N Korea Holds a Military Parade on the Eve of Winter Olympics

North Korea has ruled out talks with US officials attending the winter Olympics in the South -- and is holding a military parade on the eve of the games; Syrian activists say the continuing bombardment by government forces of the last big rebel-held area near Damascus has killed another thirty-two civilians; and a four-week experiment by Austrian researchers to simulate the exploration of the surface of Mars gets underway in the deserts of Oman later on Thursday.