evidence during a trip to Syria.
He said it needed to be analysed, and gave no details of its content.
Mr Ryabkov criticised the UN report, saying it was "distorted" and "one-sided".
"The basis of information upon which it is built is not sufficient, and in any case we would need to learn and know more on what happened beyond and above that incident of 21 August," he said.
"We are disappointed, to put it mildly, about the approach taken by the UN secretariat and the UN inspectors, who prepared the report selectively and incompletely."
Continue reading the main story
Daniel SandfordBBC News, Moscow
“Start Quote
The Russians and the Syrians are fighting on multiple fronts at the moment in the PR war”
Daniel SandfordBBC News, Moscow
In response to Mr Ryabkov's comments, Mr Sellstrom told the BBC he thought Russia was not criticising the report itself but the process, which he described a political matter and therefore not his remit
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius defended the UN report, saying he was surprised by the Russian reaction.
"Nobody can question the objectivity of the people appointed by the UN," he said.
Human Rights Watch has taken the trajectory of the rockets from the UN document and plotted their likely path.
The rights group said the likely launch site for the missiles was in a government military compound.
The UN inspectors were originally mandated to go to Syria to investigate three alleged chemical weapons attacks, at Khan al-Assal, Sheikh Maqsoud and Saraqeb.
But they were later ordered to shift their focus to the Damascus incident, which was the most deadly chemical assault.
They are due to return to Syria "within weeks" to complete their inquiry into the other attacks, and a report is due in October.
UN divided
On Tuesday the five permanent UN Security Council members met in New York to discuss a draft resolution put forward by the UK, France and the US.
They want a resolution containing the threat of military action against Syria if it fails to comply with the disarmament deal, but Russia opposes this.
A resolution under Chapter VII of the UN charter permits military action if other measures do not succeed. Chapter VI requires a purely negotiated solution.
The BBC's Daniel Sandford in Moscow says Russia has delivered a promise from Syria to give up its chemical weapons, and it seems that at this stage Moscow does not feel like giving the Western allies anything more.
Russia and China have three times blocked Western-backed Security Council resolutions against Mr Assad.
More than 100,000 people have died since the uprising against President Assad began in 2011.
Millions of Syrians have fled the country and millions more have been internally displaced.
Iran is reported to have freed at least 11 political prisoners, including noted human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh.
The eight women and three men are said to also include the reformist politician Mohsen Aminzadeh.
Ms Sotoudeh was arrested in 2010 and jailed for six years on charges of acting against national security.
The release of the political prisoners comes just days before Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani visits New York for the UN General Assembly.
In his election campaign, he promised to free political prisoners.
Ms Sotoudeh's husband Reza Khandan wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday, "Nasrin came... they told her you are free," Reuters reported.
Mr Khandan has not commented further.
Ms Sotoudeh is a well-respected and outspoken human rights lawyer known for taking on high-profile political cases.
Last year she held a 50-day hunger strike in protest at the authorities' treatment of her daughter who was subjected to a travel ban.
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| The BBC talked to workers and onlookers in the area |
A gunman who died after killing 12 people at a naval installation in Washington DC has been identified as a former Navy serviceman.
Aaron Alexis, 34, of Fort Worth, Texas, died in a gun battle with police during the rampage at Washington Navy Yard.
Eight others were injured in the attack, which began at around 8:20 local time (12:20 GMT) on Monday.
US President Barack Obama ordered flags be lowered to half mast at the White House and on Capitol Hill.
He said he mourned "yet another mass shooting" and condemned the "cowardly act".
Valid entry pass
No motive is known for the attack, whose dozen victims ranged in age from 46 to 73, said the authorities.
Police initially responded to reports of two other armed suspects, but after exhaustive searches Washington Police Chief Cathy Lanier said on Monday night they were all but certain that Alexis was the only gunman.
Witnesses said the suspect sprayed bullets in a hallway and fired from a balcony down on to workers in an atrium at the heavily secured installation in the US capital.
He was reportedly armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun and a handgun that he took from a police officer at the scene.
Chief Lanier told reporters that the attacker "was engaged in shooting with police officers" when he died. "There is no question he would have kept shooting," she added.
Valerie Parlave of the FBI said that the suspect, who was employed by a subcontractor that was working on a US Navy intranet network, had a valid pass to enter Washington Navy Yard.
Alexis was formerly a petty officer 3rd class who served full-time in the naval reserve from 2007-11, said the US Navy.
It was not immediately clear why he left the military, but unnamed military officers told US media there had been a series of misconduct issues during his service.
According to media reports, Alexis was a Buddhist convert who had had two previous gun-related brushes with the law.
Journalist Bud Kennedy describes Aaron Alexis as "serious" and "popular"
In 2004 he was arrested in Seattle for shooting a construction worker's car tyres, in what he described as an enraged "black-out".
And he was questioned by Fort Worth police in 2010 after firing his gun through the floor of an upstairs apartment. He said it was an accidental discharge.
In addition to those killed in Monday's rampage, one police officer was shot in the legs, a female civilian was shot in the head and hand, and another woman was treated for a shoulder wound.
All three were expected to recover, said Washington Hospital Center officials.
Five others required medical treatment, mostly for minor injuries, said Washington DC Mayor Vincent Gray.
As news of the shooting emerged, emergency vehicles and police surrounded the complex, while helicopters hovered overhead.
The US Senate buildings and six nearby schools were temporarily placed on lockdown as a precaution, while flight departures were briefly suspended at Reagan National Airport.
Eyewitnesses at Washington Navy Yard: Gunman 'aimed at us'
Patricia Ward, who works at Washington Navy Yard, said she had heard three shots, a pause, and then four more.
"Everybody was panicking and trying to decide which way to get out," she told reporters.
The Washington Nationals baseball team called off their game against the Atlanta Braves on Monday night at Nationals Park, not far from Navy Yard.
Monday's mass shooting occurred at a building that serves as the headquarters for the Naval Sea Systems Command, which builds and maintains ships and submarines for the Navy.
Washington Navy Yard is the US Navy's oldest shore installation, first opened in the early 19th Century, according to the Navy.
Law enforcement officers arrived on the scene within minutes of Monday morning's shooting.
Civilians were escorted from Washington Navy Yard as law enforcement searched for the gunman.
A helicopter rescues someone from Washington Navy Yard.
Dozens of emergency vehicles converged on the site as news of the shooting emerged.
Law enforcement officials were deployed on rooftops.
President Barack Obama ordered flags to be flown at half mast after the attack.Law enforcement officers arrived on the scene within minutes of Monday morning's shooting.
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| Fighting in Syria shows no sign of diminishing despite the extensive international diplomacy |
French President Francois Hollande has described the US-Russia deal on Syria's chemical weapons as an "important step" towards the much bigger goal of a political solution to the civil war.
But in a TV address Mr Hollande said: "The military option must remain; otherwise there will be no pressure."
Mr Hollande said a vote on a new UN Security Council resolution on Syria could be agreed by the end of the week.
On Monday he will meet US Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss the issue.
The president said sanctions will be enforced to coerce Syria into dismantling or handing over its chemical weapons if Damascus fails to comply.
"It is necessary to include the threat of sanctions if the agreement and the aims of the Security Council resolution aren't carried out,'' he said.
"But the next step has to be finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis."
'Too hawkish'
On Monday Mr Hollande and his Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius will meet Mr Kerry and British Foreign Secretary William Hague to discuss the wording of the new draft resolution.
Mr Hollande insisted that that there was no place for President Assad in a future Syria
The BBC's Christian Fraser in Paris says that France takes a hawkish position on Syria - and a majority of French people think it is too hawkish.
But the government has made a commitment to the Syrian coalition and it is worried that the US-Russia agreement will strengthen the position of President President Bashar al-Assad.
Mr Hollande said that there is no place for President Assad in a future Syria - "not him and not the jihadists".
Our correspondent says that the president's refusal to rule out airstrikes - which are still seemingly still on the table - was tough talk.
But it is not yet clear whether his views will be reflected in the UN resolution once it is finally approved.
President Obama on Sunday also welcomed the agreement as a "foundation" that could eventually lead to a political settlement of the Syrian civil war that has killed tens of thousands of people over the last two years.
He said that the US was in a "better position" to prevent President Assad from using poison gas again because of the deal hammered out by Mr Kerry and Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister.
After being first drafted in Paris, the UN resolution will be taken to Moscow where it will be validated by President Vladimir Putin.
Continue reading the main story
Agreed target dates
- Completion of initial on-site inspections by November
- Destruction of production and mixing equipmentby November
- Complete elimination of all chemical weapons material and equipment in the first half of 2014
Russia and China have consistently blocked resolutions at the UN Security Council designed to introduce sanctions against President Assad.
On Sunday a Syrian government minister said that the deal was a "victory" that averts war.
The framework document says Syria must provide full details of its chemical weapons stockpile within a week - with the arsenal to be eliminated by mid-2014.
If Syria fails to comply, the deal could be enforced by a UN resolution with the use of force as a last resort.
The US had threatened to attack Syria which it blames for a chemical attack in August which killed hundreds.
President Assad's government denies the allegations and has accused the rebels of carrying out the attack.
The UN's chief chemical weapons inspector has handed in his team's report into the incident to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said that the secretary-general will brief a closed session of the Security Council on its contents on Monday morning and will also brief the 193-member General Assembly later on in the day.
Syria recently agreed to join the global Chemical Weapons Convention, and the UN said it would come under the treaty from 14 October.
The framework deal was announced on Saturday after three days of talks in Geneva between Mr Lavrov and Mr Kerry.
"We welcome the agreement," Syrian Reconciliation Minister Ali Haidar told Russian news agency Ria Novosti, giving his country's first reaction.
"It's a victory for Syria achieved thanks to our Russian friends."
'Last-ditch' option
However the timetable for the process is described by analysts as extremely ambitious.
It envisages Syria providing a full inventory of its chemical weapons within one week, all production equipment being destroyed by November, and all weapons being removed from Syria or destroyed by mid-2014.
A report into last month's chemical weapons deaths in Syria is now in the hands of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Mr Kerry and Mr Lavrov said that the UN resolution could be sought under Chapter VII of the UN charter, which allows for the use of force.
But throughout the Russian foreign minister has insisted that force should remain a last-ditch option.
Russia and the US have agreed on an assessment that the Syrian government possesses 1,000 tonnes of chemical agents and precursors, according to a US official.
The US believes the materials are located in 45 sites, all in government hands, half of which have useable quantities of chemical agents.
But it is thought that Russia does not agree on the number of sites, nor that they are all under the government's control.
On Sunday the Syrian National Coalition, the main umbrella opposition group, demanded in a statement that the ban on chemical weapons be extended to the Syrian government's use of ballistic missiles and air power against civilian population centres.
Fighting continued inside Syria on Sunday, with heavy shelling reported by government forces on suburbs of Damascus, where fierce fighting has been taking place for several days.
More than 100,000 people have died since the uprising against President Assad began in 2011.
Millions of Syrians have fled the country, mostly to neighbouring nations and millions more have been internally displaced within Syria.
