Zimbabwe's Elections Were 'Free and Credible'

Zimbabwe's elections have been declared "free and credible" by the African Union, despite observers noting a number of practises that suggested heavy rigging.

Despite an admission by the head of the African Union mission, Olsegun Obasanjo, that his monitors noted some apparent irregularities, he said they did not constitute evidence of systematic tampering.

Officials say 89-year-old Robert Mugabe has been returned to power with a two-thirds majority.

Robert Mugabe casts his vote with wife, Grace

However, while declaring the elections to be free, the Union did not go so far as to declare them fair.

Mr Obasanjo, said: "Yes, the election is free," and he described the vote as credible unless any evidence to the contrary emerged

Significantly he asked election authorities to investigate reports that tens of thousands of eligible voters were turned away from the vote which marks an unbroken run of 33 years in power for Mr Mugabe.

Another poll monitoring group in Zimbabwe said as many as a million of the more than six million eligible voters were prevented from casting ballots.

Mr Obasanjo, a former Nigerian president, said: "If 25% were not allowed, then, yes, the election is fatally flawed."

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Mr Mugabe's main opponent in the presidential vote, has declared the election "null and void".

Official results announced by the election commission on Friday morning showed Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF capturing 54 of the 210 parliament seats and Mr Tsvangirai's party winning 19 seats so far.

Voters queue to get into polling stations

Full results on the presidential and parliament votes have been promised by Monday.

Among the irregularities, the African Union found the electoral commission printed 8.7 million ballot papers for 6.4 million voters – 35% above the number of registered voters. This is against the international standard of 5%-10%.

The late publicity on the location of voting stations just 48 hours before stations opened also contributed to the high number of voters who were turned away because they were not at correct polling sites.

Life goes on as normal as a two-thirds majority declared for Mr Mugabe

Monitors also reported a high number of disabled, elderly or other "assisted voters" being helped to cast their ballots by polling officers who may have influenced them against their free will.

Speaking from Harare, Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford said: "At the moment the people we are seeing and speaking to are all very disgruntled members of the electorate who say they were unable to vote for one reason or another.

"When they turned up at the voting stations the polling stations they were told their names were not on the voting lists that they had been registered to vote in polling stations which were many, many kilometres away so they felt that they were disenfranchised."

She said she had heard evidence of dead people's names being used to vote and of a number of procedural irregularities.

Morgan Tsvangirai declares the election 'null and void'

She said the Southern African Development Community, a regional body, "were very much holding back from saying it was a fair election. They said it was definitely free, people appeared to be able to vote and it was very peaceful but they stopped short of saying it was fair or credible."

The head of the observer mission for the Southern African Development Community described the election as "very free" and "very peaceful".

He also noted that there were some violations and a full analysis was still under way.

"The question of fairness is broad and you cannot answer it within one day," said Bernard Membe, who is also Tanzania's foreign minister.

"And so be sure that within 30 days, through our main report, the question of fairness may come."

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Zawahiri Claims US Plotted Morsi's Downfall

Al Qaeda chief Ayman al Zawahiri has accused the United States of "plotting" to overthrow Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

In an audio recording posted to militant Islamist forums, he said the US colluded with the Egyptian military, secularists and Christians to force out Mr Morsi.

Zawahiri, himself an Egyptian, said: "Crusaders and secularists and the Americanised army have converged ... with Gulf money and American plotting to topple Mohamed Morsi's government."

He accused Egypt's Coptic Christian minority of supporting the Islamist president's ouster to attain "a Coptic state stripped from Egypt's south".

Protests have been taking place in Egypt

They are the militant leader's first public comments on Mr Morsi's ousting.

The comments came as backers of Mr Morsi staged defiant rallies after the government ordered their protest camps to be broken up.

Supporters of Mr Morsi began to march after Friday prayers, pouring out of several Cairo mosques.

The afternoon rallies passed off peacefully, with demonstrators marching along main thoroughfares in the capital.

Mohamed Morsi was ousted in a military coup

By early evening, they held several smaller demonstrations, including by Cairo's Media Production City in the city's outskirts, where security forces fired tear gas after an alleged attempt by protesters to storm the building.

Protesters reportedly tore up the pavement to make barriers as police in armoured vehicles fired barrages of tear gas.

The marches came a day after US Secretary of State John Kerry angered Morsi loyalists by saying Egypt's military had been "restoring democracy" when it deposed the Islamist leader.

In an interview he said: "The military did not take over, to the best of our judgement - so far. To run the country, there's a civilian government. In effect, they were restoring democracy."

A spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood denounced the comments, accusing Washington of being "complicit" in the coup.

"Is it the job of the army to restore democracy?" asked Gehad al Haddad in a statement.

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Prison Massacre: 25 Police Officers Jailed

Twenty five police officers have each been sentenced to 624 years in prison for their role in Brazil's 1992 Carandiru prison massacre that left 111 prisoners dead.

More follows...

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New York Woman Killed In Balcony Fall

A woman on a first date has fallen to her death after the railing on her 17th-floor apartment balcony gave way.

Jennifer Rosoff went outside for a cigarette just before 1am on Thursday when she sat or leaned against the railing while talking to her date at her New York City apartment, police said.

The man said he warned her against it but the 35-year-old advertising executive fell moments later, authorities said.

Police spoke to the man and no foul play was suspected.

Ms Rosoff landed on building scaffolding on the first floor of the building on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Buildings officials took part of the broken railing to examine how it could have given way and plan to determine whether the other balconies are structurally sound.

Only the higher floor corner apartments of the building - built before World War II - have balconies.

Ms Rosoff worked at The New Yorker, Lucky Magazine and Cosmopolitan before recently joining a new company called TripleLift, according to her LinkedIn profile.

High-rise dramas are a staple of life in Manhattan and Thursday's was the third to make the news in recent days.

In 2010, after a 24-year-old social worker fell to his death when the railing gave way at his 24th-floor apartment terrace, the city conducted safety inspections on hundreds of residences.

Tenants at 16 buildings were ordered to stay off their balconies because they were deemed unsafe.

Some 800 building owners failed to file mandatory inspection reports on the safety of their balconies and terraces, officials found.

They are required to file every five years. For Ms Rosoff's building, the inspection report was last filed in February.

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Taiwan MPs Fight: Nuclear Vote Sparks Brawl

Water and punches were thrown by MPs in Taiwan's parliament, ahead of a vote on whether to hold a referendum over a new nuclear power plant.

Dozens of legislators threw bottles and cups from a balcony, while politicians wrestled in scrums and on the floor below.

The scuffles took place between members of the ruling Nationalist Party and the anti-nuclear Democratic Progressive Party before a vote on whether to allow a referendum over the completion of Nuke 4.

Members of the DPP waved placards, while attempting to barricade the doors to the parliament building in an effort to disrupt the vote.

Opposition members block the doors to Parliament with rope and chairs

If the referendum Bill is passed, it will allow citizens on the densely populated island of 23 million decide whether Taiwan's fourth power plant should be completed.

Opposition party DPP has been strongly against building any more nuclear sites due to the high incidence of earthquakes, especially in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan.

But economic analysts suggest that power shortages will become inevitable without completion of Nuke 4.

Opposing legislators grapple on the floor of the Parliament

Passage of the Bill is expected to be relatively easy given the large Nationalist majority in the 113-seat legislature, but the referendum itself may not be so straightforward.

Anti-nuclear sentiment in Taiwan is high and polls suggest that if people are asked whether they agree with completion, a majority would disagree.

Construction of Taiwan's fourth power plant began in 1997 but was halted while the DPP was in power between 2000 and 2008.

If the referendum is passed it could become operational by 2016.

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Iran Leader: Israel 'A Wound To Be Cleansed'

Iran's president-elect Hassan Rouhani has called Israel an old "wound" that must be removed and cast doubt on efforts to revive peace talks with the Palestinians.

"The Zionist regime is a wound inflicted for years on the body of the Muslim world that must be cleansed," Mr Rouhani told reporters attending annual Quds Day rallies in remarks reported by Iranian media.

His words echoed those of outgoing president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who earlier whipped up anti-Israel sentiment at a Quds Day rally in Tehran.

He said: "I will inform you with God as my witness, a devastating storm is on the way that will uproot the basis of Zionism. 

He added Israel had "no place in this region". 

Mr Ahmadinejad has often questioned Israel's legitimacy

Mr Rouhani will formally assume the presidency of Iran this weekend after winning elections held in June by a landslide.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately criticised Mr Rouhani's comments, saying they revealed the Iran government's real thinking.

"The true face of Rowhani has been revealed earlier than expected," he said in a statement.

"Even if the Iranians work to deny these comments, this is what the man thinks and reflects the regime's plans," he said.

In his remarks, Mr Ahmadinejad accused Israel and its Western supporters of fomenting discord in the Middle East, saying "it was their dream to see the will of regional countries bent on destroying (Israel) diverted towards civil war".

"Who is happy for what is happening in Egypt and Syria?" he asked, charging that Israel was celebrating the unrest in those countries. 

Iran staged massive rallies to mark annual Quds Day, with speeches and sermons supporting the Palestinian cause and condemning Israel.

Mr Rouhani has pledged to follow a "path of moderation" and promised greater openness over Iran's nuclear program, which has placed it at odds with the West.

His remarks about Israel - his country's archenemy - follow in a long tradition of remarks made by former Iranian leaders.

Quds Day is an annual event in Iran since 1979, traditionally held on the last Friday of Ramadan, to express solidarity with the Palestinian people.

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XKeyscore: New Snowden Spying Revelations

Agents for the US' National Security Agency have access to emails, online chats and other internet activity of millions of people under a surveillance programme revealed by Edward Snowden.

The Guardian newspaper published documents detailing the programme, called XKeyscore, including what it said were training slides.

One presentation claims XKeyscore can track "nearly everything a typical user does on the internet", the newspapers reported.

That includes everything from the contents of emails and Facebook messages to web browsing and search histories, according to the newspaper.

This can be done with almost any identifying information, be it email address, IP address, phone number, keywords, or even browser type.

The searches are all performed on the XKeyscore database, which manages enormous quantities of data.

Protesters in Berlin in support of Snowden

Analysts simply have to fill in an onscreen form "giving only a broad justification for the search", said the report.

Some of the slides appear to carry screenshots showing sample search queries such as "Show me all encrypted word documents from Iran" or "Show me all the word documents that reference Osama Bin Laden".

Snowden, a former NSA contractor, had said in an interview published by The Guardian in June that he had the authority to spy on any American he pleased - "you, your accountant, to a federal judge, to even the President if I had a personal email".

In a second interview with the newspaper, he explained that his claim was based in part on the email search capabilities of XKeyscore, which Snowden says he was authorized to use while working as a Booz Allen contractor for the NSA.

The newspaper says XKeyscore provides the technological ability - if not the legal cover - to target US citizens for electronic surveillance without the need for a warrant, provided the analyst has information such as an IP or email address.

One slide says that XKeyscore has led to the capture of more than 300 terrorists.

In a statement, the NSA said that figure only included captures up to the year 2008, and pushed back against any suggestion of illegal or arbitrary collection of data.

"These types of programmes allow us to collect the information that enables us to perform our missions successfully - to defend the nation and to protect US and allied troops abroad," the statement said.

The Guardian quoted another slide as saying that nearly 42 billion records had been captured by the system during a one-month period in 2012.

So much content was being collected, the newspaper said, that it could be stored only for short periods of time - generally just a few days.

Snowden, who is wanted in the US on espionage charges, is seeking asylum but remains stuck at a Moscow airport. He previously revealed other wide-ranging surveillance schemes employed by the US to detect possible threats to national security.

The new revelations will fuel the debate on surveillance practices in the US and the right to privacy of its citizens.

The US has defended the spying programmes, saying they have helped thwart terror attacks. But it has also tried to assuage concerns by civil rights groups.

The director of National Intelligence has declassified some documents about its bulk collection of phone and email metadata.

Snowden remains stuck at Moscow airport

Meanwhile, at a hacker convention in Las Vegas on Wednesday, the head of the NSA, Army General Keith Alexander, remained unapologetic about the surveillance programmes, even as he was heckled.

He said government methods used to collect telephone and email data helped foil 54 terror plots.

But the figure drew scepticism back in Washington.

"Not by any stretch can you get 54 terrorist plots," said the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy.

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Zimbabwe Poll 'A Huge Farce, Null And Void'

Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has dismissed the country's national elections as a "huge farce" and the results invalid because of intimidation and ballot-rigging by President Robert Mugabe's ruling party, which has claimed victory.

"In our view, that election is null and void," he said, after a senior Zanu-PF source earlier claimed a resounding victory for President Mugabe in Zimbabwe's presidential and parliamentary elections.

The unnamed senior official said the outcome was already clear and told Reuters news agency: "We've taken this election. We've buried the MDC. We never had any doubt that we were going to win."

The opposition, Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), immediately claimed the elections had been "a monumental fraud" and held an emergency meeting.

A woman with a child casts her vote in Domboshava, north of Harare

"Zimbabweans have been taken for a ride by Zanu-PF and Mugabe, we do not accept it," a senior source told Reuters.

Releasing results early is illegal, and the police had warned they would arrest anybody making premature claims before the official five days the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission had said it could take to announce the result.

Riot police took up positions outside the Zanu-PF party's headquarters in central Harare and other key locations in the capital, including an MDC office.

The party later withdrew what it said was an unauthorised message on its Twitter feed claiming a landslide win, and insisted that it was awaiting the release of the official count.

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) - the country's leading domestic election monitoring agency - said the credibility of the vote was "seriously compromised" by irregularities on polling day.

A police officer keeps watch as Zimbabweans queue to cast their votes

It said as many as one million eligible voters were not on the electoral roll, and urban voters, who mainly favour Mr Tsvangirai, had been turned away from polling stations in their thousands.

Conversely, only a small number had been prevented from voting in the countryside, where President Mugabe has most support.

It also cast doubt on the authenticity of the voters' roll, noting that 99.97% of voters in the countryside were registered, compared to 67.9% in urban areas.

"It is not sufficient for elections to be peaceful for elections to be credible," ZESN chairman Solomon Zwana said. "They must offer all citizens ... an equal opportunity to vote."

Separate reports claimed key MDC members had lost their seats, even in the capital, and that the election was looking like a "disaster" for Mr Tsvangirai.

Polling rivals Robert Mugabe (L) and Morgan Tsvangirai cast their votes

To win an outright victory, one of the candidates has to secure more than 50% of the vote.

Half the country's 12.9 million population was eligible to vote at the more than 9,000 polling stations nationwide.

The dispute erupted as polling stations closed and counting got under way amid fears of a repeat of the violence that marred the 2008 election.

Turnout was high, particularly in urban areas where the polling stations stayed open late into the evening to allow everyone in the queues to cast their votes.

The presidential contest pit the 89-year-old incumbent President Mugabe against his main rival Mr Tsvangirai, who his supporters believed a big turnout would favour, blunting the impact of any manipulation of the vote.

A ballot paper with the images of all the presidential candidates

Zimbabweans voted in large numbers despite concerns about the credibility of the electoral process, and the vote was relatively peaceful compared to disputed and violent polls in 2008.

However, the fiercely contested election was dogged by claims of intimidation and vote rigging, despite assurances by official poll monitors of "a peaceful, orderly and free and fair vote".

It is the third time Mr Tsvangirai has tried to unseat President Mugabe, who denies vote rigging and said he would step down if he failed to extend his 33-year grip on power for another five years.

Sky Correspondent Emma Hurd, in South Africa, said: "Analysts inside Zimbabwe say it was going to be close anyway - that Robert Mugabe was not going to be wiped out in a landslide victory by the opposition.

"But what all independent observers seem to agree on is that there will have been some element of rigging in the process.

"The question remains how much, and whether Robert Mugabe really needed to do it in the first place to win."

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Buenos Aires Fire Rages Near City Centre

A huge fire in Argentina's capital has engulfed an ecological reserve just a few hundred metres from the city's political and financial centre.

Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri said there were suspicions that arsonists were to blame for the inferno, which began on Wednesday.

Authorities say at least eight fire crews fought to bring the blaze under control after flames raged more than 30ft (10m) in the air.

The ecological reserve is on the banks of the Rio de la Plata

No injuries have been reported.

The Ecological Reserve covers more than a square mile (300 hectares) bordering the Rio de la Plata.

Mr Macri said it had not yet been determined how much of the park had been destroyed.

The reserve is considered the "lung" of Buenos Aires, and its vegetation is home to lizards, snakes, turtles, frogs, bats, voles and weasels.

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Zimbabwe Presidential Election: Voting Begins

Voting has begun in Zimbabwe's election as Robert Mugabe looks to extend his 33-year-rule amid suspicions of vote rigging.

The 89-year-old has said he will stand down as president if he loses and claims the army will respect any victory for his main rival, Morgan Tsvangirai.

But many have dismissed the president's words and Mr Tsvangirai himself has said he takes the promise "with a pinch of salt".

Fresh suspicions of vote rigging were sparked by a Research and Advocacy Unit study which said the electoral roll includes one million dead voters or people who have emigrated.

Voters appear keen to have their say, with some queuing up wrapped in blankets fours hours before polling stations opened.

Several hundred people waited to vote in green tents in Mbare, the oldest township in the capital, Harare.

"I am happy to have cast my vote," said Ellen Zhakata, 66.

Queues formed as Zimbabweans waited for the polls to open

"I just want an end to the problems in our country.

"All my children are outside the country because of the economic troubles here. I am so lonely. How I wish they could be working here."

Zimbabwe's economic problems have seen millions leave the country to find work in recent years.

Hyperinflation reached 231,000,000% five years ago but a scarcity of US dollars - now the country's main currency - means the economy has stabilised and inflation is back in single digits.

Violence marred the last election in 2008, with Morgan Tsvangirai pulling out of a second round run-off against Mr Mugabe after 200 of his supporters were killed.

The African Union and the The Southern African Development Community have both sent observers to monitor this year's elections.

However, there are still worries that violence and intimidation could be used.

"We are very worried that if the result does not go Robert Mugabe's way we could see a return to the violence that marred the 2008 election," said Tiseke Kasambala, Southern Africa Director for Human Rights Watch.

She told Sky News: "The heads of his security forces have made clear that they are not going to accept a victory by the opposition or by Morgan Tsvangirai."

The opposition leader has based his latest campaign on a plan to lure back foreign investors, create a million jobs in five years and improve public services.

Casting his vote in Harare, Mr Tsvangirai predicted his MDF party would win "quite resoundingly" and called it a "historic moment".

Mr Mugabe has focused his promises on expanding the redistribution of wealth to poor black Zimbabweans, as well as making threats of violence against homosexuals.

Some 6.4 million people are eligible to vote before polling stations close at 7pm local time on Wednesday. Final results are expected in about five days.

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Brazil: Child Dies After Water Main Bursts

A child has died and 17 people have been injured after a burst water main flooded a residential area near Rio de Janeiro.

Three-year-old Isabela Severo dos Santos was taken to the hospital but did not survive after swallowing large amounts of water. 

Firefighters wade across the water dragging a dinghy

According to Brazilian authorities seven people remain in hospital.

Local television showed images of a giant fountain of water crashing down on buildings, destroying homes and sweeping away cars in the ensuing current.

Water crashed down onto nearby homes and swept away cars

People could be seen wading through the floodwaters trying to climb on to a roof.

Some 20 houses were destroyed in the resulting floods

The burst pipeline, operated by State Company for Water and Wastewater, has now been shut down but large volumes of water are still leaking and continue to flood the neighbourhood.

The cause of the accident is still unknown. Firefighters are using boats to rescue residents who have been trapped by the flooding.

Officials say some people are still missing and suspect some may have been buried or submerged by the high pressure water as it burst out of the ruptured pipeline.

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Israeli-Palestinian Talks Set Nine-Month Goal

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have set a nine-month goal for reaching a so-far elusive peace deal.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden met with the Israeli and Palestinian negotiators

US Secretary of State John Kerry said the sides agreed to meet again within two weeks to continue negotiations on reaching a pact.

Speaking as the two sides wrapped up an initial round of talks on Tuesday, Mr Kerry said they were committed to "sustained, continuous and substantive negotiations on the core issues" that divided them.

Mr Kerry opposite Tzipi Livni and her Palestinian counterpart Saeb Erekat

He said the next round of negotiations would take place in either Israel or the Palestinian territories.

"The parties have agreed here today that all of the final status issues, all of the core issues and all other issues are all on the table for negotiation," Mr Kerry said.

"And they are on the table with one simple goal - a view to ending the conflict. Our objective will be to achieve a final status agreement over the course of the next nine months."

Shuafat refugee camp is seen behind the Israeli barrier in the West Bank

Earlier, President Barack Obama invited the negotiators to the White House to give a boost to his administration's third bid to relaunch the stalled Middle East peace talks.

Mr Kerry said he was aware of the deep scepticism surrounding the new push for peace and acknowledged the road ahead would be difficult.

However, he said he was hopeful an agreement could be reached.

Refugee camps are a key area of contention - this one is in the Gaza Strip

"While I understand the scepticism, I don't share it. And I don't think we have time for it," he said.

Mr Kerry said the negotiations, to be mediated on a day-to-day basis by his new Middle East peace envoy Martin Indyk, would be cloaked in secrecy and the parties had agreed he would be the only person to comment on them.

Israel and the Palestinians remain deeply divided over so-called "final status issues" - such as the fate of Jerusalem, claimed by both as a capital, the right of return for Palestinian refugees and the borders of a future Palestinian state complicated by dozens of Jewish settlements scattered across the occupied West Bank.

At the State Department ceremony, Mr Kerry was flanked Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat, who each spoke briefly about the need to resolve the long-standing conflict.

"It's time for the Palestinian people to have an independent sovereign state of their own," said Mr Erekat, who spoke first.

"It's time for the Palestinians to live in peace, freedom and dignity within their own independent, sovereign state."

Ms Livni allowed that she and Mr Erekat had been involved in failed negotiations before, notably the Annapolis Process that former president George W Bush initiated in 2008, but she said this time could be different.

"You know, Saeb," she said to Mr Erekat, "we all spent some time in the negotiations room ... but we didn't complete our mission.

"And this is something that we need to do now, in these negotiations that we will launch today. And the opportunity has been created for us, for all of us, and we cannot afford to waste it.

"I believe that history is not made by cynics; it is made by realists who are not afraid to dream. Let us be these people."

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Switzerland Crash: Driver's Body Recovered

A driver's body has been recovered following a train crash in Switzerland that left at least 35 passengers injured.

The Swiss accident investigation authority has launched an investigation

Five of the injured are in a serious condition following the head-on collision just outside a station in Vaud canton, western Switzerland.

Pictures showed the two trains still on the tracks with the cabs crumpled into each other and broken glass on the floor of the carriages.

The injured are taken away from the crash site

Ambulances, fire engines and a helicopter are on the scene of the crash at Granges-pres-Marnand, around 31 miles southwest of the capital, Bern.

The helicopter and ambulances took the five seriously injured to a hospital in the nearby town of Payerne and south to the city of Lausanne.

The collision happened at Granges-pres-Marnand

Their injuries were not life-threatening however, police said.

Rescue teams deployed a heavy-lifting crane to remove the rest of the wreckage and clear the line.

As night fell on Monday, they set up arc-lights to help operations continue.

Rescue teams work into the night

The collision happened around 100m from a station at 7pm (local time) when one train bound for Lausanne left the station as another, travelling from Lausanne, arrived.

Police said the northbound train was from the faster regional service, which generally stops at fewer destinations than the slower service that covers more local communities along the line.

Heavy lifting equipment was used to clear the tracks

Police experts, along with members of the Swiss accident investigation authority SESA, have launched an investigation into the likely cause of the crash, officials said.

A CFF spokeswoman said the two trains should have crossed at the station, thanks to a track system that allows them to pass one another.

Switzerland's rail system is considered among the safest in the world

It was not clear whether the collision could have been sparked by a delay to one of the trains, or one of them setting off too soon.

Switzerland's rail system is considered among the safest in the world, but three years ago the Glacier Express tourist train derailed in the Alps, killing one person and injuring 42.

Seventy-nine people were killed in a train crash in Spain last Thursday, one of the worst in decades.

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Italy Crash: Funeral Mass Held For Victims

A mass has been said ahead of the funerals of 38 people who died in a coach crash in Italy.

Relatives and friends of the victims gathered at an indoor sports arena in Pozzuoli, about 40 miles from Naples, to mourn their lost loved ones.

The coffins were laid out in rows at the Monterusciello Palasport as hundreds of people attended.

Italy's Prime Minister Enrico Letta also joined the mourners.

"I'm very disturbed by what happened. Nothing like this has ever happened in Pozzuoli and I'm very, very upset," said one man, who gave only his first name Salvatore.

Firefighters inspect the bus after the crash

Bruno Iuvane lost one of his closest friends in the crash.

"She found herself aboard this death bus by pure coincidence, and probably we'll never find out who is to blame," he said.

At least 10 people, including five children, are still in hospital.

The tragedy happened when the bus lost control after smashing into several cars that were slowed by heavy traffic and plunged off a motorway into a ravine on Sunday night.

The travellers were returning from a weekend trip to a religious site

The crash occurred near the small town of Montefiore Irpino about 40 miles from Naples - most of those killed were returning home to towns and villages in the Naples area.

Officials say they do not yet know why the bus driver lost control of the vehicle, but prosecutors are investigating technical problems and have ordered a post-mortem on the driver.

Relatives gathered outside the gym where the bodies were taken

Another possibility that seems to be emerging is that he tried everything to keep control of the vehicle after a tyre had blown, according to Corriere della Sera, Italy's largest newspaper.

It quotes the uncle of a passenger who survived the crash.

"My niece told me that the left tyre had blown," Vincenzo Rusciano said.

"The driver tried in every way to keep control of the vehicle but he couldn't, and the bus swerved, plunging in the ravine," he said after visiting his niece in hospital.

Avellino Prosecutor Rosario Cantelmo said some people have been placed under formal investigation, but did not say who or how many while La Repubblica newspaper said the prosecutor is looking into possible manslaughter charges.

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Egypt: Mohamed Morsi 'Well', Says EU's Ashton

Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Morsi is doing "well" and has access to information, the EU foreign policy chief has said.

Baroness Ashton said she had "friendly, open and very frank" talks with Mr Morsi, who has not been seen in public since the army coup which removed him from power on July 3.

Speaking hours after their meeting, she said she could not reveal precise details of their two-hour discussion.

"He has access to information in terms of TV and newspapers so we were able to talk about the situation and the need to move forward," said Baroness Ashton.

The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said she saw the facilities Mr Morsi has access to, but did not know the location.

Calling for Egypt to build a "deep democracy", she added: "All the people that I have been talking with are absolutely aware that this great country has to move forward and has to do so in an inclusive way.

"I've urged everyone to think very carefully about how you include everybody in the process."

It has not been revealed where the meeting with Mr Morsi took place but it is understood that Baroness Ashton headed there by military helicopter early on Tuesday.

The deposed president is being kept at an undisclosed location by the new regime.

Thousands massed in Cairo at the weekend in support of Mr Morsi

The meeting comes during a visit where she has also met General Abdel Fattah al Sisi, the head of the army and the man behind Mr Morsi's overthrow.

The visit follows a weekend of violence that saw 82 people killed during a pro-Morsi rally in Cairo.

Government officials have rejected witness accounts that police fired on crowds and an investigation is under way.

Baroness Ashton said she had urged all sides to "find a calm resolution to the situation on the ground".

"We've made it clear that there is no place for violence in this and that peaceful demonstration is important.

"The authorities have a huge responsibility to make sure that happens," she added.

The EU foreign affairs chief arrived in Cairo on Sunday and has also had meetings with interim vice-president Mohamed ElBaradei, interim president Adly Mansour and representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing.

The European Union is keen to mediate in what has become an increasingly violent situation.

Before arriving in Egypt, Baroness Ashton said she would press for a "fully inclusive transition process, taking in all political groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood".

Morsi supporters clashed with police in a number of Egyptian cities

During her last visit, on July 17, she unsuccessfully asked to meet Mr Morsi and urged for him to be released.

The democratically-elected former leader is being held on suspicion of crimes relating to his escape from prison during the 2011 uprising that overthrew ex-president Hosni Mubarak.

He was removed from power on the back of huge popular protests against his rule.

Mr Morsi, his Muslim Brotherhood group and its Islamist allies have rejected the military-appointed leaders who have replaced him.

The interim government is pushing ahead with a fast-track plan to return to a new democratically-elected government by early next year.

Protesters from the Anti-Coup Alliance of Islamist groups, which organised the weekend protests, has called for a "million-person march" on Tuesday.

They called on Egyptians "to go out into the streets and squares, to regain their freedom and dignity".

France's foreign minister Laurent Fabius also came out on Tuesday and called for Mr Morsi's release.

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One Thousand Inmates Escape From Libya Prison

Inmates have staged a major jailbreak at a prison in the east Libyan city of Benghazi as the facility was also attacked from the outside.

Security official Mohammed Hejazi said the prisoners staged a riot inside Koyfiya prison as an attack took place outside the facility.

Gunmen fired into the air outside the prison as inmates began setting fires inside, suggesting the escape was pre-planned.

Special forces later arrested 18 of those who escaped, while other returned on their own, according to security officials.

It was unclear if the jailbreak was part of protests taking place at the offices of Islamist-allied parties in Libya's main cities.

Those who escaped either face or had been convicted of serious charges.

Protesters have massed across the country angry over the killing of an activist critical of the country's Muslim Brotherhood group.

Hundreds gathered in the capital Tripoli to denounce the shooting of Abdul Salam al Musmari, setting fire to tyres and demanding the dissolution of Islamist parties.

Al Musmari, who publicly criticised the Brotherhood, was killed by unknown attackers in a drive-by shooting in Benghazi.

Benghazi's security situation is among the most precarious in post-revolution Libya.

Last year, the US ambassador and three other Americans were killed in an attack there.

Libyan prime minister Ali Zeidan said he would reshuffle the cabinet and reorganise the government to cope with the "urgent" situation.

He added: "What is happening is an attempt to obstruct the state's progression."

The country's government is struggling to assert its authority over armed groups that helped topple Colonel Gaddafi in 2011 during the Arab Spring uprisings.

It comes after Iraq's prime minister Nouri al Maliki ordered the detention of several senior security officials in connection with a major jailbreak that saw hundreds of inmates escape from the notorious Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad.

A statement from his office said those detained included the chief of staff of the federal police's fourth division.

Al Qaeda's Iraq branch claimed responsibility for the attack and a simultaneous raid on Taji prison. Members of the terror organisation were among the prisoners thought to have escaped.

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Egypt: 'Concern' As Scores Killed In Protests

Egypt: Timeline Of Unrest

Updated: 3:52pm UK, Saturday 27 July 2013

Key developments in Egypt since the beginning of the Arab Spring.

:: 2011

January 25: Egyptians stage nationwide demonstrations against the rule of President Hosni Mubarak.

February 11: Mubarak steps down and turns power over to the military, which dissolves parliament and suspends the constitution.

November 28: Egypt holds mutiple-stage parliamentary elections and the Muslim Brotherhood wins nearly half the seats in the law-making lower house.

:: 2012

May 23: First round of voting in the presidential elections.

June 30: Mr Morsi, elected with 51.7% of the vote, is sworn and becomes Egypt's first civilian and Islamist president.

August 12: The new president scraps a constitutional document that gave sweeping powers to the military and sacks Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who ruled after Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February, 2011.

November 22: Mr Morsi announces sweeping new powers for himself.

November 30: Islamist-dominated constituent assembly adopts a draft constitution despite a boycott by liberals and Christians.

December 8: The president annuls the decree giving himself increased powers.

December 15 and 22: 64% of voters in a two-round referendum back the new constitution. Egypt plunges into political crisis, with demonstrations by Morsi supporters and opponents sometimes turning deadly.

:: 2013

January 24: There is violence between demonstrators and police on the eve of the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled Mubarak. Nearly 60 people die in a week.

April 5: Four Christians and a Muslim are killed in sectarian violence.

May 7: President Morsi's cabinet reshuffle falls short of opposition demands.

May 16: Gunmen kidnap three policemen and four soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula. They are freed on May 22.

June 2: Egypt's highest court invalidates the Islamist-dominated senate, which assumed a legislative role when parliament was dissolved, and a panel that drafted the constitution.

June 15: Mr Morsi announces "definitive" severing of ties with Syria.

June 21: Tens of thousands of Islamists gather ahead of planned opposition protests.

June 23: Defence Minister Abdel Fattah al Sisi warns the army will intervene if violence erupts.

June 28: The US says non-essential embassy staff can leave after an American is killed during the protests.

June 29: The Tamarod (Rebellion) campaign which called rallies for June 30 says more than 22 million have signed a petition demanding Mr Morsi's resignation and a snap election.

June 30: Tens of thousands of Egyptians take to the streets nationwide determined to oust the president on the anniversary of his turbulent first year in power. At least 16 people die in protests across the country.

July 1: The opposition gives President Morsi a day to quit or face civil disobedience. Egypt's armed forces warn they will intervene if the people's demands are not met within 48 hours.

July 2: The presidency rejects the army's ultimatum, saying it will pursue its own plans for national reconciliation.

July 3: Mr Morsi is overthrown late in the day as the country's most senior army official announces the suspension of the Islamist-tinged constitution and a "road map" for a return to democratic rule to stop the bloodshed.

July 4: As Mr Morsi is held by the army, Supreme Constitutional Court Chief Justice Adly Mansour is sworn in as Egypt's interim president.

July 6: Fierce street battles between supporters of Morsi and their opponents leave at least 36 people dead.

July 8: Some 35 people are shot dead in clashes between Morsi supporters and the Egyptian army outside the Republican Guard's headquarters in Cairo.

July 9: Mr Mansour appoints economist Hazem el-Beblawi as prime minister and opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei as vice president. A military announcement backs up the appointments.

July 26: Millions pour into the streets of Egypt in rival demonstrations after a call by the country's military chief for protesters to give him a mandate to stop "potential terrorism" by supporters of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood. Five are killed in clashes. Prosecutors announce Morsi is under investigation for a host of allegations including murder and conspiracy with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

July 27: Clashes in the early morning hours between security forces and Morsi supporters kill at least 120 protesters in Cairo.

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Tunisia: Police Fire Tear Gas At Protesters

Tunisian police have fired tear gas to disperse violent protests in the southern town of Sidi Bouzid, the hometown of slain secular opposition figure Mohamed Brahmi.

Tensions have run high in Tunisia since Mr Brahmi's assassination, and large protests have been met with force by the authorities.

In a bid to stave off unrest in the capital Tunis and in the country's south, secular coalition partners of Tunisia's ruling Islamist party are in talks to reach a new power-sharing deal.

A spokesman for the Constituent Assembly, Tunisia's transitional parliament tasked with drafting a new constitution, said he expected a deal within the coming hours.

"The trend now is to move towards expanding the base of power," Mufdi al Masady told a local radio station.

The effort to reach a new deal by secular coalition partners of the ruling Ennahda party could help defuse increasingly hardline rhetoric on both sides.

Mourners attend the funeral of slain opposition leader Mohamed Brahmi

But so far, protests in the country have continued.

In Sidi Bouzid, locals say angry protesters threw rocks at police late on Saturday.

"Hundreds of protesters lit tyres on fire to block roads and they threw rocks at the police," resident Mahdi al Horshani told the Reuters news agency.

"There is a lot of anger and frustration at the situation."

Tensions have grown in Tunisia since Mr Brahmi's killing on Thursday, which came just months after another secular opposition figure was gunned down.

Secular opposition groups immediately began organising protests and demanded the dissolution of the Islamist-led government.

Their efforts have been fuelled by the recent protests and unrest in Egypt, which toppled that country's democratically elected but unpopular Islamist leader a year after he came to power.

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