Fort Hood Shooting: Major Nidal Hasan Guilty

Major Nidal Hasan has been found guilty of killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others at the Fort Hood military base.

The army psychiatrist could face the death penalty after military jurors reached unanimous verdicts on 13 counts of premeditated murder and also found him guilty of 32 counts of premeditated attempted murder.

Hasan gave no visible reaction as the verdict was read out.

The jury will begin hearing the "penalty phase" of the court martial on Monday and make a recommendation to the judge, who will determine the sentence.

If the death penalty is approved, Hasan would face death by lethal injection for the 2009 shooting spree on the Texas base.

The 42-year-old defended himself during the 13-day trial but chose not to call witnesses or testify and questioned only three of prosecutors' nearly 90 witnesses.

In statements to the judge the American-born Muslim suggested that he believed the attack was justified as a jihad against the US military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Kim Munley, who helped take down Hasan, tweeted her "joy" at the verdict

Sergeant Kim Munley, a member of Fort Hood's SWAT team who was shot three times as she took down the shooter, tweeted her delight at the verdict.

She wrote: "So overwhelmed with joy and tears!!!! I sure hope those 14 angels and dancing with joy from above!!! God Bless the victims in their strength."

Hasan never denied opening fire in a crowded waiting room at Fort Hood, where unarmed troops were making final preparations to deploy to Afghanistan and Iraq.

All but one of the dead were soldiers, including a pregnant private who curled on the floor and pleaded for her baby's life.

The sentencing phase is expected to begin with more testimony from survivors of the attack in a medical center where soldiers were waiting in long lines for immunizations and medical clearance.

About 50 soldiers and civilians testified of hearing someone scream "Allahu akbar!" - Arabic for "God is great!" - and seeing a man in Army camouflage open fire.

Hasan, pictured in his uniform, carefully planned the attack at Fort Hood

Many identified Hasan as the shooter and recalled his handgun's red and green laser sights piercing a room made dark with gun smoke.

Hasan spent weeks planning the November 5, 2009, attack. His preparation included buying the handgun and videotaping a sales clerk showing him how to change the magazine.

He later offered $10 at a gun range outside Austin for pointers on how to reload with speed and precision.

An instructor said he told Hasan to practise while watching TV or sitting on his couch with the lights off.

Soldiers testified that Hasan's rapid reloading made it all but impossible to stop the shooting.

Investigators recovered 146 shell casings inside the medical building and dozens more outside, where Hasan shot at the backs of soldiers fleeing toward the parking lot.

The military's death row has just five other prisoners and no other soldier has been executed since 1961.

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China's Bo Xilai Admits 'Some Responsibility'

The disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai has admitted "some responsibility" for 5m yuan (£514,000) of embezzled public funds.

Bo denies embezzling the money, intended for a local government construction project, but said: "I feel I should take some responsibility" for the money ending up in his wife Gu Kailai's bank account and for failing to investigate.

"I feel ashamed. I was too careless, because these are state funds," he said, according to transcripts that the Intermediate People's Court in Jinan, in eastern China, is providing on its account on Sina Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter.

The courtroom scenes come after a lurid scandal triggered by the death of British businessman Neil Heywood - for which Bo's wife Gu was convicted of murder - that rocked the ruling Communist Party.

The trial has gripped millions.

Until the admission Bo's performance had been defiant, denying charges of bribe-taking and embezzlement totalling 26.8m yuan (£2.8m).

He also faces accusations of abuse of power in connection with the investigation into Mr Heywood's death, and Wang Lijun, his police chief and right-hand man in Chongqing, appeared in court to testify against him.

Earlier, Bo launched a scathing attack on a key witness, saying even the most stupid official knew not to discuss bribery where they could be overheard.

Wang Zhenggang, a former planning official in Dalian, where Bo was the mayor in the 1990s, told the court the politician had telephoned Gu in front of him in connection with the 5m yuan.

The claim did not make sense, Bo argued.

"It is not even what the most stupid corruption offender would do. Corrupt offenders with even the lowest IQ would ask who else in Dalian was aware of the money," he said.

He added: "All those who know me know that I ask them to switch off their mobile phones before I speak. I am quite cautious."

The court is posting regular but delayed transcripts of the hearings, and no live audio or video is available, nor are any foreign media or independent observers present in the room.

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Syria: Iran Warns West Against Military Action

Iran has warned against "military intervention" in Syria as Bashar al Assad's regime was accused by Western leaders of massacring of 1,300 people with chemical weapons.

Tehran also said there was "proof" the alleged gas attack in Ghouta, an eastern suburb of Damascus, was carried out by rebel forces.

American naval forces are moving closer to Syria and US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said President Barack Obama had asked the Pentagon to prepare military options for Syria.

He declined to give details on specific force movements, but the AP news agency said a fourth warship has been sent to the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Three other destroyers are currently deployed in the Mediterranean - the USS Gravely, USS Barry and USS Ramage.

All four warships are equipped with several dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles which would allow the Pentagon to act rapidly if a military strike was ordered against Syria.

Survivors of the alleged gas attack rest inside a Damascus mosque

The move comes as the UN disarmament chief, Angela Kane, arrived in Damascus to press the Syrian government to allow UN inspectors to investigate the site of the alleged chemical attack this week.

Mr Hagen said: "The president has asked the Defence Department for options. Like always, the Defence Department is prepared and has been prepared to provide all options for all contingencies to the president of the US."

He said he expected US intelligence to "swiftly" assess whether the Syrian government did use chemical weapons in two Damascus suburbs.

Dead animals lie in the street in the suburb of Zamalka

Mr Obama last year threatened to punish Assad's regime if it resorted to using chemical weapons during the conflict, saying the use of weapons of mass destruction constituted a "red line" being crossed.

Russia on Friday joined calls for a swift probe into the alleged chemical weapon attack.

Britain and France have pressed for a team of UN inspectors already in Syria to be granted immediate access to the sites of the gas attack that activists say killed more than 130 people.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Friday there was little chance the attack had been carried out by rebels.

Syrian refugees in the Quru Gusik camp in Iraq

He said: "The only possible explanation of what we have been able to see is that it was a chemical attack and clearly many, many hundreds of people have been killed, some of the estimates are well over 1,000.

"I know some people in the world would like to say this is some kind of conspiracy brought about by the opposition in Syria - I think the chances of that are vanishingly small."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has sent his disarmament chief to Damascus to press Assad's regime to agree to an investigation.

Immediate access would allow inspectors to collect blood and soil samples to detect what chemicals - if any - were used.

The Assad regime has denied it has used chemical weapons, calling the allegations "absolutely baseless".

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India: Photojournalist Gang-Raped In Mumbai

By Neville Lazarus, Sky News Producer

A photojournalist has been gang-raped by five men while out on assignment with a male colleague in south Mumbai.

The woman, 22, is now in intensive care with reports suggesting she suffered multiple injuries, both internal and external.

Her condition is described as critical, but stable.

The man the victim was with - in an area known as Lower Parel - was tied up and assaulted.

The victims' statements have been recorded and sketches of suspects have been released by the police.

Two of the attackers reportedly called each other by name - Rupesh and Saijid.

Police said they have arrested five people over the gang-rape.

The scene of the gang-rape in Mumbai

The latest attack comes after the gang-rape and death of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student on a bus in Delhi last December.

That incident caused nationwide protests and demands for stringent laws against rape.

Under pressure, the government instituted fast-track courts for crimes against women and six men were subsequently charged with rape and murder.

The case is in its final stages at the Saket fast-track court in Delhi and a verdict is expected soon. 

Suspected ringleader Ram Singh killed himself at the Tihar jail earlier this year.

A juvenile is being tried at a separate court as he was under 18 years old when he allegedly committed the crime.

The other four await their fate when the court delivers its verdict.

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Syria Chemical Attack 'Proof' Smuggled To UN

Syrian activists are smuggling body tissue samples from victims of the alleged chemical massacre to UN inspectors staying in a nearby hotel.

The team of inspectors has been in Damascus since Monday carrying out investigations into previous claims of chemical weapons use during the country's civil war.

However, the Assad regime has yet to allow them to investigate the area where opponents claim his forces gassed more than 1,300 people to death on Tuesday, many of them children.

Activist Abu Nidal said: "The UN team spoke with us and since then we prepared samples of hair, skin and blood and smuggled them back into Damascus with trusted couriers."

However, other activists said the couriers may have struggled to get through to the inspectors who are under heavy guard and government minders.

An activist in a gas mask in the eastern suburbs of Damascus

President Bashar al Assad's forces have been pummelling the area of the attack, known as the Ghouta region, with air raids and artillery strikes, in a move which could hinder access and damage evidence.

The development came as US President Barack Obama made his first comments on the attack saying that images and claims indicated a "big event of grave concern" and warranted "America's attention".

But he said that evidence had to be gathered and that while people looked to the US to act, he could not do so without a UN mandate.

In an interview with CNN, a year after he made the statement that chemical weapons use in Syria would be a "red line" that would trigger US intervention, Mr Obama said:  "Well, we are right now gathering information about this particular event, but I can say that unlike some of the evidence that we were trying to get earlier that led to a UN investigator going into Syria, what we've seen indicates that this is clearly a big event of grave concern.

A child is given oxygen after the alleged attack

"And, you know, we are already in communications with the entire international community. We're moving through the UN to try to prompt better action from them.

"And we've called on the Syrian government to allow an investigation of the site, because U.N. inspectors are on the ground right now."

Foreign Secretary William Hague told Sky News that "time is of the essence" as he carried out urgent talks with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the US Secretary of State, John Kerry.

He wrote on Twitter: "Every day without UN access is a day in which evidence can deteriorate or be hidden by those responsible."

The dead bodies of animals lie in a street in Zamalka

Mr Ban said that any use of chemical weapons would constitute a "crime against humanity" and urged the regime to co-operate with an immediate investigation.

Significantly, Syria's key ally Russia has joined international calls for the inspectors to be given access to the site of the alleged massacre.

Moscow suggested the attack could be a "premeditated provocation" by opposition forces but urged Mr Assad and the UN to agree to a visit to the site in the Damascus suburbs of Ein Tarma and Zamalka.

Footage distributed by activists, which shows unconscious children, people foaming at the mouth and doctors apparently giving them oxygen to help them breathe, has triggered anger around the world.

The government has denied it used chemical weapons, calling the allegations "absolutely baseless".

In June the Obama administration said it had conclusive evidence that Mr Assad's government had used chemical weapons against opposition forces.

The alleged chemical attack took place in Damascus suburbs

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the intelligence community had been tasked with gathering information on the chemical attack, but that it was "unable to conclusively determine chemical weapons use".

It comes as UN figures showed a million children had fled the country since the civil war began more than two years ago.

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Lebanon: 'Deaths' After Tripoli Explosions

Two blasts have been heard in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, causing deaths and injuries, according to security officials.

More follows...

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Syria: Call For 'Force' If Chemicals Proven

France is seeking a reaction with "force" if a massacre in Syria involving chemical weapons is confirmed, its foreign minister has said.

"If it is proven, France's position is that there must be a reaction, a reaction that could take the form of a reaction with force," Laurent Fabius told BFM-TV.

"There are possibilities for responding," he said without elaborating.

He added that if the UN Security Council could not make a decision, one would have to be taken "in other ways".

The Syrian government has been urged to allow UN inspectors to visit the site where it is claimed more than 1,300 people died in a chemical weapons attack.

The National Coalition claims toxic gas was used by President Bashar al Assad's forces during a bombardment of rebel-held areas outside Damascus.

It said the death toll was likely to rise after a neighbourhood with many casualties was discovered in Zamalka.

Government officials said the claims were "totally false" and the international news organisations reporting them were "implicated in the shedding of Syrian blood and support terrorism".

The attacks are alleged to have taken place in Ein Tarma and Zamalka

A spokesperson from the British Foreign Office said: "Our immediate priority is to verify the facts and ensure the UN  team is granted access to investigate these latest reports.

"We believe a political solution is the best way to end the bloodshed. However, the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have said many times we cannot rule out any option, in accordance with international law, that might save innocent lives in Syria."

But Turkey's deputy prime minister has said only the government is in possession of the type of chemical weapons the opposition claim were used in the attack.

Its foreign minister said "a red line" had been crossed.

Iran, Syria's chief regional ally, has rejected claims that the regime was responsible, saying if such an attack was proven it would be down to the rebels, IRNA news agency said.

The incident comes just days after a 20-strong team of UN weapons inspectors arrived in the capital to investigate whether chemical weapons have been used in the conflict.

A survivor rests inside a mosque near Damascus

And following an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, said: "We very much hope that we will be able to conduct the investigation.

"Dr Sellstrom and his team are in place in Damascus.  We hope that they will be given access to the area by the government  - it's a requirement of consent in situations like this.

"And that also the security situation will allow them to enter the area.

"The Secretary-General has already expressed his preparedness to conduct the investigation.

"We are in contact with the Syrian government - we hope that all other parties will co-operate so that we conduct the investigation and we hope that everybody realises the importance of ceasing hostilities."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague urged international supporters of the Syrian regime to "wake up to ... its murderous and barbaric nature" ahead of the UN meeting.

However Russia, which has supported the regime and vetoed past attempts to secure a tough UN resolution, suggested the attack could be a "premeditated provocation" by opposition forces.

Officials from Russia and China are reported to have blocked a stronger press statement supported by Britain, France, the US and others.

Earlier, Mr Hague said that if verified, the attack "would mark a shocking escalation in the use of chemical weapons in Syria".

He added: "Those who order the use of chemical weapons, and those who use them, should be in no doubt that we will work in every way we can to hold them to account."

Unverified footage of casualties, including children, in makeshift hospitals suffering convulsions and breathing difficulties was circulated on YouTube.

Syria is thought to have some of the world's largest stocks of chemical weapons, including mustard gas and the nerve agent sarin, but the government in Damascus refuses to confirm this is the case.

On Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed government forces carried out air raids and shelling in an area near where the alleged chemical attack was launched.

"Warplanes carried out several raids this morning on Khan al Sheikh and Zamalka, wounding several people" and sparking fierce clashes, the monitoring group said.

Their claims have not been independently verified.

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China: Bo Xilai Retracts Bribery Confession

Ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai has insisted he was forced into confessing to a bribery charge in the country's biggest political scandal in decades.

He is on trial accused of abuse of power, taking more than $3m (£2.5m) in bribes and embezzlement.

Speaking in court in Jinan, Bo denied receiving payments from Tang Xiaolin, the general manager of an international development corporation in the north-eastern city of Dalian, where he once held key posts.

Details of the trial are being released to the public

He had previously admitted to party investigators that he had accepted money.

"The matter of me taking money on three occasions, as Tang Xiaolin said, does not exist," Bo said.

"During the time I was being investigated by the Central Disciplinary Commission, I once admitted to this matter against my will ... However, at the time, I had absolutely no knowledge of the nature of the matter, my mind was a total blank.

Bo's supporters behind the barriers at the courthouse

"I hope the judge will reasonably and fairly judge, and judge this according to the laws of our country," Bo was quoted as saying in Twitter and Facebook postings released by the court.

Prosecutors have given new details of the allegations against Bo and his family, including accusations that Bo used both his wife, Gu Kailai, and his son, Bo Guagua, as intermediaries.

They also claim Bo instructed an employee to keep quiet about a payment of $800,000 to the  Dalian authorities that was diverted into his personal account with the help of his wife.

Gu Kailai and murder victim Neil Heywood

Once the powerful party boss in the huge city of Chongqing, the charismatic Bo became the most senior leader to fall from power in years after it emerged last year his wife had killed British businessman Neil Heywood.

It was a huge embarrassment for the Chinese leadership which has been unusually open about the trial, publishing regular updates of the proceedings.

The charges against Bo also include abuse of power in covering up the murder.

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Zimbabwe: Robert Mugabe Sworn In As President

Robert Mugabe, Africa's oldest and one of its longest-serving leaders, has been sworn in for a new five-year term as Zimbabwean President.

The ceremony was performed at a stadium packed with thousands of jubilant supporters.

The 89-year-old pledged "to observe, uphold and defend the constitution of Zimbabwe" in an oath administered by Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku.

Mr Mugabe has been in power for 33 years

Political opponents and leaders of other countries mostly stayed away from the event amid claims that July's election was deeply flawed.

Last week, the main opposition party in Zimbabwe, the Movement for Democratic Change, dropped a court challenge against the election result because of doubts it would receive a fair hearing.

A Mugabe supporter

Britain - the country's former colonial ruler - expressed its disappointment at the MDC's decision.

"I strongly believe that an independent investigation of any allegations of election irregularities would be required for the election result to be deemed credible," Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has given up his legal challenge

But Mr Mugabe, who has ruled since independence from Britain in 1980, remains defiant.

He has told critics of his re-election to "go hang" and has vowed to press ahead with nationalist policies forcing foreign companies to turn over majority stakes to black Zimbabweans.

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Russia Floods: Three Jailed Over Tragedy

Three former public officials in Russia have been jailed after being convicted of negligence during floods that killed more than 150 people last year.

The tragedy happened on July 7 last year when scores of people in the southern town of Krymsk died after a mountain river flooded, causing the worst such disaster of the post-Soviet era.

The Abinsk Regional Court heard that no flood warning had been issued before the disaster because the officials "did not announce the emergency situation in time and did not warn and rescue people".

Former head of Krymsk district Vasily Krutko was sentenced to six years in a colony settlement - a facility where inmates have more freedom than in a penal colony but which still observe strict curfews.

The official number of deaths is 153 but others say up to 172 people died

Former Krymsk mayor Vladimir Ulanovsky was sentenced to three-and-a-half years, while local emergency situations official Viktor Zhdanov was sentenced to four-and-a-half years.

Irina Ryabchenko, former head of the neighbouring village of Nizhnebakanskaya, which was also affected, received a suspended sentence of three-and-a-half years, according to a statement from the Russian prosecutor general.

After the tragedy, Krutko, Ulanovsky and Ryabchenko also ordered the creation of "official documents with false information about having issued a timely warning", a court statement said. The three were also convicted of forgery.

The prosecutor's statement cited a death toll of 153 people, although regional authorities said at the time that 172 people had died in the flood.

A young Russian mourns the loss of a friend

Observers have called the catastrophe a failure not only on the part of local officials, but also the region's influential pro-Kremlin governor, Alexander Tkachev, and even President Vladimir Putin himself, accusing the authorities of a blatant disregard for human life.

Krymsk lies about 200 kilometres (120 miles) northwest of the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where Russia will host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

The conviction and sentencing of the officials comes as Russia battles new, record-breaking floods in the east that have forced authorities to evacuate more than 23,000 people and raised fresh questions about the government's readiness to handle natural disasters.

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Fukushima Toxic Leak Alert Set To Be Hiked

Efforts are continuing to contain a major toxic leak from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant with plans to heighten the alert level.

The operator of the site said about 300 tonnes of highly radioactive water has leaked from one of hundreds of steel tanks around the wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, which lies 130 miles northeast of Tokyo.

Amid the deepening crisis, Japan is to raise the severity to a level three "serious incident".

The international severity scale goes from 0-7, with seven being the worst.

Workers were pumping out the remaining contaminated water in the tank and moving it to other containers, in a desperate effort to prevent it from escaping into the sea.

Masayuki Ono, general manager of Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) which runs the plant, said: "We found a radiation level strong enough to give someone a five-year dose of radiation within one hour."

Japan's nuclear watchdog has said it is concerned that more storage tanks at the wrecked nuclear plant will spring leaks.

It also said it feared the disaster exceeded the ability of Tepco to cope "in some respects".

Four other tanks of the same design have had similar leaks since last year. The incidents have shaken confidence in the reliability of hundreds of tanks that are crucial for storing what has been a continuous flow of contaminated water.

Hideka Morimoto, a spokesman for Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority, said: "We are extremely concerned."

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said: "Any way you look at it, this is deplorable. The government will make every effort to halt the leak of contaminated water as soon as possible."

China said it was 'shocked' to hear that Fukushima was still leaking contaminated water two years after the disaster and urged Japan to provide information "in a timely, thorough and relevant way".

Professor Andrew Sherry from the University of Manchester, said: "Though serious, this leak is a long way from the Level Seven incident we were facing in 2011."

He said the action being taken by Tepco was "entirely sensible", but added the incident highlighted the need for an inspection programme for the storage tanks.

"Openness and transparency of the nuclear industry was a key lesson from Fukushima and maintaining this principle during the current situation is critical," said Prof Sherry.

The Fukushima plant suffered multiple meltdowns following a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 - a level 7 "major accident" and the worst since Chernobyl in 1986.

Hundreds of tanks were built around the plant to store massive amounts of contaminated water coming from the three melted reactors, as well as underground water running into reactor and turbine basements.

However, contaminated water that the operator has been unable to contain continues to enter the Pacific Ocean at a rate of hundreds of tonnes per day. Much of that is groundwater that has mixed with untreated radioactive water at the plant.

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North Korea Prisoner Forced To Kill Her Baby

A mother in a North Korean prison was forced to kill her own baby, according to a former inmate giving evidence to a UN commission hearing.

Jee Heon-a, 34, told the UN Commission of Inquiry that a guard ordered the mother to drown her newborn.

Speaking softly, she took a deep breath before telling a retired Australian judge and other commission panel members: "It was the first time I had seen a newborn baby and I felt happy.

"But suddenly there were footsteps and a security guard came in and told the mother to turn the baby upside down into a bowl of water," she said.

"The mother begged the guard to spare her, but he kept beating her. So the mother, her hands shaking, put the baby face down in the water.

Former prisoner Shin Dong-hyuk

"The crying stopped and a bubble rose up as it died. A grandmother who had delivered the baby quietly took it out."

Ms Jee was one of a number of past prisoners who have been addressing the commission in South Korea's capital Seoul.

It is the first time North Korea's human rights record has been examined by an expert panel.

The North, now ruled by a third generation of the founding Kim family, denies it abuses human rights.

It refuses to recognise the commission and has denied access to investigators.

Harrowing accounts from defectors now living in South Korea told how guards committed torture and brutality.

Ms Jee added that there was so little to eat in the prison that she, like many of the others, was forced to survive on salted frogs.

The commission panel has heard evidence of prison torture

She said: "Everyone's eyes were sunken. They all looked like animals. Frogs were hung from the buttons of their clothes, put in a plastic bag and their skins peeled off. They ate salted frogs and so did I."

Another witness, Shin Dong-hyuk, said he was forced to watch the execution of his mother and his brother who had both attempted to escape.

He said he was also punished for dropping a sewing machine, adding: "I thought my whole hand was going to be cut off at the wrist, so I felt thankful and grateful that only my finger was cut off."

The ex-inmates giving evidence are among a handful to have escaped and fled South Korea, where they have claimed asylum.

There are estimated to be 150,000-200,000 people in North Korean prison camps and defectors say many inmates are malnourished or worked to death.

After more than a year and a half ruling North Korea, 30-year-old Kim Jong Un has shown few signs of changing the rigid rule of his father, Kim Jong Il, and grandfather, state founder Kim Il Sung.

Few experts expect the commission to have an immediate impact but say they hope it will serve to raise awareness of what has been happening in the country.

Bill Schabas, professor of international law at Middlesex University, said: "There would need to be profound political changes in North Korea to make headway in the field of human rights."

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Egypt: Brotherhood's Supreme Leader Arrested

The supreme leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has been arrested on charges of "inciting the murder of protesters".

The development comes as authorities continue a crackdown on the Brotherhood, the party of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, which has sparked deadly protests and international condemnation.

Mohammed Badie was arrested in an apartment near Rabaa al Adawiya square, where hundreds of Morsi supporters were killed last Wednesday as police cleared their protest camp.

Senior members of the Muslim Brotherhood organisation, including Mr Badie, are wanted for questioning, accused of inciting the deaths of protesters.

The arrest comes days after his son was killed.

The arrest could spark further violence

Egypt's interior ministry has said it has arrested more than 1,000 Muslim Brotherhood "elements" during the unrest.

Mr Morsi was deposed by the military on July 3 in what his supporters call a coup.

His opponents say the military had no choice but to intervene after the start of another popular uprising like the one that overthrew president Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Mubarak's lawyer said on Monday that he expects the deposed dictator to be freed from jail after being cleared of corruption charges.

According to his Fareed El Deeb, judicial authorities have ordered that 85-year-old Mubarak should be released on one of the remaining corruption charges against him.

The development came after Egyptian authorities disclosed that suspected militants had attacked two police minibuses with rocket-propelled grenades, killing 24 officers in Sinai.

Sinai has been witnessing near daily attacks by suspected militants since July 3.

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Prison Hunger Strikers 'Can Be Force Fed'

Prisoners on hunger strike in California could be force-fed if they are in imminent danger of dying, under a new federal court ruling.

Corrections officials made the legal request, fearing for the welfare of nearly 70 inmates who have refused all meals since July 8 - the start of the mass protest against the state's solitary confinement policies for gang leaders and other violent inmates.

Among the concerns is the belief that some of the prisoners may have been coerced into taking part in the strike.

Some 130 people in six prisons are still refusing meals. When the strike began it included nearly 30,000 of the 133,000 inmates in California.

Prison policy usually allows inmates to starve to death if they have signed a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) request. But Monday's decision gives a blanket authority to feed inmates in failing health - including those who only recently signed a DNR request.

Protesters against the use of solitary confinement in California prisons

The process, which prison officials call "refeeding", could include giving fluids intravenously or snaking feeding tubes through inmates' noses and into their stomachs.

A lawyer for some of the hunger strikers said she was not aware of inmates being coerced.

"They're exaggerating this," said Carol Strickman. "As much as I don't want to see anybody die, some people were choosing to sign those requests and some were not."

Joyce Hayhoe, a spokeswoman for the department responsible for prison medical care, said officials were merely trying to be proactive.

"Inmates can deteriorate rather quickly when they have starved themselves for this long period of time so we wanted to make sure we had the order in place ... for us to be able to save their lives," she said.

One of the solitary confinement cells at Pelican Bay

California incarcerates about 3,600 inmates in what are known as Security Housing Units, some because of crimes they committed in prison and others because they are confirmed gang leaders.

The highest-ranking among them are held at Pelican Bay, where the heads of four rival white supremacist, black and Latino gangs have formed an unlikely alliance to force an end to the isolation units.

The hunger strike is the latest problem to plague California's prison system, which is currently operating under a federal court order to reduce crowding by the end of the year, possibly by releasing up to 10,000 inmates early.

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Pakistan: Musharraf Charged In Bhutto Death

Timeline: Musharraf And Ms Bhutto

Updated: 11:45am UK, Tuesday 20 August 2013

More than five years after Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, Pervez Musharraf has been charged over her death. These are the key moments in the case:

:: December 2, 1988 - Ms Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan People's Party, is sworn into office, becoming the first woman prime minister of a Muslim country.

:: August 6, 1990 - Ms Bhutto's government is dismissed by the president of Pakistan after just 20 months in power. She blames the military for her dismissal, which is later upheld.

:: October 7, 1993 - Ms Bhutto's party wins parliamentary elections. She is elected for a second term as prime minister.

:: November 5, 1996 - Ms Bhutto is again dismissed by Pakistan's president and placed under house arrest.

:: April 15, 1999 - Ms Bhutto is convicted while in exile in London of corruption charges. She is sentenced to five years in prison and barred from holding political office.

:: October 1999 - Army chief Musharraf leads a military coup against prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

:: April 6, 2001 - Pakistan's Supreme Court overturns Ms Bhutto's conviction and orders a retrial.

:: June 20 - Musharraf appoints himself president of Pakistan.

:: July 27, 2007 - Ms Bhutto meets Musharraf in Abu Dhabi. She demands he stand down as army chief before any power-sharing agreement can be reached.

:: October 4, 2007 - Musharraf's government clears the way for Ms Bhutto to return to Pakistan and to run for re-election as president.

:: October 18 - Ms Bhutto survives two explosions at a homecoming rally in Karachi. More than 100 people are killed and hundreds more are injured.

:: November 13 - Ms Bhutto is stopped from leaving her home by riot police, while Musharraf declares a state of emergency as he attempts to assert his authority.

:: November 29 - Musharraf steps down as army chief and is sworn in as a civilian president, ending eight years of military rule in Pakistan.

:: December 27 - Ms Bhutto is assassinated in a gun and bomb attack in Rawalpindi. Musharraf's government claims Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud is responsible but Ms Bhutto's supporters accuse the president of not doing enough to ensure her protection.

:: February 18, 2008 - Ms Bhutto's widower, Ali Asif Zardari, and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif form a new government.

:: August 7 - Mr Zardari and Mr Sharif call for Musharaff's impeachment.

:: August 18 - Musharraf resigns as Pakistani president.

:: April 16, 2010 - UN investigators say Pakistan deliberately failed to thoroughly investigate Ms Bhutto's murder and claim intelligence agencies and government officials "severely hampered" their own probe.

:: February 12, 2011 - A court in Pakistan issues an arrest warrant for Musharraf, now living in London, over the assassination of Ms Bhutto.

:: April 19, 2013 - Musharraf is placed under house arrest near Islamabad.

:: August 20 - Musharraf is charged with murder, criminal conspiracy and facilitation for murder over Ms Bhutto's death.

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City Hall Hostage Crisis: People Held

An armed man has taken several people hostage in the historic city hall of the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt and is making demands to police over the telephone.

Police spokesman Guenther Beck said that the man had taken the hostages shortly before 9am (7am GMT) on Monday but that it was not clear what weapons he had.

He said there were "several" hostages but that he couldn't be specific about the number. He did not disclose what demands the hostage-taker had made.

Police arrive at the Old City Hall

The scenes unfolded just hours before the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, was due in the city, home to car manufacturer Audi, for a rally.

The Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann arrived at the city hall and had joined negotiators.

An ambulance is on stand-by outside the besieged building

Mayor Alfred Lehmann told BILD.de: "I was in my office when suddenly the secretary came in and said there was a hostage situation. This was at 9am . Then we left the building."

He said the hostages were being held on the second floor of the building.

The German media were suggesting that Sepp Misslbeck, the third Mayor, was among the hostages.

The Old City Hall is home to the mayor's office, the tourist information office and a number of other administrative departments, and is one of two city halls in the Ingolstadt.

More follows...

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Oscar Pistorius Formally Charged With Murder

Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius has now left court after a judge told him he will go on trial in March over the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius returned to Pretoria Magistrates' Court this morning for the short hearing, in which a judge set his trial date for March 3 next year.

The judge asked him if he was well, to which he replied: "Under the circumstances, your honour."

He was formally charged and told that his bail conditions remained the same.

Court documents show that more than 100 witnesses will be called to give evidence at the trial, including one of Pistorius' ex-girlfriends.

Sky's Alex Crawford said that Pistorius was "very emotional", and appeared to be praying with his brother and sister before the proceedings started.

The three siblings held hands in a small circle, and at one point Pistorius wiped his face with a tissue.

Ms Steenkamp was shot dead at Pistorius' home in February

His brother Carl later tweeted a photograph of Pistorius and Ms Steenkamp, adding: "Remembered like yesterday. My life was impacted by u @reevasteenkamp & the lady u were! Always close to our hearts."

The 26-year-old double amputee is accused of killing Ms Steenkamp, who would have turned 30 today, in a shooting incident at Pistorius' home in February.

Pistorius denies he committed murder and says he shot Ms Steenkamp by mistake, thinking she was an intruder.

The case was sent to the High Court in Pretoria.

A judge will preside over the trial and ultimately pronounce the world-famous athlete innocent or guilty. South Africa does not have trial by jury.

The mandatory sentence for someone convicted of premeditated murder in South Africa is life with a minimum of 25 years in prison.

Meanwhile, Ms Steenkamp's uncle has said he has already forgiven Pistorius for killing her.

Mike Steenkamp said the family have coped with her death by concentrating on her life rather than how she died.

In an interview on ITV's Daybreak, Mr Steenkamp said: "I think from the beginning and onset that we decided that we could never be sidetracked from Reeva's life, and I think that's helped us tremendously."

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Egypt's Ex-Dictator Mubarak 'To Be Freed'

Deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak is expecting to be freed from jail after being cleared of corruption charges, his lawyer claims.

Mubarak was toppled from power in February 2011 following an uprising and has been held by authorities since.

He has made numerous appearances at Cairo's courthouse since on charges relating to the death of protesters during the revolution and of corruption.

However, according to his lawyer Fareed El Deeb, judicial authorities ordered that 85-year-old Mubarak should be released in one of the remaining corruption charges against him.

He said that the only legal grounds for the former leader's detention would be another corruption case, which is expected to be concluded later this week.

He said: "All we have left is a simple administrative procedure that should take no more than 48 hours. He should be freed by the end of the week."

Mubarak still faces charges of complicity in the murder of protesters during the 2011 revolution. His trial has been adjourned until August 25.

The development came after Egyptian authorities disclosed that suspected militants had attacked two police minibuses with rocket-propelled grenades, killing 24 officers in Sinai.

The ambush, condemned by Egypt's interior ministry as the work of "armed terrorist groups", took place as the two vehicles were driving through a village near the border town of Rafah in the volatile Sinai Peninsula.

The van was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades

Two officials, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said that three officers had also been injured.

Sinai has been witnessing near daily attacks by suspected militants since the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was ousted on July 3.

It is estimated nearly 50 security officials have been killed in the region since then, and the army claims to have killed nearly 70 "terrorists" in the same time.

In response to the attack Egypt closed the Rafah border crossing with the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

The latest attack follows the suppression of Mr Morsi's supporters in Cairo in scenes of bloodshed over the last five days, which have left at least 750 people dead.

A police officer in hospital after violent clashes in Cairo

The military, which assumed control of the country from Mr Morsi, has been rounding up the former president's Muslim Brotherhood supporters and there have been more than 1,000 arrests.

The Brotherhood has vowed to continue its demonstrations.

Foreign Secretary William Hague has said that the continued unrest across the Middle East represented one of the most significant events of the 21st century so far.

He told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme that events in Egypt and surrounding countries could echo for decades and that the international community should expect significant "setbacks".

European Union ambassadors are discussing the crisis in Egypt amid international alarm.

Demonstrators inside the al Fath mosque in Cairo

Meanwhile, the family of four Irish siblings caught up in violence have said their relatives are being held by Egyptian authorities.

Omaima Halawa, 20, her two sisters Fatima, 22, Somaia, 27, and their younger brother Ibrihim, 17, were among hundreds of people cleared out of the al Fath mosque when security forces stormed the building on Saturday.

They were forced to seek sanctuary in the mosque on Friday after violent clashes between supporters of Mr Morsi and the security forces killed more than 80 people.

Speaking from the family home in Dublin, their sister Nasaybi Halawa said that her 17-year-old brother could have been beaten in the mosque.

Security forces arrive at the Cairo mosque

Miss Halawa said: "The person I'm speaking to told me they were beating men to hell. She doesn't know how my brother looks but she told me 'I can guarantee for you, all the men were beaten there. They didn't exclude anyone from hitting them'."

However, Sky sources understand that the four have been visited in Tora Prison by a Turkish diplomat who reported they were "all well".

Irish diplomats have said they are due to be brought to the prosecutor's office at 2pm on Monday and they were "confident" they would be released.

Hundreds of Morsi supporters also fled to the building in the Ramses area of Cairo, shoving furniture against the doors to stop police from breaking their way in.

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Mexico: 23 Bodies Found In Drugs 'Hot Land'

At least 23 bodies with gunshot wounds and hands bound have been found in western Mexico where drug cartels, vigilantes and and security forces have been fighting for much of the year.

The bodies were discovered on an abandoned property near the town of Buenavista Tomatlan in Michoacan state along with a sign indicating they may have been members of the Knights Templar cartel, state prosecutor's spokesman Alejandro Arellano said.

The area near the Jalisco state border has suffered a wave of violence for most of this year, as vigilante groups have risen up against the Knights Templar cartel which has controlled the area through violence and extortion.

Authorities believe some vigilante groups are supported by a rival cartel, Jalisco New Generation, which is fighting for the Knights Templar territory. The groups deny the claims.

Mr Arellano said the sign found alongside the bodies read: "For those who continue to support the Knights Templar, we are here, united."

He said the note was signed with the initials of the New Generation, as well as the initials G C, indicating another vigilante group.

Thousands of police were sent into the area in May to battle the cartels

President Enrique Pena Nieto's government sent thousands of troops and police to the area in May to try to regain control of the state.

While residents initially welcomed their arrival and some vigilante groups agreed to put down their arms, the calm was short-lived.

Although the government claims that killings across Mexico are down, it has struggled to come up with an effective strategy for Michoacan and neighboring Guerrero states - an area known as the Tierra Caliente, or Hot Land, for its climate.

The Knights Templar launched a co-ordinated attack on police last month, killing at least four officers and wounding a number of others.

They also killed one of Mexico's highest-ranking navy officers and a bodyguard last month when they ventured on to a local road in Michoacan to get around a roadblock.

Around the same time, residents in Guerrero were forced to flee their villages because of drug violence.

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Diana's Death: Police Handed New Information

New information that alleges Princess Diana was murdered has been passed to Scotland Yard through military sources, it has emerged.

The information, thought to include the allegation that the Princess of Wales, Dodi al Fayed and their driver were killed by a member of the British military, will be assessed by officers from the Specialist Crime and Operations Command.

According to Sky sources it was given to the police by the former parents-in-law of a former soldier.

The deaths of Princess Diana and Mr al Fayed in Paris in 1997 were investigated and examined during a 90-day inquest led by Lord Justice Scott Baker at the Royal Court of Justice in 2007.

On April 7, 2008, the jury concluded their verdict as "unlawful killing, grossly negligent driving of the following vehicles and of the Mercedes".

Princess Diana and Dodi al Fayed leaving the Ritz Hotel on August 31, 1997

The Metropolitan Police said its assessment was not a re-investigation and does not come under Operation Paget, the inquiry led by Lord Stevens into conspiracy theories surrounding Princess Diana and Mr al Fayed's deaths.

A royal spokeswoman said there will be no comment on the matter from Prince William or Prince Harry, or from Clarence House.

After the inquest, the Metropolitan Police said it had spent £8m on services arising from it and the Operation Paget investigation from 2004 to 2006.

Former Met Police commissioner Lord Stevens published his report in December 2006, rejecting claims that Princess Diana and Mr al Fayed had been murdered.

The wreckage of the Mercedes the pair were travelling in when it crashed

Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt said: "We understand this information includes an allegation that Princess Diana and Dodi al Fayed and the driver of their car were killed by a member of the British military.

"The information we're told was passed to Scotland Yard quite recently. It also includes, we understand, references to something known as Diana's diary.

"These are very early days, the information has just come in, and Scotland Yard is adamant in saying that this is not a reopening of its investigation from 2004 when it spent three years looking into the circumstances of the Princess' death.

"But it is taking the information seriously and it is considering and it is possible that a new investigation may open."

Princess Diana, Mr al Fayed and their driver Henri Paul died after the Mercedes crashed in a Paris tunnel on August 31, 1997.

Diana was 36 at the time of her death and Mr al Fayed, the son of former Harrods owner Mohamed al Fayed, 42.

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Egypt: EU To Review Relations Amid Violence

The European Union has said it will "urgently" review its relations with Egypt in the coming days as the violence shows no sign of ending.

In a statement, the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso called on all sides to show restraint and prevent further escalation of the violence.

"To this effect, together with its member states, the EU will urgently review in the coming days its relations with Egypt and adopt measures aimed at pursuing these goals," the statement said.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague told his Egyptian counterpart that the "disproportionate use of force" by security forces over recent days must stop.

Mr Hague made the comments in a phone call with Nabil Fahmy after security forces stormed the al Fath mosque in Cairo while Muslim Brotherhood supporters have been blamed for attacks on Coptic Christian churches.

Brotherhood supporters had barricaded themselves inside

At one point, troops exchanged gunfire with men shooting from a minaret of the mosque on Ramses Square, where hundreds of supporters of Mohamed Morsi had fled overnight after violent clashes killed 173 people.

The interior ministry said 385 people inside the mosque had been arrested.

A statement by the Anti-Coup Alliance said several marches would take place in the capital this afternoon, continuing the daily campaign of protests in defiance of an intensifying crackdown.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "The foreign secretary and the Egyptian foreign minister spoke about the tragic violence and loss of life over recent days.

"The foreign secretary emphasised UK condemnation of all acts of violence, whether disproportionate use of force by the security forces or violent actions by some demonstrators.

State TV ran an English 'Egypt fights terrorism' caption as the PM spoke

"They also discussed the recent attacks on places of worship and the foreign secretary stressed that attacks on mosques and churches were unacceptable and that places of worship must be protected."

Mr Hague also underlined the need for urgent steps by all sides "to end the violence and enable a return to dialogue", the spokeswoman said.

Meanwhile, the interim army-backed government announced it had begun deliberations on whether to ban the Muslim Brotherhood, a long-outlawed organisation that swept to power in Egypt's first democratic elections a year ago.

Egyptian presidential adviser Mostafa Hegazy said: "When you talk about a difference or a divide that's happening in Egyptian society, I think it's either wrongful thinking or wishful thinking.

"Egyptians today are more united than ever before. We are not only united towards a common dream, but we're united against a common enemy."

Last night, Islamist marchers clashed with civilians in the port city of Alexandria during the funeral of politician Khalid Mohsen, who was shot on Friday.

A few hours later Alexandria's streets were deserted, as night fell and a dusk to dawn curfew began.

The curfew was imposed when Egypt's military rulers declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, and is set to remain in place for at least a month.

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